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danzag Franchise Player
Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Posts: 22439 Location: Brazil
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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LakerSD wrote: | https://twitter.com/espnlosangeles/status/1319028207992016897?s=21
Good. Excessive load management and making a mockery of the regular season should not be rewarded. |
I love it |
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dfchang813 Star Player
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 1508
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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My take on Kawhi:
He is a supremely talented basketball player. When healthy one of the best 2 way players in league history. But the problem is that to win a championship, talent ALONE doesn't carry the day. You HAVE to have talent just to have a chance but to win it you need chemistry, cohesiveness, and leadership.
I think Kawhi is fine when he is part of an already championship culture or a very strong cohesive locker room with established leadership. But when that is absent and HE is the one expected to provide these things especially when things are going downhill or there is adversity, then he isn't the guy and when that happens the team fails.
On the Spurs and Raptors, he was the piece that took those teams over the top but those teams already had outstanding culture and outstanding coaches with outstanding leadership.
Kawhi's view of leadership is skewed and you can tell if you pay attention. During the bad break up with the Spurs, Greg Popovich said that Kawhi wasn't a true leader on the Spurs championship teams. And you can tell Kawhi was bothered by it because he responded in an interview saying nobody complained about his leadership when he was winning DPOY and locking down the opposing team's best players, etc, etc.
And there you have the insight into his thought process. He thinks being a leader is showing it on the floor, showing it via production, showing it by doing his work. And it is. But that's not all it is. Sometimes you have to INSPIRE your team to be greater than they are capable of. You have to get your teammates to perform better maybe than even they think the can. That's leadership that Kawhi will never ever have because he isn't built for it.
So when he went to the Clippers with a coach who is moronic compared to Pops and Nurse, with a mental midget like PG13, with a whole bunch of young players who were looking to HIM to provide leadership when the world was literally ending ... guess what? He couldn't do it.
Unlike Lebron who took his team back from a 3-1 deficity, Kawhi was the one who actually choked the 3-1 lead as his team got punched in the mouth and he did nothing but stand by and watch.
As for load management, well that's a tough issue to process. I don't believe for a second that Kawhi is lying or being lazy. I really do think he has a chronic degenerative condition that is affecting his quad and he MUST load manage to remain close to his Hall of Fame self. Again, the problem with this is that load management comes with a steep price and it's a price he never had to pay before because again he benefited from having unique teams that practiced it. The Spurs practically invented modern day load management and so did it very well with Kawhi as they did with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. And the Raptors were already a very good team with incredible chemistry and leadership before Kawhi even showed up. He took 22 games off and Toronto calmly went 17-5.
On the Clippers?? That won't work. Load managing on a grease fire of a team like this was a recipe for disaster as we saw. There was a lack of cohesion, lack of chemistry, and finally a simple lack of conditioning.
Kawhi is now realizing that load managing when you aren't on the right team means you won't be successful in the playoffs. If he load manages again, Clippers likely won't get out of the second round again in a stronger West. But if he DOESN'T load manage, maybe he just collapses by the playoffs and can't perform.
The tragedy and stupidity of the situation is that Kawhi would have had a much better chance of success if he had simply stayed in Toronto. With him they would have returned to the Finals and probably given the Lakers a run for their money. Remember Toronto gave the Lakers fits this season in their only two meetings even without Kawhi.
If he really wanted to go home to LA, he simply should have joined the Lakers. From a business and basketball perspective it was the obvious thing to do. Lebron and AD and Vogel would have provided the exact type of culture and balance to allow him to load manage without paying the price just like Spurs and Raptors. He would have dominated the league with Lebron and AD and sewn up another championship with ease while receiving ZERO heat for his load management requirements.
But instead he did the absolute worst thing he could have done. He decided he needed to be the man, to beat Lebron and he had to do it in L.A. to rub the Lakers nose in it. In other words, for a guy with a dying quad muscle, he got fooled into thinking his feces didn't stink. So he strong armed the Clippers into mortgaging their future for the next decade to get Paul George . . . the worst #2 EVER onto the team.
And now it's time to pay the price for his arrogance. The Clippers don't know it but their window is already closed.
