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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWith Anthony Davis committing to re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Christian Wood becomes the preeminent free agent big man this offseason, which means there’s a good chance there will be a bidding war to land him.
While some free agent pundits established Wood’s market value around $10 million per year, other analysts have suggested he could command as much as $15 to $17 million per year based on his breakout year with the Pistons. Right now, there are six NBA teams who currently have the cap space to make an offer that high for Christian Wood: the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, and Phoenix Suns.
But other NBA teams could also make roster moves to create the cap space to add their names to the list and teams like the Lakers without cap space could expand the competition by proposing sign-and-trade offers for Wood. If the Lakers are serious about trading for Wood, the two big questions are who will be their competitors for him and what should be their ceiling in terms of dollars and assets offered when it comes to consummating a deal?
One thing that still haunts me is how Wood has the same unique skill set to play offense and defense at all three levels like Davis, which also makes him exactly the type of player teams need to match AD at both ends of the court. Davis’ ascension as a unicorn and the best big man in the game today has not gone unnoticed by the rest of the NBA. League GM’s now know the road to the NBA championship now runs through the Lakers and Anthony Davis.
We know the Celtics and Warriors have expressed interest in trading for the Pacers Myles Turner, whose another modern center who can protect the rim and defend in space on the perimeter. Perfect defender for Anthony Davis. Christian Wood falls into the same category and the Lakers should pursue him both to create a juggernaut team and prevent competitors from adding a player to counter the ultimate weapon they have in Anthony Davis.
Players like Christian Wood and Myles Turner are going to ignite an arms race between the elite teams looking for an answer for Anthony Davis and a way to derail what they fear will be another Lakers’ championship dynasty. The Lakers’ likely competition for Christian Wood is not going to come from the Hawks, Nicks, Pistons, and Suns; it’s going to come from teams looking for ways to pass the Lakers: the Heat, Clippers, Warriors, Celtics, and Bucks.
Unfortunately, that levels the playing field to acquire Wood more than if it were just a contest betweens teams offering only the MLE or money instead of an opportunity to win but the Lakers still have one significant advantage. They are the NBA Champions and Christian would be joining the team with the best two players in the world and a better opportunity to win a ring. The only question is how much would the Lakers be willing to pay to sign him?
Besides first year salary, the Lakers need to offer Wood a three-year deal so they will have his Bird rights and be able to go over the cap to keep him once the contract expires, which means compromising their 2021 plans. Since the Lakers will still want to have the option to pursue a third superstar after next season, they need to make sure Wood and his contract are easily tradable if necessary to create cap space to sign that superstar in 2021.
The maximum contract the Lakers should offer Christian Wood is a three-year $45 million deal starting at $15 million per year. Combined with a chance to win a championship, that should be an offer he just can’t refuse. Other teams could offer a few million more but the chance to join the champs and play with LeBron and AD in L.A. should be irresistible for a 25-year old who played for 4 teams in 5 years with a top salary of $1.6 million.
Assuming the Lakers can come to an agreement with Christian Wood on a contract, all that remains is working out an acceptable sign-and-trade deal the Detroit Pistons will accept as equitable compensation for trading him. The obvious centerpiece to the sign-and-trade deal is Lakers forward and Flint, Michigan native Kyle Kuzma, about whom the Lakers and Pistons had already had trade discussions before the trade deadline last winter.
The Pistons are in a difficult position. They would love to re-sign Wood and have the cap space to do it but he has announced that he’s going to leave via Instagram and they don’t want to lose him in free agency for nothing. While they Pistons have over $30 million in cap space, Detroit is not a top destination for free agents, which makes using their cap space to take on salary in a sign-and-trade a resourceful strategy to acquire quality players.
With Wood having agreed to a contract with the Lakers eliminating other potential trade partners, the Pistons would still have leverage knowing the Lakers don’t have cap space and need Detroit to agree to a sign-and-trade. But an offer from the Lakers of Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, JaVale McGee, Quinn Cook, and their 2020 first round pick should give the Pistons more than fair compensation for agreeing to sign-and-trade Christian Wood.
The drawback for the Lakers adding a player via a sign-and-trade deal is it would limit their total payroll costs for the 2021 season to a hard cap of $138.9 million, meaning the Lakers could not exceed that for any reason. Right now, the Lakers have committed $119.6 million to 11 players in 2021. Bradley and McGee are not expected to exercise their player options but Davis, Caldwell-Pope, and Rondo are expected to opt out looking for raises.
