u/fat3willwin

Tired of the FO posts so, among the major categories on how a team is judged below (in my opinion), what would you sacrifice (say has to go down a level) in order to boost the level of something else next year? Given our roster as it stands (obviously 1 person will have to go, at a minimum, before we suit up).

• Finishing and inside scoring
• Outside scoring
• Playmaking (passing + ball handling)
• Rebounding (offense + defense)
• Perimeter defense (on / off ball)
• Interior defense
• Defensive playmaking (STOCKS)
• Intangibles such as (Hustle, energy, IQ)
• Durability
• Coaching

Personally, I'd sacrifice a bit of playmaking for more perimeter defense. Feel like we have an abundance of that already

I know its still fresh and there's probably plenty of details to be worked out, but generally speaking, do agreements for people to remain employed still stay in place, such as Rob's extension and Jeanie's role?

I actually think we made some good offseason moves and had a good roadmap for how to improve the franchise outside of just finding players for the roster (facilities, scouting, etc.) so I'm curious if this will majorly impact that with the agreements already in place or not.

Forgive my ignorance, I'm not well versed on corporate law and contract structure following M&A lol.

Caveat: Obviously we have to let at least 1 person go and maybe theres a move still coming so 2 people will probably not be here. I imagine the chopping block consists of: Vando, Knecht, Hardy, Bronny, Laravia

But, based on the roster, how do we think the rotation and minutes will stack up? I see it as the following (Luka kinda plays a forward on defense so I'll build around that

Format: [position] Player (anticipated minutes), between starter, bench, and reserve each position should add up to 48 mins

• Start: [PG] Grimes (22), [SG] AR (30), [SF] Luka (32) [PF] Laravia (18) [C] Kessler (28)
• Bench: [PG] Sexton (18), [SG] Carr (8) / *Thybulle (4), [SF] *Thybulle (6) / Thiero (5), [PF] Williams (10) / *Mamu (10) / *Theiro (5), [C] *Mamu (15)
• Reserve: [PG] Bronny (8), [SG] Manon (6), [SF] Okereke (5), [PF] Kaluma (5), [C] Looney (5)
• Out of Rotation: Hardy, Knecht, Vanderbilt

*Lots of these guys are multi-positioned, specificlly in that 2 - 4 range. So it may be best to just consider them as wings, and Mamu specifically will float between 4 and 5 a lot.

What do we think? Pending the changes that have to come, I can see the young guys getting in the 5 - 12 minutes a night ball park, with some heavy competition for that 3rd PG, SG spot as well as backup 3 / 4. Competition is always good.

EDIT: Thybulle will probably end up with more minutes, but I'm keeping him low for now due to injury concerns. And if Adou takes the leap he should this year (no pun intended) he should beat out either thybulle, or williams and maybe even Jake for playing time, but as of now, he hasn't shown that.

This movie stunk. Quite honestly and simply was bad. I guess it may be redeeming to some people who love gore and a good campy time but it felt marred by CGI / AI, bad acting, a loose plot, and I think I now understand the hate for Eli Roth. 5/10 for me, easily.

Anyone else had a chance to check this out early? What are your thoughts?

Somehow, someway, there needs to be a trade off lol

I really don't wanna be all doom and gloom since the game isn't out yet. But after reading the dunk meter changes I am honestly quite disappointed. For those who have not seen or heard yet:

• All dunk attempts will now require timing
• And supposedly the once *static* meter is now going to be *dynamic* based on a variety of factors such as nearby defenders and their proximity

Now I don't have as much of a gripe with requiring all dunks, and now effectively, all shots to be timed. I don't like it but whatever, I guess skill gap.

But to blatantly lie and say that the dunk meter wasn't dynamic in 2026 makes me think one of two things:

• The company genuinely does not understand how their own game works. A simple search in this subreddit alone will showcase countless examples of the green window shrinking real time during a dunk and sometimes even layup attempts.
• Or, more plausibly, they are lying right to our faces about what they consider to be *new* gameplay changes. They might genuinely believe that this meter was not dynamic before even though the end user (us as players) experienced it all year.

Now, this may mean nothing, and millions are still going to buy the game, but this is yet another example in a long list of outright bullshit thats being fed to us as consumers.

For reference, This is how I view the roster at the moment, obviously at least 1 person won't be here and multiple of these guys could still be gone by the time the season starts.