But we are forgiving We'll sign him as a free agent in 2022 when he opts out and comes to us with his tail between his legs. But this time he gets the MLE. LoL |
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defense Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 39736
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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drae wrote: | From the Clippers subreddit ... also fess up which ex lakersground user is this
Lakers won another title but I'm switching over to Clippers!
For decades, my love for the Lakers blinded me from the fact that Lakers fans are douchebags. In fact, all of my school bullies are Lakers fans, and it was always apparent to me that I never had any positive interaction with any Lakers fans.
In 2010, when the Lakers won their 16th championships, I was walking with a large group of Lakers fans to the stadium to see the Lakers celebration but deep down I never like any of these people. It wouldn't take much for these people to start rioting and burning things. After the celebration was done, there was a large group fighting (no surprise) and I knew it was time for me to leave.
Taking an even closer look, everyone in my family and in-law (my sister's in-law) are all douchebag starting with my own father. Hell, I literally have to drink just to interact with him because of all the pains he caused me, and I dread any interaction with my sister (who used to beat me up).
I didn't become a Lakers fan because they were the better team. I became a Lakers fan because of Eddie Jones and Kobe Bryant and how they kind of look like brother. This was Kobe first year when he was still on the bench and very few knew he would become a superstar.
In 2007, when Kobe threatened to leave the Lakers, I was really hoping he would join the Clippers so I have an excuse to become a Clippers fan instead and watch all the Lakers douchebags melt down! Despite being a Lakers fan my entire life, I watched just as many Clippers game in that timespan so I'm very familiar with the Clippers and have always secretly rooted for them including this year.
I think 2020 is the perfect year to switch over because nothing in 2020 even make sense anymore. Things I thought I knew (Politics/Crimes/Relationships) turn out to all be lies and I'm quite fed up with everything that has been happening so far.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/comments/jff9hl/lakers_won_another_title_but_im_switching_over_to/ |
VLF don't insult pops like that |
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Jesusdelonla Franchise Player
Joined: 24 Jan 2018 Posts: 15430
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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defense wrote: | drae wrote: | From the Clippers subreddit ... also fess up which ex lakersground user is this
Lakers won another title but I'm switching over to Clippers!
For decades, my love for the Lakers blinded me from the fact that Lakers fans are douchebags. In fact, all of my school bullies are Lakers fans, and it was always apparent to me that I never had any positive interaction with any Lakers fans.
In 2010, when the Lakers won their 16th championships, I was walking with a large group of Lakers fans to the stadium to see the Lakers celebration but deep down I never like any of these people. It wouldn't take much for these people to start rioting and burning things. After the celebration was done, there was a large group fighting (no surprise) and I knew it was time for me to leave.
Taking an even closer look, everyone in my family and in-law (my sister's in-law) are all douchebag starting with my own father. Hell, I literally have to drink just to interact with him because of all the pains he caused me, and I dread any interaction with my sister (who used to beat me up).
I didn't become a Lakers fan because they were the better team. I became a Lakers fan because of Eddie Jones and Kobe Bryant and how they kind of look like brother. This was Kobe first year when he was still on the bench and very few knew he would become a superstar.
In 2007, when Kobe threatened to leave the Lakers, I was really hoping he would join the Clippers so I have an excuse to become a Clippers fan instead and watch all the Lakers douchebags melt down! Despite being a Lakers fan my entire life, I watched just as many Clippers game in that timespan so I'm very familiar with the Clippers and have always secretly rooted for them including this year.
I think 2020 is the perfect year to switch over because nothing in 2020 even make sense anymore. Things I thought I knew (Politics/Crimes/Relationships) turn out to all be lies and I'm quite fed up with everything that has been happening so far.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/comments/jff9hl/lakers_won_another_title_but_im_switching_over_to/ |
VLF don't insult pops like that |
That’s VLF’s son posting |
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lar9149 Star Player
Joined: 10 Jul 2010 Posts: 2428
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jonnybravo Retired Number
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 30862
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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dfchang813 wrote: | My take on Kawhi:
He is a supremely talented basketball player. When healthy one of the best 2 way players in league history. But the problem is that to win a championship, talent ALONE doesn't carry the day. You HAVE to have talent just to have a chance but to win it you need chemistry, cohesiveness, and leadership.
