Lakerholics

There’s no question this is a year none of us will forget and our prayers and best wishes to all of those who have lost a loved one or their livelihood to this terrible pandemic. Let’s hope a government that cares and prioritizes helping those in need and an arsenal of new vaccines and treatments will transform the world and make 2021 a better and happier year.

But amidst the anguish and tragedies that plague our country and world, there are always silver linings to celebrate: the heroic effort of our medical and public health professionals and support personnel, the workers who risk their lives every day keeping our essential businesses open, the millions of acts of kindness and generosity by people who care for those who need help, the millions of citizens who came out in historic numbers to vote and make our threatened democracy work, and the countless people who are doing everything they can to help and keep their neighbors and friends safe by wearing masks and following public health guidelines.

And last by not least, a special thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers for an unprecedented 18th championship season and masterful offseason that’s been a beacon of hope and cheer amidst the horrors of the last year. Sometimes it’s the little things that bring a smile to our faces and joy to our hearts and remind us that life is still a blessing and happiness possible. Together, we’ll get through this pandemic and come out on the other side stronger and better. Triumph out of tragedy has always been the human sprit so be careful, stay safe, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

-LakerTom and the Lakerholics Team.

With the Detroit Pistons waiving Dewayne Dedmon, the Los Angeles Lakers suddenly have an opportunity to complete their transition from traditional back-to-the-basket centers by signing their second modern stretch center.

The biggest strategic move Rob Pelinka made during the offseason was the decision to dump traditional back-to-the-basket centers Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee and replace them with modern stretch five Marc Gasol. Signing Dedmon to backup Marc Gasol would be the pièce de résistance to Rob Pelinka’s masterpiece upgrade of the Lakers championship roster, completing the team’s transition from dinosaur bigs to modern centers.

The Lakers abandoning the Howard and McGee tandem that had been a trademark element in their championship run was a harsh reminder of how the value of traditional back-to-the-basket centers continues to plummet. The Lakers not only politely declined Howard’s embarrassing acceptance of a contract never offered but also gave the Cleveland Cavaliers one of their few remaining second round picks just to take McGee off their hands.

The Lakers still need another modern center who can stretch the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense and Dewayne Dedmon desperately needs an opportunity to resurrect his career after a disastrous last season. Backing up Gasol will give Dedmon a chance to showcase his abilities and bounce back after being waived and stretched by the Pistons. Dewayne is the perfect fit for the Lakers and they are the perfect fit for him at this time.

Right now, Marc Gasol is really the only true center on the Lakers’ roster because Anthony Davis prefers to play power forward most of the time and Montrezl Harrell is best suited to play power forward next to a stretch five. Pairing Gasol and Dedmon would let the Lakers replicate the center rotation that worked so well with McGee and Howard last season but this time with a tandem of modern stretch fives instead of traditional low post centers.

Adding Dedmon would also give the Lakers another stretch center who can protect the rim to unleash Montrezl Harrell, a high powered dynamic scorer who clearly needs to play next to a modern offensive and defensive center. The 31-year old Dedmon would also give the Lakers important depth to allow Anthony Davis to rest more during the grind of the regular season and protection in case the 35-year old Marc Gasol were to get injured.

At 7′ 0,” 245 lbs, Dewayne Dedmon averaged 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game while shooting 49.2% from the field, 38.2% from deep, and 81.4% from the line two years ago with the Hawks. Dedmon’s exactly what the Lakers need to balance their roster and he’s healthy and available now for the veteran’s minimum salary. Rob should pick up the phone and offer Dewayne a chance to join the purple and gold.

Playing 18 to 20 minutes per game for the high profile champion Los Angeles Lakers is exactly the opportunity Dewayne Dedmon needs to erase the bad taste of getting waived and change the direction of his career.

Sometimes you have to wait until a masterpiece is complete to appreciate how great a job the artist did. That’s clearly the case with the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason rebuild by their VP of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka.

Pelinka launched the offseason by trading for talented 18.9 points per game point guard and 6MOY runner-up Dennis Schroder and followed that by signing 18.6 points per game forward and 6MOY winner Montrezl Harrell. Happy Lakers fans could be forgiven for thinking Pelinka was only making sure the Lakers had enough offensive firepower to take over games when LeBron was resting on the bench or taking a night off for load management.

After all, replacing Rondo and Green’s 15.1 points per game with Schroder and Harrell’s 37.5 points per game was a massive injection of high powered scoring into an offensive roster that was anemic aside from LeBron and AD. Those two moves alone represented a major upgrade on what was already a proven championship roster and would have been enough most offseasons to win Lakers’ VP of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka votes for EOY.

