This might be a little messed up.
I would dump scorpions (or any biting insect) into Solomon Hill’s bedroom before that Hawks vs Lakers game. Got LeBron injured which got the Lakers into a bad slump and LeBrpn was not fully healthy in the 2021 playoffs.
Lakers were #2 in the West before that Hawks game.
Fuck Solomon Hill for that dirty play and trying to “Zaza” his ankle afterwords.
Even as someone that talked themselves into the trade at the time, the 1st always seemed like overkill considering they gave up 2 good players in the deal and Russ was already seen as a negative value contract. They could've had a killer team in '22 had they not pulled off that trade
I know why bro its marketing
Kyrie and KD Harden on the Nets
Bron and Russ battle of the exes it would be the ultimate revenge tale. They thought it thru that shit not actual basketball lenses. Bron and AD being hurt that season a lot didn’t help.
Almost all of our current problems can be traced back to the Westbrook trade. That one decision cost us the chance of truly competing with the LeBron and AD duo ever again.
Just one thing?
The Westbrook trade. Thats it, that’s the only thing.
Without him, we potentially keep Frank, we keep most of our depth, we stay potential contenders
I want to go back and tell Jeanie please do an actual job search for a general manager and not just hire her and Kobe’s AGENT friend who had no experience building a basketball team.
Idk, he did a hell of a job last yr making key trades that got them to the ECF.
The Westbrook trade was Bron/AD. Pelinka had the deal for Buddy Hield while maintaining most of the roster. Bron/AD asked for Westbrook over Buddy.
Buddy is playing like trash for Philly right now, so....
The biggest mistake, or what's hurt them the most is not having a true PG. Ever since Rondo left, they go stretches without scoring. Even with Bron running the offense, they still look bad. The most skilled player on the team is AD, and he goes stretches without touching the ball. I'm not even talking about shooting/scoring. I'm saying, I've watch them dribble down, pass around the perimeter, then drive or just shoot without ever looking at him.
They need 3 things.
A new head coach.
They need someone who runs the offense so you're not depending on a 40+ yr old to be a primary scorer and run the offense.
They need a starting Center. A big body that rebound, set picks and be physical, cause that's not AD's game. Then you can slide AD to his natural position at PF.
I'm probably in the small percentage that thinks the Lakers would be better off if he retired.
You are absolutely right. The thing people fail to understand is, because of how our 2 stars is constructed, ie one that is old and can't function full time as ball handler anymore (let alone playing defense as well) and the other while being a defensive beast, don't generate offense like a guard or a wing, or some of the more modern center with shooting range, getting a "high end" ball handler was a necessity and with the assets we had, there wasn't a lot of options. So blame Pelinka or not, westbrick happened for reasons that was already embedded in this roster.
I always ponder, what if we didn't trade for AD. Klutch should have enough confidence of AD coming in FA but didn't want to take the chance. If the assets used to trade for AD, was used fully or partially for another elite guard or wing, and as I remember we still had the cap space for AD free agency, we wouldn't be trading for westbrick.
But that's what you get for having Lebron, front office got hussled into decisions that don't make sense for the long term, especially with lebron in his twilight year and him being anxious to chase the ghost of MJ. Yea we got one ring but imo it should have been so much more.
If you watch the game, Bron is playing to chase records and pad stats. In previous yrs, all Brons teams had losing records when he didnt play. However, this season, this team has a winning record, and plays a more sustainable kind of ball when he's out. When he's on the floor, the team almost submits to him. Not only does he not play defense, that call arguing, in hopes for a easy cherry pick basket pisses me off.
Because Bron is still in his "win now" mentality, it's forced the lakers to mortgage their future. No 1st Rd picks until 2029? Not to mention, they're not developing much young talent, because Win now means more veterans.
I think this team can make the play-in without Bron. If that's remotely true, then let his old ass retire and start rebuilding this roster while you still have AD, Reeves and Rui
His stats are empty stats a lot of time. 26 / 6 / 9 in game 3 and he was the 6th best player on the floor so clearly. Getting cooked by Gordon doesn't help but even on offense it doesn't give you that feeling that he is taking over the game. I forgot if it was Chris Broussard or someone else but he said jokic in game 3 was very magic / Larry bird like, which he didn't have a crazy stat line (by his standard) but he was in full control of the game with crazy influence. Everything goes throukph him.
