The Lakers Reality Show

HowBoutDemSox

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2009
10,104
So, it’s been a month since LeBron left with a groin injury during the Christmas Day game and was pronounced “day to day,” and the day after, it was reported that his MRI was clean and he wasn’t supposed to miss much time. Only later did Rich Paul come out and say it wasn’t just a sprain but a minor tear. The Ringer has a rundown of the timeline and some fun conspiracy theories on the (deliberately?) slow/misleading information flow. Here’s there timeline:
  • Immediately after the play, James told Lakers staff “I felt a pop.” Thanks to the nature of the word “pop,” this was easy to lip-read from the broadcast.
  • Shortly after, Mike Trudell reported he was “questionable to return,” later announcing he would not.
  • Still on December 25, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes tweetedthat an initial exam showed it was a “slight” groin strain, and “all is intact.” “It could have been worse,” he wrote.
  • On December 26, James had an MRI, and the results were said to come back clean; he was listed as day-to-day. “Dodged a bullet,” James tweeted. “#BackInNoTime.”
  • A day later, sources told ESPN the Lakers were “prepared” for James to miss multiple games.
  • On January 4, after James had missed four games, The Athletic reported he’d be evaluated again in a week.
  • In the days that followed, the Lakers announced James’s status only one or two games in advance—with the occasional news that he’s “getting shots up.”
  • On January 15, James’s agent, Rich Paul, revealed that the MRI was not clean, and had actually shown a tear. His camp was given, at best, a three-week recovery time, even as the public was led to believe James was “day-to-day.” James likely had this information when he hashtagged—the hashtag was a crime in and of itself—#BackInNoTime. Paul toldESPN his client would miss at least the next two games.
  • On January 19, coach Luke Walton was hopeful James would return to practice the next day, and he’s now participating in noncontact drills.
  • On Wednesday, James was officially ruled out of Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves.
Windhorst on ESPN has a piece up this week as well, focusing on the gambling implications of injury information protocols in the NBA. Overall, it seems like the kind of gamesmanship that NFL teams deal in regarding injuries, but that’s one instance where the NFL may be ahead of the NBA in terms of the exact and regimented flow of information and player availability classification.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
So, it’s been a month since LeBron left with a groin injury during the Christmas Day game and was pronounced “day to day,” and the day after, it was reported that his MRI was clean and he wasn’t supposed to miss much time. Only later did Rich Paul come out and say it wasn’t just a sprain but a minor tear. The Ringer has a rundown of the timeline and some fun conspiracy theories on the (deliberately?) slow/misleading information flow. Here’s there timeline:

Windhorst on ESPN has a piece up this week as well, focusing on the gambling implications of injury information protocols in the NBA. Overall, it seems like the kind of gamesmanship that NFL teams deal in regarding injuries, but that’s one instance where the NFL may be ahead of the NBA in terms of the exact and regimented flow of information and player availability classification.
What gambling implications is this affecting though? LeBron’s never been cleared to play and all numbers for the next game have factored him being out.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,850
What gambling implications is this affecting though? LeBron’s never been cleared to play and all numbers for the next game have factored him being out.
The article uses James as a jump-off point:

The NBA is looking at ways to deal with a rising demand for player availability information but has given no hint at what changes could be coming if any come at all. One suggestion from this corner: Disclose when a player has imaging of any sort. If he had an X-ray, an MRI or an ultrasound, it should be announced. Even if the results are kept vague or private, it's a disclosure that would help with transparency.
It also talks about how in the finals last season James had a broken hand and this was never disclosed.

As leagues partner with things like DraftKings and casinos those places want more wagering. The more info that's released the more that happens.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,850
So Lebron posted an IG video with a song called "Rewind" and tagged Kyrie and now twitter is going nuts.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
I'm betting it refers to Lebron picking him first in the All Star Game thing.
Watching LeBron’s selections is going to be hysterical. I’ll go with Kyrie, Kawhi, and any other FA within the next two summers almost like he’s pleading with them.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
Watching LeBron’s selections is going to be hysterical. I’ll go with Kyrie, Kawhi, and any other FA within the next two summers almost like he’s pleading with them.
More than half the players in the NBA will be FAs in the next 2 summers. People really understate how quickly teams can turnover their whole roster in the NBA.
 

radsoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 9, 2009
13,622
So, it’s been a month since LeBron left with a groin injury during the Christmas Day game and was pronounced “day to day,” and the day after, it was reported that his MRI was clean and he wasn’t supposed to miss much time. Only later did Rich Paul come out and say it wasn’t just a sprain but a minor tear. The Ringer has a rundown of the timeline and some fun conspiracy theories on the (deliberately?) slow/misleading information flow. Here’s there timeline:
Groin injuries are not straightforward to image or to interpret. The structures of interest run in oblique planes, have relatively thin attachments, and significant injuries can (occasionally) be fairly subtle on MRI. The technique is very important for accurate interpretation and you would be surprised how variable this can be, even at top level places. Additionally, 95+% of radiologists see virtually none of these scans, even some of the people reading for pro teams rarely do.

I don't know what happened with Lebron specifically, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if one radiologist called something normal or near normal while after second and third opinions, it turned out he had at least a moderately significant injury.
 
Last edited:

HowBoutDemSox

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2009
10,104
Groin injuries are not straightforward to image or to interpret. The structures of interest run in oblique planes, have relatively thin attachments, and significant injuries can (occasionally) be fairly subtle on MRI. The technique is very important for accurate interpretation and you would be surprised how variable this can be, even at top level places. Additionally, 95+% of radiologists see virtually none of these scans, even some of the people reading for pro teams rarely do.

I don't now what happened with Lebron specifically, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if one radiologist called something normal or near normal while after second and third opinions, it turned out he had at least a moderately significant injury.
Thanks for the info, always great to get the informed medical view.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,278
Oh LaVar, you are like a kid with matches, who wants to burn everything to the ground:

From an interview with an ARZ radio station

Luke Walton was the worst coach he ever had,” LaVar told Doug & Wolf. “It was Magic [Johnson] the one who said he was going to be the dang face of the franchise. But Magic ain’t doing no coaching. And the only person to kill Lonzo is the coach pulling him out and not having no confidence in him.

“Everyone who’s had confidence in Lonzo just let him go and let him win. That’s what he does. He wins. Luke Walton turned him into a loser. A loser’s mentality is like, ‘Oh, he’s young, he’ll get it.’ Instead of going out there and letting him do what he does.”
“I gave the Lakers the first right of refusal to get all three of the Ball boys. They didn’t want that. I’m telling you. My boys are going to take over the NBA. They didn’t use Lonzo the right way. Put him in a corner.

“He makes everybody better. That’s why the Lakers look so raggedy right now. You can’t put him in the corner. He can’t make nobody better.”
“AD is good. But he’s not a winner. How many playoff games has he won? He’s been in the league a long time, there’s a difference between players and winners.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/lavar-ball-rips-anthony-davis-says-luke-walton-turned-lonzo-loser-195945706.html

http://arizonasports.com/story/1830885/lavar-ball-rips-lakers-wants-lonzo-and-his-brothers-to-team-up-on-suns/
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
I guess the hush money the Lakers are paying LaVar stopped coming.
 

Senator Donut

post-Domer
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2010
5,502
This Davis saga is incredible. Did Paul and James ever pause to consider the fallout of the front office publicly offering several of the Lakers rotation players in a trade, if that trade fails to materialize?

It ended for Kyrie in Cleveland once word got out that James and Griffin tried to work out a trade to Phoenix. I feel like they have to do a major roster shuffle just to win back the locker room, much like the Jazz and Lakers trades last deadline.

Having the Ball family involved is honestly just superfluous at this point.
 

uncannymanny

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 12, 2007
9,081
The FO has trashed the roster, they’ve all trashed the coach, and now LaVar is trashing the guy they’re trying to trade for. I couldn’t be happier with the way this is going.
 

ehaz

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 30, 2007
4,948
The video of Indy fans chanting “Lebron’s gonna trade you” while Ingram shoots FTs made my night.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,214
The video of Indy fans chanting “Lebron’s gonna trade you” while Ingram shoots FTs made my night.
Except that Brandon Ingram is a 21 year old kid who, while making good money to do so, is trying to find his way in the NBA and is now caught in the crossfire between forces much larger than him.

I am not singling out Pacers fans because I suspect Boston fans or others might actually say worse things (we may find out on Thursday). However the target of fans ire should be LeBron and not the guys LeBron is trying to trade in his attempt to construct another superteam.

