[Rams Dominate]

Ivica Zubac, 7' 1"- 265 lbs, & 19 years old, been a Lakers fan his whole life & was ecstatic he was drafted by the Lakers...Kupchak says this guy has some nice moves around the basket but needs a lot of work...
Hacksaw, really like the above post, you make some really sensible points & I agree with you bro, what sense would it make to bring a Max player in to play with a bunch of green kids? Its wasting money at this point, but next year different story imo...I think these kids are gonna be hella good, especially Ingram & they say Randall is like running into a wall he's so strong, him & Nance have different games but both are big & strong & you lose nothing whichever ones in the game, nice thing about Ingram is the guys a facilitator as well so you get a different look when Russell or Clarkson are catching their breathe & he's in there...Next couple of years will be sweet to watch these guys grow as a team...

[Hacksaw_64]

Lakers see Ivica Zubac as a 'lottery talent,' Kupchak reportedly compares him to Marc Gasol

By Harrison Faigen @hmfaigen on Jun 24, 2016, 11:19a

The Los Angeles Lakers' first round pick, Brandon Ingram, was met with nearly universal shouts of "yay!" from the Lakers' fanbase. Their second round selection, Ivica Zubac, conversely drew countless yells of "who?"

Zubac himself attempted to answer that question in one of the more entertaining post-draft press conferences in team history, where the 7'1 center revealed he might literally be the world's biggest Lakers fan. As we dug deeper into his game, it became easy to see the raw tools the Lakers front office saw that led them to believe Zubac could be a real contributor down the line.

Zubac has a soft touch around the basket and even softer hands when catching passes out of the pick-and-roll, and while he's not a great rebounder yet, there is no reason to think he can't learn to more effectively position himself as he grows older and gains more experience.

As revealed by his slipping all the way to 32nd overall, the Lakers sound like they are even more high on Zubac's considerable upside than most, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report:

The Lakers also hope they added a true big man to that young crew Thursday in 7'0" Croatian center Ivica Zubac, 19. The team saw him as a lottery talent and pegged him to go in the top 20 before landing him at No. 32.

And if that wasn't enough to get you excited:

Kupchak even privately likened Zubac to Marc Gasol.

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The above might be a slight overreaction, but it's hard to argue the Lakers didn't get great potential value for their later pick. The team's front office that has shown a consistent ability over the last few years to snag above average contributors for their draft slots in the second round.

Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre may not be fan favorites any longer, but they have done more than most taken as late back as them, and Jordan Clarkson has obviously made all 29 other teams look dumb for passing on him (thanks again, Wizards. Enjoy that sweet, sweet, $1.8 million. Maybe you can use it to sign a capable backup for John Wall!). The Lakers additionally employ one of the most respected European scouts in the world.

For these reasons, the Zubac pick deserves a chance, because while it's unlikely he'll ever be as good as Gasol, he could still easily end up as a capable role player in the Lakers' rebuild. That's great value for the 32nd overall pick, and hopefully we get our first look at Zubac in uniform when the Lakers start Las Vegas Summer League on July 8th.

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2016 ... ch-kupchak

[Hacksaw]

Ingram, Russell, Clarkson, Randal, Nance, Zubac,,,,,,,,,, the Lakers are starting to draft their way back into contention. Adding Deng can't hurt. Looks like they are building a GSW south squad. They better get better fast though,, Durant going to SF didn't make the Western Conf, Pacific division any easier to win for anyone not named Warriors.....

Soooo, can we have Gentleman Jerry West back now please?

[Hacksaw_64]

Ingram, Russell, Clarkson, Randal, Nance, Zubac,,,,,,,,,, the Lakers are starting to draft their way back into contention. Adding Deng can't hurt. Looks like they are building a GSW south squad. They better get better fast though,, Durant going to SF didn't make the Western Conf, Pacific division any easier to win for anyone not named Warriors.....

Soooo, can we have Gentleman Jerry West back now please?

Phil Jackson shoulda learned not to tug on Superman's cape...Losing West was a deathblow to the franchise.

[Hacksaw]

Losing West was a deathblow to the franchise.

Truer words could not be typed.

[Hacksaw]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nba/la-sp ... story.html

Skinny on Brandon Ingram is he could be this town's next big thing
Bill Plaschke

They didn’t try to be too smart. They didn’t try to be too cool. They didn’t outthink it, overthink it or give in to the inviting temptation to trade it.