Assuming the Lakers re-sign AD to a 1+1 max contract for $32.7 million and give both KCP and Rondo raises to $12 and $6 million using their Bird and Early Bird rights, they would then have $130.3 million committed for 2021. That would leave they with just $8.6 million left to add 4 more players to their roster, making it impossible to use the full $9.6 million MLE and challenging to use the $3.6 million BAE or even sign their first round pick.
But a sign-and-trade of Kuzma, Green, McGee, and Cook’s $26.1 million for Wood’s $15 million would free up $11.1 million in cap space and give the Lakers $119.2 million in salaries for 2021, $19.7 million under the hard cap. That would enable the Lakers to pursue free agents like Dragic, Gallinari, Harkness, and Baynes with their MLE, re-sign Morris or Howard with their BAE, and add other minimum salary players like Cousins or Dudley.
A sign-and-trade between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers of Christian Wood for Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, JaVale McGee, Quinn Cook, and the 28th pick in the 2020 NBA draft should be a win-win for both teams. The Lakers get a player who could transform their team and clear cap space to give raises to AD, KCP, and Rondo and use their MLE and BAE to further upgrade their roster despite being limited by the $138.9 million hard cap.
Detroit avoids losing a player who could have left in free agency and, instead of nothing, receives four championship-tested players they could not have attracted in free agency plus a first round draft pick from a sign-and-trade. The Pistons get the home town star they wanted in Kuzma, two quality defenders who are great roster fits in Green and McGee, a deadeye shooter whose contract is only partially guaranteed in Cook, and a first round pick.
While deals proposed by bloggers never happen, the approach outlined is a perfect blueprint for how the Lakers can take advantage of a trade or sign-and-trade to acquire a high impact player while increasing their cap space. The Lakers will need to figure out how to navigate a hard cap to reward key contributors like KCP and Rondo, use their full non-taxpayer MLE or BAE to upgrade the roster, or go after an elite prospect via a sign-and-trade.
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From the article:
“The maximum contract the Lakers should offer Christian Wood is a three-year $45 million deal starting at $15 million per year. Combined with a chance to win a championship, that should be an offer he just can’t refuse.”
“A sign-and-trade between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers of Christian Wood for Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, JaVale McGee, Quinn Cook, and the 28th pick in the 2020 NBA draft should be a win-win for both teams.”
“The Lakers get a player who could transform their team and clear cap space to give raises to AD, KCP, and Rondo and use their MLE and BAE to further upgrade their roster despite being limited by the $138.9 million hard cap.”
“Detroit avoids losing a player who could have left in free agency and, instead of nothing, receives four championship-tested players they could not have attracted in free agency plus a first round draft pick from a sign-and-trade.”
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Aloha Tom, let’s see if the site will let me respond this time. Lol. I’m all in on wood for the MLE, but not for a trade. First the NBA history is littered with one year wonders. In this case less than one year. He has already played for 5 teams in 4 years. And as you mentioned he is still raw, in many ways. I also don’t know if he’s going to see the kind of offers you imagine because of this. We are in a win now situation and I don’t see us giving up important pieces of our championship team to gamble on one guy who may or may not pan out. I really don’t think we trade for him.
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Aloha, Michael.
I have no problem getting Christian for the MLE if we can but I suspect he will get bigger offers than that because he could be the type of player teams need to defend AD.
The trade is also about more than just about getting Wood. It’s about creating cap space since using the full MLE or the BAE or a sign-and-trade all are going to hard cap us at $139M, which is going to mean we may not be able to match offers for KCP or Rondo or Morris even though we have their Bird and Early Bird rights and the BAE.
It’s why we’re trying to get rid of Deng’s $5M. We need cap space and trading with a team like the Pistons who can take in more salary than they give out is the only way we can open up cap space. It’s also the only way they can get quality players since they’re not a free agent destination.
That’s why the Wood trade or a similar trade is going to be key not only for keeping the core of the team together but having the ability to use the full MLE and BAE to upgrade the roster. You have to look beyond just the trade itself.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreI think it’s a question of whether he starts and plays starter minutes versus just being part of the rotation as a 7th or 8th man. Considering how good Talen is playing at 20, he’s going to be a game changer when it comes to the Lakers roster and rotations.
If he grows enough to be a starter, that opens up great opportunities for the Lakers going forward. He opens the door for the Lakers to put together a trade package that could include Schroder, KCP, and Kzma for a third superstar.
Of course, the grand prize is Talen becomes that third superstar. That’s what the Lakers believe is possible considering how great he is playing at just 20 years old. Imagine him two or three years from now. He’s like the Lakers getting a top five pick in the second round.
