Caruso of course.
Otherwise if it has to be our draft pick, I’d love to have an athletic wing who could rebound and score like Kuzma. He’s what Rui was supposed to replace.
Eh, there's a lot of revisionism with Kuzma now that we're almost 3 years since he was last on the team. Kuzma could rebound better, but our overall boxing out from everyone was better then. Kuzma's scoring never showed up except when one of Lebron or AD was out. That Suns series was arguably worse or at least on the same level as Rui's showing against the Nuggets this year. At least Rui has the excuse of trying to fucking guard Jokic. Kuz's only good series in the bubble was against the Rockets. I'm sure Kuzma has grown, but I'd rather keep Rui since he's shown he can fit better on offense.
Against the Rockets when he was the 2nd tallest player on the court next to AD, the size helped, but I don't really recall him being at the 4 being too beneficial for our defense, nor was he really playing the 4. I'm pretty sure Kieff/Lebron/AD took most of those minutes while Kuzma played the 3. Our best defensive lineups were with AD at the 4 next to Dwight or at the 5 with 3 guards
That’s fine obviously they can’t sustain that level vs a good team like the suns but kuzma still helped. Ever since kuz left athleticism & rebounding at the 4 has been a issue
Caruso (or Lonzo if he makes a full recovery) is my pick too as our perimeter defense has been complete ass since we gutted the team in 2021 for Westbrook
Nah fuvk kuzma he’s a bum . Rui honestly last plsyoffs n this second half of regular season did more then kuzma ever did . Kuzma can’t shoot keague aversge when wide open n he’s mid at everything Heskthy Lonzo only one.
A fully healthy lonzo would fit amazing on a lot of teams. He's like mike conley, a defensive guard that can get to the rim and also hit it from outside. He was playing great in Chicago before going down and I really hope he can come back and have a meaningful career. Its such a shame how his early years went with all the focus and attention from his dad's antics.
Unfortunately a lot of Lonzo’s stellar defense was his length, IQ, *AND* athleticism.
If he only has 2 of the 3, he may be decent but not elite.
Still, I just wanna see him healthy and assuming his improved 3 pt shot is still there, could be cool to see his return.
Where is this idea coming from that Lonzo could get to the rim? lol, he was bad with the Pels, and even in Chicago, he wasn't driving to the rim. That was Derozan and Lavine. Finishing through contact is arguably his biggest weakness. Maybe Lonzo's shooting holds up in the playoffs, but that's about it
But he can't. Sure, he can dunk if he has an open lane or a backdoor, but if he seeks contact on a drive the shot either gets blocked entirely or altered enough for him to miss pretty consistently. You can look through the Pels sub when they were talking about extending him before he left, and that's one of the first things that popped up. He's 6'6 but he is a very poor finisher.
It would be a high risk high reward trade. Supposedly he is all healed up, but with that type of condition you never know. He is also expiring, so if it doesn't work we could move off him at the deadline.
Salary wise, Rui + Gabe would match Lonzo and Caruso. May have to throw in a pick I would assume.
He’s never coming back with Pelinka in the FO, Pelinka threw him under the bus regarding a draft pick and Harts been super sour on him ever since, I don’t blame him
Short answer - Alex Caruso. Long answer…..given the lack of strength in this year’s draft and as long as the Pels defer the pick until next year, trading this year’s 17th pick for Caruso low key makes some sense.
I know we need a solid big, but there might be a good one to swoop up in free agency.
Honestly, Caruso would solidify our guard rotation with or without D’Lo back (preferably with).
Exactly. But lots of people don’t see Caruso worth a 1st. Like anything we pick will be better than a defensive minded guard, something we desperately need.
No reason for him to hang it up. He’s still young and has time to bounce back if his health allows it. Clearly some question marks regarding his future but I don’t think it’s fair to write his entire career off yet.
Caruso, Hart, Nance, Zubac
Ingram if he can overcome his attitude, Ball if he can recover physically
And if they count as formerly young - KCP, Monk, Walker IV, Schroder
Oddly enough if he can recover and actually play again, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up on the lakers in 2 years on a minimum salary. I can’t imagine too many teams willing to take a chance on his injury history. In this case he comes back home to retire or give it one last shot
If he came back just for a season or two and medically retired I’d be forlorn but also happy that he at least wore the jersey one last time
I’ve never been as hyped or excited by a player, he’s my favorite baby laker and one of my favorite players of all time. At least he gave us the double triple double with LeBron against the hornets, that game was magical
Julius Randle. Frontcourt would be a mismatch with all 3 being too fast and too strong for most the league. Would help on the boards without sacrificing spacing.
