After a summer of so many potential deals presented lakers Fan, most likely outcome Now it looks like the Lakers are taking it backLeBron James and Anthony Davis were set to return, but Russell Westbrook was far from returning.
Obviously you can’t go back and run every scenario and see what works best. At least not in reality. Luckily, it’s his 21st century now, and through NBA 2K23 we can see a super (ish) realistic (ish) simulation of these scenarios.
The results are as follows.
What if the lass remains?
Let’s start with the baseline of Russ just sits still, Lakers do nothing This season. The good news is that with LeBron his James, Anthony Davis and Russ healthy, the Lakers finished 45-37 with him and the Warriors and him tied for fifth place.
Both LeBron and Russ have appeared in 82 games, and AD has appeared in 80 games. LeBron and his AD had a big season, averaging 24.9 and 20.1 points per game respectively.
Russ averaged 11 points, 5.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game. Lonnie Walker had more playing time per game, with Patrick his Beverley scoring slightly less than Russ with his 42.3% field goal percentage and his 25.7% 3-point line percentage.
Luka Doncic won MVP with an absurd stat line of 34.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game, shooting 51.9% from the field, 42.6% from the arc, and 88.2% from the line. did. LeBron joined First Team All-NBA honors and AD was named First Team All-Defense.
The Lakers lost to the Warriors in a tiebreaker to become the 6th seed in the playoffs and face the 3rd seed Timberwolves. After D’Angelo Russell averaged 28.8 points and had his two double-doubles, Minnesota swept the Lakers out of the playoffs.
disgustingly, celtics #FutureLaker’s Jayson Tatum averaged 40.2 points per game in the Finals to win the title in Memphis.
This is the worst timeline.
the lakers Pacers offer?
at this point, One of the few options left for the Lakers If they’re willing to spit out their draft capital, it’s a Pacers trade. However, these two picks he traded for 2K have no real results.
(For the record, Russ, Buddy Hield and Miles Turner’s Buddy Hield and Miles Turner’s Wenen Gabriel weren’t accepted, so I had to spend about 10 minutes figuring out how to force a trade.) did.)
In short, the Lakers had the upper hand. They finished 59-23, the best record in the league. Luca won his MVP again, Durbinham won Coach of the Year, and LeBron earned his second team All-His NBA honors.
LeBron and AD cleared the threshold of 20 points per game, with AD adding 10.2 rebounds. Buddy Hield averaged 14.9 points on his 3-point shots 44.7% this season, and Myles Turner averaged 9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in his 57 games.
But in the worst plot twist ever, the 9th seed Suns won the play-in tournament, facing the Lakers as the 8th seed and upset them by seven games. The Lakers had his 3-2 lead in the series, but were blown away behind Devin Booker’s 50-point performance in Game 6, and Chris’ masterclass on his pole gave Phoenix a stunning win. forced his seventh game which brought.
The AD were phenomenal in the series, including an 18-point, 21-rebound, and 7-assist performance in their Game 2 victory. He also had 28 points and 13 rebounds in Game 3, but he and LeBron only shot 14-29 combined in Game 7.
Phoenix lost to the Pelicans after upsetting the Clippers in the second round. NBA Finals before being swept away by…brooklyn nets and Kyrie Irving.
This is the worst timeline.
What would happen if the Lakers traded Kyrie Irving?
Look, after these two results, you need good vibes. Let’s go back in time and say the Lakers traded Russ and his two first-round picks to the Nets for Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris. This seemed the closest the two sides came to an agreement.
The Lakers are 52-30 and lead the Western Conference. memphis grizzliesLuka won MVP again, LeBron was Second Team All-NBA again, and AD earned Second Team All-Defense honors.
LeBron, AD and Kyrie are all averaging over 20 points per game, with Kyrie achieving 53% from the 3-point line. Lonnie Walker IV was the only Lakers to average double digits in a season, with Harris averaging 7.6 points on his 40.6% shooting.
Again, the Suns are a play-in team and will figure out how to face the Lakers in the first round. Perhaps this time he was six games the way Phoenix beat the Lakers. Booker won the series in Game 4 with 47 points he tied 2-2 and in Game 5 with 51 points he gave him a 3-2 lead and Game 6 with 44 points.
I hadn’t finished the playoff simulation. I have a mission.
What if the Lakers wipe out the Suns franchise?
Abolished the salary cap. Turned off the need to match salaries on deals. Turned on trade override.
They traded Russ for Steph Curry, Jay Huff for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Max Christie for Jayson Tatum, Damian Jones for Luka Doncic and Wenen Gabriel for Bam Adebayo.
The team starts 15-0. their first loss?of Phoenix SunsRevenge after a month and move to 29-1. They won by 40 in late March.
Luka won MVP and Durbin Hamm was named Coach of the Year after leading the Lakers to a 76-6 record. They averaged 132.3 points per game, with a difference of 26.8 points per game.
Phoenix enters the postseason as the 7th seed, but is completely petrified at the thought of choking with this team, losing both play-in games and missing the playoffs entirely, including the Mavs without Luca.
Losing two games across the playoffs to clinch the title against Cleveland. Luka wins Finals MVP. I won, but at any cost.
for many lakers Talk, Subscribe to Silver Screen and Roll Podcast Feed itunes, Spotify, Stitcher Also google podcastsYou can follow Jacob on Twitter. @JacobRude.