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Let me make myself totally clear. There is no player whom the Lakers can reasonably obtain who has more upside as a future star and or is a better fit to make the Lakers a better team than Christian Wood, who’s a clone of AD and brings the same talents and skill sets offensively and defensively as Davis. Like AD, Wood is a modern unicorn who can score and defend at every level. Pairing him with AD would give the Lakers a two-headed monster that can score at the rim, from midrange, and from deep and protect the rim, defend the paint, and guard the perimeter. Adding him will double down on the defense and small ball lineups that won the Lakers their 17th NBA championship.
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LT in this we are in complete agreement. Been doing some research on the young man and it feels like he could be a perfect addition. Might signal the end of the very short Boogie era, though…
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I still love to have Boogie for his shooting and passing but I worry about his defense. What makes Wood so intoxicating is he can play offense and defense at all three levels like AD. My only worry is none of these dream acquisitions ever seem to happen. He’s almost too good to be true. But then, so was AD!
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One very interesting thing that came up in one of the long conversations Jamie and I were having is how the Lakers effort to get rid of the $5 million cap hold due to Luol Deng and why that could be important. Here’s why getting the league to remove Deng’s hold could mean:
First, the Lakers have no cap space right now but if they can get rid of Deng’s $5 million, it could open the door to the following move:
1. NBA removes Deng’s $5 million.
2. KCP, Rondo, Bradley, and McGee exercise their player options.
3. Suddenly, the Lakers salary commitments would equal $91M.
4. If the cap space is set at $109M, they would have $14M in cap space.
5. They could sign Wood to $14M contract.
6. Then use the $9.3M MLE, $3.6M BAE to sign other players. -
I actually updated this article to address the Piston’s limitations in re-signing Wood as well as the Lakers’ options should another team offer him more than the MLE:
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The Lakers have an excellent chance of acquiring Christian Wood, who’s already announced on Instagram he’s planning on leaving the Pistons, asking his fans which teams he should consider signing with as a free agent. While the Pistons would love to re-sign Wood, who made $1.6 million last season, they only have his Early Bird rights, which means the most they can offer him is around $10 million per year, basically the same as the MLE.
In a normal offseason, Christian could expect offers between $10 to $15 million per year from multiple NBA teams but this is clearly not a normal offseason with financial uncertainty and only five teams having cap space. Most free agency pundits are projecting Wood’s ceiling this offseason to be the $9.3 million non-taxpayer MLE, which the Lakers fortunately possess while many competitors are limited to the $5.6 million taxpayer MLE.
Should one of the five teams with available cap space offer Christian his full $15 million market value, the Lakers should agree to match the offer and work with the Detroit Pistons to negotiate a sign-and-trade to acquire him. The Pistons would certainly prefer to receive Flint, Michigan native Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green’s expiring contact in a sign-and-trade for Christian Wood instead of having him leave as a free agent with nothing in return.
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Should the Lakers end up acquiring Wood via a sign-and-trade, they would still have their $9.3 million MLE to add another player plus their first round draft pick. They would want to sign Wood to a three-year deal though to make sure to get his Bird rights going forward. Main thing is Lakers have the assets to land Wood.
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LOL. Good idea! I forgot I had to somehow trade him if he doesn’t exercise his option.
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Dion needs to show he’s serious about playing in the NBA, IMO. His little run in the seeding games ended up being all we really ever saw of him and he sat out a lot of games on the in-active list. Might be that the Bubble was giving him migraines, might be he has chronic migraines (hence the edible) but if he can get his head straight and be someone we can count on I’m in favor of him as the backup combo guard.
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Reggie would be an awesome signing, too. Lots of quality mid tier talent.
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Feels like Lue wanted to be paid big money, got left in the cold and took the highest profile job with the best chance of grabbing the reigns while also being in a great learning situation. Who knows though, maybe he was trying to fleece LA a bit…
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Rondo to the Clippers is on my list of potential outcomes. They’ll have money and need someone to “lead” the team. Not sure where that leaves P-Bev tho…
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LOL. Ironically, I have nothing in the pipeline that equals the impact of Christian Wood. He’s made all other moves minor imo.
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In his first 4 years, Wood played < 10 minutes per game in only 51 games and took only 42 threes making just 31 for 31%. Not bad for a big.
This season he finally got 21.4 minutes per game and played in 62 games, made 54 of 140 threes for 38.6%. Even better as a starter: 40.6% in 33 minutes per game.
Big thing is his game is not just 3-point shooting. He can score and defend at all three levels.
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Ahem. Who first brought Christian Wood to your attention, Hmmmm?