I think Kawhi is fine when he is part of an already championship culture or a very strong cohesive locker room with established leadership. But when that is absent and HE is the one expected to provide these things especially when things are going downhill or there is adversity, then he isn't the guy and when that happens the team fails.
On the Spurs and Raptors, he was the piece that took those teams over the top but those teams already had outstanding culture and outstanding coaches with outstanding leadership.
Kawhi's view of leadership is skewed and you can tell if you pay attention. During the bad break up with the Spurs, Greg Popovich said that Kawhi wasn't a true leader on the Spurs championship teams. And you can tell Kawhi was bothered by it because he responded in an interview saying nobody complained about his leadership when he was winning DPOY and locking down the opposing team's best players, etc, etc.
And there you have the insight into his thought process. He thinks being a leader is showing it on the floor, showing it via production, showing it by doing his work. And it is. But that's not all it is. Sometimes you have to INSPIRE your team to be greater than they are capable of. You have to get your teammates to perform better maybe than even they think the can. That's leadership that Kawhi will never ever have because he isn't built for it.
So when he went to the Clippers with a coach who is moronic compared to Pops and Nurse, with a mental midget like PG13, with a whole bunch of young players who were looking to HIM to provide leadership when the world was literally ending ... guess what? He couldn't do it.
Unlike Lebron who took his team back from a 3-1 deficity, Kawhi was the one who actually choked the 3-1 lead as his team got punched in the mouth and he did nothing but stand by and watch.
As for load management, well that's a tough issue to process. I don't believe for a second that Kawhi is lying or being lazy. I really do think he has a chronic degenerative condition that is affecting his quad and he MUST load manage to remain close to his Hall of Fame self. Again, the problem with this is that load management comes with a steep price and it's a price he never had to pay before because again he benefited from having unique teams that practiced it. The Spurs practically invented modern day load management and so did it very well with Kawhi as they did with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. And the Raptors were already a very good team with incredible chemistry and leadership before Kawhi even showed up. He took 22 games off and Toronto calmly went 17-5.
On the Clippers?? That won't work. Load managing on a grease fire of a team like this was a recipe for disaster as we saw. There was a lack of cohesion, lack of chemistry, and finally a simple lack of conditioning.
Kawhi is now realizing that load managing when you aren't on the right team means you won't be successful in the playoffs. If he load manages again, Clippers likely won't get out of the second round again in a stronger West. But if he DOESN'T load manage, maybe he just collapses by the playoffs and can't perform.
The tragedy and stupidity of the situation is that Kawhi would have had a much better chance of success if he had simply stayed in Toronto. With him they would have returned to the Finals and probably given the Lakers a run for their money. Remember Toronto gave the Lakers fits this season in their only two meetings even without Kawhi.
If he really wanted to go home to LA, he simply should have joined the Lakers. From a business and basketball perspective it was the obvious thing to do. Lebron and AD and Vogel would have provided the exact type of culture and balance to allow him to load manage without paying the price just like Spurs and Raptors. He would have dominated the league with Lebron and AD and sewn up another championship with ease while receiving ZERO heat for his load management requirements.
But instead he did the absolute worst thing he could have done. He decided he needed to be the man, to beat Lebron and he had to do it in L.A. to rub the Lakers nose in it. In other words, for a guy with a dying quad muscle, he got fooled into thinking his feces didn't stink. So he strong armed the Clippers into mortgaging their future for the next decade to get Paul George . . . the worst #2 EVER onto the team.
And now it's time to pay the price for his arrogance. The Clippers don't know it but their window is already closed.
But we are forgiving We'll sign him as a free agent in 2022 when he opts out and comes to us with his tail between his legs. But this time he gets the MLE. LoL |
This read like poetry. _________________ KOBE |
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vcdplaya3002 Starting Rotation
Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 272
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
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dfchang813 Star Player
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 1508
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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vcdplaya3002 wrote: | The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
Lot longer than that. Lou is one dimensional aging player and Paul George stock has honestly never been lower. He is practically a meme now.
They just don’t have a lot of ways to improve. They hitched their wagon to the wrong stars and now they are screwed. Replacing Doc with Lue is a joke.
