There's almost no point in NOT spending the money this summer. We have to at least add ONE long-term player in FA, even if that means it's a guy like Carroll instead of a guy like Marc Gasol. Even if we somehow got Marc Gasol this summer at a max deal starting around 20 million dollars, we'd have only about 34 million in guaranteed deals heading into 2016 FA when the cap blows up. We'll have space for TWO max deals next summer before we re-sign guys like Clarkson, Black, and maybe Brown or Kelly. If we can get Clarkson to wait to until we fill our cap, we can go nuts in FA and THEN sign him to big deal as an RFA.
This is why the Lakers are in a great spot right now.. I fully expect us to make a strong improvement this year & then a Quantum Leap in 2016..
my one concern is that EVERYONE is poised to make a big splash in 2016. lots of teams, not necessarily lots of available players. just start building and hope to catch one of those guys' eye.
We don't have to max someone out to spend $ and lock people up long term though. Carroll has missed an average of 12 games over the past three seasons. He'll be 29. He's a career 36.6% shooter on threes. Afflalo has missed an average of 10 games over the past three seasons. He'll be 30. He's a career 38.5% shooter on threes. Carroll is a much better defender, but if Afflalo can be had (and perhaps he can't) for half what Carroll can, why not snatch up Afflalo and another equally skilled player or two or three?
Exactly. If we can't grab a big name in FA we have to at least grab some veterans. We have to get SOMEONE. If we can't get Gasol or Aldridge or even Jordan or Love... I hope we get two solid veterans. Something like Lopez/Carroll would be a great off-season if we can't get a "star".
Players I want us to sign no matter who we draft or what other signings we make: Bismack Biyombo K.J. McDaniels Both 22 years old. Should both be outstanding values for essentially a semi-proven lottery pick in Biyombo & a 2nd round pick in McDaniels who looks like a solid rotation player that should have went late 1st. We have to try to get 1 of the true max players (Marc, LMA, Love, Butler, Middleton, & Harris is borderline) I would absolutely love to get a max guy + Monta on a bargain contract by dumping salary, but I don't think it's possible. If we miss out on those guys for the max, I go after Monta + 1 of the 2nd-3rd tier wings that isn't getting a huge contract. Afflalo or Gerald Green, with Dunleavy as the fallback option. Assuming we go Upshaw + Wright with our later picks (wouldn't mind trying to land a late 2nd to grab Anthony Brown.) Monta/Clarkson/Wright Kobe/Ellis/Afflalo Afflalo/Young/McDaniels Randle/Black/Kelly Okafor/Biyombo/Upshaw Solid rotation imo. Playoff team with a ton of youth.
you'd play monta at point? seems dangerous. given that the lakers are unlikely to nab gasol/Aldridge/love/Jordan, and everybody else is restricted, I wonder if you could make some serious hay by targeting three or four 2nd/3rd tier FAs right off the bat, while everyone else is wooing the stars. I still have my eye on Tyson chandler, too. dallas balked at paying him once and appear ready to do so again.
Tyson is the girl across the room I've been eyeing all night. I kind of hope we call the big names, get rejected early, and then move quickly on some veterans. A pie in the sky thing like: - Carroll @ 4 years/44 million - Chandler @ 3/27 million - CJ Watson @ 2/5.66 million - Ellington @ 2/3.42 (BAE) Clarkson/Watson/Wright Bryant/Ellington/Brown Carroll/Young Randle/Black/Kelly Chandler/Towns Not too shabby. If they have a little health, they could try to go for that 8th seed. More importantly you get quality depth and give the youngsters time to grow. Watson is supposed to actually be Mo Williams, but I wouldn't get my hopes up on getting Mo Williams for 3/8.68 million.
I like Monta starting at PG if Kobe drops down from 20 FGA to 12-16 & looks to facilitate more. A potent scorer like Monta who can also facilitate will ideally open things up for Kobe allowing him to be much more efficient & limit his minutes. If Kobe comes out trying to score 28 PPG we have problems & Clarkson needs to start at PG, but I don't think that'll be the case. I think they can make it work to the tune of making the playoffs. Hate to say it but I'm kind of looking past Kobe with signing Monta. I really like the Clarkson-Monta backcourt when Kobe retires & possibly sooner than that if Kobe suffers another major injury. Even if healthy, his minutes should be limited & he should be sitting back to back's to give him the best chance possible of staying healthy & let Clarkson/Monta do the heavy lifting. I think this makes us an attractive option for the top FA's next summer as a young talented team that's already in the playoff hunt & going to do nothing but get better. Having a veteran like Chandler to mentor our #2 pick is certainly tempting, but I can't help but think he's going to be overpriced. Biyombo isn't expected to get more than 6M to start his new contract. Not to mention you need a reliable backup for a rookie big. Most lottery bigs play 20-24 MPG their rookie season, with exceptions like Anthony Davis playing 28. Chandler missing a bunch of games could force our 3rd stringer into playing 20+ MPG. Biz just seems like the perfect backup. He's rarely injured. He's only 22. Has a huge defensive impact in limited minutes. His shotblocking & rebounding gets talked about the most, but he's also allows a low FG% at the rim & has the quickness to guard the pick & roll/guard PF's. Here's a good article on his defensive impact: http://bballbreakdown.com/2015/02/04/how-bismack-biyombo-helped-turn-around-the-hornets-season/
I really like Chandler, but I'm not sure I want to commit 3 years to a guy who will likely be supplanted within one. I know we need a backup, but he is so brittle. At his age and injury history, giving him 3 years seems like giving 3 years to a 37 year old. That being said, I love your lineup.
if biyombo is that good, won't his price climb higher than 6 per? I still like koufos in the 6-8 per range if that can happen, too, btw.
I know he's a little rickity at this point in his career, but he's such a great locker room presence and role model for our young guys I think I'm willing to take the chance. I added the third year because I feel like we don't have a shot at him unless we give him that extra season at this stage in his career. Also, the lineup really looks solid when all the pieces are healthy. That's a team that can fight for a playoff spot.
more years might get you lower dollars, too. assuming the lakers draft a center, chandler would project as a backup starting as early as year two. maybe at a low enough salary, that's palatable. marcus camby was still a useful backup into his mid-30s, iirc.
Oh, I'm not the type to get too worked up about this, but when you are not in the playoffs, it sure can seem like it drags out. Who wants to debate draft to death vs get it over with. It'd be like having something ridiculous like an 8 day break between Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.
When that "talent" is injury prone and a cancer to the locker room its not worth it. And whats the point in having them for only one year?
one year deals make more sense this year than they have in the past, generally speaking, because bird rights mean less when you're way under the cap. i'll be curious to see how the real max guys (gasol, Aldridge, love) structure their contracts, actually. there's some math to be done on what one would theoretically be giving up in guarantees should he suffer a major injury vs. what you're giving up in lost salary opportunity under a much bigger max. in short, I'm still generally opposed to one-year deals (really bad for the team most of the time, unless it's a end-of-the-road vet), I could make an exception this year for certain players.
