April 27Apr 27 On 4/26/2025 at 11:36 AM, Pato del Muerto said: To the lakers of course. For DFS and a rolling ball rack. “they believed that they were making the best trade on behalf of the Denver Nuggets. Whether that turns out to be true, again, only time will tell.” - Adam Silver, probably
April 28Apr 28 On 4/26/2025 at 11:28 AM, ztejas said: What's crazy is that it doesn't even matter how Luka turns out with the Lakers. They should have gotten more back in the trade. They should have shopped him. Nico will never be right for what he did. Exactly. However the Luka era of the Lakers goes has zero to do with how the trade went down and what Dallas got in return. Lakers have a very flawed roster construction right now, one where a 40yr old Lebron is being asked to play a ton of minutes. But the future for LA with Luka alone shits all over Dallas' future with broken down, aging AD and Kyrie. And who knows how long Kyrie will even be here or how much he even plays next year. I doubt we even get to see what this roster of AD/Kyrie and others can even do because one or both of them will always be injured. It's months later and I'm still baffled about how dumb this trade is. And Luka has been doing his part so far against Minnesota as he did last year with Dallas.
April 29Apr 29 And the Mavs should have gotten Reeves, at the very least, PLUS that other 1st round pick they had available. It's malpractice they didn't.
April 29Apr 29 And the Mavs should have gotten Reeves, at the very least, PLUS that other 1st round pick they had available. It's malpractice they didn't.Back up the Brinks truck, these cowards didnt put Luka on the trading block because they had no way to explain it. No contract dispute or player dissatisfaction. No rebuild. I think Barkley got traded without his knowledge for Jeff Hornacek and some spares. But that was offseason.
April 30Apr 30 On 4/28/2025 at 8:07 AM, Vic Mackey said: Exactly. However the Luka era of the Lakers goes has zero to do with how the trade went down and what Dallas got in return. Lakers have a very flawed roster construction right now, one where a 40yr old Lebron is being asked to play a ton of minutes. But the future for LA with Luka alone shits all over Dallas' future with broken down, aging AD and Kyrie. And who knows how long Kyrie will even be here or how much he even plays next year. I doubt we even get to see what this roster of AD/Kyrie and others can even do because one or both of them will always be injured. It's months later and I'm still baffled about how dumb this trade is. And Luka has been doing his part so far against Minnesota as he did last year with Dallas. Any reasonable Lakers fan (Haha I know) can say that our championship for this season was getting Luka. The roster has no credible center that Luka can use to get easy points. LeBron is getting way too many minutes, but again there is no credible big. Rui is overextended as well, but he plays hard and generally makes the right play on offense. He works well with Luka. This team just has to find two bigs who can run with Luka. He gets that and things change quite a bit for next year’s outlook.
May 1May 1 3 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said: Haven’t thought about Ted DiBiase in God knows how many years. Man that’s a throwback. I have a friend that is really into wrestling and his younger brother was doing some amateur wrestling events for several years.
May 1May 1 Haven’t thought about Ted DiBiase in God knows how many years. Man that’s a throwback. I have a friend that is really into wrestling and his younger brother was doing some amateur wrestling events for several years. He was a great heel. WWE/WWF don’t make them like they used to
May 1May 1 Y 5 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said: You're SOOO damned lucky Nico was dumb enough to trade Luka. He clearly isn't happy there, and that team was a fucking disaster roster/fit wise.
May 1May 1 Y You're SOOO damned lucky Nico was dumb enough to trade Luka. He clearly isn't happy there, and that team was a fucking disaster roster/fit wise. did nico build the team around Luka or did he come after Luka was drafted. This roster isn’t going to be transformed in a season. It might take a few years, with the right moves health etc to see the Luka lakers contend. I know they’ll have a ton of cap space when Lebrons off the books but Luka will opt out and sign a major deal there or elsewhere.Elsewhere then it’s a disaster for La Dallas would’ve been a tough out even with Kyrie going down. You should’ve kept grimes too.