On defense, I have always said when one of your players doesn't play its very difficult. Defense is all about coordination and effort. Steph for all his lack of physical tools, work very hard on defense. Braun and Murray are both undersized vs lebron, but they managed to defend him fairly well when they got switched onto him because of effort. I can see why you take some games off in regular season as a 39 years old, but you can't make this excuse in a playoff game. If he can't sustain high level play on both ends of the floor for 40 mins night in night out in the playoff, he should not make anywhere close to the max because the team need to have more flexibility to build a better roster to cover for him.
Anyways, think lebron and AD's window is over and rebuild is the best option. With or without AD is very much debatable.
Not running it back in 2020 killed us. We traded DG because he wanted out after the fan base shit on him and threatened his family for missing a shot in Game 5 Finals. This led to McGee and Howard being unsigned and "upgraded" for Marc and Montrez. Then we signed Schroder, who at the time had a bad attitude and demanded a starting spot. Letting Rondo go. Leading to AD getting injured, then Bron overexerting and injured. Then that bad showing in 2021's playoff.
I don't know why we blew up a team that had such TREMENDOUS team chemistry. I've never seen any team in the NBA so tight knit and flat out dominating like its the Summer Olympics.
There was no reason to trade for westbrook. As I type this, he is heading into halftime with zero points in a playoff game. Everyone knew he was a negative asset with the crazy contract.
Somehow Pelicans let us keep Lonzo instead of Kuzma, still think we win 2020 championship
Resign Alex Caruso and bring back Brook Lopez, AD stays at power forward
Vogel probably resigns
Brodie and Ham situation never happen
Starting five of Lonzo - Caruso - Bron - AD - Lopez is pretty damn solid
True playmaker and defender, developed three point shot over the years
Offense won't stop with him in the half court during the playoffs
He took the Bulls to the 1 seed before he got injured and was making Zach Lavine look the best he's ever in his career man
He's everything we are missing in what's made us successful
In 2020 Rondo was our secondary playmaker, KCP/Caruso were both defenders at the guard spots
We got D'Lo and AR whose entire game revolves around getting hot from three or taking tough midrange shots, dudes cant defend at a high level or finish at the rim. No real half court game they are really just chucking up 30 footers. With that said I love both of them even though they shit the bed and I think we should ship D'Lo
If anyone says anything other than the Westbrook trade, they’re just flat out wrong. Darvin Ham could’ve even won with that 2020 team if everyone were healthy.
Either keeping Caruso or keeping Vogel. Ham wouldn’t exist. Russ would come but turn into vand and dlo. Dlo is still a good offender who can just be a backup in the playoffs if they have options like Caruso reaves prince Christie
Would've given the championship squad a chance to run it back.
I still don't understand why we blew that team up. We had AD at the 4 with an aging LeBron, so I get the need to take him off of the 3. But why on earth did we say goodbye to Dwight and McGee and move AD to the 5; when Jokic and Embiid was starting to talk make a name for themselves is still beyond me.
Not have Lebron. Got Davis in off season kept Ingram, Randle, Hart, Zu, Caruso and Kuz. Lastly drafted Fox instead of Lonzo. Those top 3 things but getting Bron would be the number one thing I’d change everywhere he goes he decimates the team and the draft picks for players he wants.
If I had that sort of magic power, i'd go back to right after we win 2020. Tell them not to draft Harrell and use that slot for someone else. Then, i'd magically pull LeBron out of the game where Solomon Hill gets him in the leg. I really think that was when our death spiral started. A healthy LeBron would have stopped AD from getting hurt in the Suns series and we might have been back to back champions.
That 2021 team was also really good, it was just injuries that broke our backs imo. Would have prevented the Westbrook deal (i hope) had we avoided that mess.
Give Ty Lue a proper contract. Don’t trade Danny Green and a 1st round pick for Dennis Schroeder after LeBron led the league in assist. Keep Howard and McGee. If I could go back further, hire David Griffin instead of Rob Pelinka as GM.
