2019/20 Players' Transactions: Breaking News , Trades, Free Agents, And Rumors

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Some Investigative Work- The Big Three 2019?

So we've all know the basics of what we're supposed to be getting this summer. We all know we're after the big fish in the FA pond with James and with George. But how much of that is our wishful thinking? After all, Laker fans have been hoping and wishing and waiting (and sold promises) of this sort of thing for... 5 years now? We've been told "we're going after Carmelo Anthony", "we're going after Dwight Howard", "we're going after LeBron James", "we're going after Kevin Durant", "we're waiting for Russell Westbrook", "we're definitely getting Kevin Love", "we're meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge", all the way down to "we're trying to meet with Greg Monroe", and eventually we weren't even included in the conversations for players on the market. We were a joke, a laughing stock, and not worth even considering. So what makes this summer different?

What if I told you I've sniffed out what the Lakers are going to do? What if I told you that beyond the two players we expect to be involved with, there's something else (a player we're not necessarily attached to publicly) that the Lakers are going to try to get to as well? Let's start with the obvious:

1) Paul George. The Lakers' number one target this summer is Paul George and not because he's the best player available, but because he's the easiest one to convince to sign here.


Paul grew up on the mean streets of Palmdale just 60 or so miles north of Staples Center. I won't go further into this whole business. Here is a link of the history connecting Paul George to LA. Suffice to say there's enough smoke here to indicate an inferno. If Paul George isn't a lock for Los Angeles, he's about as close as can be to it.

That's just step one though and how does that tie in to the rest of the rumors? Well that leads us to the next rumored target who of course is:

2. LeBron James.

The LeBron James to Los Angeles rumors actually started a long time ago. Mitch Kupchak visited with Rich Paul way back in 2014 when the Lakers had almost no chance at LeBron, but even then there were rumblings of his interest. It was all very demure and he eventually passed on the Lakers, but it was noteworthy that he checked in. Then two years later, this time in Cleveland, LeBron is on the cusp of winning a title and another tidbit pops up, this time from Adrian Wojnarowski:

Two wins later and James is now free of any sort of obligation to Cleveland. The Cavs win the title over the fledgling dynastic Warriors. Now the rumors of LeBron leaving already start in 2016 as LeBron eyes warmer weather and playing with his friends. Here is an article from Harrison Faigen touching on some interesting quotes from LeBron about playing with his friends again. It's about this time, we start hearing Miami and Los Angeles brought up as destinations for LeBron when he decides to leave. The Lakers are terrible and the Clippers are still messing around with "Lob City" so the path seems so far away, but not impossible.

We know all this already, but here's where the dots start to connect:

2a. We know LeBron wants to play with Paul George. All the way back in January we got a report from Brian Windhorst that LeBron was unhappy the Cavs didn't make moves in the off-season for either Paul George or Eric Bledsoe. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...cavs-didnt-trade-for-paul-george-eric-bledsoe

This quote turned many heads in Cleveland and in Los Angeles. The immediate implication was that LeBron was willing to stay in Cleveland long-term and that he'd do it if he had Paul George with him. This upset (some) Laker fans as it became apparent we could be chasing ghosts again in the summer. If LeBron is willing to stay in Cleveland, we're probably not the greatest destination right? And Cleveland fans took that to mean LeBron was interested in being around for the long haul. The Cavs just had to get him his help.

Well that was before the trade deadline where Paul George stayed in Oklahoma and LeBron's big help turned out to be George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, and Larry Nance Jr. (with LeBron's old buddy Dwayne Wade out as well as Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye).

Now the tables have turned. Now it's clear the Cavs aren't cutting it for LeBron and suddenly the Lakers have two max slots available and loads of young talent. So how serious are LeBron and George about wanting to play together?

2b. New news from Woj. Woj recently on his podcast indicated that the two of them will talk this summer about a team-up in LA.

I'd argue, they of course have already had this discussion, but surely they'll continue it this summer. They'd be fools not to talk to each other and see if there's a team they could partner with on and off the court. Without getting too deeply into the bias, I think it's clear these two will at least consider the Lakers for a partnership. Most people assume two things would be true if LeBron/George went to LA: 1) they wouldn't be enough to beat the Warriors just the two of them and 2) they'd want to reshape the roster, maybe to a large degree, in order to compete more in the short-term window they have.

That leads me to my final point and the point that requires just a tiny bit of digging. The third player the two of them will consider is:

3. DeAndre Jordan. I already see some eyes rolling and I don't blame you. DeAndre isn't my favorite guy either, but let's follow a couple tea leaves here.

3a. LeBron wanted DeAndre Jordan at the deadline. According to Jason Lloyd at The Athletic*, James and Ty Lue actively pushed for the Cavs to trade for DeAndre Jordan at the trade deadline this season.

3b. The Lakers are now actively searching for a vertical threat. According Pete Zayas, aka Laker Film Room aka GoldenThroat, the Lakers are looking for a big man that can catch lobs and run the floor. Stealing a quote from @vasashi17 's post earlier in this thread:

Here's a link to Pete's interview. The Lakers lack the kind of vertical threat/roll man that really draws defenders inward to the paint and leaves the shooters open outside.

3c. People have been suggesting DeAndre Jordan to the Lakers for months. Here is Zach Lowe all the way back in January talking about trying to lure two very specific players to Los Angeles.

In April, Frank Urbina brought up the Lakers as a potential landing spot for DeAndre Jordan.

There are also a half-dozen other blog features written about how smart it is to pursue Jordan in the hopes of luring LeBron, but I admit most of this is speculative. Still, the point I'm making is that there's a basis of wisdom in the Lakers making a move for DeAndre Jordan in order to help facilitate a deal with LeBron and George.

How do we do it?

Making room for DeAndre, George, and LeBron would be difficult. One of those players, we'd likely have to trade for and finding the type of trade to make everyone happy in that scenario would be incredibly difficult. I admit, I threw this together on a whim and I tracked the data quickly. Feel free to poke holes in this, but hopefully it was a fun ride for you guys. Don't be surprised if this starts heating up!

 

I’m not trading s*** for DeAndre freakin Jordan, and I’m not trading s*** to make room to sign him either. F*** that, that’s hilarious. If we lose even one of Zo, Ingram, Kuz, or Hart for Jordan, I riot in the streets. We put with hack-a-Shaq because he was a monster, and he made most of them when it mattered, I’m not putting up with hack-a-Jordan.

 

We need a leverage team. Maybe Dallas? Jordan threatens to walk unless we trade for him. Deng/Kuzma for Jordan (or George if people dont like the optics of giving up that much for Jordan)? That's not bad. That's halfway comparable to what Indiana got given different circumstances. Maybe throw in a protected pick or something.

 

I can’t believe you guys are entertaining this. F*** what LeBron wants, I’m not losing Kuzma for DeAndre Jordan.

 

I guess Kyrie would be demanding a trade out of Boston then? That would be kind of funny, Kyrie has to keep running from LeBron wherever he goes.

 

All of those teams get tampering fines then. It's illegal to talk about or plan FA meetings before the moratorium.

Or is that just LA?

 

Full quote

Screamin’ A has lost his damn mind. I legitimately think the NBA head office might try to find a way to stop LeBron from going to GS if he actually considered it. You can’t have 3 of the best 4 players in the NBA on the same team.