May 1May 1 1 hour ago, Drew said: Y You're SOOO damned lucky Nico was dumb enough to trade Luka. He clearly isn't happy there, and that team was a fucking disaster roster/fit wise. Where are you getting this? Not the vibe I'm getting.
May 1May 1 23 minutes ago, Sbbruin said: Where are you getting this? Not the vibe I'm getting. Just watch him play man...Mavs fans that have watched every game see it. He isn't playing with the joy he had in Dallas, even when he was having bad games, or the refs got in his head...you can tell. Maybe he'll come back next year in a better mindset. But it's pretty clear to me he's never got over the random ass trade. 27 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said: did nico build the team around Luka or did he come after Luka was drafted. This roster isn’t going to be transformed in a season. It might take a few years, with the right moves health etc to see the Luka lakers contend. I know they’ll have a ton of cap space when Lebrons off the books but Luka will opt out and sign a major deal there or elsewhere. Elsewhere then it’s a disaster for La Dallas would’ve been a tough out even with Kyrie going down. You should’ve kept grimes too. Nico build around Luka, then stupidly lost all his marbles. It'll take time in LA.
May 1May 1 11 minutes ago, Drew said: Just watch him play man...Mavs fans that have watched every game see it. He isn't playing with the joy he had in Dallas, even when he was having bad games, or the refs got in his head...you can tell. Maybe he'll come back next year in a better mindset. But it's pretty clear to me he's never got over the random ass trade. Nico build around Luka, then stupidly lost all his marbles. It'll take time in LA. Yeah, Lakers are 3-4 years away. I'm not sure they're in the top 4 in the Western Conference going forward the next few years. OKC, Houston, Minny, and even San Antonio all have bigger upside. Lakers need to upgrade the whole roster and the only real asset they have is Austin Reeves.
May 1May 1 He played really well with Gafford/Lively. If the Lakers are smart they will try to find some bigs who fit that mold.
May 1May 1 2 hours ago, Drew said: He clearly isn't happy there, and that team was a fucking disaster roster/fit wise. This. 48 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said: Lakers need to upgrade the whole roster and the only real asset they have is Austin Reeves. LBJ is LBJ and Hachimura is a workable NBA starter. After that, Reaves would be better as a 6th man playing 20-25mins/game and DFS is a situational 3 and D who can contribute, but the third man off the bench on a well put together squad. The rest of the Lakers roster are no better than marginal.
May 1May 1 17 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said: This. LBJ is LBJ and Hachimura is a workable NBA starter. After that, Reaves would be better as a 6th man playing 20-25mins/game and DFS is a situational 3 and D who can contribute, but the third man off the bench on a well put together squad. The rest of the Lakers roster are no better than marginal. Except for Bronny
May 1May 1 44 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said: This. LBJ is LBJ and Hachimura is a workable NBA starter. After that, Reaves would be better as a 6th man playing 20-25mins/game and DFS is a situational 3 and D who can contribute, but the third man off the bench on a well put together squad. The rest of the Lakers roster are no better than marginal. That doesn't put them in the top half of the West and how much longer is Lebron going to really play?
May 1May 1 LOL Papa Halliburton and the Pacers agree he will not attend any more home or away games in the postseason
May 1May 1 Can someone explain to me how Halliburton got voted the most overrated player in the league? Who was rating him as anything higher than a nice, young Eastern Conference All-Star from a mid-tier, mid-market team who got to be a cheerleader on the Olympic team? Does his dad piss players off at every Pacers' game all year? Usually most overrated goes to players who are winning awards but haven't won shit (Russ, Harden, Embiid, Gobert), players dudes hate and/or they feel are propped up by being on good teams (Draymond, KAT, Draymond again), or just pure attention jealously (LeBron, Steph).
