Lakers Plan To Explore Dragic Trade Or Offer Him $20m Per Year In Off-season

This is one big gamble. We can end up with something beautiful for next season or end up with something meh. There's a lot of things to considered here. Do we risk losing the top 5 pick? But we do get his bird rights, leaving us more money to spend. We can offer him more money in that instance without having it affect us like it would if we were getting him from free agency. Even with a bad team we have been in a lot of close games lately and if Dragic was here those loses might be wins. I'm just glad I'm not the one having to make this decision.

 

Sure, there are ways to get picks but firsts are very difficult to obtain, especially lottery firsts.

It's going to come down to:

1. Are the Lakers willing to give up assets and risk Okafor/Towns/Mudiay/Russell on a rookie deal for the next 5 years in exchange for the right to give Dragic $20 million this summer and possibly have more money to spend in free agency?

and

2. If they are willing to take the risk, what assets are they willing to part with to make it happen?

Two very big questions Jim and Mitch need to answer. If the Suns don't ask for too much then maybe they go for it and keep their fingers crossed that they can still keep the pick. If Phoenix wants something crazy like Randle or no protection on the pick then they probably just focus on Dragic in free agency. Let's also not forget that from the PHX perspective sending Dragic to the Lakers increases the odds of them getting the LAL pick this year, which has to be a factor in their decision.

Its going to be a tough, tough call. This is why Mitch gets paid the big bucks, either way it's going to be an exciting 38 hours until the trade deadline.

 

Good post. Lottery posts are difficult to obtain and we don't find ourselves in position to obtain lottery firsts that often because of our prestigious history; winning championships. I think Okafor, Towns, Russell, Johnson are a great top 5, and I'd love to have one of them. We'll see how it plays out...I'm all for getting Dragic, though, and figuring out the rest later...

Let me add; I'm tired of losing, and I want to be competitive; however, I could see the Lakers remaining patient (unlike me) and keeping their pick while going after Dragic in the summer since he already has an interest in us. The fan in me wants to win...

 

As much as I hate to say it, I think the best move if we're going to trade for Dragic is removing the top 5 protection from our 1st. The Suns value that more than Hou 1st or Hill or any of our other assets, & I think we could even get Plumlee included. Send them Lin, remove the protection from the 1st, a little filler if needed. Exit tank mode & see how far Dragic/Young/Hill/Plumlee can take us. I don't like our chances of landing in the bottom 5 with that lineup. We'd have to convince Dragic to sit or something. Better off trading the removal of the protection.

We go into the offseason with Dragic's cap hold on the books, which isn't nearly as bad as signing him. We could possibly afford another big name FA. Jimmy Butler maybe? Still have good assets in Randle & Hou 1st. Maybe we use the 1st with Hill to upgrade the frontcourt in an attempt to make a run at the 8 seed. I'm hating this less.

 

One other thing before I call it a night: Dragic's numbers haven't been as good this year because of the number of point guards in the Suns rotation. His list of preferred teams is essentially every team with a clear opening at the point guard position.

Maybe he really does want to be a Laker or a Knick long term, but even if he doesnt, it's in his best interest right now to find a team he can put up big numbers on before hitting free agency. Even if that means convincing them he will most likely resign there.

For those assuming he won't cost the team wins, his pending free agency also means he's going to be balling out of his mind down the stretch .

Those must-lose games against Philly, Minnesota, New York, etc all become that much more dangerous with a contract-year Dragic on the roster.

Contract- year Nick Young demolished the Lakers tank last year, imagine what contract-year Dragic could do.

Not saying that the Lakers would definitely lose the pick or that they shouldn't try to make the deal, but food for thought nontheless.

 

Darius Soriano retweeted
Eric Pincus @EricPincus · 2h 2 hours ago
If the Lakers trade for Dragic, then sign over summer - they have more spending power than outright going after Dragic in FA

Eric Pincus @EricPincus · 2h 2 hours ago
If Lakers went after Dragic in trade - could still have in ballpark of $11-13 mil in cap space before re-resigning + top-5 pick potentially

 

You don't think we'd be better off removing the protection from the 1st we already went to Phx? From what I'm reading elsewhere, Phoenix places much more value on that, & would be willing to include Plumlee in the deal while receiving nothing else from us but filler. Maybe even Nash + filler.

Remove the protection from the pick + Nash + filler. Lin/Dragic/Young/Plumlee/Hill. Not sure we could squeak into the 8th seed but we'd put on a good show for any potential FA's that want to join Dragic. Possibly package Hill + Hou 1st for an upgrade at C & attempt to make the playoffs.

I'm just worried that Dragic & Plumlee will be too good & cause us to lose that top 5 pick regardless, so better off keeping the other assets. I'm not sure how only playing Dragic 20 minutes a night would work for him, he supposedly wants to have his own team like Steph Curry where he's free to be the man.

As I mentioned to Real, rumor is that Dragic wants to have the freedom on offense that Curry has. I'm thinking that puts us high on the list as this would basically be his team when Kobe's done. We can only hope he's willing to take a Curry type of contract too. Dragic at 12M would put us in an amazing position to rebuild.