But that’s the problem with judging a work of art before it is completed because basketball pundits and junkies needed to wait until Pelinka was finished to truly appreciate what an incredible masterpiece he had created. Rob wasn’t going to be satisfied with juicing up the Lakers’ offense at the cost of weakening their defense and losing elite defenders like Green and Howard left holes that needed filling in the Lakers’ championship defense.

The missing pieces of the Pelinka’s defensive solution quickly fell into place as the Lakers’ signed veteran 3&D guard Wesley Matthews to replace Danny Green and former DPOY Marc Gasol to replace Dwight Howard at center. The Lakers not only turbocharged their offense by adding last year’s 6MOY winner and runner-up but also elevated their defense by adding two elite defenders who ranked second and third in NBA defensive rating last season.

The result is Pelinka has given head coach Vogel the most versatile roster in the league. Vogel will have the power to use his deep and diverse roster to create nightmare defensive and offensive matchups court at every position. He can play a dominant defensive starting lineup featuring Caldwell-Pope, Matthews, James, Davis, and Gasol or a juggernaut offensive lineup with high-octane scorers in Schroder, Caldwell-Pope, James, Davis, and Harrell.

Last offseason, Rob was hindered by waiting for Kawhi to make a decision. This season, he made sure not to make the same mistake and the result is a Lakers championship team dramatically better at both ends of the court.

While it will be impossible for the Lakers to clear enough cap space to offer Giannis Antetokounmpo a maximum contract in free agency next offseason, there is a path to make an Anthony Davis style midseason trade for Giannis.

The problem with pursuing Giannis in free agency is the Lakers already have two superstars making 65% of the cap and adding him would mean 95% for three players and the 5% left is not enough money to field a legal team. Teams with one max player like Miami could add Antetokounmpo via free agency but not a team like the Lakers with two max players, not without one or more of the max players accepting a 10-20% pay cut to build a Big Three.

The solution for the Lakers to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo is to trade for him and then use his Bird rights to go over the cap to sign him to a max contract. Frankly, it’s the only way the Lakers can legally create a Big Three. It’s also the only way to acquire Giannis without having to jettison the entire championship roster they’ve spent the last two years assembling. It’s also why Giannis should want to be traded rather than signed as a free agent.

Giannis has one year left on his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks with annual pay of $27,528,088. If he’s not signed a supermax extension with the Bucks before the season starts, he’ll be a major target at the trade deadline. Were Giannis to demand to be traded to the Lakers ala Anthony Davis, L.A. could end up making the best offer considering other contenders might not be willing to bid more for what might end up being a half season rental.

That means an offer from the Lakers of Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whose salaries total $29,850,000 might be the best trade offer the Milwaukee Bucks receive for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The key to making this strategy actually work is the Lakers showing Giannis through their play that they’re the not only best destination for him to win multiple championships but also the team that’s the best fit for him.

Once the Lakers trade for Antetokounmpo, they would then own his Bird rights and would be able, after the end of the season, to go over the salary cap and offer Giannis a new max contract starting at $39,200,000 per year. The Lakers would be deep in the luxury tax with total salaries approaching $160,000,000 but, unlike free agency scenarios where teams were left with only superstars, they would still have their complete championship roster.

The difference between Giannis joining a fully built out championship team via trade versus signing with a contending team with a stipped down roster via free agency becomes a major selling point for him demanding a trade. Any team that’s pared their roster to create $39 million in cap space to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo is realistically going to be another Milwaukee Bucks team that’s going to be relying heavily upon him to win it all.

Demanding a trade is the answer and the challenge is convincing Giannis joining a Lakers championship team with LeBron and AD via trade is better than joining an unproven Miami Heat team without a superstar via trade. That’s where the question of fit becomes important because there’s no team other than the Lakers who have two championship tested superstars to help Giannis carry the load and a proven deep and talented supporting cast.

Of course, the ‘trade and then use Bird rights to max’ blueprint is not limited to Giannis or the Lakers. It’s a strategy every team with two superstars, like the Clippers, Warriors, and Nets, will also be looking for a chance to deploy. That’s why all of the major contenders looking to acquire Antetokounmpo will be watching closely as Giannis will have until the day before the 2021 season to accept or decline the supermax offer from the Milwaukee Bucks.

If Giannis accepts the Bucks’ supermax offer, the focus will then switch to other superstars slated to become free agents next offseason, including Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jrue Holiday, Rudy Gobert, and Victor Oladipo. Should Giannis decline the offer, the Bucks will need a breakout start to the season or face heavy pressure at the midseason deadline to trade Giannis to prevent losing him for nothing in free agency at the end of the year.

While there’s always the chance the Bucks can work out a sign-and-trade deal for Giannis if they wait until he becomes a free agent next offseason, that’s too great a risk to take as losing him for nothing would be a disaster. Bottom line, Milwaukee has to hope adding Jrue Holiday and other pieces was enough to convince Giannis to sign the supermax. Otherwise, the future of their franchise could be on the line come the midseason trade deadline.