May 1May 1 6 hours ago, Drew said: Y You're SOOO damned lucky Nico was dumb enough to trade Luka. He clearly isn't happy there, and that team was a fucking disaster roster/fit wise. He’s probably gonna head back to Dallas buddy
May 1May 1 4 hours ago, Drew said: Just watch him play man...Mavs fans that have watched every game see it. He isn't playing with the joy he had in Dallas, even when he was having bad games, or the refs got in his head...you can tell. Maybe he'll come back next year in a better mindset. But it's pretty clear to me he's never got over the random ass trade. Nico build around Luka, then stupidly lost all his marbles. It'll take time in LA. 1. Your grammar sucks. 2. Luka was drafted by Donnie Nelson.
May 2May 2 It's funny watching the post mortem on the various shows and pods come to realize that the Luke trade might not have been as awful as everyone though. Yes, still a bad trade. Still disastrously bad on defense and complains a lot on offense. The trade was more for the future from the Lakers standpoint, I get that. However, had a healthy Dallas played a healthy Lakers in the playoffs, Dallas wins that easily.
May 2May 2 57 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said: It's funny watching the post mortem on the various shows and pods come to realize that the Luke trade might not have been as awful as everyone though. Yes, still a bad trade. Still disastrously bad on defense and complains a lot on offense. The trade was more for the future from the Lakers standpoint, I get that. However, had a healthy Dallas played a healthy Lakers in the playoffs, Dallas wins that easily. That would have been even more true if Luka was playing for Dallas.
May 2May 2 1 hour ago, aggie08 said: That would have been even more true if Luka was playing for Dallas. No. A healthy Dallas with AD, Kyrie, etc. would have destroyed this Laker team. Gobert looked like Wilt Chamberlain for God's sake. Believe it or not, Luka is not the greatest player to ever play basketball. He's a better version of Carmelo Anthony.
May 2May 2 3 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said: No. A healthy Dallas with AD, Kyrie, etc. would have destroyed this Laker team. Gobert looked like Wilt Chamberlain for God's sake. Believe it or not, Luka is not the greatest player to ever play basketball. He's a better version of Carmelo Anthony. Jesus, how quickly people forget about things that happened [checks notes] 11 months ago. Luka, flaws and all, is a Top 5 NBA player. AD is not. And you typically need one of those to play in the Finals. Neither Kyrie or AD has ever done shit as the best player on their team. Dallas with AD and Kyrie is sporty, to be sure, but not anywhere close to a serious championship contender.
May 2May 2 22 minutes ago, aggie08 said: Jesus, how quickly people forget about things that happened [checks notes] 11 months ago. Forget 11 months. Public opinion is more like game to game.
May 2May 2 10 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said: Gobert looked like Wilt Chamberlain for God's sake. For one game. 2,6,1,5 - points he scored in the other 4 games.
May 2May 2 2 hours ago, CurlyDumps said: For one game. 2,6,1,5 - points he scored in the other 4 games. Exactly - Just like Wilt Chamberlain.
May 2May 2 13 hours ago, aggie08 said: Jesus, how quickly people forget about things that happened [checks notes] 11 months ago. Luka, flaws and all, is a Top 5 NBA player. AD is not. And you typically need one of those to play in the Finals. Neither Kyrie or AD has ever done shit as the best player on their team. Dallas with AD and Kyrie is sporty, to be sure, but not anywhere close to a serious championship contender. This. at 33 years old, Anthony Davis has won exactly 1 playoff series when he wasn't playing with LeBron.
May 2May 2 So they’re saying it was Luka? lol, it was the roster, they’ll build around him. He was in the fucking finals last year with Dallas and the right roster.
