re: Demarcus Cousins

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Which raises the question of whether you could get that in return for Cousins. I don't think anybody is giving up any kind of value for a 4 month rental. All the usual suspects have line ups that are set now. Would Cousins really give them a big enough boost to risk giving up assets? Plus Brooklyn isn't that bad and getting better, so that pick has a chance of not being in the top 5.

A more realistic option would be to approach the Wizards and offer them Cousins for a assortment of players and picks. Something like Cousins and Jackson for Morris, Oubre, Meeks, Frazier, Smith, a 1st and a 2nd. Doesn't sound great, but at least we get some young pieces. Plus we still have enough cap room to go after a solid starter..

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Where can you stash those players on your roster without cutting players with guaranteed contracts? Could you get the Lakers interested in him for something like Cousins, Ajinca and 2nd for Randle, Clarkson and Ingram or Cousins, Ajinca, Asik for Randle, Ingram, Lopez or is Ingram a deal killer?

What I don't get about the commitment to Cousins you're hearing is that this team is performing in the exact manner to be good enough to keep Cousins but bad enough to get people fired. If they are the 8 seed by default I think the odds of Cousins returning are higher than Demps/Gentry.

But the answer may be a simple as they've made commitments to AD to play it out. David West said the beginning of the end was trading Tyson which violated some promises that had been made to him and CP3, so you definitely don't want to trade Cousins if you told AD you wouldn't.

I don't know if the Lakers are going to do any moves before the offseason. They don't really need to. They have a ton of space, plus great young pieces. They swear they aren't going to move Ingram. It'll be strange if they keep Ingram and then sign George and James. Ingram is almost 7 foot but too small to bang. James might be the Center by default.

As for the Wiz trade and roster spots. We have a lot of injuries. Can't we replace those players if they can't play (Allen, Ajincia, Asik, Hill, etc..)?

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But the answer may be a simple as they've made commitments to AD to play it out. David West said the beginning of the end was trading Tyson which violated some promises that had been made to him and CP3, so you definitely don't want to trade Cousins if you told AD you wouldn't.

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Well the difference there is CP3 had proven he could get his team into the playoffs, and actually win a playoff series. AD hasn't really done that. He has not really done anything to warrant all the coddling they do for him.
CP3 took a 18 win team to 38 and 39 wins, then in his 3rd year, we are a 56 win team, and take the Spurs to a game 7 in the second round of the playoffs. Cruising along the next season, sitting at 30-20 and they decide to trade one of the most liked guys on the team in a money saving move. Nothing says your committed to the team like trading away your all star center for a worthless Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox for no other reason other than saving money. Couldn't even get a pick out of it.

That's what pissed off CP3 and West, and it was the end to that era.
CP3 and West didn't deserve that.

What has AD done in his 6 years? 1 winning season, and now he's got an all-nba player next to him to play center so he doesn't have to bitch about having to be the center, Jrue is playing great ball, he's got one of the best PG's to ever play, and 2 guys jacking up 3's at a 45% clip, yet we just hover around .500.
There's always excuses with this team. injuries, coaching, young, bad gm, personnel, etc. I'm tired of waiting. And i'm tired of trying to appease AD. Win some fricking games then we'll do what we have to do to appease you, until then, keep padding your stats and we'll keep watching the playoffs from our couch, since that's what makes AD happy.

This team would be better off with a legit PG or SF instead of the legit C they have in Cousins. AD is a 5, and i don't give a shite what he has to say about that. No different than Duncan claiming he was 4. He played C when it mattered. All he had was some bruising guys to take up some minutes at the 5, which is all we need. There are tons of young guys in the league that come in and just hustle and bruise it up down there. That is all AD needs. Rolo was great for that. a guy like Kyle O'Quin would suffice.
I still think the Cousins/AD experiment can work, but they need better personnel. I have zero problems with trading Cousins away for the right player/asset, I just don't think that trade exists.

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But the answer may be a simple as they've made commitments to AD to play it out. David West said the beginning of the end was trading Tyson which violated some promises that had been made to him and CP3, so you definitely don't want to trade Cousins if you told AD you wouldn't.

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I believe it is as simple as they think they can make the playoffs and resign Cousins given the upcoming market. Trading away a star player that you made a blockbuster trade to get less than a year ago and who is a pillar of your marketing campaign is a bad look. And it is not just because AD and him are friends and AD doesn't want to play center. We cannot rebuild with AD. We would have to improve the team, so we would need to trade him for useful pieces, not draft picks. Based on recent trades and the fact that we would be cutting bait so soon, the return would look like shite and the PR blowback would take Dell's scalp and very likely cost us AD.

They are going to hope for improvement when Solo is back and a concerted effort in the post-season (Playoff Pels).
Then they will re-sign Cousins to a big contract and try to retool the roster as much as possible.

No hidden agenda here, just curious..

Which marketing plan would have more success next year, continuing to "do it big" or a total rebuild with the #1 pick Luka Doncic?

I honestly think there would be more buzz with the later. But then, maybe Davis is a bigger draw than I think he is..

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Which marketing plan would have more success next year, continuing to "do it big" or a total rebuild with the #1 pick Luka Doncic?

I honestly think there would be more buzz with the later. But then, maybe Davis is a bigger draw than I think he is..

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Total rebuild as in trading AD for the #1 pick in the offseason? Definitely "do it big". A total rebuild with the #1 pick may have more buzz and the unknown may be more exciting, but you would see a significant decline in season ticket sales and game attendance.

I think fans will always get excited about consensus first overall picks even if Doncic is a foreign guy. However, rebuild excitement does not translate into revenue. You need Doncic to be very good immediately to capitalize on any excitement and even then you are making less than "do it big" coming off a 1st round playoff exit.