• Bonafide starters (25+ mins nightly)
  • Luka, AR, Kessler
• Potential starters / high rotational mins (15 - 24 mins):
  • Sexton, Mamu, Grimes, Laravia, Williams, Thybulle
• Rotational guys / fringe playoff spots (5 - 14 mins)
  • Bronny, Vando, Carr, Thiero
• Undetermined (5 mins or less)
  • Hardy, Looney, (all 2 way guys by default are included here until they prove themselves or any injuries force them into more)

Who do you think surprises us or at least plays above their contract and why? For me - I think Bronny, Thiero, and Carr all step up in a big way. Bronny will, if he stays on the roster, get some interesting looks with inevitable injuries and show another leap. Thiero will finally be healthy and plug in during our need for a 3 / 4 and Carr just has too much hype to not get an opportunity, but more importantly I think he will flourish alongside such a talented and diverse roster.

I think we need to seriously be creative as an organization about what alternatives are out there besides Kuminga.

The longer this goes on the less confident I feel about his motivation and therefore fit within our team. He has a history of wanting more money and or role than what he should actually have, and the way these contract talks are going, either he's going to get significantly less money than he wants or we will significantly overpay for him.

While I love the upside and consider him the best 4 besides Lebron thats available, we're also unlikely to land guys like Peyton Watson or PJ so it seems the Lakers should pivot towards finding a quality backup center.

This would allow for insurance on Kessler, while ensuring we have a quality rotation of bigs (Kessler, Mamu, whoever) so that Looney doesn't have to take too much time. More importantly, we clamor about getting young guys reps. WE feel great about Luka, AR, and Kessler and their respective backups, if we let Jake start at the 4 since he's at least proven he can be serviceable, then we have plenty of 3s - 4s who can come in off the bench and fight for a backup if not starting spot by the deadline. If neither Williams, Thybulle, Carr (I know these two are more of a 1-3 but still), Adou, or AK doesn't work out for the last wing spot, then we make a push at the trade deadline for someone, or just wait it out until next offseason when we have access to an exception and test the free agent market then.

I don't think any reasonable fan or analyst expects us to be a championship level contender this year, I certainly don't. And if we add that missing 4 maybe we are, but sending out quite literally your last available assets for someone who has serious concerns makes me hesitant. All thats to say, if we were to pivot towards finding a quality backup big, who would you target that wouldn't cost more than maybe 2 - 3 players (ideally some combination of Vando, Knecht, and Hardy) and no more than 2 seconds (ideally 1)?

Luka should have way less techs this year. We got enough crash outs to let him sit back and chill a little on yelling at refs lmaooo.

Anyone else excited for the energy these dudes will bring?

For context - I'm on a Double play plan with Preferred TV, Gig internet, 2 set top boxes, and one modem / router rental.

My plan comes out to ~$133 before taxes or $165 after taxes (roughly 19% in taxes altogether for calculations' sake)

I currently get 4 discounts

Autpay / paperless ($10)

VZN Connect ($5)

Bundle Discount ($40)

TV Discount ($10)

My Mobile + Home discount ($15) should kick in shortly as I just registered it after adding mobile service last week.

I am thinking of switching to the 2 gig plan plus Youtube TV since I don't watch that much cable, I realize I mainly have it for live sports and would like the flexibility to watch my tv wherever. I don't particularly like the new TV packages since the few non-sports channels I do watch such as BET, Comedy Central, etc. would require a package that just outright costs more.

Any merit to switching over and not paying or even saving more money? It looks like I'd save on the TV set top boxes taking this approach.

Disclaimer: I am NOT saying Jax solves our center issues. He's not a starter, I think everyone who watches the games agrees with that.

BUT

If we assume you need at least 2 functional centers for a championship level team, maybe even 3, I am not seeing any mentions of him in these hypotheticals. I'm not the most financially savvy person when it comes to basketball financials, idk what our rights to him are (I'm assuming hes fully renounced and is a UFA), having made only ~$3.5m last year, even with a small pay increase in the $5 - $7m range (maybe there's an exception available IDK) he's absolutely worth it as a backup.

We sit here and wonder what Ayton will do now that he's opted in, and we see just how expensive the center market is, I think having Jax at that price range makes him a more than solid backup / rotational big at 10 - 15 mins a night, even in the playoffs, despite his flaws.

Of course, we need to sign one more guy to close out our rotation but I'm seeing conversations that just assume Hayes is gone.

thoughts?