May 2May 2 Well maybe LAs best bet is LeBron opts out and they can use his cap money to sign players. Think a lot are off the books after this upcoming year
May 2May 2 19 hours ago, Spare said: 1. Your grammar sucks. 2. Luka was drafted by Donnie Nelson. What? Sure my grammar sucked, who gives a shit. And what does Donnie have to do with this? Nico literally built a Championship roster around Luka, warts and all, and would have been a serious contender THIS year with him. And stupidly traded him away. 1 hour ago, 'stache said: So they’re saying it was Luka? lol, it was the roster, they’ll build around him. He was in the fucking finals last year with Dallas and the right roster. Yeah the post mortem for the Lakers is "Luka is fat and out of shape and they'll never win with him" when was literally in the finals last season with a thrown together team at the deadline. While Luka was hobbled BTW...no one remembers that for some reason.
May 2May 2 2 hours ago, 'stache said: So they’re saying it was Luka? lol, it was the roster, they’ll build around him. He was in the fucking finals last year with Dallas and the right roster. And Boston ruthlessly hunted him on defense, leading to an uncompetitive series. The best teams will always be able to exploit him on defense. Luka will never be the centerpiece of a championship team. Nico wasn't wrong about that, his abject idiocy was not extracting maximum value from a premium asset.
May 2May 2 I agree his defense should improve but disagree he can't be a centerpiece. Today's scoring machine players are mostly mid to bad at defense. That's just the way the game is seemingly played these days. Dirk got better at defense later in his career and I had hoped to see something similar from Luka. He's never going to be a stopper though and doesn't need to.
May 2May 2 1 hour ago, someguy said: And Boston ruthlessly hunted him on defense, leading to an uncompetitive series. The best teams will always be able to exploit him on defense. Luka will never be the centerpiece of a championship team. Nico wasn't wrong about that, his abject idiocy was not extracting maximum value from a premium asset. These takes are always ridiculous. They literally beat the 1, 3, and 4 seeds in the West last year and were three wins away from being a championship team in which Luka was the centerpiece. If Tatum hurt himself or something else happened last year, they probably beat the Celtics (or the Pacers) in the finals. And knowing how close they were to winning a championship, we have people saying that it could never happen.
May 2May 2 1 hour ago, 'stache said: Today's scoring machine players are mostly mid to bad at defense. You have to go pretty far down the list of best players before you get to a worse defender or equally bad defender as Luka. I mean it's guys like Donovan Mitchell and Brunson who are much smaller and likely not championship 1s - and if Mitchell is it's because he's on a fucking loaded team. Luka is good enough to be a championship 1 but part of that equation is him getting his body right and being serviceable on D.
May 2May 2 1 hour ago, Texas Wahoo said: If Tatum hurt himself Right - because Tatum is always getting injured. I think last season proved you can win a title with Luka but really that should have been a sweep. Boston sat Porzingis and basically punted that one game then dog walked them in G5.
May 2May 2 These takes are always ridiculous. They literally beat the 1, 3, and 4 seeds in the West last year and were three wins away from being a championship team in which Luka was the centerpiece. If Tatum hurt himself or something else happened last year, they probably beat the Celtics (or the Pacers) in the finals. And knowing how close they were to winning a championship, we have people saying that it could never happen.The Celtics easy path to the Finals last year also enabled them to bring back Porzingas and have fresher legs. They looked faster. Imagine a world where the Knicks beat you to a pulp then need to stop Brunson down the stretch in Game 7. None of that happened. The Celtics cruised thru the playoffs.
May 2May 2 3 hours ago, Drew said: What? Sure my grammar sucked, who gives a shit. And what does Donnie have to do with this? Nico literally built a Championship roster around Luka, warts and all, and would have been a serious contender THIS year with him. And stupidly traded him away. Yeah the post mortem for the Lakers is "Luka is fat and out of shape and they'll never win with him" when was literally in the finals last season with a thrown together team at the deadline. While Luka was hobbled BTW...no one remembers that for some reason. 1. Yes, it does. 2. You stated that Nico drafted Luka, which he did not draft Luka. Take the L and sit down.
May 2May 2 4 minutes ago, Spare said: 1. Yes, it does. 2. You stated that Nico drafted Luka, which he did not draft Luka. Take the L and sit down.
