FanPost

2011 Offseason


I've been reading everybody else's ideas about this upcoming offseason and draft and I thought I would give my input and see what everybody else had to say about it. There is a lot to talk about, going from the front office to the team to the draft... But I'll try and squeeze as much in as I can but still keep it brief.

First things first, David Kahn needs to be fired not Rambis. Sure, Rambis could do a few things differently as a coach, and no I don't think he is the answer as our head coach, but Kahn has done so many dumb things and said even worse things to make this team the laughing stock of the NBA. There is no doubt in my mind that most of the trades he pulled off was because another GM called him up and convinced him this was a trade in his best interest. A couple of them panned out (mainly the cost saving trades), a couple have been ok though he makes them look ridiculously bad because he tries to pat himself on the back so much and hype them as "huge steps going forward" (i.e. webster, darko, most recently randolph). Long story short, Kahn has never been involved or even RUMORED to be involved in a trade that would have brought in proven talent or any type of leadership. He doesn't know how to run a basketball team, put together a real trade, handle the media... I won't even touch on his drafting decisions or capabilities, it has been brought up enough and we should have realized his inadequacies as a GM when he went through his first draft without hiring a coach (side note: it has to be embarrassing for him to watch steph curry rip us up every time he plays us and then watch flynn play like that senior in high school that hasn't cracked varsity yet). He's a worthless GM and nobody can tell me there isn't a better option out there. I feel a lot better now having said that, I could dedicate an entire post to all his moves and what was wrong with each one but i'll continue with my assessment of the coming offseason.

We NEED to get tougher and smarter. Athleticism is no good when you get a bunch of idiots together (ryan hollins cloans) that don't know how to dribble (beasley), play defense (anybody on the team) or pass (flynn, beasley). Beasley needs to go in my idea, he can't be paired next to Love because of their ridiculously bad leadership skills (listen to any interview beasley has and you will realize how immature he is) and we can't trade Love (unless he demands too much money) because he is a perfect building block and role player to pair with a go-to scorer. This trade deadline kills me because there were so many good pieces tossed around and we didn't get involved with any of them... BUT, i think we NEED a legit center next to Love.

Idea #1: Center upgrade. Best case scenario, lakers lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs and decide to make a major change. We get andrew bynum in a 3 team trade and give up beasley to somebody, send darko to LA for a minor replacement for size (who knows the triangle) and maybe one of our late draft picks, tack on any other pieces necessary (one of webster, ellington, flynn, tolliver, hayward). OR we could toss a sign and trade idea with memphis for marc gasol (rubio's spanard friend), maybe work out a 3-way here too since memphis wouldn't want anything to do with milicic but somebody gets darko and beasley. Another center possibility could be bogut. My reasons for trading Darko, he's dumb but serviceable as a backup (that's why someone else might want him) with a relatively low contract, but we have a good bruising/strong/crafty backup in Pek (cheaper too). Not as good defensively but he doesn't turn it over as much and miss as many shots. Reason for giving up on beasley is HE is dumb, but scores at a good so somebody might want to give him a shot, and wes is here for the long haul and SF is his natural position. Is he better than beasley? Not at scoring, but his defense and IQ are so much better it is ridiculous.

Idea #2: Shooting guard upgrade. I love harrison barnes, he started slow but has really picked it up recently. His shot looks perfect, he can create for himself and shoot in traffic (something wes struggles at, but is still a great spot up complement and defensive stud). I don't even want to talk about the draft though because Kahn scares the crap out of me. Anyway, I read an article about going after Kevin Martin (love it!) They wanted a piece of flynn at the deadline, build something around that. Not sure what else we would give up but my untouchables (unless blown away) are pek (great back up with size and cheap), one of randolph or tolliver (like tolliver more because he can spread the floor and is smarter with more drive and energy) as a backup to love, wes because of his golden smile (kidding) but seriously, maybe ridnour because we need a stable PG but veteran PG are a dime a dozen. Bassy would be cheaper and plays better defense, but doesn't have the shot or awareness. Other ideas would be Iggy, and if michael redd shows up at the end of the year we could throw a small contract his way next year, just a thought if he can get back to himself.

It all comes down to the draft though, because that will probably happen before free agency (like the NFL now). SO, to put my best foot forward I am going to say we get the #1 pick. Who do you take? Clearly kyrie irving, I don't care if you have chris paul on your team, if you are as bad as the timberwolves you take the BPA. So, with that being said, I trade rubio to the highest bidder with the highest pick and take Harrison Barnes (sacramento, toronto). Personally, I would rather have irving than rubio, and that's pretty much what this trade would be because if nobody with a high lottery pick would want to take rubio for barnes, then I pull of some sort of trade where we drop a few pegs and take barnes anyway and keep rubio (for reality sake, we don't get the number 1 and keep rubio, draft barnes wherever our ping pong ball falls). Then, we do the big trade of the summer for a legit center and sign Redd (i would rather trade for martin though, love the idea), if he isn't healthy yet then we go after caron butler.

The guys in parenthesis are the replacement for the name. If we get one, we don't get the other. More realistic is outside the parenthesis.

Position: Starter (alternative aquisition)/Back up

PG: Rubio (Irving)/ridnour

SG: Redd (kevin martin)/Barnes

SF: Wes/Webster(Butler)

PF: Love/Tolliver(anthony randolph)

C: Bynum (Marc Gasol or Bogut)/Pek

Everybody else not mentioned is expendable. We need change. We suck, and our 2010 team flat out doesn't have what it takes to be a playoff team in the future. Something has to happen and soon because our pick next year isn't ours, so a bad record doesn't mean a high pick. It means we suck and can't even look forward to the draft for anything, which might be a positive thing if Kahn is still making the picks for us.

Anyway, I know there will be a lot of negative comments about this, and I'm not saying this is the best we could do but what I would think of as a positive offseason. I'm sure there are better ideas, and if you are wondering why i'm thinking what I am just ask and I'll let you know. Also, I never proof read this so sorry if there are any errors. Go at it.