Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[FireNicoHarrison]

Lakers appear to have the Mav's bagel problem from a few years ago...a big hole in the middle. It's not going to get fixed without using some assets, of which they don't have many.

Guess we'll see if Perlinka is actually worth the big extension.

Harrison let them a lot of assets... They will be good next years. Unfortunately.

But Pelinka is a clown so he can destroy all.

[michaeltex]

https://lasportshub.com/took-lakers-4-games-regret-trade-deadline-decision-01jt0wfr45mp?utm_source=RSS


"You can find corners of smart NBA people, team people, who would tell you the idea of getting out ahead of this and trading Luka is not a crazy idea,” Lowe said. “The idea of doing it without shopping him to get nine first-round picks and swaps and doing this specific trade is where the logic falls apart. I still think it’s a crazy trade, but I’m just tired of, like, I’m going to be embarrassed until our backs are against the wall, and then I’m going to show you that, ‘Yeah, I can put up a little bit of a fight.’ How about you put up a f—--g fight in like, Game 1? …Now you’re down 3-1 and you’re probably going home."

Sounds a lot like Luka criticisms from last summer.

[FireNicoHarrison]

https://lasportshub.com/took-lakers-4-games-regret-trade-deadline-decision-01jt0wfr45mp?utm_source=RSS


"You can find corners of smart NBA people, team people, who would tell you the idea of getting out ahead of this and trading Luka is not a crazy idea,” Lowe said. “The idea of doing it without shopping him to get nine first-round picks and swaps and doing this specific trade is where the logic falls apart. I still think it’s a crazy trade, but I’m just tired of, like, I’m going to be embarrassed until our backs are against the wall, and then I’m going to show you that, ‘Yeah, I can put up a little bit of a fight.’ How about you put up a f—--g fight in like, Game 1? …Now you’re down 3-1 and you’re probably going home."

Sounds a lot like Luka criticisms from last summer.

Sweet music for my ears...

[FireNicoHarrison]

Immagine this days without the collusion... Giannis wants to leave the Bucks and Mavs could have pairing him & Luka next season.

Now probably the Lakers will do that. I really hope not.

[WildArkieBoy]

Immagine this days without the collusion... Giannis wants to leave the Bucks and Mavs could have pairing him & Luka next season.

Now probably the Lakers will do that. I really hope not.

Either Giannis or Markkanen would be a good addition for the 2025-26 Lakers.  We're also anxious to see what Maxi has left.  The current depth chart shows 7 guards including Luka, 6 forwards and 4 centers, but obviously some will be moved out.  

wab

[FireNicoHarrison]

Either Giannis or Markkanen would be a good addition for the 2025-26 Lakers.  We're also anxious to see what Maxi has left.  The current depth chart shows 7 guards including Luka, 6 forwards and 4 centers, but obviously some will be moved out.  

wab

Yes, Jokic & Booker will complete the perfect lineup for next Fakers squad.

I'm excited to see you. Wow.

[FireNicoHarrison]

I don't see how in the hell, you can form your mouth to say Reeves is useless.  You must have said this for shock value.  He's a player a number of teams would welcome with open arms. He's shown massive upside especially being an undrafted player.

Secondo straight very bad post season by Reaves... mediocre player at best. No defense. No playmaking.

Fakers will trade him and i hope not to the Mavs.

Overrated.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Secondo straight very bad post season by Reaves... mediocre player at best. No defense. No playmaking.

Fakers will trade him and i hope not to the Mavs.

Overrated.

On second thought, you may be right.

[bubbler86]

On second thought, you may be right.

Austin's defense is as bad as Luka's when Luka is not playing inspired.  End of game interview with Rudy, and he is asked how he feels beating 
Lebron and the Lakers.  If that does not inspire Luka going forward, it is hard to tell what will.

[SleepingHero]

Can’t believe Lebron openly said this post game:

Lebron on the Lakers having no center: “No comment. My guy AD said what he needed, and then he was gone the following week.”

https://streamable.com/rhg6ip

[FireNicoHarrison]

Can’t believe Lebron openly said this post game:

Lebron on the Lakers having no center: “No comment. My guy AD said what he needed, and then he was gone the following week.”

https://streamable.com/rhg6ip

AD+Christie+FRP for Luka?

[omahen]

Other than this game, Gobert has been really bad this series. Lakers were likely very tired as it was the first game where Minny dominated on boards.

Lakers problem was not so much the defense, it was the offense and extremely short rotation. They scored over 100 in only two games in the series. They were far less athletic and physical - despite Lakers playing small ball, Minnesota was playing faster. I think Luka was solid for his standards, but not superstar. Minny was able to reasonably contain him without doubling. Game three was a negative outlier as he was battling sickness and was visibly not himself on both sides of the court.