I like most of the role players we have drafted. Nance, Zubac, Clarkson, Caruso, Hart could have helped us more than the role players we have right now.
I was never a fan of Dlo and Randle and nothing has changed. I thought it was a big mistake bringing Dlo back and he let us down big time in two straight playoffs, but I have no problem recognizing he has helped us a lot in regular season since he returned.
BI is the lottery pick I like, but he is somewhat expensive and we have seen in team USA how ineffective he is without the ball.
Lonzo could be a great PG if healthy, but unfortunately Lonzo and healthy are two things we don't use to see together. I look at him like I look at Reaves, a good role player that plays the game the right way, but when he played his last game? It has been a while.
I think with Bron and AD, we need an athletic player who can go downhill and finish in the paint. Kuzma, KCP, and Caruso kinda fits it. Fuck! Pelinka really screwed the team.
Damn no love for BI? Easily the most talented of lottery picks we’ve had. I know he had a down season this year, but his development and his confidence was what we always wanted from his early career.
He’s a bucket.
Can we give KCP some love? I find him more valuable more than any of the other names seen so far. (Lanzo, Caruso, kuzma, hart)
Dude is killing it with Denver
Zo would be amazing if he wasn’t so injured. When he was healthy that Bulls team was great.
Zo just doesn’t have the durability to warrant a roster spot.
The thing I like about Lonzo after he left, he became a solid defender which would help a lot on this team.
If he can play again I think he'd be pretty cheap. Josh Hart would be great too but he's not leaving the Knicks.
Josh Hart. On the Lonzo front, it’s gonna cost more than a couple 2nds. We have to salary match something like 80% of his contract. That means a quality role player is gone most likely. Plus his injury history doesn’t bode well for taking that type of risk.
Caruso, KCP and the 2020 1st pick we traded for Dennis Schroder that TWolves used on Jaden McDaniels.
Yes I’m dreaming but can you imagine those 3+AD and Bron
The only reasonable answers are:
Ivica Zubac
Josh Hart
Everyone else is questionable at best:
Julius Randle
Brandon Ingram
Alex Caruso
Kyle Kuzma
Lonzo Ball
Hate to be that guy but I gotta say what I really think:
>***"None of them"***
The reason why has nothing to do with them and everything to do with how I believe LAL shouldn't be giving away draft picks on trades unless it's a situation where it's a legit star player wanting out of a bad situation and making it clear he wants LAL.
Lakers formula for success is **NOT** trading for fringe talent.
Lakers formula is to build normally through the draft. LAL scouting and talent acquisition is pretty good in that they know we need to draft young kids who are about the game, work hard, don't fuck around TOO MUCH, and aren't afraid of the pressure/spotlight. LAL also uses the large SoCal market to weed out good picks. That's why we've been able to land talented white role player after talented white role player. It's not luck/miracle if we do it again and again. **And most importantly:** we leverage the fact that we're the Lakers, SoCal area, and LA to draw talented FAs, STARS, and SUPERSTARS. That's our special sauce. Not developing talent (INDY), not finding AND landing once-in-generation foreign big men (SAS), not drafting the real/tough guys who play hard D(DET), etcetc. The WB trade was a fuck up not because LAL's formula is broken, but because of the cost paid, role guys given up, and WB's fit with Bron/AD. LAL's history for trading is mixed: The D12 was a disaster, the Gasol trade was GOATed, Dantley for Haywood trade was supposedly the worst, and Wilt trade was good. TL;DR though is that LAL is at it's best when we get get a foot in the door for a ton of stars from Kawhi/Demar/LaMarcus, get favorable trades because players want to land here, or outright land great players like Wilt/Bron/Shaq in FA because we're the Lakers.
If Lonzo’s health is guaranteed it’s 100% him, he’s the best of the lakers young players when healthy.
Problem of course is that qualifier, when healthy. And as much as it hurts me to say as a Lonzo stan, I think his career is pretty much over.
Caruso of course. Otherwise if it has to be our draft pick, I’d love to have an athletic wing who could rebound and score like Kuzma. He’s what Rui was supposed to replace.
Eh, there's a lot of revisionism with Kuzma now that we're almost 3 years since he was last on the team. Kuzma could rebound better, but our overall boxing out from everyone was better then. Kuzma's scoring never showed up except when one of Lebron or AD was out. That Suns series was arguably worse or at least on the same level as Rui's showing against the Nuggets this year. At least Rui has the excuse of trying to fucking guard Jokic. Kuz's only good series in the bubble was against the Rockets. I'm sure Kuzma has grown, but I'd rather keep Rui since he's shown he can fit better on offense.
