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Is LA the new Bay?

Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors on dethroning the injury-ridden Warriors en route to Canada’s first NBA championship, all while halting the first 3-peat bid since the Lakers in the early 2000’s.

Sorry Leafs fans – but that has to sting!

Kawhi Leonard‘s play throughout the postseason quickly silenced the haters and made everyone that called him”soft” look like a complete fool (@Michelle Beadle and @Skip Bayless). The 2019 Finals MVP came through in the clutch time and time again, but it was the veteran Raptor, Kyle Lowry, that dominated the early portion of Game 6. Lowry scored the Six’s first 11 points of the game and came out firing on all cylinders, setting the tone for the entire team and for the game itself.

Who knows what would have happened if it weren’t for the Kevin Durant achilles injury or the Klay Thompson ACL injury, but Toronto definitely pushed the pace all series and developed a game plan to limit Stephen Curry just enough to come away with the Larry O’Brien.

Injuries are apart of the game (ask the Warriors in 2015 and 2018), that’s just the way it is. That is simply sports in a nut shell. Can you stay healthy long enough, and if not, are the severity of the injuries minimal?

For the Bay, they could not stay off the mend, and the Raptors could. The toll of reaching five straight NBA Finals’ has finally caught up to the Warriors and quite possibly ended the dynasty altogether.

Or has it?

Well, after Anthony Davis hijacked Toronto’s championship parade over the weekend via his trade to the LA Lakers, the state of California might now have a southern shift in dominance across the Western Conference.

The Brow expressed his trade request in the midst of the 2018-19 season that virtually and publicly tore the Lakers franchise apart. Without even being traded he divided LeBron James and the entire Lakers locker room and derailed the purple and gold’s campaign for good.

Fast forward to this past Saturday and the divide in the Lakers organization is no more. Davis was dealt from the Pelicans to LA for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the 2019 1st round pick (4th overall), and three additional first-rounders. This blockbuster trade sent shock waves across the league and will potentially impact where other free agent all-stars sign this July.

The Lakers have room for one more max contract (if AD chooses to not pickup his $4.1 million trade bonus) and the addition of Davis will easily help lure one of the bigger free agent stars this summer.

As for Golden State’s dynasty, the KD injury doesn’t effect them much as he was most likely on his way out the door anyways. However, it impacts how other big markets such as the Knicks, Nets and Clippers perform in free agency.

The Nets are reportedly the front runners to sign Kyrie Irving, although I think that is completely wrong. He went to Boston with younger players and minimal stars and proved that he couldn’t win on his own, so now he wants to try and do the same in Brooklyn? Yeah, good one.

Irving, I believe, is either signing with the Knicks or he is going to team up again with LeBron in Southern Cal. The KD injury has a huge impact on this move as he and Irving were reportedly going to team up at MSG, but now we might not ever know.

Leonard on the other hand will have a MASSIVE decision to make as well. Does he stay in the North Country and dominate the East another year? Does he wait to see where other stars sign and make a move from there? Does he simply want to play at home in California, and if so, does he want to be the main star with the Clips or the sidekick of Batman on the Lakers?

If his family could choose, they would pick the Lakers (Insta photoshop job from his sister), but if the Claw is choosing for himself, then I really have no idea.

If the Lakers fail to land either star, then Kemba Walker becomes a real option. He would fill the void at PG throughout the season, giving James a major break other than load management. Like Irving, Kemba is a sensational playmaker and can work well with LeBron and AD. The pick and roll will be virtually unstoppable and this “Big 3” can dominate any lineup with or without depth.

Whoever LA gets, and they will be getting one of them, they are the clear cut favorites heading into 2019-20. With Klay sidelined until next February (after he re-signs with the Dubs) and KD out for next year, the Warriors dynasty appears to be on its death bed.

I’m not saying that The Bay won’t be in the playoffs next year or even the Western Finals for that matter, because I’m not. They still have the original “Big 3” with Green and Curry that won over 70 games, but with Klay missing significant time and the KD era coming to a close, the door has been kicked wide open in a deep conference that has a number of stars.

The Thunder have proven time and time again that they cannot win with Russell Westbrook and there appears to be major turmoil in Houston with Chris Paul and James Harden. Portland to me seems like a one-year-wonder and the Nuggets just don’t have that “IT” factor to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Rob Pelinka finally pulled the trigger on the AD trade and the torch has officially been passed to LeBron and the Lakers even without the assurance of a third star.