If they don’t win next year I can see both Kawhi and PG13 opting out and they will be done for a decade like we were. Except Lebron won’t be coming through that door to save them. I guess the sad thing is they thought Kawhi was Lebron ... but now we know the truth. |
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Megaton Retired Number
Joined: 18 Feb 2015 Posts: 25750
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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vcdplaya3002 wrote: | The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
The problem is their title window even next season, they are in a world of PAIN.
- Lakers going on a repeat mission.
- Warriors are back.
- Nuggets will get better, Jazz, Grizzlies, Mavs, even the Suns.
- healthy Blazers team
The west will be even more of a bloodbath just with the simple addition of the Warriors coming back. This year was their best shot. Now they have to not choke in a healthy western conference. Not just the Lakers.
I would not be surprised if the Clippers barely make the 6th seed with the way they are currently constructed, (and the expected losses of talent like Harrell and Morris) _________________ Lakers Offseason Goal:
- Draft Zach Edey (or Kel'el Ware)
- Sign Jonas Valanciunas or Nicolas Claxton
- sign and trade DLO to not lose value
- sign a coach that’s not an idiot
Call it an offseason |
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pjiddy Retired Number
Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 29201
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
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LandsbergerRules Franchise Player
Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 11197 Location: The Other Perspective
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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pjiddy wrote: | It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
Dude was spoiled being in one of the greatest systems in NBA history with the Spurs and a damn good one in Toronto with leaders already in place. He thought it would be easy to replicate that success anywhere, no leadership skills necessary. He was dead wrong. _________________ "Chick lived and breathed Lakers basketball…but he was also fair and objective and called every game the way it was played."
-from Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Knew Him |
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dfchang813 Star Player
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 1508
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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pjiddy wrote: | It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
I think he does want to lead it but again in his mind “leading” is by example with minimal talking. Completely mad that he didn’t learn anything from Hall of Fame coach and Hall of Fame teammates on the Spurs or the great locker room of the Raptors.
This dude is definitely on the spectrum. |
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roger_federer Star Player
Joined: 01 Mar 2020 Posts: 3147
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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Megaton wrote: | vcdplaya3002 wrote: | The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
The problem is their title window even next season, they are in a world of PAIN.
- Lakers going on a repeat mission.
- Warriors are back.
- Nuggets will get better, Jazz, Grizzlies, Mavs, even the Suns.
- healthy Blazers team
The west will be even more of a bloodbath just with the simple addition of the Warriors coming back. This year was their best shot. Now they have to not choke in a healthy western conference. Not just the Lakers.
I would not be surprised if the Clippers barely make the 6th seed with the way they are currently constructed, (and the expected losses of talent like Harrell and Morris) |
clippers will be a top 4 team.. |
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AD23 Star Player
Joined: 15 Jul 2019 Posts: 3069
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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pjiddy wrote: | It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
Uncle Dennis didn’t do him any favors. |
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governator Retired Number
Joined: 28 Jan 2006 Posts: 25294
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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That was wordy but a good read, like sport magazine article |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38947
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:27 pm Post subject: |
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pjiddy wrote: | It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
He wanted to usurp Lebron without the responsibilities that come with it. |
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hype Star Player
Joined: 19 Nov 2007 Posts: 4389 Location: Lake Nacimiento
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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roger_federer wrote: | Megaton wrote: | vcdplaya3002 wrote: | The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
The problem is their title window even next season, they are in a world of PAIN.
- Lakers going on a repeat mission.
- Warriors are back.
- Nuggets will get better, Jazz, Grizzlies, Mavs, even the Suns.
- healthy Blazers team
The west will be even more of a bloodbath just with the simple addition of the Warriors coming back. This year was their best shot. Now they have to not choke in a healthy western conference. Not just the Lakers.
I would not be surprised if the Clippers barely make the 6th seed with the way they are currently constructed, (and the expected losses of talent like Harrell and Morris) |
clippers will be a top 4 team.. |
I wouldn't bet money on it but I guess sure, the "potential" is there. |
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Dr. Laker Franchise Player
Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 17175
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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dfchang813 wrote: | vcdplaya3002 wrote: | The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
Lot longer than that. Lou is one dimensional aging player and Paul George stock has honestly never been lower. He is practically a meme now.