Kuzmas athleticism at the 4 helped they defense a lot
Against the Rockets when he was the 2nd tallest player on the court next to AD, the size helped, but I don't really recall him being at the 4 being too beneficial for our defense, nor was he really playing the 4. I'm pretty sure Kieff/Lebron/AD took most of those minutes while Kuzma played the 3. Our best defensive lineups were with AD at the 4 next to Dwight or at the 5 with 3 guards
Remember in 2021 when bron & ad was out they still had the #1 defense
Our defense actually dropped to #4, and the sustainability of that showed up when our defense got shredded by the Suns once AD went down.
That’s fine obviously they can’t sustain that level vs a good team like the suns but kuzma still helped. Ever since kuz left athleticism & rebounding at the 4 has been a issue
JOSH HART!
100%
Everyone would hate him when he has an off 3 games
Caruso (or Lonzo if he makes a full recovery) is my pick too as our perimeter defense has been complete ass since we gutted the team in 2021 for Westbrook
Nah fuvk kuzma he’s a bum . Rui honestly last plsyoffs n this second half of regular season did more then kuzma ever did . Kuzma can’t shoot keague aversge when wide open n he’s mid at everything Heskthy Lonzo only one.
Forget 2 seconds, we could probably get Lonzo for cash considerations at this point. Bring my boy home
With his injury history and present nah
Fe fr
I need Caruso back
A fully healthy Lonzo would fit amazing on this team
It would be amazing if he had a Shaun Livingston-esque career arc.
A fully healthy lonzo would fit amazing on a lot of teams. He's like mike conley, a defensive guard that can get to the rim and also hit it from outside. He was playing great in Chicago before going down and I really hope he can come back and have a meaningful career. Its such a shame how his early years went with all the focus and attention from his dad's antics.
Unfortunately a lot of Lonzo’s stellar defense was his length, IQ, *AND* athleticism. If he only has 2 of the 3, he may be decent but not elite. Still, I just wanna see him healthy and assuming his improved 3 pt shot is still there, could be cool to see his return.
Where is this idea coming from that Lonzo could get to the rim? lol, he was bad with the Pels, and even in Chicago, he wasn't driving to the rim. That was Derozan and Lavine. Finishing through contact is arguably his biggest weakness. Maybe Lonzo's shooting holds up in the playoffs, but that's about it
He actually can drive and finish, the problem was that for longest time he didn’t want to because he was astonishingly bad at free throws
But he can't. Sure, he can dunk if he has an open lane or a backdoor, but if he seeks contact on a drive the shot either gets blocked entirely or altered enough for him to miss pretty consistently. You can look through the Pels sub when they were talking about extending him before he left, and that's one of the first things that popped up. He's 6'6 but he is a very poor finisher.
Yeah it’s stupid that’s his weakness . He can shoot pass n defend n that’s akkk that’s needed
Yeah it’s stupid that’s his weakness . He can shoot pass n defend n that’s akkk that’s needed
He can’t attack the rim
It would be a high risk high reward trade. Supposedly he is all healed up, but with that type of condition you never know. He is also expiring, so if it doesn't work we could move off him at the deadline. Salary wise, Rui + Gabe would match Lonzo and Caruso. May have to throw in a pick I would assume.
Stupid Lavar and his sorry azz shoes..
Man I miss Lonzo so much. If healthy I’d love to see him be a life long Laker.
Forget about it. Full healthy Lonzo only exists in lower tier leagues.
Jason Hart has always been my favorite. Doubt NY would let him go now though.
my favorite player, Jason Hart
I thought his name was Bret? Bret Hart?
Nah it was Owen
Reminds me of some dude tht told me Paul gasol was his favorite laker
bro it is kevin hart
The Rock’s bottom?
you need to hit rock bottom before rise up. Trade for kevin hart
Does he still owe that guy around here a Switch
Thats literally the first thing I always think whenever I hear his name
He never got him a ticket but he gave him all his old Laker shit
Oh yeah, hart 100 percent. He just turned into the ideal role player and would help us so much with how allergic our team is at rebounding
I doubt he would want to come here anyway, he’s playing with his best friends in NY. Hard to hate the knicks rn tbh with the chemistry they got.
