Is that the first intelligent appearing contribution he's ever made? I say appearing because no idea what else he's said. But he always appears mad at the world and or constipated. But those words are exactly what our front office did and I applaud them for it.
Perkins has actually been bringing up the Lakers for free agents and I’m pretty sure he said Kawhi was considering us when others were saying we wouldn’t get an interview.
After today's news, I want to give props to Pelinka for the way he is executing his Plan A step1: With 2 weeks left in the season, sign J. Jones to the non-guaranteed deal. This was huge to allow us the option to trade for Anthony Davis while operating as an over the cap team (as Vashasi pointed out - sign the max FA first, then execute the trade) step2: Agree to a trade for Anthony Davis - Kept Kuzma (which didn't seem possible in February) - Agreement with both sides to extend the trade (assumed based on results) - NO extends the trade during the draft - LA extends the trade with the Wizards to open a *near max FA for 6-10 year players. - Lebron agrees to give AD number 23 if he waives the 4m trade kicker. step3: Sign max FA (hopefully Kawhi) - Bring back Judy Seto to hopefully sell Kawhi on the medical staff and proper care for his calf issues. - Work plan A within the FO, and with AEG, New Balance for FA meetings - Allow LeBron, and now AD, to sell FAs on the pairing step4: Execute trade of AD step5: Fill out the roster, after full preparation of player options and preferences, for the room exception and veteran minimums. - one example, if CuffstheLegend is to be believed, Melo is on the way (not saying I love it). step6: leave open roster spot or two for the buyout market which could be good this year. I think Kobe was dead on with his comments that Pelinka has plan A-Z ready to be executed. If you don't get Kawhi, move to plan B,C,D...sign other top tier free agents, split the 32m amongst better quality roster depth. Either way, I believe the Lakers are still executing within plan A and have been hitting every step of the way to make it a reality. Kudos to you Rob!!!....2 years ago I would never have believed you would have pulled off getting LeBron and AD while still having the money open to go after Kawhi
Good post and like you said, good plan, but I maintain, its not the most efficient. For example you didn't need JJ in the amended deal. But that has been how this FO rolls. The broad big picture is amazing (Bron, Kawhi, AD), meanwhile the fine details are often dealt without finesse (not getting full value for Jules, Zu, waiving TB unnecessarily when a 2nd max along with Bron wasn't a sure thing, Rondo @ 9m vs maybe having him at 5m or at least exploring a Rondo for Jules trade, Lance taking up cap @ 4.5m rather than him taking up our room exception, not offering BLo our room exception, etc etc.) Now if granting Jules a full year early in unrestricted free agency access leads to him coming back to us cheap or having CAA gift us cheap valued players, then Rob's #playerrelations has been unlocked and worth that type of route. If Zu's agent also does the same for us, then that further helps us round out the roster, which is a win. But whether its Magic/Rob or just Rob, we've had some fine details go by the wayside. If the object is to have 3 max players in Bron, AD, Kawhi, then you need to round out the roster. Instead we've exhausted all our resources and assets and at times it was unnecessary to do so. Still can't make the final verdict till our roster gets filled. Alot of work still needs to be done and I'm hoping Rob shows far more finesse in doing so from here on out.
Actually I'm fairly sure JJ must be included in the deal. When making a trade, you can only absorb players into cap space if you don't end up over the cap after the trade. If the trade will cause you to go over the cap, then you must use an exception to complete the trade. In this case that's the Traded Player exception which is why JJ is needed to ensure the incoming salary is within 125% plus 100k of the outgoing salary. Since Kawhi is signed first which eliminates nearly all of our cap space, it's guaranteed that the AD trade puts us over the cap, hence the need for JJ.
Totally agree that things have definitely not gone perfectly under Rob, he does not deserve A for his tenure with the Lakers. I just don't think he deserves total negativity, and maybe some kudos when things are going according to a detailed plan. He has gotten the 'he's an imbecile' treatment, which I don't think he deserves. As you said, the way the rest of this offseason plays out will really be telling. I'm hoping that he closes out the roster build well, because 2 or 3 stars with a poorly built supporting cast is going to be a problem.
Taking Kawhi in voids 1 incomplete roster charge making it where we still have cap space. We would be using that cap space to absorb 900k of the AD deal. Pels would be gaining the traded player exception since they're the ones sending out more salary. They can either keep it and have it cut into their cap space or renounce it and gain that cap space. I've elaborated the mechanics of avoiding JJ in the deal in the cap thread.
Vashashi, you can correct this if I'm wrong....you are a really good cap expert for LB.. This is the number we need to match at 125% + 100k A. Davis $27,093,019 This was the original trade reported (acceptable if operating under the cap) B. Ingram $7,265,485 L. Ball $8,719,320 J. Hart $1,934,160 Total Salary $17,918,965 Salary x125% $22,398,706.25 This was the adjusted trade (without J. Jones short of the over the cap rule) M. Wagner $2,063,520 I. Bonga $1,416,852 Total Salary $21,399,337 Salary x125% $26,749,171.25 This was the adjusted trade (with J. Jones at full value - acceptable for over the cap) J. Jones $1,416,852 Total Salary $22,816,189 Salary x125% $28,520,236.25 This was the adjust trade (with J. Jones at the guaranteed value he accepted - acceptable over the cap) J. Jones $199,000 Total Salary $21,598,337 Salary x125% $26,997,921.25 At the 199k number, the outgoing salary plus 100k comes to $27,097,921.25, which meets the match requirement by $4,902.25 If this is all correct, the 199k number shows how precise that number was to get the match.
Also, on your last post regarding still being under the cap when we sign Kawhi....I haven't dug into that, but if we are trying to make the trade as an over the cap team, I would assume we need to sign Kawhi and another contract before finalizing the AD trade to follow the over the cap rule I just outlined. That might be why buying into the second round actually was so important. We can sign the Max FA, then sign the 2nd rounder to get over the cap, then execute the AD trade. After that you work on veterans minimum and room exception.
It doesn' matter if you are under the cap before a trade. All that matters is if you end up over the cap after the trade is complete. If that happens, the Traded Player exception must be used which is why JJ is needed as you carefully pointed in your breakdown to ensure the incoming salary is within 125% plus 100k of the outgoing salary.
Are you talking to me? If I was in charge Mozgov and Deng never would have been Lakers. I’m also one of the few here that thought / thinks that Pelinka is not the short bus rider that he’s been portrayed to be.
LOL I just flashed on the AD and 3rd star press conference and Rob breaking out with the parable of him being Jonah in the belly of the whale during the darkest hours before emerging with these two transcendent players.
Rob is looking pretty good right now but he still has to close the deal. Not just him but Jeanie and Vogle too. If Rob is smart he will use AD and Lebron to work on Kawi who is the biggest prize and if not him them Kyrie. I think Rob already knows that his big 2 are looking to make it a big 3 and will do all they can to make it happen. We are on the 2 yard line and it is time to punch it in.
