I keep seeing this "restructure Westbrook's deal so we can sign Monk" but the reality is if Russ did say, a CP3 type thing or like 3 x 25mil we still won't be under the cap enough to offer Monk anything beyond the MLE. Russ would have to take a hit that, well..he just won't take.
At 20m per, I think it’s possible to get below the 119m salary cap. At that point we would have the full MLE. That’s about the best we can do and you’d assume we’d have conversations with him and his agent about that.
How are you going to get to 20mil per? I just don't see Russ taking that. Say a 3 x 20 deal and then what it amounts to is Russ getting 13 mil total for the 2 years after next season. Pretty sure he'd rather take his chances on the open market. Even CP3's restructured deal was around 30 per. btw 20 mil would still only bring us right about even with the cap, a few mil above actually if Nunn opts-in which is possible considering how this season is going for him and even if he doesn't, it's not enough room to make any kind of offer outside of full MLE which is dangerous due to the hard cap
You could make it 4 years at 20 per with year three a partial guarantee and the last year non guaranteed. I’m sure our front office would consider it to save luxury tax regardless.
right, mimic paul's structure at 2/3 the cost. honestly, it's still an overpay, but it's about as low as i think russ would go because otherwise he just takes 47 million and gambles someone hasn't watched basketball in three years. i feel like a good management team would already be talking about this with russ and monk's agents, which is why i said i'm watching whether we move monk this week. to me, if we trade him for a second rounder or something, either russ isn't interested in the restructure or monk isn't interested in MLE money (the latter would be schroder-level stupid, imo).
I'm pretty sure that Russ, had already agreed to some kind of a restructuring to his contract, before the trade was made. What happens with Malik will depend on how he performs in the playoffs IMO. I don't see any way Nunn declines his option after missing most of the season either. He might get traded afterwards, but he’s going to have to show something this season in order to make anyone interested in trading for him. If he did? At his salary we might as well keep him. The plan will probably be to restructure Russ,bring back Nunn, convince Monk to sign a 1 year deal with the promise that we will take care of him, when Bron’s deal is up after next season. Then look to dump Dwight, DJ,Blaze, Duke,Avery and Ariza. Give Sekou a shot at a roster spot, and scrounge around for more size at guard, and a young 4/5 prospect. The scouting department, will be leaned on to uncover at least one gem at draft time, maybe two. Not sexy, probably most folks are going to be upset, but the most likely scenario IMO. IF Lebron and AD can be available for the entire season, this would work. That's a very big IF, considering recent history. Still there could be a couple of vet mins or guys that will accept the minimum to come to LA. Melo and Monk were great pickups. We find at least two guys of that ilk and the roster isn't bad.
what leads you to believe that about russ? at the time, he might have assumed he'd kick a** and get an extension at his current amount! i agree on the plan, though, pretty much all points. it solves two or three of my major gripes about this year's roster (vastly overpaid third "star" kills flexibility, no continuity, too many old vet mins). mobile c or shooting c/behemoth c AD/melo lebron/stan/young 3 with legit size, maybe from gleague or whatever monk/reaves/ellington or wes matthews type (vet min vet wing) russ/nunn/vet min vet pg (rondo, ish smith, etc.) it may be a reach to fill the starting c role, but this may be something you could use THT's contract for. if not, THT slides as a backup at 1/2/3. houston might move on from wood; i wonder if THT and a pick could get it done...doubtful given how THT's value tanked this year. anyway, that's a lot of this year's team intact. gotta hope for familiarity and better health.
I don't think Russ is as caught up about the money as some may think. He's a pretty successful businessman off the court. The guy owns 10 car dealerships in Southern California and rakes in about 30 million a year. He's not hurting for cash.
yeah, i'm sort of reading into his comments about liking living here and seeing his family, etc. that should be worth some cash, especially to someone who already has such a huge amount of it. he's also got to be tired of moving teams both in terms of logistics and in terms of the psychological toll. i feel like if he opts in, he has to know he's getting moved again.
You can do a restricted deal with Russ @ 20 per but as I pointed out you still do not have any room to make any kind of offer as you need to be under the cap said amount of offer to a UFA. We're a few mil about the cap if Nunn opts-in and only a few mil under the cap if he doesn't. Either way, no room for an offer. Not until Lebron drops off the books anyway but that doesn't help the immediate problem of next season and Monk.
Turned the tide for us in the 3rd. Kept it going in the 4th. Tied Bron for a team high 29 points. Bron, give the man stock options with Lobos. Got to get creative in ways to keep him around.