I think Domer is right upthread in that a failed trade for Davis is going to poison the well in the Lakers locker-room. Unfortunately, the guys mentioned are all relatively young and all of this uncertainty has to suck for them.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
Except that Brandon Ingram is a 21 year old kid who, while making good money to do so, is trying to find his way in the NBA and is now caught in the crossfire between forces much larger than him.

I am not singling out Pacers fans because I suspect Boston fans or others might actually say worse things (we may find out on Thursday). However the target of fans ire should be LeBron and not the guys LeBron is trying to trade in his attempt to construct another superteam.

I think Domer is right upthread in that a failed trade for Davis is going to poison the well in the Lakers locker-room. Unfortunately, the guys mentioned are all relatively young and all of this uncertainty has to suck for them.
They yelled worse at McGee but I guess he's established.
 

cheech13

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 5, 2006
1,608

Shams: Sources: The Lakers are trading guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a draft pick to Detroit for guard Reggie Bullock. Deal is expected to be completed Wednesday.

Good deal for them. Bullock is one of the best catch-and-shoot guys in the league. If they make the playoffs he'll have a moment.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,094
Except that Brandon Ingram is a 21 year old kid who, while making good money to do so, is trying to find his way in the NBA and is now caught in the crossfire between forces much larger than him.

I am not singling out Pacers fans because I suspect Boston fans or others might actually say worse things (we may find out on Thursday). However the target of fans ire should be LeBron and not the guys LeBron is trying to trade in his attempt to construct another superteam.

I think Domer is right upthread in that a failed trade for Davis is going to poison the well in the Lakers locker-room. Unfortunately, the guys mentioned are all relatively young and all of this uncertainty has to suck for them.
Who cares? They’re all professionals. Collegiate players have gotten far worse and don’t have millions to fall back on. The purpose of these chants is to get the guy at the line to miss a FT and help the home team. I certainly hope the Celtics crowd comes up with something better as long as it isn’t vulgar.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,214
Who cares? They’re all professionals. Collegiate players have gotten far worse and don’t have millions to fall back on. The purpose of these chants is to get the guy at the line to miss a FT and help the home team. I certainly hope the Celtics crowd comes up with something better as long as it isn’t vulgar.
I am not a big taunting fan but YRMV.

My point - and I didn't make it clearly - is that if anyone deserves ire, its LeBron. He made the choice to go to a bad Laker team this past summer and has spent the better part of a week waging a public campaign to force a trade that will have ripple effects across the league. I don't fault him for his audacity but he had to know that this could end badly. He is the one that should wear it. However Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and likely Hart and Zubac are the ones who have to deal with all of the uncertainty.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,094
I am not a big taunting fan but YRMV.

My point - and I didn't make it clearly - is that if anyone deserves ire, its LeBron. He made the choice to go to a bad Laker team this past summer and has spent the better part of a week waging a public campaign to force a trade that will have ripple effects across the league. I don't fault him for his audacity but he had to know that this could end badly. He is the one that should wear it. However Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and likely Hart and Zubac are the ones who have to deal with all of the uncertainty.
Definitely agree on LeBron but I do love a good basketball FT chant. This is LeBron’s mess and he certainly won’t own it and the young guys are the collateral damage. If I were them, I’d want to leave the Lakers to have a normal NBA career.

End of the day, LeBron has always been a garbage teammate. He is in it for himself and himself only. Has always been the case.

Such a polar opposite from a guy like Brady.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,214
Definitely agree on LeBron but I do love a good basketball FT chant. This is LeBron’s mess and he certainly won’t own it and the young guys are the collateral damage. If I were them, I’d want to leave the Lakers to have a normal NBA career.

End of the day, LeBron has always been a garbage teammate. He is in it for himself and himself only. Has always been the case.

Such a polar opposite from a guy like Brady.
Completely agreed that LeBron, for all of his greatness, just comes off as a horrible teammate.

I know nobody will shed tears over Lonzo but after seemingly distancing himself from the promotion machine that is his father, he is now right back in the middle of the storm. As you noted, these guys are professionals and Ball is well paid relative to some of the others. But this has to suck on many levels that he does all the right things - now he is part of a story that likely ends with him being forced from his hometown team.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,094
Completely agreed that LeBron, for all of his greatness, just comes off as a horrible teammate.

