Minnesota Sports Forum

LAL won't be .500. Dwight still managed to score 18 PPG. When's the last time Kamen even sniffed 18 PPG? I think he averaged 10 last year. He's not more of an offensive force than Dwight and I'm not even close to being a D12 fan.

Nash is a bottom tier PG in this league. There's so many other PGs I'd take over him. He's old and a shell of himself. It's not his fault, it's just father time has lapped him. Tired of people thinking Nash is still a star.

Gasol's gonna be solid, but he can't give you 18 & 10 like he used to. C'mon now.

Lakers will suck next year.

longstrangetrip wrote:And as much as I would like to see the Lakers flop, any team that starts out with Bryant, Nash and Gasol is going to be just fine. Most knowledgeable basketball people see the end of the Dwightmare as a positive, and Kamen will actually be more of an offensive force than Howard was. They will still be horrible defensively, but will score enough to be at least a .500 team.

Agree here. Lakers may miss the playoffs, but they are not going to be bottom dwellers.

Nash and gasol may be past their prime, but they are still top players at their positions. Kobe will be back, kaman fit well with gasol. Young could do well in d antoni system. i agree that howard going away is a good thing for the lakers long term.

worldK wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:And as much as I would like to see the Lakers flop, any team that starts out with Bryant, Nash and Gasol is going to be just fine. Most knowledgeable basketball people see the end of the Dwightmare as a positive, and Kamen will actually be more of an offensive force than Howard was. They will still be horrible defensively, but will score enough to be at least a .500 team.

Agree here. Lakers may miss the playoffs, but they are not going to be bottom dwellers.

Nash and gasol may be past their prime, but they are still top players at their positions. Kobe will be back, kaman fit well with gasol. Young could do well in d antoni system. i agree that howard going away is a good thing for the lakers long term.

I disagree wholeheartedly. Nash isn't a top player at his position. Not even close. Gasol was average last year as a PF. Lakers aren't a top-10 team in the West next year. Someone has to collect the losses and they will be a team that does so.

Thunder, Spurs, Clips, Warriors, Grizzlies, Wolves, Blazers, Rockets, Nuggets, Pelicans. All of these teams are better than the Lakers in the West. A healthy Dallas team might be better too, but I won't go far enough to say the Mavs are better for sure. I don't know where you guys are giving them wins to be honest.

I think you're underestimating Kobe, cam. He's going to start working out next week, and expects to be full speed by September. He was extraordinary last year before he blew his Achilles, and doesn't seem to be slowing down much at all. I agree with you that Nash is a shell of what he used to be, but they don't need him to be the Nash of old because Kobe needs to have the ball in his hands most of the time. Nash just needs to knock down the wide open three when Kobe finds him, which he will.

And world is right...Kaman is a good fit with Pau. They will be a very effective high-low combination. They're no longer an elite team, but they should be able to score points at a very high level. They won't be able to stop anybody though, so they are destined for about 40 wins.

Funny how these threads migrate! I just looked at the title: 2013 Offseason Assessment of Flip!

Kobe's never the guy I'm worried about. I've learned over the past decade and a half not to ever doubt Kobe Bryant. I doubt the guys around him. They won't be able to guard ANYONE. Not even a chance of guarding someone. Nash is the worst defensive PG in the game right behind Calderon. Kobe can't D up like he used to, and I'd bet this last injury takes some lateral quickness away which is never good for defense. There's no more Metta so I look at Wesley Johnson. He's decent I guess. Pau and Kaman make up one of the softest starting bigs in the NBA, though.

I don't even think they're ability to score will be that great. They were 6th last year in PPG, but Dwight leaving will hurt them on offense more than people think.

Make no mistake about it. I dont think lakers will be good, i just dont think they will be bottom dwellers. Gasol is going to have a bounce back season. He will be playing for his last contract and he will be used as the main inside guy now with howard out of the way. Nash is still a starting caliber pg in the league. Never doubt kobe and guys like kaman and young could give them productive 25-30min a game under d antoni.

They will probably be in the lottery in the 10th-12th spot.

The Kings won't win 25 games this year? Um the won 28 last year and they improved their team in terms of talent and how guys fit together. Vasquez as a passing PG will really help other guys they have on the perimeter that are basically shooters. They aren't playoff bound but They aren't going to suck like Philly.

The Lakers probably won't suck either they still have talent and Pau is still a pretty good player and Nash can still play the game well enough. Kaman was a nice pickup for cheap but his issue is he won't play more than 65 games. I won't be shocked to see 2nd round pick Ryan Kelly get some decent burn and be somewhat effective.

Also I'l add that while this thread has gone all over the place talking about what other teams have done or may do this offseason certainly related to what Flip has done this offseason so I think its not that far out of the scope of the thread.

I just don't get the love for Sac-town, monster. Yeah, they won 28 games last year, but I still think they struggle to win 25 this year. They traded Tyreke Evans, who Hollinger ranks as the 11th best point guard, for Vasquez who is rated 26th and led his team to a whopping 27 wins last year. I get that Vasquez is a pass-first point guard, but who is he going to pass to? I watched a lot of Ben Mclemore in Summer League, and he strikes me as a guy not ready to contribute in the NBA. He looked overwhelmed, and this was playing against mostly D-League type guys. I think he shot under 35%, and only that high because he had a 5-minute stretch when he got hot. I think that is how his season will go...a lot of struggling interspersed with a few brilliant moments. And two of the other starters, Thompson and Moute, can provide some defense, but will never be scorers. Geez, Moute averaged 6.7 PPG last year.

The only frontline player I see on the Kings is Cousins. He is a legitimate NBA producer...but what a guy to stake your future on! He's a head case who I don't think will ever be part of a winning team. He may have to put up 22 points a game this year with Evans gone.

The one addition I like for the Kings is Landry, but he is miscast in Sacramento. Landry deserves to come off the bench for a contending team and could be really valuable in that role.

I'm waiting for the total wins over/unders to come out in Vegas, and I'm guessing that Sac-town will come out at about 30 because of McLemore hype. I'll be all over the under.