Meanwhile, Rob Pelinka has positioned the Los Angeles Lakers with a collection of valuable assets to pull off a mega midseason deal to land a third max superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Whether Giannis is the main target or not, the Lakers will be primed and ready to deploy their repertoire of trade assets to land whatever available superstar they think is the best fit to help them win the short and long term.

Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers have won the NBA offseason by dramatically upgrading their championship roster, setting themselves up for a midseason mega trade, and keeping their cap space clear for 2021.

While there’s still work to do signing veteran centers to minimum contracts and maybe pulling off a blockbuster trade to land Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Pelinka and the Lakers dominated the competition. Without the distraction of waiting for Kawhi, Pelinka was like a chessmaster in a checkers tournament not only filling all the Lakers’ major roster needs but also positioning the team perfectly for even bigger moves in the future.

1. Upgrading a Championship Roster.

Rob Pelinka kicked off the offseason by filling the Lakers’ need for a second playmaker and third scorer by trading shooting guard Danny Green and the 28th pick in the NBA draft for OKC Thunder point guard Dennis Schroder. Swapping 34-year old Green for the 27-year old Schroder not only gave the Lakers a player who fits Anthony Davis’ timeline but also a lightning quick point guard who shot better from deep and had a better defensive rating.

Pelinka then used free agency to fill the 3-and-D hole left by trading Green by signing Milwaukee Bucks’ free agent guard Wes Matthews, a better wing defender and 3-point shooter than Green, with the Bi-Annual Exception. Finally, the Lakers surprised the entire league by stealing backup center and Sixth Man of the Year winner Montrezl Harrell from their crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers with the full Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception.

Replacing Green, Howard, and Rondo with Schroder, Matthews, and Harrell dramatically upgrades the Lakers’ offense. While Schroder and Matthews are better defenders than Rondo and Green, Howard’s better than Harrell. The real bang for the Lakers is on the offensive side where the addition of Schroder, Matthews, and Harrell adds an astonishing 24.3 points per game, 44.9 points per game vs. 20.6 points per game Green, Howard, and Rondo.

And the Lakers may not be done. They’re still rumored to be working on a blockbuster trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic and looking to sign veteran players to minimum contracts to fill out their roster and center rotation.

2. Setting Up a Midseason Mega Trade.

By collecting attractive assets on favorable midsized contracts, Pelinka has the Lakers perfectly positioned to pull off a midseason blockbuster trade for a coveted third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With teams looking to move superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo who are slated to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, the midseason trade deadline could even be crazier than this wild offseason.

Last season, the Lakers lacked assets to make a move at the trade deadline. This season, between Schroder, Harrell, and KCP, Rob Pelinka will have almost $40 million in attractive tradable contracts to pull off a mega trade. That flexibility will also enable the Lakers to tweak their roster in case of injuries or players underperforming and take advantage of opportunities that might arise if the havoc of the coronavirus pandemic panics teams.

Making a midseason mega trade for a third superstar who’s going to be a free agent at the end of the season has big advantages for the Lakers. First, the risk of not being able to re-sign the player can reduce competitive offers. Second, the Lakers would receive Bird rights which would enable them to to over the cap to re-sign the player to a max contract. Realistically, that’s the only way the Lakers could end up with three superstars on max contracts.

Last offseason, waiting for Kawhi kept the Lakers from from positioning themselves for a midseason mega trade. This offseason Rob was able to fill the Lakers’ immediate needs and set the team up for a big midseason move.

3. Keeping Cap Space Clear for 2021.

If there’s been one overriding strategy since Rob Pelinka took over from Magic Johnson at VP of Basketball Operations for the Lakers, it was to clear max cap space for the 2021 offseason to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the Lakers are not done building out their roster for 2021, there’s no doubt they’re still prioritizing keeping their cap sheet as clear as possible as none of the deals they’ve done so far has been for multiple year contracts.

Dennis Schroder, for whom the Lakers traded Green, has one year left on his contract, Wesley Matthews signed a 1-year contract with the Lakers and Montrezl Harrell signed a below market 2-year deal with a player option. While other teams have signed players to multiple year contracts, the Lakers have stuck to their grand plan to create the max cap space possible to pursue a third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

That strategy may face its first real test should the Lakers be successful in convincing the Sacramento Kings and Bogdan Bogdanovic to mutually agree to a two-sided sign-and-trade for Kuzma, McGee, and Caldwell-Pope. Bogdanovic and Caldwell-Pope are both looking for long term contracts so the Lakers may have to make an exception if they want to trade for Bogdan or re-sign Kenny. Either way, both would still be valuable trading chips.

While the lower salary cap numbers for next offseason due to the expected lost revenue from the pandemic will make it near impossible to sign a third max contract superstar, the Lakers want the most cap flexibility possible.