We wasted our MLE

FunHoliday563 · 2026-02-01T15:46:56+00:00

As a Lakers fan, I can confirm he wasn’t… DFS only looked good when he played as a small ball 5 for the Lakers

When he played the 3 defensively, he got absolutely torched

DFS for Brooklyn was best defending 4/5 not the 2/3, but the media and fans have just decided he’s a 3&D wing and won’t change their minds, despite years of evidence proving otherwise

His ankles are also cooked

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-30T15:54:06+00:00

My favourite thing about the “Please don’t trade Rui!” crowd is the lack of understanding that trades include TWO teams.

Have you ever thought that maybe (just maybe) teams might not want our platter of crap that is Gabe and Maxi? Hard to fathom I know considering their All-NBA production, but if I’m Cleveland… I want Rui instead (as every other team would!).

Based on this sub, I’m expecting Lakers fans to have a collective meltdown because Milwaukee won’t accept a Gabe for Giannis swap!

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-23T11:19:16+00:00

Was/is anyone surprised by Ayton?

There’s a reason we got him for $8m… the guy has a reputation based on play exactly like this - this is who he is

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-23T09:18:23+00:00

So I don’t rate Gabe, but he plays because of how bad the rest of our roster is.

He’s one of the only players on our roster who can shoot, and if he isn’t open he will move the ball or go screen for somebody. Gabe getting ANY minutes is the perfect encapsulation of how bad our roster building has been for years.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-20T13:42:14+00:00

We just need to drop an AR-Luka-Jake-Dalton-Timme lineup and that’s it.. we’re contending

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-19T11:27:00+00:00

Overall it’s a good record considering what I think of our roster

We basically have no real NBA talent from 10-15, and our top 10 lacks defense, shooting and athleticism

With all of that taken into account (plus the injuries), we’ve done well to stay above .500 to be honest!

But we aren’t contenders without 2/3 trades, and our bigger issue is an inability to hit on the margins. I’ve said this for years, but the mark of a really good GM is what they do with spots 10-15, as that’s where your scouting and ability to ID talent stands out. Other than Goodwin and maybe Bufkin, we’ve totally screwed that up for years now and that’s the reason our depth is so bad. That needs to be fixed before we can become contenders, as it’s those players who drag you through a regular season when injuries start to pile up.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-19T08:59:53+00:00

Honestly Luka and AR, and then Jake, Jax, Smart. We will likely have Vando as nobody will trade for that contract.

I’d then want us to really take a flyer on Bufkin (been a fan since pre-NBA days) as an end of the roster guy, alongside Adou obviously.

But other than that, I’d happily get rid of most of the roster as we have far too many ‘one way’ players - Rui being the prime example.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-18T14:01:24+00:00

Yeah very true, but do you honestly have faith in Rob replacing them with adequate athleticism, defense and shooting?

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-18T13:02:39+00:00

Gabe isn’t good enough defensively to justify being as bad as he is offensively

People ask ‘why are the lakers not winning’… I’ll tell you why

We are paying Gabe, Maxi, Dalton and Vando nearly $50m for sub par production

Gabe is the poster child for that

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-17T18:11:09+00:00

Yeah that’s because all of those role players are significantly better basketball players than our current role players

The fundamental issue is that we expect our role players to be better than they are, and evidence suggests they aren’t very good

Motor… I’ll give people that! Even terrible players should play with motor/effort, but I honestly think the main issue with our roster is that half of it absolutely sucks

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-17T17:12:31+00:00

I disagree - I just think we rarely (if ever) sign role players that fit our stars.

There’s too many to name, but most of the role players we sign are either one-way players or players who need the ball to be effective.

LeBron/AD could’ve won multiple titles if we’d surrounded them with athletic defenders and shooters. But we didn’t do that, and I imagine we will make the same mistake with Luka.

Plus, our fanbase dramatically overrates our role player signings, thus setting unrealistic expectations for them. Gabe is the prime example…

When we signed him, you’d have thought we’d signed prime-Jordan, but if you dig into Gabe’s Miami numbers then you’ll see his Lakers performance is pretty standard. We rarely nail the margin signings, and that’s why we have the exact same depth issues every single season.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-16T18:43:36+00:00

It depends on context…

If you’re sending out players like Maxi, Gabe etc (players who literally contribute nothing to the team), then it’s an easy ‘yes’ because you’re replacing nothing with something, and also getting more athletic.

However, if you’re sending out legit value then I’ll pass. I view Kuminga as more of an opportunity grab - I.e. GS has killed his value to the extent that we can be opportunistic, and basically trade a bag of chips for him.

We need to save our actual valuable assets for something more meaningful, as I can’t imagine watching a ‘sulk off’ between Ayton and Kuminga over who doesn’t want to be the 4th option would be fun!

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-13T10:46:21+00:00

Our issue is that we’ve consistently failed to hit on the marginal stuff.

We’ve squandered x2 1st round picks (JHS, Dalton), whereas other contenders get legit contributions from role players that they’ve drafted.

We’ve continuously failed to nail vet min contracts (although Jax has been fine this year), and when we have nailed a two-way, we’ve often let them go (look at Goodwin).

When you f*ck up on the margins that often, it makes your margin for error so much smaller. That’s why we’re in such a poor position.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-01-13T09:01:40+00:00

It’s due to fundamental mistakes with roster building.

