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

@LaVarBallsDad has reminded me of another avenue for the Lakers. I dont believe the Lakers view #25 as a must add to a Deng trade. I also dont believe they're committed to Julius if the other players aren't interested in him being the 3rd guy.

If the Lakers trade Deng AND renounce their rights to Randle, they can clear up about 13 million in cap space AS WELL AS signing George and LeBron.

Maybe DeAndre Jordan or DeMarcus Cousins takes that 13 million dollars for a couple years? Then you can keep your young pieces and still field a competitive roster today. You can even get a backup guard with the room exception.

Lonzo/Thomas
George/Hart
Ingram/#25
James/Kuzma
Jordan or Cousins/Bryant

That's before the veteran minimums pour in.

 

To get their Bird Rights we would have to trade for them or sign at least two years for Early Bird Rights.

 

So after a little digging, I'm about 75% sure we can sign and trade Julius for a 3rd star while going over the salary cap, however that means the tax apron (roughly 130 million) is our hard cap for the season. We can also use Julius as a sign and trade even if we renounce his rights. So, and @vasashi17 can correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand the rules we can even waive his Bird Rights and still use him as a sign and trade candidate as he meets all the criteria for a sign and trade:
1) must re-sign with his former team 2) finish the preceding season with that team 3) cannot sign an offer sheet 4) team receiving sign-and-trade player cannot be over the tax apron 5) cannot receive a sign and trade if you've already used the Tax Payer Exemption 6) Must be completed prior to the first game of the new season, and 7) The player cannot be signed using any exceptions (MLE, Tax Payer, Room).

So what I could very well see the Lakers doing (and what I would do) is this.

1) waive our rights to every one of our non-guaranteeds/Bird Rights with the exception of Thomas Bryant.
2) use 2019 1st, 2021 1st, 2020 2nd, and 2021 2nd to move Deng to Sacramento, Atlanta, or Dallas once they strike out.
3) use our two picks this season so that we fill the roster with low-salary players we can trust the FO with.
- that leaves us with 7 players at just 15.7 million. That means we've got 77.34 million to play with.
4) sign George to a 4 year max deal starting at 30.6 million.
5) sign LeBron to a 4 year max deal starting at 35.6 million.
- that leaves us with 12.86 million to play with.
6) have DeAndre Jordan demand a trade to LA or he'll sign here for 13 million. This means DeAndre would have to be willing to lose a significant amount of money to leave the Clippers although I'm not sure that's such a stretch given the animosity the two showed towards each other last season. DeAndre is sure to have other suitors, but if George and LeBron are in and want him here, we've seen he's susceptible to being wanted. At this point we offer the Clippers Randle for Jordan straight up. DeAndre opts in to his 24.1 million dollar option and we trade Julius to them for whatever they'll have him at or the Clippers lose Jordan for nothing and we move on. For the sake of the argument, let's say we trade Julius.
7) that means we'd have DeAndre Jordan at 24.1 million as an expiring contract.
- that puts us officially over the salary cap at 112.4 million.
8) use the room exception to give Thomas a 1+1 deal to see if he can recapture himself. I doubt he gets big offers from anywhere. A 5'9" scoring guard with a big hip injury? He needs a rehab year with lower expectations to see if he can still be a high level player.
9) fill with veteran minimum which will bring us close to 120ish million dollars.

That gives us:

Lonzo/Thomas
George/Hart
Ingram/Brewer?/Mykhailiuk
James/Kuzma
Jordan/Robinson/Bryant

We'd lose picks in the future, but I think we'd stagger them so that we can always have at least one pick a year. There's some veterans who would undoubtedly join. I'm looking at that backup SF spot specifically. That team keeps all of our core. It allows room for Ingram and Lonzo to continue growing. It allows Kuzma to step into the death lineup and close games (plus he can take over the position in 4 years when LeBron likely retires). Paul George and DeAndre Jordan are both in their primes (28 and 29 respectively). Jordan lasts as long as it takes Robinson to develop. In four years we still have a starting lineup of:

Lonzo/George/Ingram/Kuzma/Jordan with Hart and Robinson ready to step in at any time.

That's a team built for the future while also giving us more than enough weapons to challenge any team in the league, including Golden State. It's doable, it's not a stretch, and it's something I think the Lakers can accomplish this summer if all our moves go as planned.

 

Honestly, I'd rather keep Julius and try to sign Lopez for the room exception. Gives us a big who can shoot from outside for spacing and a big who can switch on everything on defense. I think the combo of Julius and Lopez >>> Deandre Jordan.

 

I don't necessarily disagree, but I believe it'll be up to George/LeBron who stays and who goes. I believe wholeheartedly they want most of the young kids and I think Julius might just be a victim of circumstance here. Besides, unless he makes massive leaps as a rim protector, I'm not sure he fits as well we might hope. I think on the perimeter we switch everything pretty well and he gives us that ability, but is that enough? I don't know. We'll find out in a few weeks.

At this point I'm starting to really lean towards LeBron and George being a lock. I think they'll spend the next few weeks back channeling with the Lakers to see who needs to stay and who needs to go. I get the feeling they'll want one more piece that's a little bit closer to their prime so that they feel comfortable being competitive today vs. the Warriors. Is that piece DeAndre? Possibly. It could be Julius too. I'll start looking into the Spurs as well, but I think that one will cost a lot more.

I appreciate all feedback by the way. These are just ideas to throw out there.

 

Maybe, maybe not. I definitely don't see him staying unless the Clippers want to pay big money for him. Jordan leaving the Clippers is almost as much a given as LeBron leaving the Cavs at this point. If he can be in the Finals/Conference Finals every year for four years, with the Laker logo on in LA?

Unless someone offers him a max deal in another city that's also decently competitive, I can't see him getting tons of offers this summer. Besides, the opt in and trade option is still on the table.

 

I was sort of with you until you brought up re-signing IT. Guy can’t play defense to save his life, he could give up double digit leads by himself, he a absolutely kills our ability to switch on defense. I’d rather sign a backup PG that doesn’t need a booster seat or can ride a roller coaster, or draft one even.

 

I'm open to suggestions. The backup PG spot is bone dry right now. Rajon Rondo is the only other half-way realistic option and I think he'd be an awful fit for our chemistry.

 

I’d rather re-sign Alex Caruso than IT. At least he’s tall enough to make passes without jumping and can play hounding defense at times, block shots, can be signed for dirt cheap. I can’t stand Isaiah Thomas, I can’t stand watching him chuck, I can’t stand watching him struggle to play defense like a grade schooler against high schoolers, and I can’t stand watching him yell at teammates for his mistakes. I don’t want him anywhere near this team.

 

I like Caruso plenty for what he is, but he's not a quarter of the player a healthy IT is. If you can get Thomas for the 4 million Room Exception and he's healthy, he's a massive value. Thomas at times was dominant even as a Laker offensively and a bench can always use a player who can put up 20 points in hurry. Rondo is also massively more talented than Caruso.

As much as we like him, Caruso put up 3.6/1.8/2 with less than a steal and a block a game in 15 minutes of play. Even his per36 numbers are just 8.6/4.2/4.8 although at least he's at 1.5 steals. I mean Caruso is a career 3rd stringer and certainly not an impact bench player on a great team.

Also, Caruso and Thomas are not mutually exclusive. If Thomas is too hurt to play at a high level again, Caruso can be had for literally the minimum so keeping him isn't dependent on Thomas.