re: The Official NBA Free Agency/Offseason Thread Update: MITCHELL TO CLE

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Dillon Brooks, JJJ, Santi Aldama, and Multiple 1sts for Mitchell and Vanderbilt is a good trade for both sides IMO

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no its not.
forget multiple firsts.
forget aldama.

brooks, jj jr as is and memphis 2023 first unprotected.

take it or leave it.

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A Morant/Mitchell backcourt is a defensive liability that you cannot overcome IMO. That team would never be average defensively and thus never a true contender.

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I don't think Mitchell is some great defensive player, but he's not bad, and i think the older he gets he's going to realize he just needs to give more effort on that end. He's built to be a great defender with his long arse arms, and you know he's quick enough to keep guys in front of him. But there's a lot more to being a good defender than that. Knowing how to navigate screens is the biggest asset a great defender needs to have.
He got exposed defensively by the Mavs this year. If he's really a guy that wants to win, then he'll recognize it and be better. His defensive woes are almost entirely effort related. He gets caught "Harden-ing" out there.


I don't think they have to give up JJJ to get him either. They have enough young talent to give away (Bane, Zaire, Tillman) and then can give up 23/24/25/27/29 1sts.


What that team lacks is a secondary scorer to Ja. Their "system" works great and wins them a lot of games, just like Utah has been doing, but come playoff time they simply don't have the peak level offensive guys to really do anything significant. They might get lucky and make a conference finals one year, but they aren't getting over that hump with the current team they have.

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I don't think Mitchell is some great defensive player, but he's not bad

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He has been bad and not really shown any commitment to that end of the floor.

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What that team lacks is a secondary scorer to Ja. Their "system" works great and wins them a lot of games, just like Utah has been doing, but come playoff time they simply don't have the peak level offensive guys to really do anything significant. They might get lucky and make a conference finals one year, but they aren't getting over that hump with the current team they have.

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I do think their team is built for the regular season and not the postseason, but I just don't think a Ja/Mitchell backcourt can get it done defensively, especially if JJJ is gone in that deal.

I don’t think Pelinka is the roadblock here.

LeBron wants new talent and to send out picks but not to sign an extension. He may not want Buddy given that the Laker front office tried to get him last year and LeBron pushed for Westbrook instead.

Jeannie Buss doesn’t want to send out picks well into the future without guarantees LeBron is sticking around past this season.

I’d agree but getting LeBron’s signature on the extension should be the thing that makes the Lakers willing to deal picks.

Problem for everyone involved is that other deals may take place in the meantime which don’t leave them with a place to ship Russ outside of paying two first AND taking on worse guys than Turner and Buddy.

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The Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers have discussed a trade involving Russell Westbrook for Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and other assets, but those talks are currently dead. The package the Lakers have offered has included Westbrook and a first round pick. If the Lakers add another first round pick things could resume, but there currently "at a standstill."

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You need to attach at least one 1st to get off of Westbrook, so the Lakers are just gonna get Hield/Turner for free then?

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honestly I think you have to take that deal if you are pelinka. shite or get

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Sounds like there is no deal to take, just talks could resume if the Lakers add the 2nd 1st, but no guarantees of anything.

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Yep, those dudes may be gone but if I'm Pelinka and I can get an agreement in principal on Hield/Turner maybe for both 1sts, I tell Lebron on August 4th, you sign the extension, we make the deal official.

You don't, the deal is off and it'll be rebuild time after your 1 year is up.

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I don't think you can tell Lebron something like that. He'd blast them and demand to be traded probably. you don't tell Lebron what to do, he tells you what to do, and if you don't like it, then he'll just say frick you.

At this point, I think LeBron’s public leverage really is crap.

He is on an expiring deal and they blew all their assets (picks, KCP, Kuzma, etc) to get AD and Westbrook, with the last one being LeBron’s call when the team wanted Buddy.

What’s this going to do, make the Lakers a pariah franchise? They have enough of that going on already simply because they are a dysfunctional mess due to Jeannie, Kurt and Linda Rambis, etc.

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I don't think you can tell Lebron something like that. He'd blast them and demand to be traded probably. you don't tell Lebron what to do, he tells you what to do, and if you don't like it, then he'll just say frick you.

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Ok, then I don't tell him that but keep the same plan lol.

If he signs, we do the deal. If he doesn't, we don't do the deal.

If he asks why, then I'm 100% telling him that. If he says frick you, I say frick you right back

He only has control in this situation if you let him, he doesn't get to have control just because he's Lebron James. Let him demand a trade, that's 1 step earlier I can start the rebuild AND get assets for said rebuild. Yea, it would be a shite show but that's just noise, but the end result would be better.

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f he thinks if shite goes south like that will cost him his job, he may start making moves with the interest of saving his job, and Jeannie Buss and the rest of the front office I doubt is smart enough to stop that in real time,

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depends on if jeannie is willing to wrest control away from klutch or not. if she'd just going to toadie for them, then pelinka would lose

the option is clear...stand up to klutch and do what you have to do one way or another or keep kissing arse