Chapter 1: Rebuilding A Dynasty [Los Angeles Lakers] <END>

[Kevin↑↓]

NOOOOOO not the buzzer beater. That is THE worst way to lose a playoff game especially after all those misses at the end.

I knew as soon as I seen the title that it was Embid that went down. He always seems to miss a whole bunch of games.

I almost quit the game because I was so angry about it . Yeah, he only played 45 games this season. I might re-evaluate his stay in LA soon.

[Kevin↑↓]

[Kevin↑↓]

Game 4

vs San Antonio

Spurs blowout Lakers; 76-96

The Spurs started out strong and finished the game strong in their 4th game versus the Lakers. Leonard led the Spurs again with 26 points and even almost got a triple-double as he was a rebound and an assist short. They outscored the Lakers for the first time in the paint with 49 compared to only 24 by the Lakers.

They also shot 68% beyond the arc tonight and also got Randle and Mudiay into foul trouble early on.

Analysts are now predicting that the Spurs are going to be smooth sailing towards the semi-finals because of Embiid's injury.

Player of the Game: K. Leonard (26 pts, 9 reb, 9 asts, 1 stl, 2 blks)

Other Notable Performers:

Lakers:
K. Oubre (15 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk)
J. Randle (13 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts)
S. Johnson (12 pts, 8 rebs)

Spurs:
D. Green (11 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 2 stls)
T. Parker (11 pts, 2 rebs, 5 asts, 1 stl)
T. Duncan (8 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts)
Series: San Antonio [3-1] Los Angeles

[Kevin↑↓]

Game 5

@ San Antonio

Leonard buries three-pointer to advance to Semifinals; 111-114

The Lakers led by as much as 28 points in the 2nd quarter but they saw it crumble down in the 3rd quarter where Leonard and Parker just dominated the whole quarter. Los Angeles held them to 20% shooting the ball in the 1st quarter where they did most of their damage but fatigue got in their way and the Spurs came out on top once again, thanks to Kawhi Leonard's heroic shot to send them to the semi-finals.

It was shot after shot that went in for the Spurs and the Lakers just can't stop them.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter and the Lakers' 28-point lead became a 9-point deficit. They fought back hard as 9 of Randle's 29 points came in the last 5 minutes of the last quarter. With just 18 seconds remaining, another broken play was executed by the young Lakers squad that saw the ball get taken away by Parker who immediately called a timeout.

Coach Popovich knew exactly what he was going to do to rattle the young ones they are facing right now. He'll fake the Duncan post-up so they will double him up, Timmy should pass it to whatever wing was free, either Green or Ginobili, both were great three-point shooters, fake the shot, pass it to Parker once more, drive to the lane, and pass it back to Leonard who is now free from an off-ball screen by Duncan to the three-point line. But, at that time, Leonard was 0 for 5 beyond the arc so Coach Pop was hesitant at first but figured that it might as well go to overtime.

After the timeout, the Spurs executed Coach's play in perfection and when the ball was passed to Leonard's hands, he only had 2.6s to shoot the ball or pass it to Danny Green across the court. He took the shot, no man or hand on his face or even close to him. The Lakers players just watched in awe and despair as the ball went in the ring and made a "swoosh" sound. They knew it was over.

Everyone in the AT&T Center cheered for the Spurs while the Lakers hung their heads low and congratulated the opposing team for their win and bid them good luck to their next matchup.

Player of the Game: T. Parker (29 pts, 3 rebs, 11 asts, 1 stl)

Other Notable Performers:

Lakers:
J. Randle (29 pts, 13 rebs, 3 asts, 4 blks)
E. Mudiay (17 pts, 7 rebs, 14 asts)
K. Oubre (14 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks)

Spurs:
K. Leonard (27 pts, 8 rebs, 5 asts, 4 stls, 1-6 3PT)
D. Green (19 pts, 6 rebs)
T. Duncan (10 pts, 14 rebs)

Series: San Antonio wins (4-1)

[megarover↑↓]

I knew it wouldn't be no easy task to upset the Spurs. You got real close to doing it though.

[TGsoGood↑↓]

Damn I gotta catch up on these playoffs, I've missed it.

[Kevin↑↓]

I knew it wouldn't be no easy task to upset the Spurs. You got real close to doing it though.

Don't worry, Free Agency is just around the corner. We'll come back stronger next season.

Damn I gotta catch up on these playoffs, I've missed it.

[Kevin↑↓]

Lakers Squad Back To Practice

El Segundo, California - With just days after their heart-breaking loss to the Spurs in their Quarter Finals matchup, the Lakers squad is now ready to hit the gym again to improve their game. We saw them collapse and panick in the Finals against the veterans so it's just fitting that they practice more so they can gain confidence.

The Lakers promised to come back stronger and better next season as they await Free Agency. No words are yet to be released by General Manager Kevin Parker Sr. on who they will try to get this offseason but a lot of rumors are circling on (Joel) Embiid's stay in LA. He clearly is the center of attention right now because of the injuries he has had in the past.