 

Nice.. So if you remove the protection from the pick & take that top 5 pick cap hold out of the potential discussion, we have atleast 13M still. Meaning a max offer to Jimmy Butler is still possible. Dragic/Butler/Kobe/Randle/Plumlee/Young/Clarkson is 1 hell of a core. Bring back Ed Davis, sign 1 more solid defensive C, bring in a backup PG, use Houston's 1st. We'd be a very good 2 way team with tons of youth/room to grow

No. What I was saying is Phoenix wants us to remove the top 5 protection from the pick. I'm just going by what their fans say, but they value that more than they value Hou 1st/Hill/our other assets. Might be a good idea considering Dragic & Plumlee probably make us too good to finish bottom 5.

 

There is no reason that we should give up the pick for Dragic. We can have both.

 

Yeah, I would not give up our top 5 pick for Dragic.

 

If we were you know no. 10 and a few games away from the 8th spot then yes trade for him. Right now getting him is just counter productive

 

I would certainly take Thomas, I really wanted us to nab him last summer. I'd prefer Dragic, but if the asking price is too much and the Suns decide to roll the dice and move IT instead, then send him this way.

 

Lakers don't want Thomas and don't want to remove the protection from the pick (don't blame them), so unless Dragic really applies the pressure to Phoenix and says trade me to LA, it doesn't look promising before the deadline.

 

After digesting all that, there are two ways to look at this:

1. The Lakers should try to trade for Goran Dragic
2. The Lakers should wait until free agency and try to acquire him in July.

Both of these sides have solid arguments, so let’s quickly tackle both, starting with the latter.

Pursuing Dragic in free agency only requires two things: for Dragic to be a free agent and the Lakers to have the money to pay him. Luckily for the Lakers, both of those things will be true come July. The benefits to taking this approach are two fold. First, the Lakers do not have to surrender any assets in their pursuit of the point guard. This is important since the Lakers do not have many assets to offer. The second is that the Lakers really do not need to do anything that would improve their team right now. Being that the Lakers draft pick is only protected if it falls in the top five of the draft, it’s to their benefit to not acquire players who help them win more games right now. Whether or not you like watching a losing team (I do not) or if you are pro “tank” (I am not; though I’m more ambivalent on this now than 3 months ago), there is no argument in which not having a top 5 pick is better than having it. If you find that argument, please tell me as I am happy to listen.

It’s difficult to stress how meaningful those two points above really are. The Lakers are a team who really cannot afford to give up anything of value for a player they can chase in free agency. You want to give up the Houston pick? Fine, but just remember you can have that pick and Dragic if you are good enough in selling your franchise and convincing him your money and vision are worth it. Further, that top 5 pick may not yet be an asset, but if it becomes real it will instantly become as valuable an asset as the Lakers have possessed since they turned Andrew Bynum into Dwight Howard.

In saying all that, trading for Dragic now does have its benefits.

At the top of that list is the fact that trading for Dragic nets you his Bird Rights. While the Lakers were burned with that line of thinking when they acquired Dwight Howard, Dragic is a bit different for a key reason: Dragic’s cap hold this summer is only $11.25 million. This low-ish cap number allows the Lakers a certain amount of flexibility in how they negotiate with Dragic while still chasing other free agents. For example, let’s say the following things occur:

• The Lakers trade for Dragic
• The Lakers decline Jordan Hill’s team option (or trade him before Thursday)
• The Lakers are left with roughly $20 million in cap “space” this July after all relevant cap holds for players not named Dragic are accounted for (NOTE: This is not a real number and is for example purposes only)

Of that $20 million in cap space, $11.25 million of it will be tied up in Dragic, but the Lakers would still have $8.75 million to pursue another free agent (or more). Maybe that means the Lakers ink Ed Davis. Maybe they chase another big man. Maybe they go after a wing who can defend (like DeMarre Carroll). Or maybe they just roll that space over into the season, giving them flexibility in other trades that allows them to take on salary in a move. The key is, though, that they have the ability to do something besides just sign Dragic in free agency due to controlling his Bird Rights. And, yes, while those rights also mean the Lakers could pay him more than any other team (and would likely be pressured to do so by his agent), that flexibility has value.

On the flip side, if pursuing Dragic in free agency all of the Lakers’ cap space is likely devoted to making him an offer. And this would be after renouncing rights to all their current free agents and not picking up Jordan Hill’s option. So, presented in this context, would you rather only have the ability to pay Dragic or would you like to have the ability to pay him and pursue one or more other options in free agency?

Of course, your answer may well be that you don’t want Dragic at all. Not in free agency, not in a trade, not ever. That’s a perfectly valid opinion. I mean, if the choice is paying Dragic $20 million to have him on your roster or not paying him at all, it’s perfectly reasonable to say “thanks, but no thanks” and move on to other options. And, despite typing all those words in the paragraphs above, it’s not like it’s some sort of given the Lakers just snap their fingers and end up with him via a trade or in free agency. Any deal for him requires the Suns to say yes or for him and his agent to agree to terms. As we’ve seen in years past, this isn’t a gimme.

But, this is the rumor season, the trade deadline is on Thursday, and the Lakers are prominently mentioned as a viable option for a very good player. Plus, there are good arguments on both sides of the argument on how to best pursue him. So, what say you?

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/201...goran-dragics-list-of-preferred-destinations/

Pretty much sums it up. So, we talked Dragic last week w/Phoenix...the Lakers don't want Thomas. If we did, we could have had him as an FA.

 

Honestly, screw Phoenix. Let's just wait for the summer; go after Dragic and keep the pick if they're unwilling to at least be reasonable about the situation.