They just don’t have a lot of ways to improve. They hitched their wagon to the wrong stars and now they are screwed. Replacing Doc with Lue is a joke.
If they don’t win next year I can see both Kawhi and PG13 opting out and they will be done for a decade like we were. Except Lebron won’t be coming through that door to save them. I guess the sad thing is they thought Kawhi was Lebron ... but now we know the truth. |
Nope - Ballmer will sign-and-trade Pandemic P for another team's headache and will extend "55-games-per-season-Kawhi" as the Clippers string together a run of 48-win seasons. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns". |
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pjiddy Retired Number
Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 29201
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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LandsbergerRules wrote: | pjiddy wrote: | It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
Dude was spoiled being in one of the greatest systems in NBA history with the Spurs and a damn good one in Toronto with leaders already in place. He thought it would be easy to replicate that success anywhere, no leadership skills necessary. He was dead wrong. |
Well it is strange that all his caveats created such a stir in the Clippers locker room but weren't a big enough problem in Toronto to stop them from winning a title. It's one reason i assumed he'd have more success as a Clipper than he did. Who did the Clippers lose from last season to this season that created such a leadership void? Could also be that Paul George's inconsistent presence just compounded everything. Instead of one guy soaking up 15-20 shots being in and out of the lineup, now it was two guys who soaked up 30+ shots. That's pretty significant. |
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unleasHell Franchise Player
Joined: 16 Apr 2001 Posts: 11591 Location: Stay Thirsty my Friends
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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AD23 wrote: | pjiddy wrote: | It is bizarre that Kawhi wants to have his "own team" but doesn't want to lead it. Very odd dude. |
Uncle Dennis didn’t do him any favors. |
This errr, These...! _________________ “Always remember... Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.” |
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vcdplaya3002 Starting Rotation
Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 272
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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The 48 win team from two years ago didn’t have any chemistry or locker room issues because they had no expectations to actually win anything and just making the playoffs was considered a success. Everyone had an underdog mindset so it was easy to buy into. As soon as you add championship expectations and two superstars into the mix the formula changed fast. Kawhi was always coming to LA after his season in Toronto. What he failed to do was properly evaluate the talent on all 3 rosters when making his decision. He assumed Paul George plus a deep team was gonna be enough. Either he or uncle Dennis screwed up real bad. I think he walks if they don’t win a ring next year and will happily go to a team that has leadership built in already. |
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dfchang813 Star Player
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 1508
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Dr. Laker wrote: | dfchang813 wrote: | vcdplaya3002 wrote: | The clippers need to treat the 2021 like it’s their last shot at a title because practically speaking it is. If I was their front office I would mortgage all assets to upgrade the team, including dumping Lou Williams and or Paul George. They have to forget about this idea they can run LA for the next five years or whatever their grand plan is. They have a one year title window and the door closes for prolly half of a decade. |
Lot longer than that. Lou is one dimensional aging player and Paul George stock has honestly never been lower. He is practically a meme now.
They just don’t have a lot of ways to improve. They hitched their wagon to the wrong stars and now they are screwed. Replacing Doc with Lue is a joke.
If they don’t win next year I can see both Kawhi and PG13 opting out and they will be done for a decade like we were. Except Lebron won’t be coming through that door to save them. I guess the sad thing is they thought Kawhi was Lebron ... but now we know the truth. |
Nope - Ballmer will sign-and-trade Pandemic P for another team's headache and will extend "55-games-per-season-Kawhi" as the Clippers string together a run of 48-win seasons. |
I don’t think Kawhi wants to stick around if they can’t contend with or without PG13. He will opt out and see what team he can join to win another chip and load manage. But he will want a max and that can get tricky. |
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ThePageDude Star Player
Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 2630
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:03 am Post subject: |
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dfchang813 wrote: | My take on Kawhi:
<Saving the trees>
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This is really well written, kudos! |
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SGV-Laker fan Star Player
Joined: 23 May 2013 Posts: 9078
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:08 am Post subject: |
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jonnybravo wrote: | dfchang813 wrote: | My take on Kawhi:
He is a supremely talented basketball player. When healthy one of the best 2 way players in league history. But the problem is that to win a championship, talent ALONE doesn't carry the day. You HAVE to have talent just to have a chance but to win it you need chemistry, cohesiveness, and leadership.