I don’t know how long this mini dynasty in LA will last, but LeBron is still the best player in the world today heading into year 17 and the addition of a top-5 NBA star to his roster has all but locked up a Finals bid in 2020.

 

 

 

 

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How the Lakers Won by Not Landing AD

The NBA Trade Deadline came and went on Thursday, but the LA Lakers failed to land Pelicans star Anthony Davis. Wednesday night looked as if the deal was going to get done, but New Orleans countered Thursday morning with an offer that only an insane GM would accept.

Selling the farm for a perennial All-Star top-5 NBA player sounds like a sure thing, especially adding him to a roster with LeBron James, but the reality of it is that it would have actually been the worst decision LA could have made. The Lakers would have had to give up their entire young core (Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram) as well as three first-round picks and three second-round picks.  Yes, you read that correctly…

How could a team that lost four players who log significant minutes possibly function by adding just one injury-prone superstar? The answer to that question is that they wouldn’t…at least this year.

Now, looking at the big picture, maybe the trade would make sense. Land AD, make LBJ happy, open up cap space to land a notable free-agent in July all with the mindset of dethroning the Golden State Warriors. Sounds simple enough…right?

Not so fast! The NBA is changing and has changed drastically over the past decade. It’s a shooters league now and the only way to win in this league is if you have players who can hit from beyond the arc. The only way to be the best is if you beat the best and the Warriors have three stars who shot over 41 percent from downtown in 2017-18. Thursday night’s win on the road at Boston simply demonstrated why the Lakers needed to keep some of their younger pieces.

Kyle Kuzma not only went toe-to-toe with the C’s point guard, but he made numerous big time buckets from deep when LA needed him the most. He is second on the team in PPG and is shooting over 31 percent from three. Kuz has taken big strides this year and has played very well through the trade talk rumors. His performance in Boston is why LA needs to keep him around and why he will be a piece to this puzzle they are trying to put together.

The Rajon Rondo buzzer-beater was the type of moment that the Lakers can rally around with the current roster and possibly shake some things up in the West. LeBron’s injury is the only reason they aren’t currently in a playoff spot, but if this team can find a way in (which they will…they have the King), I would not want to be the team facing them in round 1.

As far as missing out on AD, the Lakers are not in any rush to win this year. The goal was to never win this year…it was to develop their core, see who they can elevate and trade, and then bring in one or possibly two free-agents in July. The plan wasn’t to panic and throw the kitchen sink at the Pelicans because Davis suddenly wanted a trade. The plan all along or what it should have been all along was to get Kawhi Leonard on July 1, and then take a bid at Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson. Disrupting Golden State’s roster is the single most important play in the signing of James, and if that fails…then you must re-load.

This apparent rumor that Kyrie Irving is going to reunite with LeBron in LA is pretty comical, but you never know for certain. His public comments about being frustrated along with him announcing that he called the King about leadership is something to be noted…but I just don’t see them teaming up again unless it is in the All-Star Game! I’m not saying that it won’t happen because the NBA is the one league that it could…but it all depends on how Boston finishes in June or even May for that matter.

The game is changing and you need a combination of play-makers and shooters, not an injury prone power forward in exchange for depth and talent. Davis is one of the game’s best players, no question, but the only way to disrupt the Bay’s dynasty is to either lure one of the Big 4 away or stock up on positions that can compete with them and not selling the farm in the process.

Sure, if LA had to give up the silo and a few tractors to nab the Brow then it would have been a no brainer, but you simply cannot sell the farm for anybody in today’s game. A little patience goes a long way sometimes and this time it will almost certainly pay off.

Durant did what he left OKC to do–win titles. So he will likely be on the move in July. DeMarcus Cousins signed a cheap one-year deal to win a ring and win or lose he will be gone. If the Lakers can lure Thompson, which will be a stretch because he seems to love it in Oakland, then they will have successfully completed what they set out to do. But that is a big stretch to say the least!

The Lakers basically have three years to figure this out and win a title, but it all starts with landing Kawhi this July. If the Lake Show can land the Claw then they will be able to make the farm trade for AD. It cannot be the other way around because who knows what could happen. Toronto makes a run and he feels they can win and signs another year. Or Durant decides to stay or Irving stays…it is not a guarantee. Nothing is a guarantee, which is why you need some form of security in your back pocket.

Missing out on Davis at the deadline was a blessing in disguise for LA and only strengthens their championship rebuild plans even further. Magic Johnson just better create some noise in July or this entire plan burns to pieces before year two even begins.