I know nobody will shed tears over Lonzo but after seemingly distancing himself from the promotion machine that is his father, he is now right back in the middle of the storm. As you noted, these guys are professionals and Ball is well paid relative to some of the others. But this has to suck on many levels that he does all the right things - now he is part of a story that likely ends with him being forced from his hometown team.
Yup. I’m lukewarm about his game but I really like Lonzo the person or at least what I’ve seen of him. All this kid wants to do is play basketball and he has a crazy dad and diva teammate creating all these distractions. Has to be incredibly frustrating. I really want him to go someplace where we can see his true talent level. Phoenix does seem like a very nice fit.
 

Jimbodandy

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2006
11,406
around the way
Completely agreed that LeBron, for all of his greatness, just comes off as a horrible teammate.

I know nobody will shed tears over Lonzo but after seemingly distancing himself from the promotion machine that is his father, he is now right back in the middle of the storm. As you noted, these guys are professionals and Ball is well paid relative to some of the others. But this has to suck on many levels that he does all the right things - now he is part of a story that likely ends with him being forced from his hometown team.
Being forced from that shitshow has about a 90% chance of being an improvement in his career trajectory, maybe more. I'm racking my brain to think of a worse place in the NBA for him than that roster.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,214
Being forced from that shitshow has about a 90% chance of being an improvement in his career trajectory, maybe more. I'm racking my brain to think of a worse place in the NBA for him than that roster.
Oh I agree. He is a much better fit elsewhere.

However from his point of view, he gets drafted by his hometown team and is viewed, perhaps too optimistically, as one of the saviors of the franchise. Now he is being driven out by what amounts to a virus that is consuming its host. Long term he will be fine and he can retire tomorrow and be better off than most people on the planet. It doesn't change the fact that this has to suck something fierce for him.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
If they fail to get AD, would it make sense for them to go after expiring contracts like Vucevic? Or do they keep all their assets regardless of how small they are?

I doubt Vucevic gets much of a return but he's not really worth moving for salary relief.
 

Red Averages

owes you $50
SoSH Member
Apr 20, 2003
9,058
At this point, I'd put higher odds of LeBron being gone from the Lakers before they reach a 2nd round game.
 

Senator Donut

post-Domer
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2010
5,502
Nichols: Is it possible all the talks & leaks were instead designed to sabotage the young Lakers as revenge for what N.O. sees as tampering?

Windhorst: "it's not just possible, it's what happened."


I can’t decide if this is brilliant or stupid by the Pelicans.

The Lakers are in a weird situation; most players in trade rumors can hold a grudge against management if they’re included in trade rumors, but the current situation has been manufactured by their star player’s agency. By including every payer except James in a rumor, the Pelicans have definitely succeeded in their goal of upsetting the Lakers, but I don’t understand how this helps them maximize the value of Davis. They still need a strong Lakers offer to extract the best package from Boston.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,001
Nichols: Is it possible all the talks & leaks were instead designed to sabotage the young Lakers as revenge for what N.O. sees as tampering?

Windhorst: "it's not just possible, it's what happened."


I can’t decide if this is brilliant or stupid by the Pelicans.

The Lakers are in a weird situation; most players in trade rumors can hold a grudge against management if they’re included in trade rumors, but the current situation has been manufactured by their star player’s agency. By including every payer except James in a rumor, the Pelicans have definitely succeeded in their goal of upsetting the Lakers, but I don’t understand how this helps them maximize the value of Davis. They still need a strong Lakers offer to extract the best package from Boston.
They might just be pissed enough at the Lakers to sacrifice some marginal value. And there's value in future teams knowing not to try this bullshit, because you'll go nuclear.

Also, Windhorst and Nichols acting like the Lakers are victims here is really, really rich.
 

djbayko

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
25,897
Los Angeles, CA
The Lakers are in a weird situation; most players in trade rumors can hold a grudge against management if they’re included in trade rumors, but the current situation has been manufactured by their star player’s agency. By including every payer except James in a rumor, the Pelicans have definitely succeeded in their goal of upsetting the Lakers, but I don’t understand how this helps them maximize the value of Davis. They still need a strong Lakers offer to extract the best package from Boston.
Other teams will be there this summer for AD. The Lakers will still be there this summer for AD. Their plan is AD...or then what? If nothing else, they will be involved to keep pressure on the Celtics.
 
Last edited:

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,001
Lakers: "We're going to tamper."
Pels: "Don't do that, or we'll fuck you up."
Lakers: "Haha lol we're totally tampering now."
Pels: "Gonna fuck you up."

