where the fuck in my post did i say kupchack is a bad GM or odom is a scrub, please find it and quote it for me since it appears to have magically vanished
"yeah the lakers did this stupid thing but it's not stupid cause they're the lakers!".
what young talent is on the lakers right now besides julius randle who literally has not played an nba game? signing swaggy p to a 4 year 21 million contract is a short term solution? and hey, the knicks have *less* money committed to their cap for next season than the lakers do! derp.
i literally just demonstrated with factual evidence how the lakers do not have a history of doing what you described via free agency. and how are the lakers going to trade for anyone when they have basically no assets? moreover, there is no team on the lakers--just random garbage, plus the sixers have only one less win than the lakers do this season. but i'm sure someone like kevin love might sign there and just stat pad to retirement as the lakers win 39 games a year.
it's not hatred, it's factual observation. laker homers are the nintendo fanboys of the nba. since i know more about basketball than you, i can see what a terrible situation the lakers are in now (that kobe contract makes me lol everyday) while you just pray that two premier max-level free agents will sign with the non-team that is the lakers just because of the fact they're the lakers.
You said that Kupchak has "failed to find young talent", implying that he's a bad GM or has at least done a bad job on that front. That's absolutely false, to "fail" implies that he's tried. He's not trying to find young talent and build up a contender from the ground up on a four year rebuilding plan. His strategy is to stockpile expiring contracts and keep a clean cap sheet, not develop 4-5 young players to form a nucleus from the ground up. Of course, a byproduct of this strategy is getting some good draft picks, which are always hit or miss in the NBA. Randle hasn't even played a full game and you talk about him like he's the next Kwame Brown already. Truth is you never know with young talent; some develop, some don't. Jordan Clarksen is another young player that has shown some promise, so we'll see. And Kupchak did trade an over the hill Derek Fisher for Jordan Hill, a valuable roll player whose contract is a trade asset.
That strategy might succeed or fail. Your haterism and confirmation bias had put you in a place where you think it has to fail because that's what you want to happen. Like anything, it may work or fall flat, but Lakers fans much prefer this strategy to, say, the Pelicans, who have neither cap room nor draft picks; instead they are committed to overpaying for a mediocre supporting cast for Anthony Davis. That's the scenario you want to avoid and Kupchak has at least done that.
And once again on Odom, you've done nothing but unfairly shit on the guy this whole thread. I'm sorry if putting up a 16-10 in his prime is not good enough for you, but he was a great player in his day and won two rings. I only bring him up because he could have got more money elsewhere, but chose to re-sign with the Lakers. But that goes against your "no one would want to be on the Lakers" angle, so instead you need to pretend he wasn't good enough for this discussion.
And if Odom isn't good enough for you, you can also look at Pau Gasol and Chris Paul for recent players that wanted to be here and made it happen. Not through free agency because of league rules, but through trades. That's how franchise players get moved, like Carmelo and Love. Hell, even LeBrons Decision was actially a sign and trade for draft picks.
So I don't know what you think you proved "with factual evidence". That non-franchise all stars (at the time) haven't signed here? That's not the Lakers strategy, to gamble on players like that. I'm glad that Kupchak has "failed" to overpay Joe Johnson and Dwight Howard for 5 years. That franchise players haven't left max money to sign here yet? Well it didn't happen last summer, but also you can see why LeBron and Carmelo wanted to play in their home markets. And again, it doesn't have to happen through free agency for the Lakers, they suck right now because it's a team of role players with no stars. But those same role players, along with expiring contracts and draft picks, can be used as a trade for a disgruntled franchise player who is in danger to walk (hello Russel Westbrook).
Again, this may all fail. But that's life, as fans, all we ask is the team compete and have a logical strategy for future success. If you hate the Lakers, you'll see that strategy as doomed to fail. If you're a blind homer, you'll see the strategy as foolproof. Neither is true. The reality is that the Lakers have a great market and a history of franchise players wanting to come here. And they have the cap room and contracts to make it work. Doesn't mean it will, but the fans like it. That's why I recommended rooting for this team to OP.
Cheers folks