I think Kawhi is fine when he is part of an already championship culture or a very strong cohesive locker room with established leadership. But when that is absent and HE is the one expected to provide these things especially when things are going downhill or there is adversity, then he isn't the guy and when that happens the team fails.
On the Spurs and Raptors, he was the piece that took those teams over the top but those teams already had outstanding culture and outstanding coaches with outstanding leadership.
Kawhi's view of leadership is skewed and you can tell if you pay attention. During the bad break up with the Spurs, Greg Popovich said that Kawhi wasn't a true leader on the Spurs championship teams. And you can tell Kawhi was bothered by it because he responded in an interview saying nobody complained about his leadership when he was winning DPOY and locking down the opposing team's best players, etc, etc.
And there you have the insight into his thought process. He thinks being a leader is showing it on the floor, showing it via production, showing it by doing his work. And it is. But that's not all it is. Sometimes you have to INSPIRE your team to be greater than they are capable of. You have to get your teammates to perform better maybe than even they think the can. That's leadership that Kawhi will never ever have because he isn't built for it.
So when he went to the Clippers with a coach who is moronic compared to Pops and Nurse, with a mental midget like PG13, with a whole bunch of young players who were looking to HIM to provide leadership when the world was literally ending ... guess what? He couldn't do it.
Unlike Lebron who took his team back from a 3-1 deficity, Kawhi was the one who actually choked the 3-1 lead as his team got punched in the mouth and he did nothing but stand by and watch.
As for load management, well that's a tough issue to process. I don't believe for a second that Kawhi is lying or being lazy. I really do think he has a chronic degenerative condition that is affecting his quad and he MUST load manage to remain close to his Hall of Fame self. Again, the problem with this is that load management comes with a steep price and it's a price he never had to pay before because again he benefited from having unique teams that practiced it. The Spurs practically invented modern day load management and so did it very well with Kawhi as they did with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. And the Raptors were already a very good team with incredible chemistry and leadership before Kawhi even showed up. He took 22 games off and Toronto calmly went 17-5.
On the Clippers?? That won't work. Load managing on a grease fire of a team like this was a recipe for disaster as we saw. There was a lack of cohesion, lack of chemistry, and finally a simple lack of conditioning.
Kawhi is now realizing that load managing when you aren't on the right team means you won't be successful in the playoffs. If he load manages again, Clippers likely won't get out of the second round again in a stronger West. But if he DOESN'T load manage, maybe he just collapses by the playoffs and can't perform.
The tragedy and stupidity of the situation is that Kawhi would have had a much better chance of success if he had simply stayed in Toronto. With him they would have returned to the Finals and probably given the Lakers a run for their money. Remember Toronto gave the Lakers fits this season in their only two meetings even without Kawhi.
If he really wanted to go home to LA, he simply should have joined the Lakers. From a business and basketball perspective it was the obvious thing to do. Lebron and AD and Vogel would have provided the exact type of culture and balance to allow him to load manage without paying the price just like Spurs and Raptors. He would have dominated the league with Lebron and AD and sewn up another championship with ease while receiving ZERO heat for his load management requirements.
But instead he did the absolute worst thing he could have done. He decided he needed to be the man, to beat Lebron and he had to do it in L.A. to rub the Lakers nose in it. In other words, for a guy with a dying quad muscle, he got fooled into thinking his feces didn't stink. So he strong armed the Clippers into mortgaging their future for the next decade to get Paul George . . . the worst #2 EVER onto the team.
And now it's time to pay the price for his arrogance. The Clippers don't know it but their window is already closed.
But we are forgiving We'll sign him as a free agent in 2022 when he opts out and comes to us with his tail between his legs. But this time he gets the MLE. LoL |
This read like poetry. |
awesome read, i'm enjoying every single word of it. is this too long to be my signature? |
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greek laker Starting Rotation
Joined: 06 Dec 2017 Posts: 778
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