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LOL. Yep and I’m looking forward Sunday on bringing that up when we talk about how to land Christian Wood. Great find, Gerald!
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He reminds me a lot of a rawer, lighter, and maybe more aggressive version of Anthony Davis. Only played 45 games his first 4 years and just 62 games this season so sample size is small but the analytics and the eye test are impressive. Can score at the rim, midrange, or from deep. Can protect the rim, defend the pick-and-roll, and defend shooters on the perimeter. Will be in demand, especially by teams looking for somebody like AD but Lakers have a good chance to land him if they want.
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LRob, so good to see you post and give us a Motown perspective on Christian Wood. I didn’t know anything about him until Gerald Glassford brought him up as part of a proposed trade for Derrick Rose but the more I found out about him, the more excited I got. And as we all know, when I get excited about a player, I have no hesitation of going all in.
The league’s decision to start the new season before Xmas and only play 72 games so the following season could return to normal could also come into play. Not much time for teams to pull off complicated deals.
It’s a long shot like all blog proposed trades but maybe Christian will opt to sign with LA, get a ring, and showcase his talents for a monster payday next season when everybody will have money. 1-year $9 million and a ring and no bigger stage than Staples to audition for the ultimate pay day. He’s also said he’s leaving via Instagram.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWhile the Lakers are over the salary cap, they still may be able to re-sign valuable free agent role players with raises as well as signing a free agent third scorer, second playmaker, elite wing defender, or modern center.
The Lakers will have to take advantage of league exceptions which allow teams to go over the cap when signing free agents, synchronized execution of the transactions, and opportunistic use of their MLE in a buyers’ market. The Lakers won’t be able to bring back every role player who contributed to their championship but should be able to re-sign the three most important and irreplaceable role players while giving them well deserved raises.
Those three role players are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, and Markieff Morris, all of whom were invaluable contributors to the Lakers’ championship rotation and are essential to the team winning next season. KCP and Rondo are exercising their player options to become free agents while Morris will be a free agent when his 1-year minimum deal expires. The Lakers need to re-sign all three and give them well deserved raises.
Caldwell-Pope earned $8.1 million last season and could easily attract offers between $10 to $12 million as a free agent but the Lakers have his Bird rights and are allowed to go over the salary cap up to re-sign him. Kenny proved he was the team’s third best player and a key component of the offense and defense during the regular season and playoffs. The Lakers should reward him with a 2 or 3-year contract for $12 million per year.
Rondo earned $2.6 million last season and proved to be indispensable both as a floor general and playmaker in the playoffs, setting a record for the most assists from a player off the bench in the history of the NBA playoffs. Rajon should attract offers for taxpayers’ MLE, around $5 million next season. The Lakers have his Early Bird rights and should reward him with a 2-year contract for $6 million with the second year partially guaranteed.
Morris was a late addition replacing Avery Bradley before the season restart. As a power forward who could shoot from deep and defend, he was the catalyst that allowed Anthony Davis to play as center for the Lakers. Markieff earned $2.2 million last season but should receive offers of $3 to $4 million as a free agent. The Lakers should use their Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign him to a 2-year $3.6 per year million contract as he is a key player.
By using Bird rights to re-sign KCP, Early Bird rights to re-sign Rondo, and the Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign Morris, the Laker will have their full $9.3 million non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception available to pursue free agents. With few teams having major cap space, the $9.3 million MLE and a chance to win a championship ring is likely to make the Lakers a major player for all but a half dozen elite free agents like Fred VanVleet or Davis Bertans.
The Lakers should have no problem filling roster needs with the MLE. How about Danilo Gallinari as their third scorer. Goran Dragic as their second playmaker, Mo Harkness as wing defender, or Aron Baynes as stretch big? There will only be five NBA teams with cap space to offer more to Gallinari, Dragic, Harkness, or Baynes than the Lakers and of those, only the Miami Heat had a winning record last season. The Lakers will get one of these.
Finally, the Lakers will end up with two or three roster spots to be filled by minimum salary veterans looking for an opportunity to win a championship ring or revitalize their career like Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo did. Heading the list of players in this category will be DeMarcus Cousins, who spent all of last year on the Lakers’ active roster or working out at their facilities after they waived him to sign Markieff Morris before the restart.
So while the Lakers don’t have cap space this offseason, they’re still going to be major players in the free agent market and should be able to re-sign their key free agent role players as well as signing at least one major free agent.
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One of the interesting aspects of the this free agency season is many free agents may be looking to sign 1-year deals in hopes of being able to get more money next season when there will be more teams with cap space and the pandemic may be over. The Lakers may be able to keep their own players, add a key starter, and maximize their cap space for after next season.