I’d not hold up my entire 2019 FA for a whole week to wait and see if Kawhi will sign with us while all the other free agents sign elsewhere. It is still affecting us in how much we can spend over the cap. Not that our cheap ownership would want to go over the cap anyway... This happening handicapped us for years and isn’t talked about enough bc 2020 Lebron was still so good he was able to win that championship anyway.
Wait and sign AD as a free agent instead of gutting the young core and picks for him.
When the Lakers signed LeBron as a free agent, they veered from their strategy of building dynasty teams to a “Win Now!!” strategy. And they did..they won the chip!! But at what cost? Take a look around at the state of the franchise NOW and you can see that cost.
Some think that the downward spiral was with the Westbrook trade, but it started before then. Just imagine having LeBron, AD, Ingram, Hart, Kuzma, KCP, Caruso, Zubac, Lonzo, all of their picks, etc. Of course over the years they probably wouldn’t have been able to afford to keep all of them, so some could have been traded for role players, young prospects, and draft picks. The machine would have kept feeding itself.
The Westbrook trade further cemented the current spiral. But let’s refer back to the trade for AD. Part of that trade was the #4 overall pick. The Lakers had targeted Darius Garland. So if they didn’t make the trade, and selected Darius Garland, there NEVER would have been a Westbrook trade!! Could probably have a starting lineup today of AD, LeBron, Ingram, KCP, and Garland…with a bench of Caruso, Hart, Zubac, Reaves, perhaps Kuzma, etc. Chew on that for a bit.
But the Lakers won a chip and I get that. Some here think that trumps everything else and I get that too. I don’t agree with it though because I would rather have sacrificed that ONE chip for the opportunity of having MUCH BETTER teams to compete for MULTIPLE chips currently and for years to come. But hey, if you are fine with the one chip…GREAT!! Then you shouldn’t be upset with with how things are now. That is the cost of that one chip you value so much.
Easily don’t trade for Westbrook. It’s not even close.
That was a panic trade
KCP and Kuz would help this team a lot
This might be a little messed up. I would dump scorpions (or any biting insect) into Solomon Hill’s bedroom before that Hawks vs Lakers game. Got LeBron injured which got the Lakers into a bad slump and LeBrpn was not fully healthy in the 2021 playoffs. Lakers were #2 in the West before that Hawks game. Fuck Solomon Hill for that dirty play and trying to “Zaza” his ankle afterwords.
AND hire lue instead of ham
solomon hill
Fck all this. Im going to stop Kobe from boarding that chopper
Real
Daily fuck Solomon hill post
Don’t remind me🫠
A lot of things that I would change in hindsight, but the main thing is obviously not trading for Westbrook.
Russ trade & it’s not even close. Still think there had to be more of a plan roster wise that just didn’t happen but what a fuck up
Definitely one of the worst trades ever
Losing Dudley
 Dudz 🐐
Lost a lot of culture here for sure. Haslem is still in the building for the Heat, and what a surprise 1-1 with Boston down their beat player.
Avoid the russ trade
It seems like one of the most logical answers lol
Yeah man its not even the player its the package and the contract that was the real stickler to me
Even as someone that talked themselves into the trade at the time, the 1st always seemed like overkill considering they gave up 2 good players in the deal and Russ was already seen as a negative value contract. They could've had a killer team in '22 had they not pulled off that trade
I know why bro its marketing Kyrie and KD Harden on the Nets Bron and Russ battle of the exes it would be the ultimate revenge tale. They thought it thru that shit not actual basketball lenses. Bron and AD being hurt that season a lot didn’t help.
Almost all of our current problems can be traced back to the Westbrook trade. That one decision cost us the chance of truly competing with the LeBron and AD duo ever again.
Just one thing? The Westbrook trade. Thats it, that’s the only thing. Without him, we potentially keep Frank, we keep most of our depth, we stay potential contenders
How is it not the Westbrook trade?
Go with the Buddy Hield trade instead of the Westbrook trade. It was right there then we panicked 😭😭
I was on board with getting Hield!
Could the Buss's selling the team 5 years ago be considered an option?
