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On the Road to Laker Lore?
The Lakers have silenced all doubters in the early going,
after a flurry of moves this offseason saw some around Laker-land refer to this
team as contenders. Some thought the
assertion to be one not based in reality, and for good reason, as the Lakers had
come off of 3 consecutive losing seasons, the last 2 of which they had the
worst record in all of the NSL. The
moves that were made have contributed to a Lakers brand of basketball that was
once thought of as extinct.
The Lakers sit atop the Western Conference with a record of
36-7. The record is good for 2nd
in the league, just 2 games back from the Bucks, who at one point looked like
they were going to run away with the title of the best team in the league. While success seemed to come over night, the
truth is, the road was outfitted with winding turns, and speed bumps. At many points, 1 conversation could have
turned, and the Lakers would not be as we know them today. We sat
down with GM Justin to talk about the road here.
Reporter- �So, Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Durant, and Andre
Drummond is a big summer of signings even amongst the ultra-active NSL, what
led you to make multiple moves to bring in the trio?�
GM Justin- �Well, the first domino to fall was Donny. At the end of last season, we wound up with a
young duo of Cade and Jalen Green, and we loved where we were positioned to be
in the future. We had the #5 overall
selection, and we felt good about our options there as well. However, it�s always been apparent to me that
to win in this league you need an alpha dog, a lead scorer, and to take the sugar
coat off things, a top 15 player. We
believed Donny was exactly that, and honestly, he�s been even more than we ever
expected. After another minor trade, we
ended up with a core 3 of Cade, Donny, and Gobert, who once again at the time,
we felt good about. Then, came word that
one of the leagues best, and cheapest big men had become available, and as I
always do, I picked up the phone and gave GM JMac a call.�
Reporter- �Ah yes, GM JMac.
A lot has been said about the relationship and deals that conspired
between the two teams this offseason, care to comment on that?�
GM Justin- �Sure. GM
JMac is a good friend, and a close confidant around the league. When I first got here, I think the natural
inclination was to not want to trade with the guy, as there were some horror
stories about one-sided deals amongst other things. But since the Lakers have had trade talks with
the Blazers, we�ve been able to break some bread, and have some interesting
banter involved on the way. All in all,
he�s one of my favorites to talk trade with, when that time comes.�
Reporter- �Now, I can�t question your process too much, but
I did notice the last sentence was finished with the phrase, when that time
comes. Most people around the league
seem to believe, if the deal was right, you�d trade your family dog and/or first-born
son. What do you say to those people,
and are they right? Is anyone untouchable? Is there such a thing as talking trade too
much?�
GM Justin- �Well listen, if my kid can�t handle the rock, we�ll
have to get someone in here who can.
Jokes aside, we are always, and I mean truly always looking to improve
this franchise, both from a near term competition standpoint and with the future
of this franchise in mind. Sure, there
are times to pump the brakes, but there are also times to hit the gas and
figure out the rest at the finish line. Regarding
the KD trade, it was very much a situation where we had the opportunity to go
get a top 5 guy in the league, and we went for it. The check was relatively blank as to where we
would go to put KD in the purple and gold, and to JMAC�s credit, he saw that,
and got every penny. I won�t comment on untouchables
on this team. We love every player on
the roster currently and would only make a move if the value is right coming
back. There is no such thing as talking
trade too much, and luckily enough for me and the Lakers, we haven�t had a trade
situation come back to bite us yet, fingers crossed.�
Reporter- �The last question I want to ask you about is the
recent trades. Immanuel Quickley was a
long time Laker, but you can�t argue with the return. How did that all break down?�
GM Justin- �I�ve got to thank my exhibition of patience for
this one, as the story is quite funny.
When it became apparent that the right move was likely going to be shipping
out a high-level guy for some depth, Quickley�s name was one of the first to
surface as I felt we had enough scoring.
The natural hole in the lineup was at the 4 position, and we put out a
ton of feelers to just about every applicable 4 in the league, and there were
just no bites. I connected with GM Yeet
in Indianapolis and offered Quickley and Oladipo or Caleb Martin for WCJ. He denied and said he would only talk WCJ if Cade
was involved. As you can imagine that
conversation was dead shortly thereafter.
We got into contact with Bulldog and felt the package accomplished what
we were trying to, in getting a solid rotational guard, and a young 4 with some
height and upside. We also got a 1st
round pick that we felt held some value, and we knew that we�d be able to
parlay that into another valuable piece.
Like I said, funnily enough, that piece ended up being WCJ, and we also
ended up being able to get off the Oladipo contract, so it really was a
win-win. To harken back to your last
question, there has always been and always will be a target value, that then
and only then will allow for a deal to be done, at least with the Lakers. I�m glad Yeet turned us away there, as if not,
we wouldn�t have near the depth we have today.�
Well, there you have it folks. GM Justin made a few off the record comments
about continuing to look for 1 last contending piece. With the sidelining of a few depth wing
options for the Lakers, it�s been no secret that GM Justin has again been
picking up the phone to find a rotational 2/3/4 player. It will likely come at the cost of a young
player or draft compensation, which the Lakers have been very willing to
include since the turn towards contention.
�What can I say, we did our time.
Now it�s time to sip on some champagne and take this thing home.�
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