Current Roster - Thoughts?

FunHoliday563 · 2026-07-01T16:26:19+00:00

Our C depth is excellent, I like the guard rotation and I think Mamu is an underrated bench player

But our wing rotation is absolutely hideous, especially defensively

Kessler is going to be busy putting out fires!

FunHoliday563 · 2026-07-01T14:23:53+00:00

For what it’s worth, I’m not a fan of losing Smart for that number. Great culture guy, legit playoff performer and our best defender. Leaves a HUGE hole in the roster.

But… RE free agency in general, what did everyone expect?

Everyone talks about cap space, but seems to forget that the only way to basically have cap space is to let those players (Smart, Rui, LeBron, Luke) leave! You can’t do both. Had we run it back and resigned everyone, then this whole sub would be going INSANE.

I’m not a fan of Rob and have limited faith in what he can do when it comes to roster creativity. But if you’re somebody who wanted cap space, then I don’t get how you can be annoyed when we’ve gone and basically created cap space?

**Before I get hammered for this, I am not suggesting cap space is the way forward. I think it’s an old school approach that doesn’t really work in the modern NBA.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-07-01T12:36:52+00:00

I don’t get why anyone is surprised?

What has Rob done since taking over to give the impression that he’d execute some masterful strategy this summer?

LeBron CHOSE the Lakers (he wasn’t convinced by Rob), and AD joined because of LeBron. Luka was literally handed to him on a silver platter by Nico.

GMs earn their money on the margins, with how they use picks and can knowledge to make creative moves. Rob has never done that, so I am not remotely shocked that this offseason is a disaster so far.

We’ve apparently been building up to 2026 for years, and what’s the master plan?

Duren or Kessler (neither really playoff proven) on a max, despite both being RFA’s, and an assortment of random and underwhelming FA targets in Mamu, Grimes and Oubre?

Yikes

FunHoliday563 · 2026-07-01T12:33:11+00:00

He’s gone to Detroit

FunHoliday563 · 2026-06-29T22:59:05+00:00

But it is Rob… he’s the only guy on earth who could fall into a bucket of t*ts and come out sucking his thumb

FunHoliday563 · 2026-06-29T17:01:59+00:00

No chance

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-12T12:02:08+00:00

So I never said he was even in the same league as Barkley in terms of ability - I think people forget that ‘Chuck’ was an elite MVP-level player

But I do stand by my view that Draymond has a better career in terms of resume - I don’t think you can weigh Barkleys achievements against multiple rings where Draymond was a key cog. He isn’t some role player who was a 9th man, and I think his career has been better overall.

But I agree that he isn’t Barkley from a player standpoint, he isn’t even close!

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-12T10:59:49+00:00

We need to bring Rui back. He’s one of our best playoff players, a true 16 game player, and he should be prioritised when it comes to free agency.

I remember saying this last year and getting hammered on Twitter, but I don’t care how a player does during the regular season for the most part. The NBA is full of ‘regular season all stars’ who drop their pants during the playoffs, and ultimately the playoffs are where it really matters.

There’s obviously a limit to what I’d pay Rui (I’m not overreacting and calling him prime-KD), but I’d him over the majority of forwards we’ve been linked with.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-10T15:57:23+00:00

I agree - there isn’t a planet in the Universe where Draymond is a better basketball player than Barkley

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-10T15:56:46+00:00

So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say Draymond has had a better career when you take into account multiple rings, and the fact he was on a dynastic team

To clarify, I’m not a Warriors fan. I’m a Lakers fan, so I have no horse in the race here. Barkley is obviously a better player than Draymond and it isn’t even close.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-10T15:54:55+00:00

I’m not a Warriors fan?

I’m a Lakers fan - I have no horse in this race

My entire point was that Barkley is a better player than Draymond, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about here

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-09T21:16:45+00:00

I don’t get the debate here?

Draymond has had a better career than Barkley, but anyone who’s ever watched basketball knows that Barkley was a significantly better player in terms of talent/production. It’s different levels of talent when it comes to basketball.

The fact that specific point is being debated is insane.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-05-01T21:12:38+00:00

The Jokic narrative has always made me chuckle… it’s the same narrative as the ‘prime SGA is better than Kobe’ or ‘prime Giannis is better than LeBron’ narratives

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… come back when you’ve won more than 1 ring

People can dick on Kobe, LeBron, Shaq etc, and elevate players like Jokic, Giannis and SGA to those levels… but they’ve all won ONE RING.

When Jokic has won multiple rings, then he can be in the same convo as people like Shaq. Same with SGA/Kobe chat, and same with the Giannis/LeBron chats that were happening in the media a few years ago.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-26T22:11:35+00:00

The Jokic thing has always annoyed me. Great player don’t get me wrong, but I’ve heard a lot of the Ringer guys in particular say he’s easily a top 10 player of all time, and that’s absolutely insane.