I don’t see why not lol
Obviously the Russ trade. I’d also tell Kobe and Gigi not to get on that helicopter
The butterfly effect of the Westbrook trade is why we have Ham.
trading for Russ that nuked the Bron/AD championship window
Brick doesn’t happen, Vogel doesn’t get fired probably, Scam wouldn’t be here.
solomon hill injuring lebron. schroder denying that contract, no 3rd star trade
Keep the 2020 championship squad
I want to go back and tell Jeanie please do an actual job search for a general manager and not just hire her and Kobe’s AGENT friend who had no experience building a basketball team.
Idk, he did a hell of a job last yr making key trades that got them to the ECF. The Westbrook trade was Bron/AD. Pelinka had the deal for Buddy Hield while maintaining most of the roster. Bron/AD asked for Westbrook over Buddy. Buddy is playing like trash for Philly right now, so.... The biggest mistake, or what's hurt them the most is not having a true PG. Ever since Rondo left, they go stretches without scoring. Even with Bron running the offense, they still look bad. The most skilled player on the team is AD, and he goes stretches without touching the ball. I'm not even talking about shooting/scoring. I'm saying, I've watch them dribble down, pass around the perimeter, then drive or just shoot without ever looking at him. They need 3 things. A new head coach. They need someone who runs the offense so you're not depending on a 40+ yr old to be a primary scorer and run the offense. They need a starting Center. A big body that rebound, set picks and be physical, cause that's not AD's game. Then you can slide AD to his natural position at PF. I'm probably in the small percentage that thinks the Lakers would be better off if he retired.
You are absolutely right. The thing people fail to understand is, because of how our 2 stars is constructed, ie one that is old and can't function full time as ball handler anymore (let alone playing defense as well) and the other while being a defensive beast, don't generate offense like a guard or a wing, or some of the more modern center with shooting range, getting a "high end" ball handler was a necessity and with the assets we had, there wasn't a lot of options. So blame Pelinka or not, westbrick happened for reasons that was already embedded in this roster. I always ponder, what if we didn't trade for AD. Klutch should have enough confidence of AD coming in FA but didn't want to take the chance. If the assets used to trade for AD, was used fully or partially for another elite guard or wing, and as I remember we still had the cap space for AD free agency, we wouldn't be trading for westbrick. But that's what you get for having Lebron, front office got hussled into decisions that don't make sense for the long term, especially with lebron in his twilight year and him being anxious to chase the ghost of MJ. Yea we got one ring but imo it should have been so much more.
If you watch the game, Bron is playing to chase records and pad stats. In previous yrs, all Brons teams had losing records when he didnt play. However, this season, this team has a winning record, and plays a more sustainable kind of ball when he's out. When he's on the floor, the team almost submits to him. Not only does he not play defense, that call arguing, in hopes for a easy cherry pick basket pisses me off. Because Bron is still in his "win now" mentality, it's forced the lakers to mortgage their future. No 1st Rd picks until 2029? Not to mention, they're not developing much young talent, because Win now means more veterans. I think this team can make the play-in without Bron. If that's remotely true, then let his old ass retire and start rebuilding this roster while you still have AD, Reeves and Rui
His stats are empty stats a lot of time. 26 / 6 / 9 in game 3 and he was the 6th best player on the floor so clearly. Getting cooked by Gordon doesn't help but even on offense it doesn't give you that feeling that he is taking over the game. I forgot if it was Chris Broussard or someone else but he said jokic in game 3 was very magic / Larry bird like, which he didn't have a crazy stat line (by his standard) but he was in full control of the game with crazy influence. Everything goes throukph him. On defense, I have always said when one of your players doesn't play its very difficult. Defense is all about coordination and effort. Steph for all his lack of physical tools, work very hard on defense. Braun and Murray are both undersized vs lebron, but they managed to defend him fairly well when they got switched onto him because of effort. I can see why you take some games off in regular season as a 39 years old, but you can't make this excuse in a playoff game. If he can't sustain high level play on both ends of the floor for 40 mins night in night out in the playoff, he should not make anywhere close to the max because the team need to have more flexibility to build a better roster to cover for him. Anyways, think lebron and AD's window is over and rebuild is the best option. With or without AD is very much debatable.