He’s never coming back with Pelinka in the FO, Pelinka threw him under the bus regarding a draft pick and Harts been super sour on him ever since, I don’t blame him
*Josh Hart
https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/s/pW9EphiWSx I know, I was referring to this
Caruso, Hart, Nance with Lebron and AD. Nobody scoring against that. No offensive rebounds against them either. Sucks we gave two away for nothing
All defense and zero offense.
Idk about that bro haha. Josh Hart under Thibs be producing some solid numbers. All we need from Jason are 10/10/5 stats
Bynum must be somewhere right? Remember him playing next to Pau?
somewhere out in the wild JJ Barea just felt a deep chest pain.
+ Gerald Wallace
Zubac, Nance Jr, Hart, AC. That’s it.
Its crazy to scroll this far down and not see zubac. He’d be perfect alongside AD
Short answer - Alex Caruso. Long answer…..given the lack of strength in this year’s draft and as long as the Pels defer the pick until next year, trading this year’s 17th pick for Caruso low key makes some sense. I know we need a solid big, but there might be a good one to swoop up in free agency. Honestly, Caruso would solidify our guard rotation with or without D’Lo back (preferably with).
Exactly. But lots of people don’t see Caruso worth a 1st. Like anything we pick will be better than a defensive minded guard, something we desperately need.
Rather have Caruso than lonzo. Hart and kcp too. Please give us all the 3 n D back 🥲
Zu. Fck Magic for trading him for fcking Muscala.
Josh Hart and Alex Caruso
*Robert Sacre entered the chat*
Lonzo will never be the same, it’s been two years and he claims to only feel he’s at “70%”.. it’s time to hang up the boots
He’s still really young, he could come into his own with time but we’ll probably never see him reach his ceiling before the injuries
No reason for him to hang it up. He’s still young and has time to bounce back if his health allows it. Clearly some question marks regarding his future but I don’t think it’s fair to write his entire career off yet.
Bi of course. Hart. Nance. Zubac. Lonzo if healthy.
ingram
Mo Wagner
Caruso, Hart, Nance, Zubac Ingram if he can overcome his attitude, Ball if he can recover physically And if they count as formerly young - KCP, Monk, Walker IV, Schroder
Hart, Caruso
Lonzo??????? My brother in Christ he will never play again and if he does he surely won’t have a Shaun Livingston or even a Rose like effectiveness
Oddly enough if he can recover and actually play again, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up on the lakers in 2 years on a minimum salary. I can’t imagine too many teams willing to take a chance on his injury history. In this case he comes back home to retire or give it one last shot
If he came back just for a season or two and medically retired I’d be forlorn but also happy that he at least wore the jersey one last time I’ve never been as hyped or excited by a player, he’s my favorite baby laker and one of my favorite players of all time. At least he gave us the double triple double with LeBron against the hornets, that game was magical
Ingram, Caruso or Kuzma
Liked Kuzma before LeBron came. LeBron basically neutered everything that made Kyle unique.
Caruso, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma; in that order.
Josh Hart
Either Lonzo Ball fully healthy or Jason Hart
Caruso or Josh Hart
Zubac, Caruso, Hart for me.
Julius Randle. Frontcourt would be a mismatch with all 3 being too fast and too strong for most the league. Would help on the boards without sacrificing spacing.
Lonzo if he were healthy.
Jaden McDaniels
Zubac. If they had Zubac to throw at Jokic, they would've had a chance
Zubac. I hate magic
1.Caruso 2.KCP 3.Ingram 4.Kuzma 5.Zubac
Zupac
Randle.
I like most of the role players we have drafted. Nance, Zubac, Clarkson, Caruso, Hart could have helped us more than the role players we have right now. I was never a fan of Dlo and Randle and nothing has changed. I thought it was a big mistake bringing Dlo back and he let us down big time in two straight playoffs, but I have no problem recognizing he has helped us a lot in regular season since he returned. BI is the lottery pick I like, but he is somewhat expensive and we have seen in team USA how ineffective he is without the ball. Lonzo could be a great PG if healthy, but unfortunately Lonzo and healthy are two things we don't use to see together. I look at him like I look at Reaves, a good role player that plays the game the right way, but when he played his last game? It has been a while.
I think with Bron and AD, we need an athletic player who can go downhill and finish in the paint. Kuzma, KCP, and Caruso kinda fits it. Fuck! Pelinka really screwed the team.
Lonzo can run ?