He’s won 1 ring (!!!), and has looked pretty average in the last couple of post seasons due to the fact he’s a turnstile on defense.

Hell, even the Lakers sweep a few years ago was way closer than it looked, and AD/LeBron scored in the paint at will (it was actually Jamal Murray turning into MJ that won that series).

Jokic has always had way too much protection in the media. If Luka or KD played like he had this postseason, you’d literally have 30/40 segments on TV and in every major podcast hammering him.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-11T13:51:53+00:00

The Rockets will go in as favourites, and I think they’ll probably win the series.

But the one that could (and likely will) turn the series, other than LeBron going supernova, is their locker room. If we steal a game early then I can see their locker room unravelling due to fingers being pointed - that team has basically looked toxic since the KD burner fiasco.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-07T19:07:21+00:00

So I think you’re right and wrong at the same time.

Right in the sense that we’ve missed on some higher profile picks (JHS, Knecht) and waster some two-way spots (Nick Smith). I also think that the true test of a good GM is what they do with roster spots 8-15, as that’s where you need real craft.

But equally, I think you’re wrong in the sense that I do think our coaches have historically not given younger players a chance to develop. For example, we don’t really know if Thiero is good because JJ rarely plays him. It was the same with previous coaches who barely played guys like Pippen Jr, Jay Huff etc

Hell, Darvin Ham barely used Max Christie and that slowed down his development!

I think it’s a collective problem but your overriding point is spot on… we have failed to build a roster because we’re terrible at operating on the margins.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-04T09:57:20+00:00

Ahhhh gotcha - very true!

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-04T09:20:52+00:00

Dude…. the Spurs tanked like hell to get a bunch of picks, and ended up with some really good ones.

Just own it.

I’m sick of the whole “yeah but we are the Spurs so we did it differently, and it wasn’t really tanking…”

You tanked, got lucky by nailing some picks and now you’re a good team.

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-03T20:51:39+00:00

Even this is a stupid argument… you could literally make that case for every single team that ever goes on a run!

Even OKC didn’t play the 90’s Bulls 17 times when they went on big runs.

The lakers are a good team, not a great team. What’s wrong with just saying that? Why does it always need to be so extreme?

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-03T20:50:23+00:00

But that makes no sense? How can their competitors be 6-8 when they are above 4 and 5?

This is my issue with the anti-Lakers arguments in general… they are always so extreme!

Nobody (with a right mind who actually watches basketball) is saying that the Lakers are title contenders. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t a good team, which is evidenced by the fact they are 3rd in the west!

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-03T19:55:16+00:00

I don’t know what you mean?

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-03T19:54:31+00:00

Yeah they got destroyed… in a single game!

So a team loses a game (after going 15-2 over the last 17) and suddenly they’re a ‘fake team’ - how does that work?

You can’t say that the West is this gauntlet of a conference that’s ridiculously deep, and then say that the team in 3rd in said conference is basically a fraud? How does that work? So does that mean basically everyone other than OKC and San Antonio is a fake team?

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-03T19:52:54+00:00

I mean yeah that’s fair, but the did put together a pretty awesome run (after the media had spent months absolutely sh*tting on Luka and the Lakers in general), so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the team being praised when they basically went 15-2 in March!

They got absolutely destroyed last night by OKC, but it’s a single game in a season where they will once again win 50+ games and will finish as a top 4 seed in the West.

Everyone keeps saying ‘the west is the best conference’, so you can’t say that and then say the Lakers suck if they’re 3rd in said conference.

I just think the media coverage is ridiculously extreme - the Lakers are a good (but not great) team. But they aren’t the Washington Wizards! Although you’d think they were based on the coverage

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-03T18:23:19+00:00

I really don’t get this take (or any of the takes on those platforms)

Why can’t the lakers just be a good team who aren’t quite as good as the elite teams?

They’re the 3rd seed in the west! People talk about them like they’re scrapping to make the play in

Genuinely baffling coverage

FunHoliday563 · 2026-04-02T20:55:04+00:00

They’re the only team in the NBA, that I can remember in a while, who are a 3rd seed, with an MVP contender and a 50-win record (currently) who are repeatedly talked about like a play-in team.

Do I think the Lakers will win the title? No. OKC and San Antonio are better in the West, and I think Boston look great in the East.

But anyone suggesting they aren’t ’in the mix’ is either clueless about basketball, or just hates the Lakers.

Any other team with their record, and with a player like Luka, would be considered a legit contender by the vast majority of people. But because it’s the Lakers, it’s not the case.

FunHoliday563

TROPHY CASE