With the injuries to Durant & K. Thompson there is no “super team” as of now & the league should be wide open. The lakers were able to hold on to Kuzma & I think they still have room for one more big name free agent (maybe jimmy butler?) if their owners are willing to pay the luxury tax.
They gave up a lot, but the guys they gave-up were not difference-makers - you need at least two, and moreso 3 these days, difference makers in order to contend for a championship; an AD is in that "difference maker" category - hell MJ couldn't get over the hump till he got Pippen and Grant to help out
I have never been one to pay much attention to the Vegas favorites, as it is more about making money than who wins the championship.
The Lakers being the early favorite is just to encourage betting on the Lakers.
Remember, we still have free agency, the draft, training camp, and preseason to provide a narrative for the upcoming NBA season.
As a Laker fan, I like the trade but the success of the season will be determined how the front office fills out the rest of the roster and how those players perform during the season.
In essence they gave up 6 1st round picks - the 3 guys they traded that were 1st round picks not long ago plus 3 future 1st rounders - buy hey superstars don't grow on trees
I really DGAF about the Lakers or Lebron although I'm thankful for the championship he helped bring to The Land. As for that trade, Davis is under contract for 1 year so it might be a 1 year rental if the Lakers can't resign him and he decides to move on to another team.
What I don't understand is why teams don't wait that one year for the player to become a free-agent then go after him w/o having to give up the farm - yeah you have to wait/maybe-waste one year but you get to keep your assets and get the player (assuming he wants to be there)
^ it’s about the salary caps, if you really want to discuss the money issues GS is going to spend a fuck ton of dollars and at this point aren’t even a lock to make the playoffs next year.
My comment is that I've seen that with other players also in where a team will trade for him when he only has one year left (e.g. Kuwahi, Paul George, others) - there must be a reason for it that I'm missing
You have to look at all sides involved. While it may make sense for a gaining team to wait the contract out, the losing team has no incentive for that. They gain absolutely nothing to allow their star play to leave at contract end. So in order to mitigate, they need to trade him prior and ideally gain value from the loss.
As a potential gaining team, if you decide its not worth risking "the farm" and allow another team to pick him up in trade to serve the remainder of his contract, you run the risk that he decides to remain with that team, even if initially he expressed interest in playing elsewhere (which happened with OKC Paul George and may happen with TOR Lenard).
Signing free agents is a lot like recruiting in college. The player has to want to come play for you. This has always been a problem with Lebron. None of the bigger names really want to play with him.
This is a big gamble by the Lakers. If they don't get any other top free agents to sign this summer, they may have a terrible depth problem.
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But in the NBA whoever got the best player usually wins the deal.
And AD must be thrilled to get to play with the GOAT.
The Lakers being the early favorite is just to encourage betting on the Lakers.
Remember, we still have free agency, the draft, training camp, and preseason to provide a narrative for the upcoming NBA season.
As a Laker fan, I like the trade but the success of the season will be determined how the front office fills out the rest of the roster and how those players perform during the season.
Huh? That would discourage betting on them because the payoff is lower.
You, sir, are a dumb ass.
Would you rather bet on the same team if yoj get 100:1 odds or if you get 5:1 odds?
As for that trade, Davis is under contract for 1 year so it might be a 1 year rental if the Lakers can't resign him and he decides to move on to another team.
As a potential gaining team, if you decide its not worth risking "the farm" and allow another team to pick him up in trade to serve the remainder of his contract, you run the risk that he decides to remain with that team, even if initially he expressed interest in playing elsewhere (which happened with OKC Paul George and may happen with TOR Lenard).
This is a big gamble by the Lakers. If they don't get any other top free agents to sign this summer, they may have a terrible depth problem.