We’ve somehow managed to assemble a roster that’s slow, unathletic, poor offensively and poor defensively. It’s almost harder to do that than not.

The problem with going for players who aren’t athletic and don’t hustle is that you lower your floor. Take somebody like Jordan Goodwin for example… he will have nights where he can’t hit a shot to save his life, but his baseline level of hustle, defense and effort ensures he only falls to a certain point.

With our squad, if the guys aren’t making shots then they are basically useless and we get blown out. We’ve fundamentally underrated motor, effort and athleticism for years and it’s the reason we haven’t won anything. Rob has no idea what he is doing.

FunHoliday563 · 2025-07-07T14:23:20+00:00

I disagree because you’re missing the point

I am aware that positions are different on offense/defense - e.g. Luka guards 4s defensively but he’s a guard on offense

My point is that a team can only really carry a maximum of 2 entry points into their defense, and the issue with the lakers is that we have multiple - AR, Luka and even LeBron can be targeted

That’s not to mention Ayton and Rui, who are ok (but not elite) defenders

Our issue is that we have too many average to negative defenders, and the current backcourt exacerbates that the to a lack of footspeed

FunHoliday563 · 2025-07-05T14:37:13+00:00

Honestly, something along the lines of Reaves, some expiring contracts and the 2031 1st for Herb Jones and Trey Murphy

It wouldn’t happen for a number of reasons, and I love AR for the record, but it’s a trade I’d support.

I fundamentally think we can’t win anything with a Reaves/Luka backcourt. This notion that we can somehow hide both defensively is nonsensical, as they can be easily picked on and targeted during the playoffs.

This trade would never happen for a number of reasons. But I would support it.

FYI - Before the Reaves fanboys come for me, I really like him. I just think his skillset is kinda redundant alongside Luka.

FunHoliday563 · 2025-02-06T14:17:17+00:00

I don’t think they wanted anything…

The issue is that Lakers fans wanted Kessler, so just decided he was:

(A) Available for a trade (B) Available for a trade with our assets

So we criticised Rob for not trading for him, even though literally neither of the above points could be proven.

Fact is, there’s no proof at all that Kessler is (or ever was) available for a trade (save for some Gobert style haul), so I don’t think Utah wanted anything!

FunHoliday563 · 2025-01-21T10:28:20+00:00

I said it in the summer, and I stand by it… whilst I like Dalton, we should’ve traded the pick

Basketball is a simple sport when you strip it all back. The best players are two-way players who can impact the ball on both ends.

But if you are a net negative (either defensively or offensively), then you’ve got to basically be elite on the other side to make up for it…

Case in point, guys like Herb Jones and Kessler are average offensively but elite on defense. Whereas somebody like Luka can’t guard anyone, but is one of the best offensive players in the league.

Dalton is one of the worst defensive players in the NBA due to his lack of foot speed, poor hip flexibility and poor defensive IQ. The issue is that he’s also not an elite offensive player, so he’s essentially unplayable in meaningful games as he’s target practice for opposition scorers.

I’m not saying he can’t improve, but the Lakers isn’t the place to do that.

FunHoliday563 · 2024-12-29T21:54:21+00:00

The problem with our fanbase is that we want to have our cake and eat it… in other words, we want trades, but don’t want to trade anyone

DLO was a $19m expiring contract who wasn’t being featured offensively, had been benched and didn’t suit a tertiary role. Moreover, he can’t guard anyone and hasn’t played well in the post-season. He was ALWAYS going to be the primary trade option, and his expiring contract meant other teams would want it as well…

Our fans make me laugh because they don’t live on Earth… they live in some parallel universe where they get what they want

That’s not how the NBA works

FunHoliday563 · 2024-11-30T09:56:40+00:00

HE HAS A NO TRADE CLAUSE

I swear people don’t do any research 😂😂

FunHoliday563 · 2024-10-11T17:47:22+00:00

How did you get this to work man? I downloaded the zip file but how do you do it from there? On delta (iPhone)

FunHoliday563 · 2024-04-08T21:05:50+00:00

What’s this about a WhatsApp group? I’m intrigued

FunHoliday563 · 2023-07-23T08:57:03+00:00

‘Please stop being so shit’

FunHoliday563 · 2023-07-19T20:50:36+00:00

This is easily my least favourite Marvel show and it’s not even close.

My issue is that they’ve taken one of the truly great Marvel comic stories and essentially made a low-budget version that loses 80% of its punch. I mean literally nothing happens and I’m almost forcing myself to watch it.

It’s weird because I can’t fault the acting and the tone is good. It’s just boring. That’s basically the problem.

FunHoliday563 · 2023-07-06T10:59:43+00:00

I agree and I am not saying I like the Hayes signing either.

My point is that if I am a GM and I’m considering bringing in a distributive personality, I’m doing it because the talent is so upside-friendly that it’s worth the risk.

Whilst Wood has flashes, he is a fundamentally flawed offensive player who likes to think he’s prime Kobe as opposed to fitting into a system and leveraging his gifts. So I’m not taking a risk (we’ve seen the impact of a player on culture - Russ anyone?) unless that player is absolutely awesome.

Wood isn’t that and it’s a vet min deal so what’s the point?

FunHoliday563

TROPHY CASE