I was surprised by lack of adjustment by Reddick. We were watching five same games. Lakers working hard for every bucket, running out of gas in the fourth. Their offense was one of their offensive creators trying to get by his defender from three point line, mostly iso. I was surprised they didn't try posting up more.

Lakers obviously lack a center and could use another good wing. Dorian is busting his ass on defense, but is still very limited on offense (only 6 ppg in playoffs), Vando brings energy but is a complete zero on offense.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Other than this game, Gobert has been really bad this series. Lakers were likely very tired as it was the first game where Minny dominated on boards.

Lakers problem was not so much the defense, it was the offense and extremely short rotation. They scored over 100 in only two games in the series. They were far less athletic and physical - despite Lakers playing small ball, Minnesota was playing faster. I think Luka was solid for his standards, but not superstar. Minny was able to reasonably contain him without doubling. Game three was a negative outlier as he was battling sickness and was visibly not himself on both sides of the court.

I was surprised by lack of adjustment by Reddick. We were watching five same games. Lakers working hard for every bucket, running out of gas in the fourth.  Their offense was one of their offensive creators trying to get by his defender from three point line, mostly iso. I was surprised they didn't try posting up more.

Lakers obviously lack a center and could use another good wing. Dorian is busting his ass on defense, but is still very limited on offense (only 6 ppg in playoffs), Vando brings energy but is a complete zero on offense.

Kleber, DFS and Vando are not starter championship material... We know it very well.

[F Gump]

There was nothing abnormal about the playoffs -- Lakers simply suck.

[chaparral]

If Luka dose not sign an extension this summer, can the Fakers trade him?

[Chicagojk]

Sort of an end of a season this for the Lakers. I really thought they were primed to win a series or two. They struggled more than I expected. I was traveling out of the country and this week busy, so I did not watch any of the games to give any analysis. It was nice having a little basketball break.

The Lakers are still set up well pretty well moving forward. Nico allowed then to move from a questionable future into one where there is a legit chance moving forward. There will be challenges though to even build a team to his former team though. They are the Lakers and things tend to pop up for them. It is tricky though. They are best looking past Lebron, but that opens up a lot of issues. Lebron is still really good and I think he will cause frustration if he feels the Lakers are building for post Lebron. Luka may be great for 10 years. He should be, but can they build a legit contender for the next 3-4 years? I don’t think Luka wants to be on a good team. He wants to compete now.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I think last night’s season ender for LA is as good a time as any to revisit what (if anything) it might take for Nico to eventually become less of a villain (I don’t think hero is within the realm of possibility, so I’ll just say ‘less of a villain’).  It appears he is going to survive the offseason (wouldn’t he be gone by now if he was going).  I want to be forward looking here and not revisit how lopsided the trade was/wasn’t or how poorly the PR has been handled.  This is strictly about steps it might take for the beginnings of a Nico rehab (if that is even possible).

1.  Nico has maintained he has a vision for how this thing might come together.  A winning formula built around AD and Kyrie.  Unfortunately, we are 8-9 months away from test driving his theory and really a year from seeing it in games that really matter.  The only real contribution he might make in the near term toward proof of concept would be to quickly come to a reasonable extension with Kyrie.  I think 3 years at his Max is a failure.  Kyrie is an older smaller guard with an injury.  He will spend a chunk of his next contract in street clothes.  If, however, Nico can bring Kyrie in at something similar to what he’s already being paid, then that’s a good piece of GM’ing.

2.  Nico could adjust the roster this summer in a way that is universally liked.  He was on a pretty good roll with Lively, PJ and Gafford.  Then we had the 2025 TDL.  What deal is out there that would be universally liked?  Topic for another day.  This is a post about how Nico might manage to get a body part or two out of the doghouse.  I think a really good addition that better balances the roster might help him.  It would also happen sooner than the next time we see AD and Kyrie in a game together.

3.  Unfortunately, the third thing that helps Nico is failure on the part of Luka.  No matter what we think about Luka or how much we want him to succeed, the national narrative has turned a bit in recent days.  “Luka can’t guard a chair” from Chuck last night.  LA fans starting to show displeasure.  It isn’t permanent (and I said at the time of the trade, that I expected Luka to come back next season with a vengeance).  But, this playoff series put a few chinks in the armor of pubic opinion regarding Luka.  It is one thing to be targeted when you have a proper team helping.  But the LA defense really exposed Luka.  That won’t change if Reeves and Lebron are still there and a real defensive center isn’t brought in.  Add in the fact that Legler is hinting that Luka might not extend this summer.  Boy, if that happens, it might not help Nico, but it really looks bad for Pelinka.