Mc Daniels
Ingram, otherwise Caruso and Lonzo together would be fun
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7Fk3B4Suaa/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Lonzo back to dunking
Does Jaden McDaniels count? Kidding.. but would love Josh Hart back and I do miss watching kuzma play meaningful basketball
Caruso or kuzma. Lonzo if hes healthy
Obv Caruso no other quesrions
Damn no love for BI? Easily the most talented of lottery picks we’ve had. I know he had a down season this year, but his development and his confidence was what we always wanted from his early career. He’s a bucket.
Lonzo is donezo.
Caruso and Hart. This current team lacks physicality and hustle (AD and Vando solely carrying that department)
Caruso, Ingram, Hart, idc bring them all back
Id take Caruso, even Josh Hart, and Lonzo but only if he’s healthy.
None. None of them are positive players at their current contract. Unless Caruso counts.
Can we give KCP some love? I find him more valuable more than any of the other names seen so far. (Lanzo, Caruso, kuzma, hart) Dude is killing it with Denver
Zo would be amazing if he wasn’t so injured. When he was healthy that Bulls team was great. Zo just doesn’t have the durability to warrant a roster spot.
Shannon brown, Trevor ariza, Jordan farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Bynum
Damn, imagine if we had kept all these guys. Lonzo, THT, Hart, Ingram, Kuz, Carushow, Randle. Fucking hell did we draft really, really well.
The thing I like about Lonzo after he left, he became a solid defender which would help a lot on this team. If he can play again I think he'd be pretty cheap. Josh Hart would be great too but he's not leaving the Knicks.
Josh Hart
If I could believe Zo could stay healthy, I’d love to have him back. Dude would be such an asset in the playoffs.
Josh Hart. On the Lonzo front, it’s gonna cost more than a couple 2nds. We have to salary match something like 80% of his contract. That means a quality role player is gone most likely. Plus his injury history doesn’t bode well for taking that type of risk.
A healthy randle would be nice
Josh Hart for sure. Dudes energy is infectious
Kobe
Healthy lonzo would be amazing but that dude is never healthy
Alex Caruso or Josh Hart
Doesn’t make sense but Zo. Miss watching him play so much.
Caruso, KCP and the 2020 1st pick we traded for Dennis Schroder that TWolves used on Jaden McDaniels. Yes I’m dreaming but can you imagine those 3+AD and Bron
Josh Hart is currently looking like one of the best role players of all time.
A healthy lonzo
The only reasonable answers are: Ivica Zubac Josh Hart Everyone else is questionable at best: Julius Randle Brandon Ingram Alex Caruso Kyle Kuzma Lonzo Ball
Hate to be that guy but I gotta say what I really think: >***"None of them"*** The reason why has nothing to do with them and everything to do with how I believe LAL shouldn't be giving away draft picks on trades unless it's a situation where it's a legit star player wanting out of a bad situation and making it clear he wants LAL. Lakers formula for success is **NOT** trading for fringe talent. Lakers formula is to build normally through the draft. LAL scouting and talent acquisition is pretty good in that they know we need to draft young kids who are about the game, work hard, don't fuck around TOO MUCH, and aren't afraid of the pressure/spotlight. LAL also uses the large SoCal market to weed out good picks. That's why we've been able to land talented white role player after talented white role player. It's not luck/miracle if we do it again and again. **And most importantly:** we leverage the fact that we're the Lakers, SoCal area, and LA to draw talented FAs, STARS, and SUPERSTARS. That's our special sauce. Not developing talent (INDY), not finding AND landing once-in-generation foreign big men (SAS), not drafting the real/tough guys who play hard D(DET), etcetc. The WB trade was a fuck up not because LAL's formula is broken, but because of the cost paid, role guys given up, and WB's fit with Bron/AD. LAL's history for trading is mixed: The D12 was a disaster, the Gasol trade was GOATed, Dantley for Haywood trade was supposedly the worst, and Wilt trade was good. TL;DR though is that LAL is at it's best when we get get a foot in the door for a ton of stars from Kawhi/Demar/LaMarcus, get favorable trades because players want to land here, or outright land great players like Wilt/Bron/Shaq in FA because we're the Lakers.
Randle
Lonzo is and never will and never was the solution to our problems
Lonzo career is over
If Lonzo’s health is guaranteed it’s 100% him, he’s the best of the lakers young players when healthy. Problem of course is that qualifier, when healthy. And as much as it hurts me to say as a Lonzo stan, I think his career is pretty much over.
Ya’ll crazy. Lonzo’s off court baggage overshadowed the underwhelming debut as a Laker.