Even the slightest bit of Jimmy Butler speculation is enough to get me excited. Obviously it's extremely unlikely, but if the perfect storm builds, it's possible. The conditions would have to be just right. Butler would have to want out, due to the rumored tension with Rose, Thibs being fired, not liking the direction they're headed with Skiles. Whatever the reason, he needs to want out badly enough to force their hand, and he needs to want to come to the Lakers and only the Lakers. We need the threat that he'll sign an offer sheet with us at 12:01. Surely they aren't going to lose Butler for nothing, so why does the offer sheet matter if they can just match? Because they can't match it and just trade him. During the waiting period before he can be traded they'll have to deal with the chemistry problems that can come with a disgruntled star, and Butler will be able to tank his value if he wants. So if all of that goes our way and they decide its best to Sign and Trade Butler to us before he signs an offer sheet, we still need a miracle in the form of them wanting the assets we're willing to give up. I think the best we could do is Young + #27. Maybe they really like RHJ with their pick and like Young as cheap offense off the bench. Maybe they'd ask for Lin to be included in a Sign and Trade as injury insurance for Rose & a way to dump more salary on us. It's about as pipe as it gets but wow, getting the #2 then landing Butler would by far exceed what I expected this summer.
pincus is assuming that the lakers' offer sheet would be four years. 2 years with a player option on the 2nd was supposedly what butler's people are looking for. in that case, there's a possibility that the bulls match only to watch him walk to the lakers as a UFA the following year. the current team will still have the 5th year at that point, but they'll no longer have the right of first refusal. hell, if I'm the lakers, I make that offer to all of my top young RFA targets, hoping a) some team gets scared and declines to match or b) they get another shot at the player next year. I suppose guys like middleton should cash in now, as they wouldn't be max guys if the cap wasn't about to skyrocket. but guys like butler and kawhi leonard need to be thinking about how much money they might be leaving on the table by signing a 5-year deal. there's injury risk, of course, so one must factor that in. but still, cap's going up 30%.
I have zero expectation of that happening. It would realistically probably cost us at least Randle, in which case I don't think we should do it.
Precisely. I think it's the perfect loophole for a kid to go where they want as RFAs. There's definitely injury risk, but this is a pretty unique situation. The cap rising means even if they get hurt and cost themselves a certain percentage, the gross dollar amount will still be really high. Say for a guy like Ellis who Dallas doesn't want to give more than 10 million this summer (which is about 13% of the cap), if he takes a 1+1 deal then the next summer he can opt out and then get 10 million next summer. Sure the percentage of the cap is lower, but he'd get the dollar figure he wanted. Barring catastrophic injuries like Jennings or Matthews, a guy like Butler or Kawhi would make a HUGE sum of money next season even if they weren't maxed out. If they ARE maxed out they're going to make money hand over fist. This 1+1 idea is brilliant. What do you do if you're the Bulls in that situation? Do you match him and let him walk next summer or just try to workout a sign-and-trade?
If Jimmy really wants to be a Lakers, then he'll take the QO this summer and become an Unrestricted Free Agent next year. In other words, the Greg Monroe route. He could call Greg Monroe for all the pertinent details.
If we can nab the rights to Butler for Young+Black+27+34, you take it and run like the wind. I did suggest adding Clarkson before, but not for a 1+Player Option deal. That's basically a rental.
I'm not sure he does that. He's a max player without question. He would essentially be giving up 12 million dollars next season that he could never recover. That's a lot of money. Sure, you can say he will make more in endorsement deals by being in LA rather than Chicago, but it won't be anywhere close to 12 million extra I doubt. You are also playing with serious fire. What if he pulls a Wesley Matthews? And at the end of the day, it's Chicago. It's a big market with a team that has some history. Monroe was trying to escape Detroit. If Butler was the #1 overall pick, then that qualifying offer would be around 8 million making it easier to swallow. But his is around 3 million.
Then let him take his money on a shorter extension with Chicago and be done with it; if Chicago wants to talk trade down the line, we'll be open to it.
But if he takes the 1+1 with us, we get him a year earlier. If he takes the short term extension with Chicago we maybe have to pass on him in 2-3 years.
Then that's the way it goes. I'm not tying up money for any RFA's this summer. I'm with Pincus on this one completely.
But Pincus's point is that we'd sign Butler to a 4 year deal and that Chicago would match and we'd have no chance at Butler. I get not tying up cash, but he's thinking about it from a max 4 year perspective.
Yes. Although the buzz I've read is that he'd prefer a 2+1 deal. Sign him to an offer sheet that will guarantee he's an UFA next summer when we have ample cap space to add him and another piece or two. We saw last season that most of the FAs will wait for a minute before making their choices. This year will be no different. The second call I'd make after Butler is Carroll, then Green. Tell them to give us just three days and if Butler is kept, we'll give them an above market value deal.
I really don't like Green. You've kind of sold me on Carroll, but Green will fall off a cliff when he leaves the friendly confines of San Antonio. I'm almost convinced of it.
Maybe so, but if he can provide some 3 and D for us then that's a hell of a lot more than what we've had. He's also one of those interchangeable parts that can slide from SG to SF depending on need which is helpful for us. I think Carroll is basically set at SF.
Well, maybe he can provide a little more 3 and d then we have now, but man, he's going to get a lot of money. I know the cap is going up, but in 3 years, that contract may look like hell even with the higher cap number. I just wouldn't sign Green. He is going to be our new Devan George.
