Wmc 15/16: We are finally at the END! BYE BYRON!!!

Cowherd has a source in the FO like I'm married to Scarlett Johansson.

But yeah obviously if we get the pick, we're going shopping. The Lakers will do their due diligence and see if Ingram or Simmons is transcendent, but if/when they're not they'll move on and see if we can get a disgruntled star for that draft spot. Not too long ago the #1 pick got Cleveland Kevin Love. If the Lakers can get Butler or Cousins for the #1 pick, they absolutely will. If the Lakers get the #2 or #3 pick and can turn that + Lou Williams and maybe our #32 pick into Cousins or Butler, they'll do that too.

We desperately need to improve our roster and if we can get an All-Star the Lakers absolutely should do it.

You go get Butler or Cousins (I vastly prefer Butler) for Lou/Pick and you've still got just under 60 million left. Give a max deal to Horford or Whiteside and suddenly you're looking at:

Russell/Clarkson
Butler/______
_____/Anthony Brown (?)
Randle/Nance Jr.
Horford/Black

with another 30+ million to go? You take that team to Durant and you tell him if he signs on, there's still a small chunk (roughly 8 million) then can use to fill out the roster. Dudley? Courtney Lee? They could absorb a contract or two. They could even find an expiring and try to keep the money open for next season for Westbrook.

Once Durant says thanks but no thanks, you can go after someone like DeRozan for 25.4 million or you can go get Barnes for the max at 21 million and still have plenty of room either roll over to next season or fill out with cost efficient veterans.

Russell/Clarkson
Butler/Bazemore
Barnes/Anthony Brown(?)
Randle/Nance Jr.
Horford/Black

 

He probably just stays in OKC for at least the 1+1 contract. If not, if he goes to San Antonio, things get really really interesting.

 

If Durant stays for one more year with a highly competitive OKC team he can get an even more enormous payday next summer. This summer he can sign a contract starting at around 25.4 million. Next summer he can sign a contract starting at almost 40 million dollars. That's something to really consider.

As for the Spurs you move Kawhi up to SG if you have to.

The Lakers are a long, long, long shot. They need to make at least 2-3 other moves just to come close to signing Durant in my opinion.

 

Well sure, but that's so much easier said by us than actually accomplished. If we lose the pick in two weeks, that whole plan goes up in smoke. Also, I'm pretty sure Durant wants to be the man on a team, but I think he'd rather have a ring too. Not many guys fit in to the culture of San Antonio, but if Durant wants to win that's the direction he should look. If I were him, I'd definitely look there.

I'm hopeful for a big summer, but I'm not that hopeful. I hope you continue to fight the good fight though!

 

This is the more realistic scenario... Durant will give the Lakers face time but seriously we are better off concentrating on upper tier [not "superstar"] combinations to shore up the 3 and 5 spots not to mention a capable back-up point man. Of course, it doesn't mean we don't make our pitch but don't hold off on other options.

 

Honestly, if we only have to give up Clarkson and the pick for Butler (hopefully we can sneak Lou in there) and then we sign Whiteside on the first day of free agency, we instantly become a top 3 destination for Durant. If Whiteside continues his play from this season, Whiteside + Butler is better than Westbrook + Ibaka. Then add to that a maturing Russell and Randle with Nance and possibly Lou off the bench? AND it's LA instead of OKC? At that point, the only options better are GS and San Antonio, and I don't think Durant is the kind of guy who would do that. I don't know that he necessarily looks at it like "I have to be the unquestioned leader" but I do think he looks at it in a way where he doesn't just want to jump on a team that really doesn't even need him to compete for a ring.

 

Still a POS even after getting canned

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