Some notable players that are Free Agents this offseason are:
- Andre Drummond
- LeBron James
- Anthony Davis
- Kevin Durant
- Ricky Rubio
- Andrew Wiggins

[Kevin↑↓]

Semi-Finals Matchups

West
Golden State Warriors (59-23) vs Los Angeles Clippers (49-33)
__________________________________________________

Oklahoma City Thunder (51-31) vs San Antonio Spurs (51-31)

East
Cleveland Cavaliers (61-21) vs Chicago Bulls (46-36)
__________________________________________________

New York Knicks (46-36) vs Boston Celtics (42-40)

[Kevin↑↓]

Conference Finals Matchups

West

Golden State Warriors (59-23) vs Oklahoma City Thunder (51-31)

East

Chicago Bulls (46-36) vs New York Knicks (46-36)

[Kevin↑↓]

Finals Matchup

West vs East

Oklahoma City Thunder (51-31) vs Chicago Bulls (46-36)

[Kevin↑↓]

Finals Result

Game 1: Westbrook's 18 lifts Thunder to game 1 win over Bulls; 98-95 [1-0]

Game 2: Rose scores 22 to tie series; 112-120 [1-1]

Game 3: Westbeast dominates mantchup, scores 27 @ home; 101-87 [2-1]
* Jeremy Lamb out for 2-4 weeks with Sprained Knee

Game 4: Westbrook dominates AGAIN, scores 31 points in OT; 124-118 [3-1]
* Serge Ibaka out for 4-8 weeks with Strained MCL

Game 5: Thunder close out series with win; 99-91 [4-1]

Finals MVP

Russell Westbrook (23.3 ppg, 1.9 orpg, 7.1 rpg, 7.8 apg, 2 spg, 0.3 bpg, 2.8 topg, 51% FG, 36% 3PT FG, 80% FT)

[Kevin↑↓]

OFFSEASON!

[Kevin↑↓]

Retirements

Players:

Tim Duncan [SAS] Years Pro: 19 | Age: 40
Paul Pierce [WAS] Years Pro: 18 | Age: 38
David West [IND] Years Pro: 13 | Age: 35
Vince Carter [MEM] Years Pro: 18 | Age: 39
Chris Andersen [MIA] Years Pro: 14 | Age: 37
Udonis Haslem [MIA] Years Pro: 13 | Age: 36
Stephen Jackson [CLE] Years Pro: 14 | Age: 38

Hall of Fame Inductees:

Tim Duncan
Paul Pierce

[Kevin↑↓]

Draft Lottery Odds and Result

[Kevin↑↓]

Draft Arrangement

[Kevin↑↓]

Lakers Introduce New Staff Members

The Los Angeles Lakers has once again revamped their staff members. They hired new faces that they believe will and can change the Lakers' future. They've all been signed for only one year, just like before to see whether or not they are worth the money next season for an extension.

The signings involved the replacement of Gary Vitti, the long-time Lakers Trainer who has retired from his job.

[Kevin↑↓]

Lakers Accept Team Options

The Lakers announced Friday night that they will accept all the team options of their players so they can be retained. Those players include Julius Randle, Joel Embiid, Kristaps Porzingis, and Shabazz Napier. However, Josh McRoberts declined his Player Option to stay in LA and is reported to test his value in Free Agency this summer.

[Kevin↑↓]

[iamSamke↑↓]

Poor Wizards... Another interesting thing, Sixers 3rd pick. Again

[Kevin↑↓]

[Kevin↑↓]

I finally made the draftees for next season. If there are late submissions, please send it to me. Check the 6th post in this thread to see who is going to be in the Class of 2017.

[Kevin↑↓]

What do you guys feel about these trades:

Karl-Anthony Towns (82 OVR)
4th pick

for

Joel Embiid (85 OVR)
Nick Young (83 OVR)
17th Pick

==================

Giannis Antetokounmpo (83 OVR)

for

Stanley Johnson (86 OVR)
Shabazz Napier (78 OVR)
17th or 21st Pick

[Kevin↑↓]

Lakers trade away Carroll, Young, and Embiid; Get Antetokounmpo and Future 8th Pick

El Segundo, Calif. - We all saw it coming. Joel Embiid was a part of the young Lakers team that reached the playoffs, defying all odds. Going in to the season, there's been some speculation that he's not going to be playing close to 65 games this season and their prediction is correct. In a span of a whole season, the young Laker suffered 3 accounts of a broken foot and even a bruised rib that made him play for only 49 games this season.

On all the 49 games he's played though, he didn't disappoint. Embiid averaged 13 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 spg, 1.8 bpg all while shooting at 56% FG, these are all career-highs for him. The ceiling is high for Embiid, he just needs to be healthy so everyone can feel his impact on his team.

Meanwhile, Nick Young and DeMarre Carroll was also shipped to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks were last in Defensive rating last year as they didn't even have any defensive-minded Forward or Center except Giannis Antetokounmpo. Defense is the reason why they wanted Joel Embiid and DeMarre Carroll in the team. Both are defensive stalwarts and are always happy to contribute in the defensive end of the floor. The Bucks are expected to either trade or cut Nick Young when the time is right this offseason. Reports are saying they wanted him to return to DC.

For the Lakers, they wanted to clear more cap space so they can pursue their so-called "Big 5" this offseason and that's the main reason why they did this. Antetokounmpo was also one of the reasons why they wanted to take the deal. The young forward was mistreated by the Bucks organization and was reported to be bad-mouthing the Bucks' coaching staff for not playing him the way he is supposed to be. He is hoping for a change of scenery and he thinks LA is the place for him.

Aside from the Greek Freak, the Lakers also get their 8th pick in the draft. The Lakers management however has other plans with the 8th pick. Rumors are saying that they'll use it as trade bait during the NBA Draft to get a higher pick.

The full summary of the trade is listed below.

Lakers get:

- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Future 8th Pick

Wizards get:

- DeMarre Carroll
- Nick Young
- Joel Embiid
- Future 22nd Pick

[iamSamke↑↓]

Great trade! Greek freak is great fit for your team