Everything Kyle Lowry

[Jamshid]

He was the heart and soul of this team this year, so I don't really understand how you can justify us being fine without him. Care to explain?

I thought Amir is the Heart and Soul of the team !!! How many mediocre talents we want to over pay by just labelling them the " Heart and Soul"

[yabadabayolo]

He was the heart and soul of this team this year, so I don't really understand how you can justify us being fine without him. Care to explain?

I don't want to be that guy...but we went undefeated without lowry playing and greasy starting last year. Ahhahahha

[Apollo]

Jim Buss is incompetent but Mitch Kupchak remains as the GM; the same guy who has been there since the turn of the century and has been at the helm of more than one championship run in LA. It's incorrect to say that the decision makers have changed in Los Angeles.

And as enormous and crippling as the Nash and Kobe contracts currently are, they won't be a burden on the franchise for that much longer. Nash is expiring next summer and Kobe the year after. If they fill the roster out with mainly short term, inexpensive deals in the meantime like they did this past year then they should be in a position to chase a big name in free agency in both the summers of 2015 and 2016 respectively. LA will always be a marquee destination for NBA players, especially when they're able to throw money around.

They are also adding the #7 overall pick in a few days.

All in all I don't think it's quite as dire in LA as you make it out to be. They are probably my least favourite team in the league and I would love to see them toil in the basement for a while but I wouldn't bet on it. We're talking about a team that hasn't missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since the 70's. They always seem to find a way to take two steps forward after they take a step back.

Let's not discredit how hands on the Buss family is. You're right, Jim is incompetent and I think what plagues the Knicks in the form of Dolan is going to plague the Lakers in the form of Jimbo.

Also, regardless of when the contracts come off the books, you're not telling me why Lowry would want to play for them right now. Who knows what happens when Kobe and Nash come off the books. That's a risk for a guy hitting his prime. There are better options out there if he cares about winning and getting paid; the Raptors are one of them.

Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

[Apollo]

Lowry won't be able to excel like he is in Toronto if he goes to either the Lakers or the Heat. I think playing for either of those teams will kill his rhythm and cramp his overall game.

If the Heat keep the band together then he has a good shot at a ring while playing a supporting role. I guess we'll see where his priorities are and/or how he wants to compete for a title.

Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

[Fully]

Let's not discredit how hands on the Buss family is. You're right, Jim is incompetent and I think what plagues the Knicks in the form of Dolan is going to plague the Lakers in the form of Jimbo.

Also, regardless of when the contracts come off the books, you're not telling me why Lowry would want to play for them right now. Who knows what happens when Kobe and Nash come off the books. That's a risk for a guy hitting his prime. There are better options out there if he cares about winning and getting paid; the Raptors are one of them.

Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

I'm sure the Lakers pitch to him will be that he can come to Los Angeles, play in one of the greatest markets in all of professional sports for arguably the greatest NBA franchise of all time, enjoy the awesome weather and high quality of life, make his $10 million a season (higher than what teams like Miami will reportedly be able to offer, and not too far off from the numbers we hear coming out of Toronto), play next year with Kobe + Nash + #7 overall pick + whatever bit pieces will come to LA in the short term, and then run out the rest of your contract with whatever big name free agent(s) they are able to land in successive off seasons (Love, Aldridge, Marc Gasol are all supposedly targets)….

Is that a guarantee? No, of course not. Nothing is. But I think you're a little naive to think that the Lakers have tumbled out of the upper echelon of franchises in the league after one ugly run in 2013-14. 40 years of success trumps 3/4 of a season unfortunately.

[Apollo]

The Lakers are close to a full on rebuild and I don't care what you say, with Jimbo calling the shots this team has lost a little luster.


Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

[Fully]

Well if that's your rebuttal then I think the conversation is over.

[BigCamB]

I don't want to be that guy...but we went undefeated without lowry playing and greasy starting last year. Ahhahahha

They also went 3-0 without DeRozan. Trade them both?

[Apollo]

Well if that's your rebuttal then I think the conversation is over.

The Knicks were once a respected franchise where everyone wanted to play. Same with the Bull and the Pistons. Same can be said for the Celtics. The Lakers have been extremely fortunate. That Kobe Bryant late lotto pick was a grand slam in the ninth at the world series. Those picks don't happen often and I'm curious to see how they make out without Kobe. I don't think as highly about the potential outcome as you.

Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

[Fully]

The Knicks were once a respected franchise where everyone wanted to play. Same with the Bull and the Pistons. Same can be said for the Celtics. The Lakers have been extremely fortunate. That Kobe Bryant late lotto pick was a grand slam in the ninth at the world series. Those picks don't happen often and I'm curious to see how they make out without Kobe. I don't think as highly about the potential outcome as you.

Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

Once again I think you're a little off base on some things.

When was Detroit ever a premier destination in the league? Isiah Thomas is on record as saying that he didn't want to go there in the 1981 draft. Their 2004 championship team didn't have a single player in their 10 man rotation that wasn't drafted or traded for by the Pistons outside of Chauncey, and he was an afterthought when he signed there. Same with their title teams from the late 80's and early 90's. Check it out.

Knicks were a disaster for a decade straight and yet they still turned around and landed a max guy in Amare in the summer of 2010… and a few months later had Carmelo Anthony force the Nuggets to trade him there because it was New York, it's a big market, playing at MSG, etc. etc. This is in direct conflict with the point you're trying to make, no?

And I'm not even sure what the point about Kobe is. Yes, I guess they got lucky with that pick. Luring Shaquille O'Neal in one of the biggest free agent coups of all time because he just "had to be in Hollywood" a few years later was a lot less lucky, and is more along the lines of what I'm talking about. The Lakers are not a one hit wonder so to speak - we're talking about close to 40 years of having one of the the top 3 or 4 biggest stars in the league in their jersey.

Chicago is on the short list for both Melo and LBJ this summer, and one of the only teams that Kevin Love would reportedly go to. Celtics are also on that Kevin Love list… which is pretty interesting considering that they were 27-55 last year. How many other bottom feeders do you think KLove would like to go to in the NBA?

Heritage matters. It sucks for the teams who are outside of the chosen few but ignoring it doesn't make it any less so.

[yabadabayolo]

They also went 3-0 without DeRozan. Trade them both?

If thats what the stats suggest. Masai should get er done hahah. We should theoretically go undefeated next year if this stat holds true haha

Sent from my GT-S7560M using Tapatalk

[RNsteve]

The lakers are not doing a thing while Kobe is on that contact. Should just have Kobe play, get their lottery picks, and move on from that..they arnt doing anything beyond a first round exit if that far.

[ceez]

should probably make an "all things lowry" thread or something

[Mr.Z]

Oh shit we do have an everything Kyle Lowry thread

[Scraptor]

Well, like I feared, Dallas is trading Jose (for Tyson Chandler), so there's another suitor for Kyle. A defensive bulldog who shoots the 3 is perfect next to the slashing Ellis.

edit: well I'm totally wrong, looks like Felton is going to Dallas too. whoops.