That not only helps the Lakers with respect to their own players like KCP, Rondo, and Morris but also with players they’re looking to sign with their $9.3 million MLE like Dragic, Gallinari, Harkness, or Baynes. It could even lure players like VanVleet or Christian Wood to accept the MLE this year, win a ring, and then go for the gold next offseason. Going to be a great free agency for Lakers.
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It’ll be interesting to see what the market for Markieff, KCP and Rondo is. KCP and Klutch have had a lot of good years with the Lakers and this ring is something they will treasure. Really wish we could get an idea of what the cap will look like, if all the normal tools will remain in place and what the amount they will actually represent be. So many fcats remain up in the air but if the money works out and the players don’t get better offers elsewhere, I feel like this makes a lot of sense Tom.
I think, with the MLE, we should look to sign a play maker/defender. Freddy-V is my first choice. Proven winner, but might be looking for more of a role. He could choose to go to the Knicks or a team that can offer him a bigger role on that one-year deal. The thing with the one-year movement is these guys aren’t going to be looked to be slotted behind LeBron or AD or fighting Caruso for a role off the bench. They’re going to want to prove they are worth big money, big role, in LeBron’s words: get their damn respect. That could play against us in that we have a fairly established pecking order.
Winning a ring is bigger than those concerns and what better place to do that than LA? Going to be very interesting…
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Thanks for commenting, Jamie.
The consensus seems to be that the cap is going to remain the same as last year, around $109 million, so I don’t think that’s going to change anything.
Basically, it’s a tough year to be a free agent or a team looking for free agents. Not only are we still in the middle of a pandemic that crushed team profits this year and is likely to do the same next year but there are only five teams with significant cap space and only one team – the Heat – that has a winning record. On top of that, there aren’t really any free agent stars available.
Frankly, I stand by my stance that this all favors the Lakers in being able to keep their main three free agents – KCP, Rondo, and Morris – and have a good shot at a scorer like Gallinari, playmaker like Dragic, wing defender like Harkness, and stretch big like Baynes. The forecasts have been so dire that I now think we have a shot at Christian Wood with our MLE. Main thing is I don’t see anybody who is going to offer more than we can easily pay for KCP or Rondo. Morris could conceivably get offered more than the $3.6 million BAE we can offer but Markieff has already said on social media he was running it back. So we should be fine.
I would love to sign Fred VanVleet but I do think he’s one of the few who will get paid more than the $9.3 million non-taxpayer MLE. For sure, the Raptors will pay him. But, yeah, I share your high opinion of him. Clutch championship performer at both ends. He has a ring so he might opt to take the money and go with the Knicks. One thing for all of these guys to consider is taking one-year deals for the MLE and hitting free agency after next season when almost every team in the league will have cap space. Think we may see a lot of that, which does play into the Lakers desire to save cap space for Giannis.
Good point about roles with the one-year contracts. There’s a part of me that thinks we may see three new starters behind LeBron and AD next season with KCP being one of them and whomever we get with the MLE and get via trade being the other two. Big offseason for the Lakers to take advantage of the championship and an offseason as weird as last season.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreMarc may be untradable at this point so Lakers may have to include a sweetener to move him for a more mobile defender. What we need is not necesarily a rim protector but a modern center who can block shots and defend on the perimeter. Nerlens Noel from Knicks or WCS from Mavs.
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The Lakers could use a third scorer, second playmaker, wing defender, and modern center. You could argue they filled those needs last year with KCP as the third scorer, Rondo the second playmaker, LeBron and AD the wing defender, and AD the modern center with help from Markieff Morris playing the four.
With AD exercising his player option, the Lakers will have to pay him $4 million more, won’t have his Bird rights next season, and will lose their MLE and only have the room exception, which is going to make it hard to re-sign KCP, Rondo, Morris, and Dwight. And forget about having any money left for any free agents. We’re going to lose somebody for sure and my guess is Dwight Howard. KCP and Morris are essential. Rondo will hopefully give s a home town discount. Dwight looks headed to the Warriors or Celtics. Hopefully, Boogie will replace him.
That means we aren’t going to be able to roll it back, which means trading Kuzma, Green, and the pick becomes our only way to pgrade the team in any major way. If we can keep KCP, Morris, and Rondo, great. Then we need to trade or sign-and-trade for a stretch four or five to play with AD. One that can play defense. My ideal target would be Turner. A defense with LeBron, Myles, and Anthony would suffocate defenses and open up the floor on offense. Going to be a fun offseason. Keep your fingers crossed.