This time, the Lakers didn’t get fancy. This time, they simply got it right.

With the second pick in the NBA draft Thursday, the Lakers selected the best player in the NBA draft, officially beginning the post-Kobe Bryant era with a guy who could eventually remind people of Kevin Durant.

His name is Brandon Ingram, he’s only 18 years old, he weighs about 100 pounds, but he’s 6 feet 9 with arms that stretch forever and a shot that does something very specific the Lakers desperately need.

It goes in.

In his first and only season at Duke, the kid shot 46% on two-pointers, 41% on three-pointers, both figures which would have led all Lakers playmakers last season. Throw in the kind of defensive havoc that a 7-foot-3 wingspan can cause and you’ll understand how even cool hand Luke Walton got excited.

“We got the player I wanted in the draft,” said Walton at a buzzing Lakers training facility. “I don’t know if he’s the best or not, but we got the player I wanted, for sure.”

Oh, he’s the best. The majority of scouts who follow these things agreed. The sly smile on General Manager Mitch Kupchak’s face agreed. The perception was even shared by the crowd of Lakers season-ticket holders sitting on folding chairs watching a giant TV on the facility’s gym floor, as they cheered loudly before Ingram was even picked.

They were cheering because the Philadelphia 76ers, picking first, went for the glitz selection of Louisiana State’s Ben Simmons. Many of them then erupted in a standing ovation when the obvious pick of Ingram was next.
Lakers select Duke's Brandon Ingram with the second pick in the NBA draft

Bill Plaschke and Lindsey Thiry share reaction from the Lakers headquarters after Brandon Ingram was selected with the second pick in the NBA draft.

“We felt we’d be very lucky to get Brandon into this organization,” said Kupchak.

The celebratory mood was in contrast to the defensiveness that permeated the organization last June when the Lakers shrugged off the natural No. 2 pick of Jahlil Okafor and instead reached for D’Angelo Russell. In some ways, they’re still reaching for Russell, trying to connect with him, and this pick of Ingram may lead them to eventually trade him for a stabilizing veteran if they feel a core of Ingram, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle is their future.

“We’re going to stress competition here, and we’re going to compete,” said Walton. “And if that means a young guy we’re developing isn’t playing the way he should be, then he’s got to come out of the game.”

Or out of the organization? Stay tuned. For now, the Lakers are thrilled to add a player who, unlike Russell last year, played bigger as the games became bigger, growing from an early benching to playing 119 out of a possible 120 minutes in three NCAA tournament games, averaging 23 points, six rebounds and three assists.

“We’re picking a player that played at, some might say, a very established college basketball program,” said Kupchak with a grin, the former North Carolina star taking his usual draft-day shot at Duke. “And he played big minutes in an excellent league with excellent competition.”

The Lakers love Ingram’s maturity, which was in evidence from the first answer he gave as a Laker, saying on national TV that he wanted to bring leadership to the team. The young Lakers could certainly use some of that, and while it’s unlikely an 18-year-old kid can lead anyone right now, it’s revealing that he aspires to do so.

“You need leadership, you need cohesiveness, you need energy, and everything I’ve heard about this kid, he brings all those to the table along with his skill set,” said Walton.

The biggest hindrance is his weight, which is officially 190 pounds, which unofficially makes him look downright reed-like even though he’s reportedly gained nearly 30 pounds in the last year. He’s always been thin, and the target of jokes because of it. When he was growing up in Kinston, a town of about 22,000 in eastern North Carolina, he was so thin he could barely wear his souvenir Duke jersey. Even today, he hears it all the time, including immediately after being drafted when his first interviewer called him “Skinny.”

“I think it just gives me motivation to show these guys that the skinny part doesn’t matter,” said the quiet Ingram in a conference call with Los Angeles reporters. “It got me here today … and being skinny didn’t mean nothing when I was battling with each and every guy, each and every night.”

Besides, he said he has a perfect role model in the tall and slender guy who some think he could one day resemble, noting, “Growing up, I was a really, really big fan of Kevin Durant and saw a guy that’s grown and grown and still has the ability at his height, [that’s] something I have in myself.”

This growth must soon be imitated by a Lakers organization flush with money and salary-cap space. The celebration over the addition of Ingram will soon end as the search for free agents begins.

