NBA Regular Season thread: Tank for Cooper Flagg Initiated

[Croaker]

My gripe about this trade is ESPN and Lakers stans are going to be spamming every marginally above average play involving Lebron and Luka as amazing highlight reel moments. It's gonna be painful.

ESPN will go back to showcasing great players doing great things?

The horror

 

[Steve4192]

They dumped him, stole 100M off him, and they still can’t refrain from shitting on his name after they’ve kicked him out the door?

Good luck on the Mavs ever signing another free agent who other teams are competing for. Players notice that kind of stuff, particularly when an organization pulls it on a franchise player who took them to the finals. The only free agents the Mavs will be able to sign from here on out are washouts who no one else wants or guys they massively overpay. Their competitive window has closed, even with a healthy AD (and he'll most likely try to force a trade before his player option comes up in '27).

 

[llperez22]

Stephen a smith and brian windhorst going on about how the lakers are not a real threat in this years playoffs because lack of big man. Windhorst even saying there should be no expectations for this year anyway until they get a center. Come one, of course there are expectations. You really think that lebron and luka is gonna get a pass becasue they have jaxon hayes at center? Besides, whatever weaknesses the lakers have, other teams gonna have to deal with the lakers offense. AR15 killing it and rui haichamura balling out too. Going to be highscoring games so you better hope you pick on us inside.

 

[Steve4192]

Fina watch Luka make his Lakers debut how he's probably going to be playing limited mins but whatever

Luka looked very 'meh', which is probably to expected as he shakes the rust off and adapts to a new team.

I still can't get over how good Reaves has become after going undrafted. Having a #3 option who is capable of going off for 45 points is crazy.

Even Rui is looking pretty great right now. Is there a better catch-and-shoot 'stretch four' in the league right now on the offensive end? Sure, he can't create his own shot, but with a Luka-Lebron-Reaves, the other two guys on the court at any given time just have to catch lobs and hit wide open jump shots.

 

[Steve4192]

Stephen a smith and brian windhorst going on about how the lakers are not a real threat in this years playoffs because lack of big man. Windhorst even saying there should be no expectations for this year anyway until they get a center. Come one, of course there are expectations. You really think that lebron and luka is gonna get a pass becasue they have jaxon hayes at center? Besides, whatever weaknesses the lakers have, other teams gonna have to deal with the lakers offense. AR15 killing it and rui haichamura balling out too. Going to be highscoring games so you better hope you pick on us inside.

Agreed

The Lakers obviously can't defend against a quality center right now, but not a lot of competent centers can defend against the Lakers small-ball lineup either. I don't like their odds in the playoffs, but if L-A-L (Luka-Austin-Lebron) all ball out, and their role players make the easy plays, they can run teams off the court with pure offense. If they can string together four games like that in a seven game series, they can beat anyone. They don't have any margin for error though. If they don't bring their 'A' game at least four times a series, they'll likely lose.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

ESPN will go back to showcasing great players doing great things?

The horror

I don't mind that. Like I said explicitly, I think marginally above average plays will get super overhyped.

 

[MM808]

As if this trade wasn’t the biggest farce in NBA history, rumors are mavs are not sharing AD’s injury severity because it’s most likely season ending. Dropping that news so close to Luka’s laker debut would be the last straw so I expect them to do it when there’s something big going on like say, the all star break…and not when there are upcoming homes games. If he’s out for the season, the basketball gods have spoken.

 

[Hog-train]

Mavs fan mouths "Fire Nico" on the jumbotron and immediately gets kicked out.

I have never seen any sports team become the biggest shithole poverty franchise this fast.

Year before they're in the finals and then next you trade your generational star to the fucking Lakers and then AD gets a season ending injury in the 2nd game.

It's like if Kansas City traded Patrick Mahomes for Matthew Stafford and Stafford gets injured immediately. WTF is this bullshit.

I'm not even a Lakers or Mavs fan and this entire debacle is making me hate the league. Can't stand the Lakers now either because they didn't earn this shit. Their drafting sucks and all their stars just fall in their laps. Fuck the Lakers. Fuck the Adelsons. Fuck the Mavs. And Fuck whoever else is involved in these obvious background dealings.

 

[Steve4192]

The Lakers drafting doesn't suck. Reaves is straight fire for a guy who went undrafted, Max Christie has rounded into a solid NBA rotation guy after being picked in the second round, Knecht looks like he'll have a long career as a spot-up sharpshooter with the potential to be a Tyler Herro type scorer. And back when they were actually drafting guys in the lottery, they picked guys like Lonzo Ball, Ingram, D'Lo, Randall while also grabbing solid role players like Kuzma, Hart, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr, Ivica Zubac, Moritz Wagner, etc. in the late 1st or 2nd round. I can't remember the last time they drafted a total bust.