May 3May 3 3 hours ago, Texas Wahoo said: These takes are always ridiculous. They literally beat the 1, 3, and 4 seeds in the West last year and were three wins away from being a championship team in which Luka was the centerpiece. If Tatum hurt himself or something else happened last year, they probably beat the Celtics (or the Pacers) in the finals. And knowing how close they were to winning a championship, we have people saying that it could never happen. If Kyrie hadn’t been totally mindfucked playing the Celtics it would have been really close
May 3May 3 6 hours ago, ztejas said: Right - because Tatum is always getting injured. I think last season proved you can win a title with Luka but really that should have been a sweep. Boston sat Porzingis and basically punted that one game then dog walked them in G5. That was just one possibility that would have led to Luka being the best player on a championship team. My point was exactly what you stated in your next sentence - it seems pretty clear that Luka can win a title as the best player on his team, because Dallas came pretty close to doing it already.
May 3May 3 9 hours ago, someguy said: And Boston ruthlessly hunted him on defense, leading to an uncompetitive series. The best teams will always be able to exploit him on defense. Luka will never be the centerpiece of a championship team. Nico wasn't wrong about that, his abject idiocy was not extracting maximum value from a premium asset. What lead to the uncompetitive series was no one other than Luka being able to score. As it was we held Boston to under their season average and playoffs average in points scored every game except one. Luka's defense wasn't the main problem.
May 3May 3 9 hours ago, someguy said: And Boston ruthlessly hunted him on defense, leading to an uncompetitive series. The best teams will always be able to exploit him on defense. Luka will never be the centerpiece of a championship team. Nico wasn't wrong about that, his abject idiocy was not extracting maximum value from a premium asset. In the Finals, Dallas held Boston to what would have been the 25th rated offensive efficiency in the league that season. Their problem was that nobody not named Luka could score. Edited May 3May 3 by aggie08
May 3May 3 What lead to the uncompetitive series was no one other than Luka being able to score. As it was we held Boston to under their season average and playoffs average in points scored every game except one. Luka's defense wasn't the main problem.Exactly. The real issue was that no one outside of Luka contributed much at all. Everyone who was a force in the Western conference playoffs disappeared, especially their bigs. Indiana in the ECF looked better against Boston than Dallas did. Lukas defense in the Finals was the least of their problems. Boston built a great roster and were too deep for just about any team last year. Dallas had a great run but got a hard reality check come Finals. They had a flawed roster around Luka.
May 5May 5 On 5/1/2025 at 4:59 PM, Aqua Buddha said: No. A healthy Dallas with AD, Kyrie, etc. would have destroyed this Laker team. Gobert looked like Wilt Chamberlain for God's sake. Believe it or not, Luka is not the greatest player to ever play basketball. He's a better version of Carmelo Anthony. This take, much like anything Skip Bayless says, will not age well.
May 5May 5 On 5/2/2025 at 5:24 PM, Spare said: 1. Yes, it does. 2. You stated that Nico drafted Luka, which he did not draft Luka. Take the L and sit down. I never said Nico drafted Luka. I said he built a fucking team that was a title contender around him. There is no loss to take. Edited May 5May 5 by Drew
May 5May 5 Junior Miller of The Ticket did a story this morning talking about how the A’s purposely tanked so that they could move the franchise to Las Vegas. I’ll spare you the details of it, but basically their playbook sounds suspiciously like what the Mavs ownership is doing. While I originally questioned this conspiracy theory, they pointed out that the Adelsons have withdrawn their casino support for Dallas and New Jersey, and have ramped up spending in Vegas. This theory has some legs.
May 6May 6 I'll defer to @Skipper on this but I will say that anyone that's clinging to the "top 5 market" shit is fucking naive. Especially throwing out the fact that Vegas is the 40th market. Bitch please. Right after the fucking NFL expands there. It's not like they know what the fuck they're doing though lol.
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