2030-31 Lakers Pre-Season Press Conference

[greepleairport]

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to the Lakers pre-season presser.

We had much excitement this off-season with big swings early, seeing Giannis abruptly retire while leaving some $40 million plus on the table, and winning the Draft Lottery! What a great way to start any offseason. We did hit a dip during free agency as greepleairport engaged in much hand-wringing over the JR Johnson deal, ignoring most of free agency in the process, though it looks like it will pay off. JR took a bit of a hit this training camp, but not as big of a hit as his drop from 5's to 4's would imply. He's still the best player on our squad and we're excited to bring him on board this season. We also wish Tony Cucone the best over at the Wizards.

That said, our young developing squad continues to grow. Wyatt Battle once again exceeded expectations in training camp, improving in many areas while showing versatility to fill the role of Center or Power Forward. David Leiker put in a ton of work as well. Dominick Cobb might be shifting away from the 3 pt game he developed last year, but we still expect good numbers while Delmar Lopez gets his feet wet in the PBSL. Speaking of, this kid Delmar has a bright, bright future. Should he continue developing in the offseason as he did this year, he will become a major threat down the road.

While coach greeple explored many starting lineups last year, the Lakers seem to be set with Tibor (C), Nickels (PF), Cobb (SF), Jackson (SG) and Johnson (PG). IF they all stay healthy, the Lakers should look much improved over last year, but we will have to exceed expectations to crawl out of last place in a very, very competitive division.

We're very excited to let the games begin! Any questions?

[JNR]

GWR: What is your plan for Delmar Lopez? Will he see much playing time this year?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: If the offseason is any indication, JR Johnson is going a long way towards making the team around him better, even if there's not really a fully developed star on the team. How far do you think that will take the Lakers this season?

[NickMalone77]

Now that JR is on the team, do you see Ronald Jackson as an ideal 6th man candidate?

[greepleairport]

GWR: What is your plan for Delmar Lopez? Will he see much playing time this year?

My plan for Delmar is develop, develop, develop. He will come off the bench at SF. Down the road he may take Cobb's starting SF position, but Cobb is still the man there for now. I definitely want to see Delmar's conditioning improve before playing too many minutes too.

[greepleairport]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: If the offseason is any indication, JR Johnson is going a long way towards making the team around him better, even if there's not really a fully developed star on the team. How far do you think that will take the Lakers this season?

The Lakers will have a better season in no small part due to JR. I concur, he will bring the team up, so as we inch towards .500, I'm confident we'll come that much closer to breaking even, possibly coming out of last place in our division, too.

[greepleairport]

Now that JR is on the team, do you see Ronald Jackson as an ideal 6th man candidate?

You know, short answer, yes! Long term anyway. For now he's still a starter until the rest of my team gets up to his speed, which could come in a number of different combinations, be it David Leiker crawling up to starting SG, Dominick Cobb becoming starting SG and Delmar starting at SF, etc. For now, Leiker is holding steady as our versatile 6th man.

[digiskunk]

Terry "Smooth Operator" Watkins, CBS Sports: For the first time in his career, Kane Jacobs will be receiving a significant amount of playing time—"starting" minutes, in fact. Given his height, how many rebounds do you foresee him averaging this upcoming season? Also, what's his favorite holiday and why does he insist on watching Ben Shapiro videos all day long?

[digiskunk]

Ima Blackman, Chicago Tribune: I have a few questions if you don't mind humoring me for just a moment here. First and foremost I want to say that Delmar Lopez is clearly one of the league's future stars; do you consider him un-tradeable, or is there actually a package out there large enough to satisfy your interests?

I also want to discuss Wyatt Battle for a moment here. As a 7'2" titan with a wealth of strength, he doesn't seem as if he'll be a defensive force in the post. Is this something you look upon improving in the immediate future?

And lastly, why won't my girlfriend return my phone calls? Is it something I did? Am I not good enough all of a sudden? Jesus Christ Karen, just reach out to me already, it's been 3 weeks.

[false9]

With a more developed PG running the offense, are you expecting more from Andre Nickels this season?

[greepleairport]

Terry "Smooth Operator" Watkins, CBS Sports: For the first time in his career, Kane Jacobs will be receiving a significant amount of playing time—"starting" minutes, in fact. Given his height, how many rebounds do you foresee him averaging this upcoming season? Also, what's his favorite holiday and why does he insist on watching Ben Shapiro videos all day long?

Uhm I think it’s Halloween and no comment on Ben Shapiro. I don’t pay him for his politics. And, I’m expecting Kane to have a breakout year and hit his prime; still, Tibor is my starting center.


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[greepleairport]

Ima Blackman, Chicago Tribune: I have a few questions if you don't mind humoring me for just a moment here. First and foremost I want to say that Delmar Lopez is clearly one of the league's future stars; do you consider him un-tradeable, or is there actually a package out there large enough to satisfy your interests?

I also want to discuss Wyatt Battle for a moment here. As a 7'2" titan with a wealth of strength, he doesn't seem as if he'll be a defensive force in the post. Is this something you look upon improving in the immediate future?

And lastly, why won't my girlfriend return my phone calls? Is it something I did? Am I not good enough all of a sudden? Jesus Christ Karen, just reach out to me already, it's been 3 weeks.

Never say never, right? But I am planning to keep him with the Lakers. Just sank all my points into him so yeah I’m all in with Lopez.

Battle has much to develop defensively but I’m liking where he’s at now offensively too. Defense is a glaring hole in his game that must be addressed eventually.

Don’t know what to tell you about Karen, dawg. Best of luck my dude.


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[greepleairport]

With a more developed PG running the offense, are you expecting more from Andre Nickels this season?

I can’t say that Nickels has really let us down thus far, but yes I do anticipate a growing connection between Nickels and Johnson, and he will become a true force in the paint.


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