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Aloha Tom, Rob has a lot of decisions to make. The biggest one is does he want to chase a 3rd star in free agency next year, when it is a deep class, or does he want to stick with a two star approach with a deep versatile roster that just won a ring. The most glaring problem I see in trading Kuz is the fact that we only have 3 forwards under contract and AD plays center half the time. We got away with our shortage of forwards because we had 3 talented defensive guards 6’ 5” or taller that can defend forwards in our switch everything defense. If you trade Kuz and Danny for anyone other than another forward we are now down to one forward and a part time forward and down one of the big guards that made our system work. That’s why I’m really against trading for any of the small PG out there if it includes Kuz. We already have the best PG in the world and the defensive guard rotation to make it work. As for Turner, there is a lot of interest for him with teams that have more to offer including the Warriors who have the number 2 pick and the T-Wolves pick next year. We really only have the MLE to work with because our trade chips are not the best. I also don’t believe in the ring chaser solution. An example of a quality ring chaser is a guy that could make 10 mil but signs for 8 to chase a ring. With exception of David West I cant think of another quality player that left a pile of money on the table and signed a minimum contract to chase a ring. Dudley is more the typical veteran ring chaser. Personally I like the 2 star, deep team approach. Unless you draft someone that blossoms into a star, it’s really hard in today’s cal environment to have 3 stars with enough depth to still win it all.
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Aloha, Michael,
Thanks for commenting. You’re right what we are going to do to improve our roster to try and repeat this season will depend entirely on whether Pelinka continues the plan to maximize cap space to chase a third superstar in the offseason after next season.
Personally, I would prefer that we went all in to win now as we need to get better if we want to win the championship next season because none of our competitors are going to stand pat. I also don’t want to get into the same situation we did last season where waiting for Kawhi cost us opportunities to become an even better team. Finally, having valuable players on good contracts could put us in a better position to land a player like Giannis than just having cap space. We saw sign-and-trades become the preferred transactions among many teams last offseason.
One factor I think strongly favors the Lakers protecting their cap space after next season is the reality that the third superstar plan doesn’t work unless LeBron James is willing to take less than a max contract, which kind of indicates LeBron must be amenable to doing that in the right situation, like Giannis deciding to join the Lakers. I don’t see Pelinka protecting that cap space without at least a token understanding LeBron would be amenable.
Bottom line, while I think Pelinka and the Lakers will still be shooting for the superstar after next season, I also think winning the championship has made taking advantage of the opportunity to repeat more important. Lakers have shown they have the best team in the league right now and it would be foolish not to be in a win now mode to repeat, especially knowing everybody else is going to be loading up to try to dethrone us. We also know some things we didn’t last offseason, including that LeBron is still the King and AD is now the second-best player on the planet.
The result is more of a win now attitude and hopefully an approach that recognizes cap space alone is not the answer. Our overreliance on cap space has at times limited what we were able to do with respect to trades and sign-and-trades. If we can get a player like Oladipo or Turner now, we’re not going to hesitate. If we have to pay to keep Rondo, Morris, KCP, and Howard, we’re not going to hesitate. We’ll still try to keep contracts as flexible as possible but won’t let cap space alone undermine improving the roster to win it again next season.
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Michael, you make a good point about trading Kuzma for a guard. Unless we are unable to keep Rondo, which I am strongly in favor of, I think it’s important to trade for a stretch big, ideally a center or at least a big power forward who can at least play small ball center. Right now, we have too many guards and not enough forwards. For me, the biggest way to improve the team right now is to add a stretch four or five.
I do agree it’s going to be tough to trade for Turner, although I would offer the kitchen sink, including Kuzma, THT, the pick … and even Caruso if it would get the deal done … with Green and McGee as filler. That’s a pretty good offer for the Pacers. If that didn’t work, I would give the Pistons the same offer in a sign and trade for Christian Wood. Turner or Wood playing alongside LeBron and AD would make the Lakers a deadly team at both ends. Turner is the better defender, Wood the better shooter but both could play the five leaving AD to man the four.
Best of all, that still leaves us the MLE and BAE to fill out the roster.
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Caruso is all but untouchable in my book. Synergy with LeBron? Can fill in for either guard spot? Consummate teammate who still has some upside on a cheap deal? That’s not Kuzma impact, it’s far higher. Has to be a future of the team kind of addition and Myles Turner ain’t that kind of player.
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LOL. Nobody is untouchable other than LeBron or AD. I love AC too but he won’t be a deal killer.