Now that the kids are all in place, it’s time to pay some grown-ups.

[snackdaddy]

The Lakers are acquiring talent. But that talent is so young its going to take time to come together. I believe they're at least two years away from being a playoff contender. And that would be a low seed contender. But when it all comes together, they could easily be a championship contender when these guys start to hit their mid 20's.

[Rams Dominate]

Luckily I found out the Lakers Summer League game would be televised today, so I watched the 1st overall pick Simmons versus the 2nd overall pick Ingram, if any of you watched you know how that came out, the 2nd overall pick was everywhere in the 2nd half, only his name was D'Angelo Russell ! !.8 seconds on the clock, Lakers down 69-67, Russell shoots a l-o-o-o=n-n-g 3 as time expires, swish, nothing but net, Lakers win 70-69 !
Russell was also the catalyst in the Lakers win over the Pelicans & game MVP...Sadly I didn't get to watch that game but they say D'Angelo Russell is playing a different game so far this year & so far that's what I'm seeing & I like what I'm seeing...Larry Nance was everywhere as well, Brandon Ingram seemed lost at times & was scoreless in the 1st half, had 2 fg. in the 2nd half & missed a wide open 3 for his only attempt... The Croation Zubac plays well under the basket...

[snackdaddy]

Luckily I found out the Lakers Summer League game would be televised today, so I watched the 1st overall pick Simmons versus the 2nd overall pick Ingram, if any of you watched you know how that came out, the 2nd overall pick was everywhere in the 2nd half, only his name was D'Angelo Russell ! !.8 seconds on the clock, Lakers down 69-67, Russell shoots a l-o-o-o=n-n-g 3 as time expires, swish, nothing but net, Lakers win 70-69 !
Russell was also the catalyst in the Lakers win over the Pelicans & game MVP...Sadly I didn't get to watch that game but they say D'Angelo Russell is playing a different game so far this year & so far that's what I'm seeing & I like what I'm seeing...Larry Nance was everywhere as well, Brandon Ingram seemed lost at times & was scoreless in the 1st half, had 2 fg. in the 2nd half & missed a wide open 3 for his only attempt... The Croation Zubac plays well under the basket...

I thought Scott was not the right coach for Russell. Early in the season he sat Russell a lot late in games. He said he was trying to win games and wanted who he thought was the best players in crunch time. Which was stupid. Lakers were going nowhere. Two reasons you let your young stars play late in games. You let them learn. Baptism by fire. And they needed a top 3 pick to keep from giving it up.

I think Walton will let Russell spread his wings more. He will still make mistakes. But again, they're going nowhere. Let Russell and Ingram learn. Once they learn and get confidence, they just might become a two star tandem like Durant and Westbrook.

[Rams Dominate]

Luckily I found out the Lakers Summer League game would be televised today, so I watched the 1st overall pick Simmons versus the 2nd overall pick Ingram, if any of you watched you know how that came out, the 2nd overall pick was everywhere in the 2nd half, only his name was D'Angelo Russell ! !.8 seconds on the clock, Lakers down 69-67, Russell shoots a l-o-o-o=n-n-g 3 as time expires, swish, nothing but net, Lakers win 70-69 !
Russell was also the catalyst in the Lakers win over the Pelicans & game MVP...Sadly I didn't get to watch that game but they say D'Angelo Russell is playing a different game so far this year & so far that's what I'm seeing & I like what I'm seeing...Larry Nance was everywhere as well, Brandon Ingram seemed lost at times & was scoreless in the 1st half, had 2 fg. in the 2nd half & missed a wide open 3 for his only attempt... The Croation Zubac plays well under the basket...

I thought Scott was not the right coach for Russell. Early in the season he sat Russell a lot late in games. He said he was trying to win games and wanted who he thought was the best players in crunch time. Which was stupid. Lakers were going nowhere. Two reasons you let your young stars play late in games. You let them learn. Baptism by fire. And they needed a top 3 pick to keep from giving it up.

I think Walton will let Russell spread his wings more. He will still make mistakes. But again, they're going nowhere. Let Russell and Ingram learn. Once they learn and get confidence, they just might become a two star tandem like Durant and Westbrook.

This Lakers team to a man endorse Walton & his approach to the game, Scott was old school & altho no one bad mouthed Scott the silence was deafening...