I think it only is only fair to acknowledge that there are things that could go against Nico also.  Another dumb or lopsided trade.  Or, if LA makes a brilliant trade to build around Luka, that would be bad.  I think it more likely Giannis goes to Houston than LA, but stranger things have happened.  Another way this goes poorly is if Pelinka trades Luka to someplace Luka wants to extend and gets a better haul of assets than Dallas got.  All TBD, but if you are one of the three people in the world who hopes Nico (and the Mav’s) somehow find their way back from this nightmare, the changing narrative based on the Minnesota series was a step.  A little bit of lottery luck wouldn’t hurt and a good decision or two between now and mid July would also be helpful.

[Knutsen]

AD+Christie+FRP for Luka?

More Like AD+Christie+FRP for LeBron - this is the Nico way.

[KillerLeft]

3.  Unfortunately, the third thing that helps Nico is failure on the part of Luka.  No matter what we think about Luka or how much we want him to succeed, the national narrative has turned a bit in recent days.  “Luka can’t guard a chair” from Chuck last night.  LA fans starting to show displeasure.  It isn’t permanent (and I said at the time of the trade, that I expected Luka to come back next season with a vengeance).  But, this playoff series put a few chinks in the armor of pubic opinion regarding Luka.  It is one thing to be targeted when you have a proper team helping.  But the LA defense really exposed Luka.  That won’t change if Reeves and Lebron are still there and a real defensive center isn’t brought in.  Add in the fact that Legler is hinting that Luka might not extend this summer.  Boy, if that happens, it might not help Nico, but it really looks bad for Pelinka.

My opinion about all of this has oscillated so extremely and frequently since February, mostly because the realization of what this change means has come in layered waves. 

Where I think I fall at this point, hopefully at the end of the absorbing process (at least the initial one), is kind of right where I started: Getting out of the Luka Doncic business was a defensible strategy, but executed poorly, both in terms of prior negotiation and dealing with the aftermath. 

All of that to say: I think you might be right that Luka has a great year next year. Maybe. But, I'm pretty convinced that as talented as he is, he's not a championship level cornerstone, at least not in a "perennial, on-going" capacity. Even if he does use this slight and loss of a truckload of money as motivation to come back next year in shape and on a warpath, I have very little faith that the effort will be sustained in subsequent seasons. I think it's possible we look back and think Dallas got the best five years of Luka's career. SO, I think your point #3 has some potential juice. 

As for the rest...I just can't get over the sorry state of the franchise in the trade's aftermath. FGump often makes the point that the roster talent here is better than people want to admit, and I agree, but I'll say again: The last two seasons can be summarized as an aggressive turning over of almost the entire roster in the name of building a team AROUND LUKA. It was very close to masterfully done, but at every step of the way some people, myself included, warned of the cost when a team montages its entire war chest, both present AND future, in such a reckless way. A first here for PJ, another there for Gafford, etc, etc, etc. These moves were only justifiable in the moment because the team had the top 5 offensive superstar we all know to be a requisite for title contention. Now? Sure, that young(ish) talented support cast is here, but to support whom? How are they even planning to design an offense? I have been asking that question since February, and I have yet to find someone with even a theory. Do Kidd and Harrison even know, themselves? 

They HAD to get a guy with offensive upside in the deal (Reeves would've counted, if AD was a must in the deal, necessitating the LA of it all) and they HAD to get more draft capital to help them pull the team out of the pit they'll land in if this all doesn't work out (or even if it does). As of right now, there really isn't a "Maverick" on the team anymore, except for maybe Lively, and he's a pick and roll big on a team that currently doesn't seem to be in the pick and roll business (I suppose that could change over the summer, to the point of your post). In short, the team, now with a significantly shortened window of relevance, has no current identity outside of "defense wins championships." If you're going to be a big man with your big man GM pants pulled up and trade the face of the franchise (and the face of the NBA for some) then you've got to have a better landing plan than that, imho. I know you didn't want to discuss the trade, necessarily, but I can't look at how this spring's moves were executed and muster up much faith that the summer will be handled in a way that fixes any of this, whether we're thinking about the product on the floor or just public perception of Harrison's role in the organization.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Guys don't forget that were in the Finals last season and we upgraded.with Klay, Naji & Grimes.
This roster was VERY talented and now it's still talented, that's clear.

But we are a mess right now... Kyrie out next year, very very bad back court, Klay and PJ play out of position, AD is often injuried, AD + Lively or Gafford is not a good thing, few 3 points shooters in the 50 attemp NBA era, no Batman.

The situation is not easy fixable and our window is like 2/3 years.

Probably i'm still the pessimistic guy but we have no real championship chances for next 7/10 years.