Lakers aim for a RFA: “their team is just going to match”

Lakers aim for an UFA: “Overpay, doesn’t fit”

Lakers bring guys back: “Rob is lazy and won’t take a risk”

Lakers let guys go, to sign new guys: “ how’d we let x player go”

Like I get it, everyone has a different opinion and the internet isn’t real life. I get Rob is a polarizing figure but Jesus man some people on this sub get so insufferable during offseason personnel talks. We’re going to make moves. You may like it, you may not. Strap in and get ready or go watch Love Island or something

Switched over from ATT, on the unlimited ultimate plan with a phone, number share for watch, and unlimited welcome for tablet.

Just got approved for the corporate employer discount (my job uses Verizon wireless). Any idea how much the discount will actually be? Happy to give a breakdown of my bill if needed.

Edit: also a Fios customer if it matters

Edit 2: looks like they threw me a $5 discount for “Deals at Work” on Fios. Unlikely I’ll get anything for mobile if Fios already updated and mobile didn’t. Thanks for the help!

I’m a longtime Fios internet customer (1GB grandfathered plan bundled with TV)

I’m coming up to the end of my ATT contract and am leaning towards the simplicity plan for an IPhone 17 pro max.

1- does the mobile + home discount apply to simplicity programs? That is do I get the $15 internet discount and $10 perk discount? If so, how do I enroll after signing up for VZW

2- if my employer is eligible for discounts, do they apply in simplicity plans or do I need an unlimited plan?

3-are there any benefits to going in store or doing the process via phone as opposed to online (preferred)? Any discounts or something I’m missing by doing the process online?

Thanks in advance !

Apologies in advance, no TLDR available, just looking for advice on a potential scam

About 3 months ago I was approached by a recruiter from Holden Richardson claiming that I was a fit for many roles in my career field. It seemed to good to be true (significantly higher salaries than I'm used to seeing even for c-suite level roles, but after some research the company itself is legit and the recruiter seems to be as well.

After some conversation she mentions I should work with a colleague of hers to get my resume reformatted for a more executive presence. Red flag #1, but he seems legit and has a proper online presence so I go through with it because I figure why not, I've got some money to spare and it can only help. Fast forward to roughly a month later I have worked with her colleague to reformat my resume, cover letter, bio, and statement of purpose, and linkedin page because, quote, "companies will need all of these for a highly competitive process".

After spending my limit on refreshing my application materials, we get to about the 2 month time point with no offers. The recruiter then asks me to work with the same guy to produce a new document (letter of intent). At this point, I'm almost certain its just a scam and I'm willing to walk away with, at least, some revamped application documents and cut my losses.

Fast forward to today (month 3) and I get an email from another recruiter who mentions that she received my application from the original recruiter and asks for the following [redacted / edited for privacy]:

Dear x,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am reaching out to confirm that your application, submitted on your behalf by [OG Recruiter], has been successfully received and carefully reviewed by our team.

Following our initial evaluation, I’m pleased to inform you that your background has been identified as highly competitive, and you have been selected among a small group of top candidates under consideration for a portfolio of [x] opportunities, including:

• 5 generic executive roles as discussed with original recruiter

Your application has now progressed into the formal processing stage for client presentation.

At this point, and in preparation for final submission to the client stakeholders, we have received a request to complete your file with two additional items required for the next phase of evaluation:

• Executive Portfolio Summary (highlighting key initiatives, leadership scope, and measurable outcomes)
• Leadership Impact / Assessment Document (outlining strategic contributions, frameworks implemented, and enterprise-level impact)

These materials are important to ensure your profile is fully aligned and positioned for detailed review at the executive level.

Kindly forward the requested documents at your earliest convenience so we can proceed without delay. We are currently advancing a highly selective shortlist, and timing will be an important factor in maintaining momentum through the process.

For context, these opportunities sit within enterprise and high-growth environments where the mandate is centered on shaping and scaling global strategy, advising executive leadership, and driving measurable organizational impact.

Once your materials are received, we will proceed accordingly and ensure you are fully briefed on next steps and timelines.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your prompt response

I'm almost certain this is just a continuation of a scam at this point as nothing specific has been discussed, and the companies mentioned as examples for the roles mentioned don't seem to be hiring for the positions. Though, again, the new recruiter does seem to exist, has an online presence, and the company is or at least seems legit.

I guess my question is has anyone dealt with similar situations? Specifically having to produce document after document for executive level roles (and more importantly pay for them)?

I don't mind investing for my career but I'm already at my limit, I don't want to just keep investing for a scam.

How do you find them without life rolls. I’ve found 8 natively and rerolled 2x, I’ll never be immortal 🥲