2014-2015 NBA Ramblings

[Kingdom]

The Los Angeles Lakers


Hill - Boozer - Wesley Johnson - Kobe - Nash
Sacre/E.Davis/Randle/Kelly/Henry/Young/Clarkson/Lin

Welp, that's 13 players by my count. I have no idea what's going to happen. I actually liked most of their moves this season, except for wasting space on B00zer. Don't understand that. They had a good draft, resigned or signed solid players at really good prices, and for entertainment sake if Kobe is permanently crippled, they even kept Swaggy P. I'm curious to see what their starting lineup will be when people are healthy, cause what I projected here, the bench is way better. I'd rather start Randle (he and Hill would be beasts on the boards, mix in Davis' defense and Kelly as a stretch four...). They should just deal Nash so Lin and Clarkson get all of the minutes. Nick Young should start just because. If Kobe is all-wordly again, even at his age, there's enough solid pieces for LA to be somewhat competitive but barring something miraculous, they'll be in the lottery again.

And since they have no coach, Hammer and I have been anointed as co-coaches.

[Hammer]

i dont know if me and you would work well as co-coaches on that team. they are one of the few teams in the league id be fine running the knicks offense with... aka, give the ball to kobe, and run isolation plays all game. just for entertainment value. the first time nick young gets a rebound, dribbles the length of the court, and takes a contested 16 footer with kobe calling for the ball.... yes, the glory. swaggy p [worse nickname than j smoove] might be eviscerated on the court in that moment.

[Hammer]

i also just read that the wolves owner prefers wiggins to klay thompson now. which would tend to lend credence that wiggins was never officially offered by the cavs.

[HollywoodLeo]

I'd trade Wiggins for Love in a heartbeat if I were Cleveland.

They possibly lose that trade in the long run if you tunnel vision on the talent swap, but with LeBron on hand in now I'd go for the jugular and try and win the title now.

And there's no guarantee Wiggins winds up a star anyway.

[Hammer]

i just want to announce right now, that phil jackson is the greatest human ever. i have to assume in a great trolling attempt, he offered, to the timberwolves...

amare stoudemire, tim hardaway jr and iman shumpert. for kevin love.

god bless phil jackson.

[per chris herring, who covers the knicks for the wall street journal. which is a fairly reputable newspaper... but not something id read for sports news. so take it with a grain of salt. but i choose to believe every word]

[HollywoodLeo]

Looks like the Lakers are hiring Byron Scott for head coach.

Report: Lakers offer Byron Scott head-coaching job - CBSSports.com

[Slyder]

Looks like the Lakers are hiring Byron Scott for head coach.

Report: Lakers offer Byron Scott head-coaching job - CBSSports.com

Everyone knows they already got their coach... its Kobe baby! Earn that money!

[HollywoodLeo]

Kobe's endorsed Byron, so pretty much.

[Hammer]

i just want to announce right now, that phil jackson is the greatest human ever. i have to assume in a great trolling attempt, he offered, to the timberwolves...

amare stoudemire, tim hardaway jr and iman shumpert. for kevin love.

god bless phil jackson.

[per chris herring, who covers the knicks for the wall street journal. which is a fairly reputable newspaper... but not something id read for sports news. so take it with a grain of salt. but i choose to believe every word]

this has been confirmed. and evidently it wasnt as laughable around the league as i thought it was, because other teams seem to think timmy jr has tremendous value. which is kinda cute to me, since hes a one dimensional jump shooter, even if he is the 2nd best player on our team.

[Hammer]

""According to Mike Bresnahan, the Lakers plan to have Boozer start at small forward. Boozer has always played at power forward, so this move will be interesting, especially on defense. Boozer is an average defender and as a result he sat in most of the fourth quarters with the Bulls last season.""

another glorious thing i just read. a monumentally bad defense, getting worse!

[Trendy Bastard]

Yeah. Boozer is bad at defense.

[LJMets1989]

Fixed.

Yeah. Boozer is bad at 80% of basketball activities.

[HollywoodLeo]

Does starting him there allow them to start Randle?

[Hammer]

it should.

[HollywoodLeo]

I won't hate it too much then so long as it doesn't take floor time away from their top pick.

I'm not expecting too much this season anyway.