Nichols: "Is it possible that the evil Pelicans fucked up the nice Lakers?"
Windhorst: "It's not just possible, it's what happened."
 

djbayko

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
25,897
Los Angeles, CA
They might just be pissed enough at the Lakers to sacrifice some marginal value. And there's value in future teams knowing not to try this bullshit, because you'll go nuclear.

Also, Windhorst and Nichols acting like the Lakers are victims here is really, really rich.
I didn't get that vibe from them at all - more of a morbid curiosity.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,303
Fair--I usually attribute the worst motives to Windhorst because of the Mouth of Sauron role he plays.
I’m with you on your original take.

Doesn’t this seem like a wild overreach from Windhorst? I truly can’t imagine that any team, let alone the Pelicans who don’t seem like the most well run organized unit, would engage in a media misinformation campaign to ruin another teams chemistry. Not only that but anyone with a shred of intelligence knew the Rich Paul grade demand was to get AD to the Lakers. In order for the Lakers to trade for Anthony Davis, they would have to give up all of the names floated in these offers....it’s not like any of this is a huge surprise.

To me, it seems like the Pelicans made the decision (similar to the Spurs with Kawhi) that their motto was “fuck the Lakers” and they weren’t going to trade with them no matter what because of perceived tampering.

I think, after last nights disaster complete with that picture of LeBron sitting a mile away from the rest of the team, that Klutch recognized the optics looked bad and decided to use their portly mouthpiece once again to try and take the heat off of LeBeon. “No, it’s not LeBrons fault that this team appears to be splintered! He definitely doesn’t hate all of the young players on the team and wants to get rid of them! This is all the Pelicans doing! This was an orchestrated campaign to get the Lakers to hate each other!”
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,214
Fair--I usually attribute the worst motives to Windhorst because of the Mouth of Sauron role he plays.
As you should. Windhorst's career is purely a function of being the Mouth of Sauron (I love this btw).

I hope Nichols is just doing some standard "reporting" here. She is fantastic at her job and has earned her credibility. I would hate to see her spend that capital in an effort to portray the Lakers as victims in this situation.
 
Genuine question: for all the schadenfreude here about how the Lakers' youngsters are getting messed up by the rumor mill, is it possible that the Celtics have underachieved relative to expectations this season in part for that same exact reason? I mean, everyone knows everyone is potentially on the block and sacrifice-able in Ainge's quest to get better, and most Celtics fans would eagerly lose even Tatum to get (and keep) AD.
 

Devizier

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 3, 2000
19,472
Somewhere
Genuine question: for all the schadenfreude here about how the Lakers' youngsters are getting messed up by the rumor mill, is it possible that the Celtics have underachieved relative to expectations this season in part for that same exact reason? I mean, everyone knows everyone is potentially on the block and sacrifice-able in Ainge's quest to get better, and most Celtics fans would eagerly lose even Tatum to get (and keep) AD.
A fair question, but I think there is a difference between the open and explicit trade offers from the Lakers, coupled with the widespread public mockery that they have garnered, that might distinguish the two.

The second point is that the Celtics are not far off their win pace from last season. The early season doldrums probably have more to do with integrating a clearly hobbled Hayward into their lineup.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,001
Genuine question: for all the schadenfreude here about how the Lakers' youngsters are getting messed up by the rumor mill, is it possible that the Celtics have underachieved relative to expectations this season in part for that same exact reason? I mean, everyone knows everyone is potentially on the block and sacrifice-able in Ainge's quest to get better, and most Celtics fans would eagerly lose even Tatum to get (and keep) AD.
Jaylen said in early in the season that he was aware he was the guy everyone expected to be dealt for AD. It's not a stretch to think that affected him.

Don't see indication it affected anyone else much. Tatum is fine, Rozier is gunning for a contract, and Hayward has the recovery issue.

Early in the season, I thought the team would implode over rumors and playing time, much like the Lakers are now. It's a huge credit to Stevens that they didn't.
 

Red Averages

owes you $50
SoSH Member
Apr 20, 2003
9,058
Jaylen said in early in the season that he was aware he was the guy everyone expected to be dealt for AD. It's not a stretch to think that affected him.

Don't see indication it affected anyone else much. Tatum is fine, Rozier is gunning for a contract, and Hayward has the recovery issue.
It's clearly having an impact on the draft picks, they've really struggled.