Definitely. Draft a big -> sign a guard. Draft a guard-> sign a big. Draft a wing -> probably sign a big still.
Mo Williams as our backup pg, Draymond Green as our backup sf/pf, Middleton as our backup sg (starting sg 20 games into the season once Kobe gets hurt again) Those are my three targets in the mid-level depending on what we draft. Monroe would be the only person I personally would throw a max at this offseason...I mean, obviously Marc Gasol or Aldridge, but they ain't coming. We could sign Monroe AND one of those 3 I think.
I'm not sure Mo would be coming off the bench, but Jordan WOULD be getting a big chunk of the minutes.
Max for Monroe will be 16.85 million dollars. We'd have only about 4 million left to spend and that's before Cap Holds... I'm not so sure we could add a whole mess of people like that.
If we renounce Sacre and Hill, by my math it's 57.3 million or so on 8 players. Cap holds on 3 guys gets us up to 58.8 so we're talking 7 million or so to throw at a FA based on the estimated 66 million cap. Kobe 25, Monroe 16.9, Randle 3.2, Our Pick 3.2, Clarkson 1, Houston pick 1, Swaggie 5.3, Kelly 1.7...57.3 Granted, Monroe is pointless if we get Towns, Okafor or Cauley-Stein. Then I'm going all role players. Williams (6)/Clarkson (1) Kobe (25)/Clarkson/Swaggie (5.2) Middleton (7)/Swaggie/Houston Pick (1) Randle (3.2)/Teardrop Kelly (1.7)Tarik Black (1) Towns (4.2)/Ed Davis (4)/Black Nothing says we have to hit the cap.
I'd be stoked for Okafor-Mo Williams-DeMarre Carroll, while bringing back Davis and Ellington. Mo/Clarkson Kobe/Ellington Carroll/Young Davis/Randle (with Randle eventually taking the starting position) Okafor/Black/Sacre That's a good, solid, young team right there with amazing potential.
With that much space left, I probably sign Ellington back too. The guy is absolutely perfect as a backup SG for us. If I could convince him to do it, I'd also drop Kelly and keep Boozer.
Yeah. And Mo probably retires after two seasons and Clarkson seamless steps into the role or we sign Westbrook or something.
Okafor would certainly cure a lot of ills for the team in an instant wouldn't he? Real just posted some highlights where late to the party me saw my first glimpses of his offensive prowess and coordination and size and reasonable athleticism at this age. Now of opinion Coach K has him ultra conservative on D and instructions not to jump.
Whats court vision do when you can't stay on the floor for more than 40 games a season and don't play Defense anymore. Rondo is garbage. I rather Clarkson get those minutes
How do you guys think Okafor would fit in next to Randle? It sounds like on offense, he's a back-to-the basket low post threat who will need to be fed. While from what I've seen of Randle, he might operate best facing the basket and aggressively attacking off the dribble. If Okafor is down there clogging up the paint, that might leave less room for Randle to attack.
RE: Danny Green Shooting 40% from thre point line in all four of his seasons with SAS, and 2.4 triples per game rank 7th in the NBA. RPM also rates Green as a top 10 defender at SG. RE: Middleton Defensive rating (4.1 points per 100 possessions better than league average, fourth among all perimeter players) overstates his contributions at that end. Middleton's multiyear RPM (plus-1.3 on defense, plus-3.9 overall) is probably a better gauge of his ability. That still puts Middleton among the league's top 25 players, which is not apparent from his per-game averages (12.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 APG). But he's an efficient scorer and a strong defender, and Milwaukee is 12.3 points per 100 possessions better with Middleton on the floor. Source: ESPN
As long as Randle has his mid-range jumper down I think they're a great, dynamic fit offensively. Both are strong offensive rebounders and the two of them would create constant pressure inside on the opposition. How many teams could defend those two easily and effectively? I can't think of many outside of maybe Memphis.
And Philly if Embiid comes back or they draft one of the two bigs this season. Noel is really starting to play well.
I'm still not sure they could defend Randle/Okafor. I'm not sure they have enough in their back pocket to defend them for 30 minutes.
This is the scenario I see playing out. Both these guys are GOOD players on both ends. As it is now the most important thing for them to do is just get better, respectable. Clarkson, Randle and their two # 1 picks added to these two guys or just one of them is a step in that direction. The reality is no top FA will come to the Lakers until he sees a foundation to build on in which he will be the major piece. Honestly even though they play the same position SG,but can play and do play, the SF, our weakest!, I hope they try to get both of them.
This rebuild happens in 3 phases. 1.) Acquire young talent on rookie contracts. That plan is almost complete. 2.) Sign 2&3rd tier players. This probably transpires this summer. 3.) After the 2nd/3rd tier guys combine with the talented players on rookie contracts to form a competitive team, you use your cap space to sign stars. (this probably happens in '16 & '17)
If our top 5 pick ends up as good as Payton, Vucevic, Lawson, or Nurkic it'll be considered a great pick. I know you're firmly in the give Monroe the max club, & Vucevic is a slightly better version of Monroe at the same age. Payton looks like he's a couple years from being 1 of the best 2 way PG's in the league. Getting 2 players on that level for 1, especially at positions of need is a win in my eyes. Yes there's the 1% chance the top 5 pick is a franchise player but realistically there are only a few of them in each draft, the odds of them being a complete bust that's out of the league before their 2nd-3rd contract are just as high as them being a superstar. & I can't be the only 1 that remembers Mitch making offers to Hill & Young, then winning the amnesty bid for Boozer & it taking a while for contracts to be signed while Mitch figured out the best way to make the numbers work. If we already made an offer to Middleton & only had 14M left & a max FA we were after agreed to sign here, we'd get a verbal agreement & Mitch would unload contracts to make it work. Between Young, Kelly, Sacre, Hou 1st we could create enough room for a 10+ year veteran's max deal starting over 20M & still have space remaining.
I'm not really mad that we didn't sign Lowry last summer. He's a very good player for 12M a year, don't get me wrong. But that's cap space we wouldn't have this summer. That's a Houston 1st we wouldn't have. & he likely makes the team too good to keep our top 5 pick. Given what transpired this season, from Kobe being limited then getting injured, to Randle going out for the season, to finding out our coach is completely out of touch with what it takes to win in todays NBA, we're much better off with the picks & the cap space. With next years pick only top 3 protected, meaning not even finishing with the worst record in the league guarantees we can keep it, & Kobe in the final year of his contract, this summer is the time we should be willing to spend on those 2nd tier FA's. This summer should be all about getting us back to the playoffs without sacrificing the future. 2 of our next 3 first rounders are as good as gone & we'll have plenty of cap room each of the next 2 years due to Kobe expiring & then the cap getting a huge bump, we have absolutely nothing to lose & everything to gain. Putting a playoff team out there to attract big FA's the next 2 offseasons should be our main focus.