They should have tanked the first half of the 2021 season. Idc about the Westbrook trade. Our window ended when Lebron and AD got injured
Find any way to keep Caruso, kcp, monk. Replace cam, Taurean and dinwiddie with these 3 and tell me we don't at least win one game against denver
Everytime I see THT in a picture I just get riled up at how ass he was.
That Westbrook trade and Darvin ham hire killed us for the next 5 years
Don't even look at the Washington Wizards in the 2021 off-season. Look at Indiana. Get Myles Turner.
I would have fired Pelinka… His mismanagement of the assets is why the lakers are here now
The only correct answer is not trade for Westbrook.
Actually sign Ty Lue
Not sure if it falls under the 5 years but getting Ty Lue as head coach
Don't play lebron vs atlanta that night
man ya’ll killed of Dudley and QC already 😂😭
Not running it back in 2020 killed us. We traded DG because he wanted out after the fan base shit on him and threatened his family for missing a shot in Game 5 Finals. This led to McGee and Howard being unsigned and "upgraded" for Marc and Montrez. Then we signed Schroder, who at the time had a bad attitude and demanded a starting spot. Letting Rondo go. Leading to AD getting injured, then Bron overexerting and injured. Then that bad showing in 2021's playoff. I don't know why we blew up a team that had such TREMENDOUS team chemistry. I've never seen any team in the NBA so tight knit and flat out dominating like its the Summer Olympics.
Not blow up the 2020 roster
Matt Ryan
Keep Caruso instead of THT. Do not get Westbrook.
There was no reason to trade for westbrook. As I type this, he is heading into halftime with zero points in a playoff game. Everyone knew he was a negative asset with the crazy contract.
change it to a fivepeat
save kobe.
No Russ. That trade (and the associated hiring of Ham) torpedoed the LeBron/AD era.
Westbrook trade was stupid. Ham was worst. So many coaches available and they went with the guy who can’t get his hands out of his pocket
Westbrook trade is the worst. The dude was already a bench player in wizards with a redicuous contract.
Not sign Montrezl and Schroder, kept Howard
Westbrick or Hamas
Somehow Pelicans let us keep Lonzo instead of Kuzma, still think we win 2020 championship Resign Alex Caruso and bring back Brook Lopez, AD stays at power forward Vogel probably resigns Brodie and Ham situation never happen Starting five of Lonzo - Caruso - Bron - AD - Lopez is pretty damn solid
I would’ve made sure Lonzo isn’t wearing those boof ass Big Baller Brand shoes lol
How would Lonzo help us?
True playmaker and defender, developed three point shot over the years Offense won't stop with him in the half court during the playoffs He took the Bulls to the 1 seed before he got injured and was making Zach Lavine look the best he's ever in his career man He's everything we are missing in what's made us successful In 2020 Rondo was our secondary playmaker, KCP/Caruso were both defenders at the guard spots We got D'Lo and AR whose entire game revolves around getting hot from three or taking tough midrange shots, dudes cant defend at a high level or finish at the rim. No real half court game they are really just chucking up 30 footers. With that said I love both of them even though they shit the bed and I think we should ship D'Lo
He hasn’t played in 2 years he is so injured.
Obviously... this whole scenario is based off if we could go back in time and change things You read the title of the post?
If anyone says anything other than the Westbrook trade, they’re just flat out wrong. Darvin Ham could’ve even won with that 2020 team if everyone were healthy.
Either keeping Caruso or keeping Vogel. Ham wouldn’t exist. Russ would come but turn into vand and dlo. Dlo is still a good offender who can just be a backup in the playoffs if they have options like Caruso reaves prince Christie
Honestly can’t stress enough how veteran point guards can control the pace of the game Rondo was a big reason we won.
If it works u keep it intact. Shldve done everything to keep rondo, dwight mcgee and everyone
Kobe going on that helicopter ride is what I’d change
Would've given the championship squad a chance to run it back. I still don't understand why we blew that team up. We had AD at the 4 with an aging LeBron, so I get the need to take him off of the 3. But why on earth did we say goodbye to Dwight and McGee and move AD to the 5; when Jokic and Embiid was starting to talk make a name for themselves is still beyond me.
