After the worst season in franchise history, wherein the Lakers employed a series of borderline NBA players on one-year deals, the Forum Blue and Gold has finally begun to employ competent NBA players on multiyear deals...the results of which remain to be seen.
OUT:
Jordan Hill has moved on to greener (bluer?) pastures, knocking up Magic City strippers and signing up with the Indiana Pacers.
Wesley Johnson has moved across the hall to the Clippers locker room, fulfilling his destiny as a backup forward who finishes lobs on the break.
Ed Davis, who moonlights as a rapper under the psuedonym 'YG 400', has signed with Portland.
Jeremy Lin is in Charlotte, where he can dribble into traffic with his head down and turn the ball over under the watchful eye of Michael 'No nikkaz' Jordan.
Wayne Ellington is with Brooklyn.
Ronnie Price is now with Phoenix, mostly to not play and be their 'break glass in case of emergency' lead guard.
Xavier Henry and Carlos Boozer have vanished into the basketball aether...may he Holdat in peace.
Robert Sacre and Ryan 'Krispy Kreme' Kelly have somehow remained with the team, hanging on akin to how a barnacle hangs on to a cruise ship.
IN:
D'Angelo Russell, the 2nd overall pick and best passer in the draft, is pegged to be the Lakers starting PG for the foreseeable future.
Larry 'Larry Springer' Nance Jr continues the trend of lightskinned Halfrican sons of former players in the league. Nance is an energetic combo forward with massive bounce and huge fan-favorite potential.
Anthony Brown, a local kid from Bellflower and lifelong Laker fan has potential to be a prototypical 3 and D wing player. Not very strong off the dribble but a very smart player with strong Defensive instincts, a dependable shot and a high character kid overall.
Roy 'No Homo' Hibbert will provide some much needed rim protection and Defense, a severe need for the Lakers after the layup line they provided the last two seasons.
Lou 'It Takes Two' Williams will provide scoring off the bench, perhaps signalling LA's dissatisfaction with Nick Young.
Brandon Bass will likely get the start at PF, being that Byron likes to bring rookies along slowly.
(I left out Frazier, Upshaw, Holmes, Metta because we don't know who will make the team or not. I'll edit this post when the final roster is released.)
The Lakers season-long projections in Vegas are that they will get 29 wins, with most media analysts expecting them to do even worse than that. How sweet it would be, for everything to break right and for the Lakers to make a push for the 8 seed.
If nothing else, this season will be more entertaining than the borefest scrub parade that was last season given that the team is actually fielding NBA caliber players now.
Go Lakers.
OUT:
Jordan Hill has moved on to greener (bluer?) pastures, knocking up Magic City strippers and signing up with the Indiana Pacers.
Wesley Johnson has moved across the hall to the Clippers locker room, fulfilling his destiny as a backup forward who finishes lobs on the break.
Ed Davis, who moonlights as a rapper under the psuedonym 'YG 400', has signed with Portland.
Jeremy Lin is in Charlotte, where he can dribble into traffic with his head down and turn the ball over under the watchful eye of Michael 'No nikkaz' Jordan.
Wayne Ellington is with Brooklyn.
Ronnie Price is now with Phoenix, mostly to not play and be their 'break glass in case of emergency' lead guard.
Xavier Henry and Carlos Boozer have vanished into the basketball aether...may he Holdat in peace.
Robert Sacre and Ryan 'Krispy Kreme' Kelly have somehow remained with the team, hanging on akin to how a barnacle hangs on to a cruise ship.
IN:
D'Angelo Russell, the 2nd overall pick and best passer in the draft, is pegged to be the Lakers starting PG for the foreseeable future.
Larry 'Larry Springer' Nance Jr continues the trend of lightskinned Halfrican sons of former players in the league. Nance is an energetic combo forward with massive bounce and huge fan-favorite potential.
Anthony Brown, a local kid from Bellflower and lifelong Laker fan has potential to be a prototypical 3 and D wing player. Not very strong off the dribble but a very smart player with strong Defensive instincts, a dependable shot and a high character kid overall.
Roy 'No Homo' Hibbert will provide some much needed rim protection and Defense, a severe need for the Lakers after the layup line they provided the last two seasons.
Lou 'It Takes Two' Williams will provide scoring off the bench, perhaps signalling LA's dissatisfaction with Nick Young.
Brandon Bass will likely get the start at PF, being that Byron likes to bring rookies along slowly.
(I left out Frazier, Upshaw, Holmes, Metta because we don't know who will make the team or not. I'll edit this post when the final roster is released.)
The Lakers season-long projections in Vegas are that they will get 29 wins, with most media analysts expecting them to do even worse than that. How sweet it would be, for everything to break right and for the Lakers to make a push for the 8 seed.
If nothing else, this season will be more entertaining than the borefest scrub parade that was last season given that the team is actually fielding NBA caliber players now.
Go Lakers.
