Woj new Davis article...very in depth and straightforward...

[mef730]

I am just confused why AD wants to play with an old LeBron...in order to get him in a trade, they would have to give up any good young player they have...Lakers have no good picks.

So he plays with LJ maybe 2 years? And it isn't going to be vintage LBJ....

But if he resigns in Boston, the Cs would own the east, have a core of young player around him and are built to win for 10 plus years...If it really is about championships with AD...Boston is the only team to go to.

I think the LA "showtime" reputation helps. Endorsement money won't be bad, either.

Question for those with cap knowledge: If LA gets Davis, what happens to their ability to sign a third max contract, say, Kawhi?

Mike

[libermaniac]

Forget that. In the summer of 2020 James will be turning 36 a few months later. He could be a shell of himself in 2 years, which would likely give Davis pause. Pretty reasonable to believe that the James of today will not be the same James then.

If you mean the injured LeBron of today, then I disagree.  Pretty reasonable to believe that he WILL be the same James as today. 

[Kuberski33]

One thing is for certain...a lot of teams do not want or will not deal with the Lakers. I think Rich Paul is really the GM behind the scenes there and other GMs see through their BS.

NBA is tired of bowing down to LeTurd and his hanger ons

I'm starting to get that impression.  And LeBron is starting to get up there age-wise.  Personally though I can't see the Magic/LeBron brotherhood enduring forever.  The egos involved are way too large.  I could see a scenario where Magic says 'I'm done' and goes back to his other business interests and commentating.

Seeing the Lakers franchise screwed over for years moving forward would be perfectly fine with me...lol

[smokeablount]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25892346/new-orleans-pelicans-gm-dell-demps-returned-call-los-angeles-lakers-gm-anthony-davis

Really get the sense the Pels want nothing to do with the Lakers..from the owner to Demps.
Biggest thing is DA does not want to deal Tatum. Sees a big three of him Kyrie and AD.

That would be tough but I think Ainge could still get it done between Brown, Smart and the draft picks.

Smart has so much more value for a good team than a bad team. Really really really hope we don't move him. A favorable S+T of fellow Rich Paul client Morris might help fill in salary.

Yeah it would really suck to lose Smart here.  I always liked Smart but I felt I had to argue against him being a top 100 player last year, seemed fairly open and shut to me.  This year because he looks so comfortable and effective on offense- from 3's to post ups to even floaters- and somehow stepped his game up on D even more than in years past, it's hard to argue against it now. 

He's so much more than salary filler but I feel like because of our mix of high / low contracts, we'd essentially be using him as salary filler here.  I just don't see us winning this sweepstakes without Tatum, so I can accept that.  But losing Smart when he seems like he'd merely be a throw in would really hurt.  Especially with his recent top 10 3-point shooting and the C's being #1 in net points since he began starting.

[Kuberski33]

Those that don't think Ainge would trade Hayward because of optics and Hayward's relationship with CBS are nuts. If he can, he will.

Now I am not sure how much GH can even fetch but he is certainly not off limits.

While I agree with you, I don't think Hayward would be a part of any deal.  NO's goal would be to bottom out and rebuild with youth - so the pool is Brown, Tatum, draft picks.  I think it takes both of them and Ainge wouldn't do it without an assurance that Davis would re-sign.  Maybe Smart who's looking to be a value now at the contract he just signed is in there too.

Your core moving forward if you get Davis is likely to be Kyrie, Davis, Hayward. 

[celticinorlando]

Those that don't think Ainge would trade Hayward because of optics and Hayward's relationship with CBS are nuts. If he can, he will.

Now I am not sure how much GH can even fetch but he is certainly not off limits.

While I agree with you, I don't think Hayward would be a part of any deal.  NO's goal would be to bottom out and rebuild with youth - so the pool is Brown, Tatum, draft picks.  I think it takes both of them and Ainge wouldn't do it without an assurance that Davis would re-sign.  Maybe Smart who's looking to be a value now at the contract he just signed is in there too.

Your core moving forward if you get Davis is likely to be Kyrie, Davis, Hayward.

I don't think Tatum would be in it with Brown because of the fact AD is not a sure thing to resign. Either one of the other.

[Silky]

Those that don't think Ainge would trade Hayward because of optics and Hayward's relationship with CBS are nuts. If he can, he will.

Now I am not sure how much GH can even fetch but he is certainly not off limits.