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Great read LT, lots to agree with and the proposals seem pretty fair. Not sure anyone will be excited by our packaging of Kuzma and filler. Our picks also won’t be that great. Trades may be best held off on until whenever the trading deadline ends up happening. This squad both won the west and the NBA Finals, might be best to let it ride for the first 1/3 of the season and gauge the desperate sellers so we don’t have to buy high.
Might be best to use our cap tools (BAE and MLE) to re-sign the vital in-house talent.
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Thanks, Jamie. If the Lakers can’t find the right deal this offseason, waiting until the trade deadline is certainly a smart option. There always are teams who want to see what happens the first half of the season before reevaluati ng their option. Byers can suddenly become sellers and vice versa.
Oladipo might play great but the Pacers may crater. Kuzma might also play great and increase his value. THT might become part of the Lakers rotation. Green might prove he was injured.
So you’re right, the Lakers may have two bites of the apple. Dwight may be the one to leave with Boogie replacing him. I do think we need to include McGee in a trade as he has almost become unplayable.
I also the agree the Lakers will likely use Bird rights to re-sign and reward KCP, Early Bird rights to do the same for Rondo, and the BAE to sign Morris. If we can do that, then we may be able to use our full $9.3 million MLE to add a scorer, playmaker, wing defender, or stretch center.
That will reduce the pressure to make a trade and give us an option to wait until the trade deadline.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreLike the photo above, every championship is a snapshot of a moment to be savored and cherished when everything went right and a team won the ultimate prize but not a promise that can be repeated or three-peated.
Life goes on and winning has its costs and rewards. For superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, championship windows open. For other Lakers, major career decisions loom and financial opportunities beckon. Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, and JaVale McGee have big player option decisions to consider while Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris have serious free agent financial opportunities to ponder.
Rob Pelinka will face a big challenge trying to keep players like Rondo, KCP, Howard, and Morris who will have strong value based on how well they played in the playoffs and will have to use the team’s MLE to keep them. That means the only way the Lakers can upgrade their roster will be via a trade, with Kyle Kuzma as the primary trading chip, Danny Green and JaVale McGee as filler, and their first round pick as the deal sweetener.
So here’s my final grade for each player on the Lakers’ roster and my prediction whether they will leave or stay with the team going forward:
1. LeBron James – Grade: (A+), Prediction: Stays
What more can you say. Unanimous Finals MVP, still the best player on the planet, and showing zero signs of slowing down. The engine powering the Lakers all season long and the heart and soul of their championship effort.
2. Anthony Davis – Grade: (A), Prediction: Stays
The perfect complement to LeBron James and still not close to his prime. AD’s the second best player on the planet and future face of the franchise. He’ll exercise his player option and re-sign 1+1 max contract with Lakers.
3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Grade: (A-), Prediction: Stays
KCP gets my vote as the third best player on the Lakers both for his outstanding regular season and clutch performance in the playoffs. He’ll exercise his player option and re-sign with Lakers for $12 million.
4. Rajon Rondo – Grade: (A-), Prediction: Stays
Rajon Rondo elevated his game and proved the Playoff Rondo moniker was real and he was still capable of being an elite player. He’ll exercise his player option but re-sign to play with LeBron and AD with a raise to $6 million.
5. Alex Caruso – Grade: (B+), Prediction: Stays
AC Fresh showed he deserved to play big minutes on the biggest stage and will continue to be a key component in the Lakers’ rotation. He should be untouchable when it comes to being traded and a key perimeter defender.
6. Markieff Morris – Grade: (B+), Prediction: Stays
Markieff Morris was the key to unleashing Anthony Davis at the five and will one of the Lakers’ top priorities in free agency this offseason for that reason. Markieff will re-sign with the Lakers and get a raise to $6 million.
7. Dwight Howard – Grade: (B), Prediction: Stays
Dwight Howard’s gamble on taking a non-guaranteed contract with the Lakers will payoff big and he will be a coveted free agent this offseason. He will ultimately re-sign at a discount with the Lakers for $4 million.
8. Kyle Kuzma – Grade: (B-), Prediction: Leaves
While Kuz made great progress this season as a defender, playmaker, and team player, he still plays the same starting position as LeBron and AD. Kyle deserves a starting role and salary. Lakers will trade him this offseason.
9. Danny Green – Grade: (B-), Prediction: Leaves
Danny Green played better than his personal stats indicated, posting top three net and plus/minus ratings showing his value goes beyond stats. Unfortunately, his $15 million expiring salary will be needed in a trade.
10. JaVale McGee – Grade: (C+), Prediction: Leaves
While JaVale played well early in the season, his play the second half of the season and playoffs declined considerably. He will decline his player option for the money but will be included in a trade with Kuzma and Green.
