Aloha,
As the NBA waits on Bradley Beal, I wonder what Rob is up too. The Lakers have been really good about not letting their intentions go public. The Luka trade, the sale of the team, heck even the Lakers interest in signing Jake came out of the blue.
While there could be a trade, I’m not counting on it at this point. We just don’t have the draft capital. It would have to be a need for need kind of trade, so I’m not counting on it.
There are a few small things the Lakers could do to add to their roster for the right free agent. I expect Shake to be waived. I suspect he’s still on the roster because of potentially being part of a trade. But if a trade doesn’t materialize I believe they will cut his non guaranteed contract for both 3 mil in cap room and a roster spot. There are still free agents out there that would be an upgrade over Shake.
There are a couple of other moves that the Lakers could consider for the right player or players. While I like what I saw from Goodwin, his salary is only guaranteed for $25,000.00 this year. They could cut him to open up another 2.2 mil in cap space.
There is also the possibility of stretching either Gabe or Kleber. That would add 3.7 mil to their roster cap for 3 year but free up 7 mil more this year. I’m not expecting them to do that but it’s an option for the right additions.
At this point I’m not expecting anything earth shaking to happen. I think they will pretty much go with this group and see how the team looks. I expect them to hang onto to their assets, at least until the trade deadline. It would take a player that really moves the needle for the Lakers to use those assets and there doesn’t appear to be that player on the market. But then you never know.