While I agree with you, I don't think Hayward would be a part of any deal.  NO's goal would be to bottom out and rebuild with youth - so the pool is Brown, Tatum, draft picks.  I think it takes both of them and Ainge wouldn't do it without an assurance that Davis would re-sign.  Maybe Smart who's looking to be a value now at the contract he just signed is in there too.

Your core moving forward if you get Davis is likely to be Kyrie, Davis, Hayward.

Disagree.

If they bottom out they run the risk of moving to seatle.

They need some pmayer to keep them competetive while also gaining picks.

Ie
Rozier/jrue/hayward/mirotic/randle is fighting for playoffs in west. They have an allstar to market. Youth to market and a load of picks

[smokeablount]

It would be great if Ainge can hold firm keeping Tatum nabbing Davis just like he did with Rondo in the KG trade, but I think it’s unlikely.

It’s too bad the Kings pick won’t be top 5 and have much better value in a trade(unless we get lucky lottery night).

Kings pick definitely won't be top 5 but I think there's still a chance they are slotted at #9 or even #8 before the lottery draw.  I've said for sometime that they are a solid team and very frustrating, but that their schedule starting in Feb is murder for the whole rest of the year and now it's about that time.  They'll win some games they shouldn't, but they play a whole lot of better teams and some tough road matchups. 

I think they win 34 games, but if AD comes back for the year they could easily finish 3rd worst in the West, they have the 3rd worst point differential by far despite their .500+ record.  If so, and if Washington finishes higher, they're #9.  If Detroit does too, they're #8. 

Of course, they could also finish at #12 before the lottery drawing.  I'm cautiously optimistic it will be #9 or #10 vs. #11 or #12 though.

[Sophomore]

I am just confused why AD wants to play with an old LeBron...in order to get him in a trade, they would have to give up any good young player they have...Lakers have no good picks.

So he plays with LJ maybe 2 years? And it isn't going to be vintage LBJ....

This has been my thinking. Possibly the Lakers' cap situation leaves them room for another max deal after adding AD?  Banking on LBJ + AD and role players seems like a heck of a gamble. Best case, they're going to have a short run.

[ConnerHenry]

Reading this Woj article reminds me of how much I miss his writing/reporting and how ESPN has neutered him and made him a talking head who repeats run of the mill items.

[PhoSita]

This could very easily be construed as teams conspiring against the Lakers.  Especially if the GM's are talking to each other and telling each other not to do business with them (or make them pay a higher price).

Nothing less than they deserve.

[KGs Knee]

This could very easily be construed as teams conspiring against the Lakers.  Especially if the GM's are talking to each other and telling each other not to do business with them (or make them pay a higher price).

Nothing less than they deserve.

"Deserve" is a matter of opinion, and one I won't get into.

But if the league was being fair, instead of folding to public opinion, they'd have fined Popovich for what he said the other day.  You cannot allow coaches, managers, or owners to be openly telling other teams to essentially 'blackball' another team.  I'm pretty sure that's against the rules.

[PhoSita]

This could very easily be construed as teams conspiring against the Lakers.  Especially if the GM's are talking to each other and telling each other not to do business with them (or make them pay a higher price).

Nothing less than they deserve.

"Deserve" is a matter of opinion, and one I won't get into.

But if the league was being fair, instead of folding to public opinion, they'd have fined Popovich for what he said the other day.  You cannot allow coaches, managers, or owners to be openly telling other teams to essentially 'blackball' another team.  I'm pretty sure that's against the rules.

Having back door communications with players of other teams and agents for same is also against the rules.

[Big333223]

One thing the article did was soothe any concerns that Davis could be gotten and then walk in a year. To have the space to sign Davis in 2020, the Lakers would have to essentially forfeit the 2019-20 season and AD would have to want to go play with Lebron when he's 36 years old. And he would have to want to do that more than playing with Kyrie and whoever else the Celtics are able to hold onto.

This line also got me smiling:

Demps and his basketball operations staff handle trade discussions, but Loomis -- the Saints' top football executive -- will have a significant voice in how the Pelicans proceed with the Davis saga. Interestingly, Loomis and Celtics GM Danny Ainge have no personal relationship, but they do have a history growing up in Eugene, Oregon.

[footey]

Biggest obstacle in this whole thing is trying to resign AD with Rich Paul as his agent. He is going to make it very difficult to resign. He is going to have LeBron's best interests in mind before anyone else.

If we get Davis, re-sign Kyrie, and keep Tatum, we are going to sweep the Warriors.

"You're fired, Rich Paul" -- Anthony Davis.