11. Avery Bradley – Grade: (C+), Prediction: Stays
Avery was an integral part of the Lakers’ regular season success but his decision to skip the playoffs for family reasons diminishes his final grade. He will decline his player option and stay part of the Lakers’ rotation.
12. Talen Horton-Tucker – Grade: (C+), Prediction: Stays
THT showed he has a future with the Lakers by his excellent playoff play. Depending on what happens with the roster, he could work his way into the rotation for next season. Or he could end up being trade sweetener.
12. Jared Dudley – Grade: (C), Prediction: Leaves
Jared Dudley filled his role as a veteran mentor and role model with the Lakers to perfection and was rewarded with a championship ring. Dudley will likely retire after this season and join some team’s coaching staff.
13. Quinn Cook – Grade: (C), Prediction: Leaves
Quinn Cook had moments during the regular season as a championship experienced mentor and the Lakers designated break-glass-in-case-of-emergency shooter. His contract is may be guaranteed if needed for a trade.
14. Dion Waiters – Grade: (C-), Prediction: Leaves
Dion Waiters had some promising moments during the seeding games but his performance ultimately couldn’t earn Vogel’s trust as a defender. Dion earned his championship ring but his time with the Lakers is done.
15. J.R. Smith – Grade: (C-), Prediction: Leaves
Despite being a last minute replacement for Avery Bradley, J.R. Smith got a few opportunities to shoot his way into the rotation during the playoffs but couldn’t take advantage of them. He gets a ring but will be moving on.
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Call me an easy grader but I didn’t think any player on this team deserves a grade lower than a C- because they all contributed in practice and in building the great chemistry and culture that was integral to the Lakers winning the championship.
Let me know what you think of my grades and predictions and add your own in the comments below. I believe the Lakers will spend their MLE on keeping the core 7 players who excelled in the playoffs together plus Avery Bradley. That means the only way to improve the team will be to trade Kuzma, Green, and McGee.
The big question there is what is their greatest need and whom should they pursue to fill that need, which will be the subject of my next article. Thanks for reading. Interested to see what everybody thinks.
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You are a very gracious grader LakerTom. I think THT, DeMarcus Cousins, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Devontae Cacok, should get Incompletes. They didn’t get (Or in the case of Cousins, not at all) enough time on the court to evaluate a true grade for what they did during the season or playoffs. Waiters and JR were just additions that we hoped would do something but ultimately didn’t end up needing (lower grades if anything). By the way, McGee has an option for 4.2 million that he will not be declining his player option because he will not be getting a higher offer than that from any other NBA team. Now he could be traded once he picks up that option, and I am sure you’re working hard on some trade offers for that.
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I would say pretty fair grades in general, one could quibble but I think the main thing is there’s no way you win a title with major contributors who played at C level or lower. I also think it fair not to include the contract value/production equation. The team was the team.
The team-wide commitment to defense, the obvious camarderie and the scars they’ve shared are my biggest reasons fior running it back. Having said that, the league by nature of the Warriors getting healthy in the westa and K-squared getting healthy in the Easy. Those teams didn’t fret for extra rehab I can tell you that.
The bottom line is it’s naieve to think the same team wil take the court together come the start of next season. The odds are against it. I’m honestly waiting to see what cap rules/adjustments/additions they introduce to encourage player movement, alieviating hard to bear deals and escrow allowances for 2020-21. Hard to think out moves if you can amnesty the deal, for insatnce (an extreme outcome, I admit, but a potentislity).
At anyvrate, I do epxect the names Kuzma, Green, Bradleya dn Caruso to pop. Of the 4 Caruso is boderline untouchable. Would have to be a tremendous talent and don’t even see a aplyer that helps James be James like Alex save for Anthony Davis. A vey positive LeBron enabler.
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I had to revisit my original article on Christian Wood as Eric Pincus pointed out to me that some of my assumptions contradicted the hard cap the Lakers would be subject to if they (1) used the full MLE, (2) used the BAE, or (3) did a sign-and-trade. The hard cap is $139M and does limit what we can give players with Bird, Early Bird, or other rights. Hard means you can’t exceed it even if you have less than 15 players.
At any rate, one thing that came out of this is the Lakers need more cap space, which is why they applied to get rid of Deng’s $5M. The best way to get more cap space is to trade away contracts to a team like the Pistons who are way under the cap. It’s actually a process many of those teams use to get players since they’re not a top free agent destination. So take a look at the deal I’ve proposed. It’s a good blueprint for the kind of deal the Lakers could be looking to pull off this offseason.