2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

you also assume lebron doesn't demand a trade elsewhere or walk in FA after we failed to move for AD. just never was going to happen.

i have a lot of what-ifs about our pursuit of kawhi and how we could have played that better, though.

 

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/04...-lottery-standings-projected-draft-order.html

If the Pelicans lose to the Clippers, The Hornets will lose a first round pick and becomes 2 2nd rounders instead

 

Yeah, don't really see it that way myself. Lebron battled some injuries, but I would say that he saw little reason to push himself extra hard. He mostly just took what was given to him, which for him is a lot. I think if we can get back to the top and make a run in the playoffs, he will give everything he has in the tank. Winning another ring would be huge for his legacy and would also shut the bubble haters to shut up. I think we have two more years to try this. I agree that he needs help but as far as his offense goes, he is the best I have seen at his age, ever. And that includes Jabbar.

 

i don't think kawhi was ever going to come to the lakers. not with lebron and AD there anyways. no way he would be ok with being the #2 or even #3 guy

if the clippers hadn't been able to acquire PG he probably stays in toronto (which he should have done anyways)

 

this is my point. we should have pursued other options. we got played pretty hard there, and we got a ring sort of despite that. had we never won one, i'd point to that miscalculation as the big downfall.

 

yeah, that definitely made it unique, but it's also something rob should have been sensitive to, right--like, this guy isn't bound by any code you're used to.

 

The Lakers will not have the 10 million exception under any circumstances. The 10 mil MLE hard-caps us and we most assuredly cannot be hard-capped. At a hard cap next year of 139 mil, we already have that with 4 players alone already signed (LBJ,AD,RW,THT).

 

if they shed salary in other deals, the full MLE comes back into play. it's not impossible, but it is improbable.

 

Considering those 4 players who are all guaranteed are already at the hard cap's number, yeah, it's pretty impossible I don't think we are getting a windfall of picks for Westbrook lol. Be real. Even if we got picks for THT his 10mil would be gone in vet mins super fast. Unless there is some other way that I am just totally missing here?

 

you're missing that russ can be moved for less than his salary, as can THT (he can be moved into space, theoretically)?

next year's tax is at 149 (cap at 122). the 8 guaranteed guys (i'll add reaves, johnson, and gabriel to nunn/THT/big 3) put us at about 145ish. cap holds for 4 vet mins is what, 6 million? so we'd have to shave about 12-14 off to get full MLE. a westbrook trade to a team with space could cut a chunk off. a THT trade into full space would almost get you there (i think a bad team with space definitely considers this, btw, with no compensation).

it's even possible to knock 8 million off in a russ trade to a team without space, e.g.:



finally, there's the stretch/waive option, which would knock enough off by itself to open up the full mle immediately.

anyway, i don't know if the full MLE is really worth it, tbh. just ideas.

also, looking at houston's roster, there are some big trade possibilities there beyond the wall/westbrook redux stuff. houston is going to be tanking again next year because they own their pick (i think), so i could see them taking on salary and trying to get something back in buyouts and just being terrible.

in other words, the trade above sounds crazy at first (houston has wall AND westbrook). but imagine we throw all our cash in and maybe a protected pick. houston can then buy out wall AND westbrook, maybe shaving 5 million or so off each in the process. they come out even or better financially, have clear books in 2023, and suck just like they planned.

 

Give them Russ, THT, every pick we can scrape together. But only works if they tell him they want to move on and he tells them he will only play in LA

 

Ok, I show next year's tax apron to be 147, you have 36.5 in place of Russ there, add LBJ, AD, THT, Nunn, Austin & Stanley and we are at 138.4 leaving 8.6 mil with 7 roster spots filled and you are hard-capped at the 147. Again, what am I missing about the unworkability of this? How do 8 players fit inside 8.6 million?.

 

i have it at 149? and i think THT is fairly easily dumpable if the right MLE comes up? again, not easy, and maybe not sensible. but possible.

 

Imagine if we had pursued Jimmy Butler in 2019 instead? We may be working on a 3 peat. Hindsight is 20/20 though. Kawhi definitely played us and had no intention to play for the Lakers. It was a plan by Balmer, Leonard and West to weaken us.

 

butler was set on going to miami. don't think he would've wanted to play with lebron anyways. if i remember correctly, KD called butler first to team up with him in brooklyn

 

It's true about Butler, he wanted his own brand and Miami was it

 

yeah, i wanted to pursue butler but word had already leaked that he was going to miami, who somehow has their offseason figured out in march every year.

 

They probably ask for Reaves too.. I know I would.