That's right it was bumped to an earlier time. Not a day earlier or a week earlier...hours earlier lang. If the Lakers really had plans to pursue Anthony, then you circle that date and adjust your plans accordingly. Also I'm not really dissing Kobe about not being able to attend the meeting. Ribbing....yes. It just shows all of these were not really planned ahead of time like starting last summer or during the season. 
Teams like the Rockets were already preparing even if Melo was still to announce that he will forego his last year of his contract.
You have to consider that the Lakers did not foresee how crappy they'd become after the Howard saga. If they could have only foreseen the future, they would have taken Melo from Denver for Bynum. Mitch had to adjust his plans drastically after he went all in with the Nash-Howard experiment. After that failed, the plan was to either get stars in 2014,2015 or 2016...until that Kobe contract happened. I am still dumbfounded with that contract and I partly blame it for this year's small cap space. But I'm pretty sure even with that, Mitch has been doing his job as best as he can. I have faith in him.
The Randle signing is dependent on Melo? Di ba first round rookies already have guaranteed money? It doesn't matter what Melo does. You can already count Randle's salary against the cap. The Melo signing or not signing is not the deciding factor in signing Randle. You are also smart enough to know that Mitch has been indecisive in his plan of action the past year.. no big-time FA in 2014, trade the 7th pick, keep the 7th pick, etc. Also he is stuck in what to do first... hire a coach to help recruit FAs or get players first who will pick their coach. While this indecisiveness has cost them other potential FAs and miss out on Lionel Hollins. They are also indecisive right now with Pau Gasol. Most likely they would not be able to re-sign him. Parang they want to resign him and not resign him at the same time... 
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Only concern I have about not signing Randle is that I wont see him in summer league. Common knowledge naman yun na counted na si Randle sa salary. What is not common knowledge is that not signing him yet would give the Lakers a little bit more cap room. Randle's rookie contract has $500k less cap hold while he is unsigned. I guess the thinking is that every penny counts in their offers to stars. they can still sign Randle naman after they go over the cap.
RE: Big time FAs, it has been rumored that Jim Buss is the one telling Mitch to swing for the fences. Word in LA is that he really wants to come out of his father's shadow. Mitch on the other hand is just following the boss' orders, IMO.
RE: Coaching search, I don't know how you can consider making a statement that they will hire a coach after filling out the roster as being indecisive.
RE: Pau Gasol, I am sure you've already read articles mentioning that Pau Gasol would be re-signed if Melo comes so I don't know why you're even bringing that up. Also, Pau would not want to play for the Lakers anyway if it would just be him, Kobe, Randle and scraps. The Lakers would love to keep him for the right amount.
You have read a lot of NBA articles already. Siguro naman you know that no negotiation is ever a secret. These sportswriters may not have a 100% batting average, but they write about and leak the latest rumors out there no matter how outrageous. They might get only 1 out of 10 rumors....but they still get it right that one time. But not writing about the Lakers might be just that... nothing really to write about. . I have said it before I never said Mitch was stupid. Only he is clueless right now on what direction to take. And that confusion right now is what is fueling his indecision. Kaya nga mas kabahan ka if wala ka naririnig na rumors sa Lakers. Hindi dahil super secret siya....more of baka wala talaga alam ano next na gagawin in what is likely a failed attempt at Carmelo Anthony.
Well then ano tawag sa pag reach out kina Isaiah Thomas, Lance Stephenson, Eric Bledsoe, etc? And while waiting for Melo to decide, why would they give those RAs an offer sheet, eh di natali yung kapiranggot na cap space nila.
As a fan for years, mas gusto ko pag tahimik lang. I remember the Pau Gasol acquisition, walang rumors nun before it happened. Actually there was one, but it was scooped up by fellow Laker fans from a Grizzlies sports blog and was not picked up by major sports sites. I've learned to respect Mitch after that. He also landed CP3 before it got vetoed. So I don't know why you're even doubting his capability as a GM. Just because you don't read stuff, it really doesn't mean nothing is happening behind the scenes.
Hahahaha! Ang dali lang naman i-report yan. Yun mahirap is ano yun "several plans ready to roll"? The MLE and bi-annual naman hindi affected nun FA negotiations...kahit dun sa 2 exceptions wala rin target na nababalita.
i wish i had inside information to every team's roster moves as well.
***also, iirc, you can only use MLE and BAE IF you are over the cap. so why would they have plans for those eh di pa sila over the cap. Unless they are like the Heat who seem to know that they will already be over the cap kahit wala pang nasign. Baka kasi di naman mag over the cap yung Lakers eh di no use for those
