Letters: Much ado about nothing with the Lakers

Can you imagine Jerry Buss being turned down by every major free agent in the NBA? How tone-deaf are Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss? Don’t they have any league intel to tell them who may be receptive to their overtures before they go all out, only to be embarrassingly rejected? All the cap room in the world means nothing if you can’t get the first guy to come.

Kevin Durant in 2016, really?

William David Stone

Beverly Hills

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Given the Lakers’ continuing failure to lure a quality free agent to Los Angeles, I guess “cap space” refers to the vast region directly beneath what Jim Buss wears on his head.

Rhys Thomas

Valley Glen

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A recent conversation between Lakers management and a local fisherman:

Fisherman: What are you guys looking to catch?

Lakers: The biggest fish in the ocean.

Fisherman: What bait you using?

Lakers: No bait, just this old, rusty hook we’ve used for the past couple of decades.

Fisherman: And how’s that working for you?

Shaan Hassan

Irvine

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Dear Kobe: Has it dawned on you yet that if you keep having problems with roommates, you’re the bad roommate?

Dan Johnson

Burbank

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Back in 1979 I was curious and disappointed that the Lakers would draft a 6-9 point guard when they already had Norm Nixon and that drafting Sidney Moncrief appeared to be the better fit. I hope I’m just as wrong with my disappointment with this year’s draft.

Rick Van Kirk

Irvine

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The Laker dynasty was built by Jerry Buss with unprecedented creativity, vision and courage. Yet, these traits were unrecognizable in the Buss children until the selection of D’Angelo Russell in the 2015 NBA draft. The decision to forego Jahlil Okafor signals an encouraging recognition by Lakers management that success does not come without some degree of risk.

Maury D. Benemie

Corona

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D’Angelo Russell reminds some of a younger version of Chris Paul. Could this mean Adam Silver might rescind the Lakers’ pick of Russell for “basketball reasons?”

Mer Valdez

Long Beach

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Hard to believe Ben Bolch could compare Frank Kaminsky (picked ninth in the NBA draft) with Spencer Hawes. If I were Frank, I’d have my attorney file a lawsuit for defamation of character!

Ron Ovadia

Irvine

Over in Anaheim ...

Kudos to Mike Scioscia’s PR and marketing team. For some time they have hoodwinked fans into believing that Scioscia is the best manager in baseball. This after 16 seasons in which the Angels have won one pennant and one World Series. Bruce Bochy has won three in the last five years with much less talent than Scioscia.

Richard Katz

Los Angeles

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Jerry Dipoto’s resignation may or may not be a loss, but if Mike Scioscia’s stubborn resistance to the new metrics is allowed to prevail, the Angels will be the losers in the long run.

Jack Wishard

Los Angeles

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Mike Scioscia apparently is the only manager in Major League Baseball who has the team’s general manager working for him.

Joe Bonino

Glendale

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Bill Plaschke’s demonizing Arte Moreno and Mike Scioscia is way off base as usual. If Dipoto would stop watching “Moneyball” reruns and trying to bully the players and coaching staff with his “my metrics or the highway” strategy he might still have a job. You can’t blame the coach if a third of the Angels’ starters are hitting below the Mendoza line. Does the GM take any responsibility for this?

Terry Johnston

Sunset Beach

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If you’re the Angels management, you should be worried about a lot more than whether scouting reports are being delivered to the players. How about focusing on getting your manager to have some imagination on offense instead of sitting around waiting for Albert Pujols and Mike Trout to hit home runs? Maybe try stealing a base or executing a hit-and-run on occasion. How about teaching .180-hitting Chris Iannetta how to bunt when a sacrifice is called for? And perhaps not burning out your key bullpen members before the All-Star break could be a goal.

Bob Cunningham

Riverside

Winning style

At times it seems soccer writers have never seen a game before. All this drama about how few goals the women’s team scores is really hard to take. You only need to score enough goals to win and that is what this team does. Championships are won with defense. The team was obviously built to beat the Germans and the other elite teams.

The Brazilians used to play with four and five forwards in the old days, but the Brits changed the game with defense and everybody had to adapt, so get over it.

Jonathan Vaughn

Long Beach

Royal pains

It’s depressing. I wish we were talking about hockey, but right now the Kings have so many legal issues that I don’t know whether to follow Bailey or F. Lee Bailey.

Mel Powell

Sherman Oaks

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You’d think the Kings would want to hold on to Jarret Stoll and Mike Richards, since they’re so adept at the possession game.

Tom Scarpelli

Sherwood Forest

Out of the blue

I know this sounds a bit radical, but why don’t the Dodgers just stop beating around the bush and rename the team “The L.A. Sugar Kings” and fully embrace their true Cuban roots.

Jim B. Parsons

Carpinteria

Last words

“I am not a crook.” — Richard Nixon

“I did not have sex with that woman.” — Bill Clinton

“I did not use performance-enhancing drugs” — Lance Armstrong

“I did not bet on baseball.” — Pete Rose

“The L.A. Times welcomes expression of all views.”

Lou Filliger

Woodland Hills

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