The Lakers problem in the draft is that, like all Lebron teams, they would rather trade picks for veterans than use them on young talent. LeGM doesn't trust rookies.

 

[llperez22]

The Lakers drafting doesn't suck. Reaves is straight fire for a guy who went undrafted, Max Christie has rounded into a solid NBA rotation guy after being picked in the second round, Knecht looks like he'll have a long career as a spot-up sharpshooter with the potential to be a Tyler Herro type scorer. And back when they were actually drafting guys in the lottery, they picked guys like Lonzo Ball, Ingram, D'Lo, Randall while also grabbing solid role players like Kuzma, Hart, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr, Ivica Zubac, Moritz Wagner, etc. in the late 1st or 2nd round. I can't remember the last time they drafted a total bust.

The Lakers problem in the draft is that, like all Lebron teams, they would rather trade picks for veterans than use them on young talent. LeGM doesn't trust rookies.

I agree lakers draft well but if you can’t remember a time they busted on a pick then you must be forgetting way back in the 2023 draft when they took jalen hood schifino at #17. And the next 3 picks after were Jaime jaquez, Brandon podziemski, and cam whitmore

 

[Steve4192]

I agree lakers draft well but if you can’t remember a time they busted on a pick then you must be forgetting way back in the 2023 draft when they took jalen hood schifino at #17. And the next 3 picks after were Jaime jaquez, Brandon podziemski, and cam whitmore

I have a hard time calling a guy drafted in the latter half of the 1st round last year a 'bust'. IMO, guys picked after the lottery, even guys picked late in the lottery, are a crapshoot. Every team misses on those guys more often than not. Particularly when they are playing on a Lebron James team (Bron hates rookies).

Hood-Schifino looked like a pretty good player in the G-league last year (22-5-5 while shooting 43% from three) and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he turns into a decent combo guard for a team that gives him a chance. He just couldn't get on the floor because the Lakers needed a defensive wing more than an offensive wing this season and Max Christie was a better fit for the role. And Max took a couple of years to get his feet under him and win a spot in the rotation this year, so he would have been a 'bust' last year.

 

[llperez22]

I have a hard time calling a guy drafted in the latter half of the 1st round last year a 'bust'. IMO, guys picked after the lottery, even guys picked late in the lottery, are a crapshoot. Every team misses on those guys more often than not. Particularly when they are playing on a Lebron James team (Bron hates rookies).

Hood-Schifino looked like a pretty good player in the G-league last year (22-5-5 while shooting 43% from three) and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he turns into a decent combo guard for a team that gives him a chance. He just couldn't get on the floor because the Lakers needed a defensive wing more than an offensive wing this season and Max Christie was a better fit for the role. And Max took a couple of years to get his feet under him and win a spot in the rotation this year, so he would have been a 'bust' last year.

Well you pointed out they have routinely hit on late first and second round picks and said that you can’t remember a guy that busted. You didn’t specify that you were only talking about lotto picks. I would say JHS busted. JHS has shown nothing and is currently without a team halfway through his 2nd season. Maybe he gets signed in the offseason but as for now being out of the league in year 2 is pretty much a bust

 

[llperez22]

Lakers sign Alex Len. He might see the most minutes he’s gotten in years, which isn’t saying much lol.

 

[Jonathan Utah]

Well you pointed out they have routinely hit on late first and second round picks and said that you can’t remember a guy that busted. You didn’t specify that you were only talking about lotto picks. I would say JHS busted. JHS has shown nothing and is currently without a team halfway through his 2nd season. Maybe he gets signed in the offseason but as for now being out of the league in year 2 is pretty much a bust

Especially if you consider the fact that he was picked right before both Jaime Jaquez & Brandin Podziemski.

 

[Jonathan Utah]

Now that the Thunder got Hartenstein, I’m in love with the Cason Wallace pick now. Kentucky players always seem to translate well to the NBA.

 

[MusterX]

Kinda illustrates how out of touch this MF'er is.

 

[MM808]

Kinda illustrates how out of touch this MF'er is.

Dork is so ignorant and unaware it’s embarrassing.

 

[Revolver]

Now with Len, my lakes going to dominate even more. LFG

 

[MusterX]

How could Miriam Adelson, Nico Harrison, and Patrick Dumont NOT know this would happend when they decided to low ball trade Luka away? It makes me feel like they had to know and its part of thier larger plan and the plan isn't about winning basketball Championships.

 

[wildchild88]

Kinda illustrates how out of touch this MF'er is.

This guy is like someone who buys a booming, wildly successful restaurant. Changes the menu to something that no one asked for, then tells his customers “if you don’t like it, eat somewhere else”.

What a buffoon.