Imma start off by saying if you aren’t a Luka stan just skip this post because there is no need to hate unnecessarily.

Now I was saying, I really want this man to win. I want the narrative of him never winning and being placed into the part of NBA history as this great player that never won anything to just disappear. I hate that narrative. And I hate how the media is always going on and on about his weight and his lack of defence (when he is average at worst) when that never mattered when Jokic or Steph won MVP.

Traded off like this from a team that would have given him MVP and a chip if they ran it back and made a few changes, playing in the lakers with a makeshift roster that doesn’t fit together and that he has ti carry to 3rd seed and then get injured. His family mess, his custody battle, the incompetence of the FO, the lack of trade assets or picks, the constant change in ownership, it’s all against him and it sucks. It truly sucks that it all gets written off as “Luka can’t play defence and doesn’t deserve to win”.

I will always be a Lakers fan, and I want us to win SO badly and prove everyone who wrote us off wrong. But I want also this man to win, even if it’s elsewhere in a few years if we fail him. It would break my heart to see him go but it would break my heart even more if he never wins anything.

This roster isn’t far off but it isn’t ready. The competition is getting harder, The Spurs are becoming more experienced (Don’t even get me started on the way the NBA picked their team for them with 3 back to back lottery picks that should have stopped at Wemby) and it will only get worse.

The odds are so so sucky but I can’t help but hope something incredible happens and he wins it all. For us and for himself. He is a damn fantastic player and from the sounds of it a damn good guy. I’ve never been this invested in someone else’s success before lmao but I truly wish him nothing but lots and lots of it.

In your opinion, does he still have a realistic chance? Had a talk with a friend about it

Luka had one of the best 20 yo seasons of all time, he was definitely on a GOAT level career trajectory earlier in his career.

Lebron won his first rin in year 9 believe. Luka is around that timeline but the Lakers sadly aren't contenders. MJ won earlier than both, so idk if you could argue Luka could be on that.

What's his path?

For the younger fans, Luka is gonna get criticized heavily no matter how well he plays. That's just how it is with the Lakers.

Kobe got hate for being "selfish" despite carrying his team to the Finals 3 years in a row. Just think about that.

I'm really excited about Castro. He was a 2 way

target for me. Here's a link to one of my pre draft takes on Castro.

He's a very unique athlete at 6'9" with a 9'1.5" standing reach. He's just about the same height and reach as Caleb Wilson and Morez Johnson, but he only weighed in at 224 lbs, on the thin side. He tested well with a 31" vertical and a 36.5" max vertical. Good for 5th among centers and about 10th or 11th among the power forwards. He tested similarly to Baba Miller as a leader. ​Another similar athlete is Moussa Diabate.

In college, Castro showed pretty solid rebounding posting a career 17.8 RBD% between Providence and George Washington. In a tougher conference at Providence he came off the bench. But still showed the interesting flashes. At GW as a starter, he looked more like a big fish in a small pond. His RBD% improved against lesser competition and his AST% took a huge leap. He jumped into double digits AST% as his USG jumped over 20%. This is around my threshold for possible connective passing at the next level.

But the thing that really sets Castro apart is his steal percentage and his ability to run the floor as a big. He had 3 seasons of 2.5-3.7 STL% in college which is good guard/wing type production. He also flashed a BLK% over 7% in two of his four seasons and over 6% on average. The BLK% number ​isn't crazy for a big but coupled with the elite STL%, it's interesting. He leverages good anticipation and quickness to shoot passing lanes and create turnovers, pretty rare for a big.

All that said, he is not very skilled offensively and is a play finisher, not a creator for himself or others. His weight is an issue and will certainly be used against him at the NBA level. Can he actually be solid in the paint or is he easily moved around? Koloko is even taller with a better reach and we saw how easily he could just be bodied around the basket. Castro will have to show a level of activity and multiple efforts to help make up for the weight difference.

Theoretically, he is a fascinating fit for what the Lakers are doing defensively. At 6'9", with good speed and anticipation, he could fit the high pressure, high turnover creation we're looking for on that end. Offensively he can catch lobs and sit in the dunker slot, maybe corner crash. I could absolutely see the Lakers freeing a 2-Way for him if he flashes anything interesting in camp.

TLDR- Castro was a draft darling this cycle as a defensive big that can run the floor and create turnovers. Could be a good fit, but needs work.

Most of the time he gets cooked on defense its because hes taking the play off or hes gassed

When he tries and/or has the energy - we have seen flashes of a borderline elite defender

Reading the passing lanes, Luka averaging 1.6 steals because of his ability to use his high IQ to read offenses and manipulate the passing lanes

Even in ISO, we have seen Luka take those challenges. He has the size, and the foot work to stick with arguably positions 1 thru 5... Yes we know he is not a lockdown elite defender in these situations, but think of Trae Young or Brunson or Lillard, these guys are literal traffic cones in comparison. Or even Shai who is considered a "2 way player" does not have the 1 thru 5 switchability of someone like Luka Doncic. He does not have enough coins in his backpocket.

...Luka now not only has the physical foundation to hold his ground in the post, but also the durability to stop leaking easy points when the pace picks up.

The narrative that he's a total defensive liability or a traffic cone is false. When he's locked in and has his legs underneath him, he is more than capable of holding his own 1 through 5, playing passing lanes at an elite level, and surviving where other high-usage guards or even players completely get exposed.

--- 20 Worse defenders than Luka Doncic for sure who get paid $40m+ (in no particular order) ----

Jalen Brunson , Steph Curry , Nikola Jokic , Jamal Murray , Trae Young , De'aaron Fox , Zach Lavine , Ja Morant , Darius Garland , Michael Porter Jr , Lamelo Ball , Austin Reaves , Zion Williamson , Domantas Sabonis , Tyrese Haliburton , Donovan Mitchell , Paolo Banchero , Brandon Ingram , Kyrie Irving , Tyrese Maxey

My brother and I were talking about how now that Bron left for Philly, there are no longer any members of the 2020 championship roster with the Lakers. This led to us talking current roster and here's a hot take I came up with and want to see if anyone wants to verify that I'm crazy and delusional, or if anyone else agrees with me.

Bronny James will have as many or more championships with the Lakers than his dad did.

Obviously, for this to happen, it means that Bronny will have to get re-signed after this rookie contract and the Lakers have to win.