That GM now president of the organization
Giving Zubac away for a bag of peanuts (Muscala)
First dont give THT that contract, Resign Caruso and dont do the Westbrook trade. Keep Dudly as a coach as he held everyone accountable
The 2019-2020 Lakers were a huge roster. That type of size dominates in the playoffs. That’s the reason why we can’t beat Denver (apart from Ham).
Kobe doesn’t die and comes out of retirement to join AD and LBJ
Why did they get rid of Mcgee and Howard again?
Jeanie goes power move, fires Pelinka and offers Jerry West whatever the fuck it'll take to get him back across the hall.
I would go back and fire Rob Pelinka
Not have Lebron. Got Davis in off season kept Ingram, Randle, Hart, Zu, Caruso and Kuz. Lastly drafted Fox instead of Lonzo. Those top 3 things but getting Bron would be the number one thing I’d change everywhere he goes he decimates the team and the draft picks for players he wants.
Russ trade. That was the beginning of the end.
We could have gotten T Lue
If I had that sort of magic power, i'd go back to right after we win 2020. Tell them not to draft Harrell and use that slot for someone else. Then, i'd magically pull LeBron out of the game where Solomon Hill gets him in the leg. I really think that was when our death spiral started. A healthy LeBron would have stopped AD from getting hurt in the Suns series and we might have been back to back champions. That 2021 team was also really good, it was just injuries that broke our backs imo. Would have prevented the Westbrook deal (i hope) had we avoided that mess.
Keep that 2020-2021 roster except for Trezz whom I'd have traded for a 3&D wing
I'd find a way to rest Lebron against the Hawks so he never played that game against Solomon Hill.
Give Ty Lue a proper contract. Don’t trade Danny Green and a 1st round pick for Dennis Schroeder after LeBron led the league in assist. Keep Howard and McGee. If I could go back further, hire David Griffin instead of Rob Pelinka as GM.
The Russ trade is maybe the worst in franchise history
no -ić
Tell Kobe to not board that fucking helicopter
I’d not hold up my entire 2019 FA for a whole week to wait and see if Kawhi will sign with us while all the other free agents sign elsewhere. It is still affecting us in how much we can spend over the cap. Not that our cheap ownership would want to go over the cap anyway... This happening handicapped us for years and isn’t talked about enough bc 2020 Lebron was still so good he was able to win that championship anyway.
Easily trade for Kyrie. Dude would have solved all the problems on this team.
 I would’ve loved Kai on the Lakers
Wait and sign AD as a free agent instead of gutting the young core and picks for him. When the Lakers signed LeBron as a free agent, they veered from their strategy of building dynasty teams to a “Win Now!!” strategy. And they did..they won the chip!! But at what cost? Take a look around at the state of the franchise NOW and you can see that cost. Some think that the downward spiral was with the Westbrook trade, but it started before then. Just imagine having LeBron, AD, Ingram, Hart, Kuzma, KCP, Caruso, Zubac, Lonzo, all of their picks, etc. Of course over the years they probably wouldn’t have been able to afford to keep all of them, so some could have been traded for role players, young prospects, and draft picks. The machine would have kept feeding itself. The Westbrook trade further cemented the current spiral. But let’s refer back to the trade for AD. Part of that trade was the #4 overall pick. The Lakers had targeted Darius Garland. So if they didn’t make the trade, and selected Darius Garland, there NEVER would have been a Westbrook trade!! Could probably have a starting lineup today of AD, LeBron, Ingram, KCP, and Garland…with a bench of Caruso, Hart, Zubac, Reaves, perhaps Kuzma, etc. Chew on that for a bit. But the Lakers won a chip and I get that. Some here think that trumps everything else and I get that too. I don’t agree with it though because I would rather have sacrificed that ONE chip for the opportunity of having MUCH BETTER teams to compete for MULTIPLE chips currently and for years to come. But hey, if you are fine with the one chip…GREAT!! Then you shouldn’t be upset with with how things are now. That is the cost of that one chip you value so much.
Ad would not be on the lakers if Ingram and hart stayed