S49: The Reversing of the 94 Curse, Lakers Preseason presser

[greepleairport]

Alright, maybe getting beaten by the eventual champs in round 1 of the playoffs wasn't such an awful thing after all. Kudos to the Nuggets and Syndicate. But in case no one else has noticed, greeple sure did:

49 is 94 backwards. It is a sign.

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I know, it's too early to call. How can we have a Power Ranking before any games are played? I dunno, ask Andy, but it supports my point, so I'm using it.

S49 may very well be the season I've been looking forward to since I joined the league 10 seasons ago. We have a phenomenal starting lineup:

C Justin Todd
PF Mike Burnham
SF Delmar Lopez
SG Bjorn Ironside
PG Len Bias

We may tinker with Delmar and Bjorn swapping the 2 and 3, but barring injury, this lineup will take us to the playoffs and, dare I say, past the 1st round for the first time since S45. We're no longer waiting for Delmar to hit his prime: he has arrived. Len Bias is a top PG in a league that lacks even good PGs. Justin Todd is back from Free Agency and ready to defend the rim alongside Burnham who's now ready for the starting lineup. Speaking of sides, how about Bjorn Ironside in a Lakers uniform?! Upper management looked at the roster, back at the free agents, and back at the roster and thought, gee whiz, if we lop off a contract or two, we have a real shot at landing one of the most prolific scorers in league history and then putting him next to Delmar. That's tough to beat!

So we look out to our division and the off seasons they all had, and we like where we stand. Perennial contenders Spurs may have entered a full rebuild sending out Jonathan Lewis, but it put the Kings into playoff talk instantly. Like the Lakers a few years before, however, their back court is jacked on steroids and their front court is just missing winning pieces. Nuggets can never be completely overlooked even though they're not set up yet to make a repeat run (I stress YET). The Wizards champion players are aging (still great) and their youth are still growing (still pretty good), but seem off balance between past and future glory. The Pacers need at least one more player to give other teams in the division some problems, and the Hawks are still focused on getting out of the tax. So in the historically rough and tumble Johnson division, I like our chances taking the top spot. What a great way to cap off such a competitive group before next season's expansion and realignment.

I won't look too far beyond that yet. Anything can happen in this league and, should we make it to the finals, the Pelicans are a major threat once again. But in S49, the opposite 94, fate and superstition is on our (Bjorn Iron)side.

Ask me things

[MexicanMamba]

Is this the season that Delmar not only leads the team to more playoff success, but from an individual standpoint, goes out and takes that MVP crown for himself?

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[NOLa.]

You mentioned Delmar is now in his prime and Bias is in the last two years of his deal and in his prime as well. Do you feel the pressure to make this season the season to be a Finals contender? Which team in this conference do you think will challenge you the most for that spot looking at the league post-TC?

[greepleairport]

Is this the season that Delmar not only leads the team to more playoff success, but from an individual standpoint, goes out and takes that MVP crown for himself?

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More than any previous year, Delmar will be in the MVP discussion. We think Fox time there has ended and with Kidd’s dip he is not the same MVP he has been. We see Yandell, JOnathan Lewis, Jordan Johnson and The return of Chris Ridley as main competition for this accolade, but Delmar is definitely getting a handsome reward for his services as he looks toward free agency next year, because we fully expect him to lead the Lakers for at least five more years after this season wraps.


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[greepleairport]

You mentioned Delmar is now in his prime and Bias is in the last two years of his deal and in his prime as well. Do you feel the pressure to make this season the season to be a Finals contender? Which team in this conference do you think will challenge you the most for that spot looking at the league post-TC?

We definitely feel the pressure but not as in S49 or bust kind of pressure. If not S49 or S50, were looking at some difficult decisions as far as Bias is concerned, definitely. We actually like where we stand in Johnson, but Mourning could present some problems, specifically the Nets and Bucks if they keep Fox which, in my opinion, they should. We’re not overlooking the Sixers and certainly not forgetting the Nuggets pulling a move that will give us fits. Or your Kings either if you land a top five or even top ten big man.


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[JNR]

GWR: Bjorn Ironside is about 1000 points behind Andrew Wiggins and 2000 points behind Tracy McGrady on the all time scoring list. How likely is it that he passes both this year?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: The Lakers' starting five is rock solid, but beyond that, what's your second unit going to look like and whose going to lead it?

[K-100]

You made a savvy move to clear out an additional $15M by dumping some bad contracts on the Pistons. Was Ironside the #1 target all along, or were you just focused on landing a big fish from the UFA group?

[greepleairport]

GWR: Bjorn Ironside is about 1000 points behind Andrew Wiggins and 2000 points behind Tracy McGrady on the all time scoring list. How likely is it that he passes both this year?

I'm positive he passes Wiggins but Tracy McGrady is a stretch. Bjorn hasn't scored over 2000 points in a season since S44, the season after he was Finals MVP against, naturally, the Lakers. He averaged 15.6 looks last year, while Delmar and Bias got 18.5 and 16.5 respectively. He'll be sharing these scoring opportunities with two other very strong offensively minded folks, so even though topping McGrady this year seems like a long shot, topping Wiggins is a near certainty.

[greepleairport]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: The Lakers' starting five is rock solid, but beyond that, what's your second unit going to look like and whose going to lead it?

Robert Kelly will definitely lead our 2nd unit. Beyond that, we're going to give our other backups a few different looks. We'll definitely see Durant Badham and Jeronimo Vidal (who was a fake green, apparently, because only his JMP dipped this TC) hitting the floor as role players who should be able to hold down the interior defensively, and we'll see how the rookie Daniel Gamez handles a few minutes backing up Bias. I want to get looks from Giguere and Haberman, but may resort to Kelly backing up both wing spots as the stronger player overall. Robert Mata is my ace in the hole - we're excited to see what he can do this year, too. Acuff and especially Zagars will not see many minutes if any at all.

[greepleairport]

You made a savvy move to clear out an additional $15M by dumping some bad contracts on the Pistons. Was Ironside the #1 target all along, or were you just focused on landing a big fish from the UFA group?

I'm going to tip my hat to another GM down the hall in the Staples Center and a few GMs coming with trade offers to wake me up and shed a little cap and get someone down to LA to take us past Rd 1 of the playoffs. Full disclosure: we made the same offer to RJ Barrett and Grayson Allen as well, but it was Bjorn we really wanted and we are happiest with Bjorn having signed the dotted line. Last year we were lightest at PF and SG - no disrespect to Vidal and Kelly - so if we had a big boost at either position we would've been happy. Seeing how Burnham developed this offseason, though, it was the SG spot we needed to fill, and Bjorn will fill it quite nicely.

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: With RFA this year having a lot of heavy hitters, one of the things I noticed in the aftermath was the small two year deal you gave Zagars. While the contract size is small enough to swallow even if he does not play one minute in a Lakers uniform, what was the thought process behind offering him that deal?

[greepleairport]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: With RFA this year having a lot of heavy hitters, one of the things I noticed in the aftermath was the small two year deal you gave Zagars. While the contract size is small enough to swallow even if he does not play one minute in a Lakers uniform, what was the thought process behind offering him that deal?

Well, I've had some y/y's turn out pretty decently. Scot Bulter was a y/y pick and, though Zagars is not a draft pick, he's super young. You never know! Before TC he was a faster version of my 1st rounder Gamez so it was worth a gamble. Didn't pan out. We'll see about Gamez - he's slow af but his HND and PAS is already solid, PRD ain't too shabby either. Also I signed Burnham on a small y/g deal and look at how that's going. Robert Mata looks good post-TC... just not going to work for everyone!