JUST IN – Anthony Davis plans to opt out of his contract and re-sign with the Lakers, sources tell @ShamsCharania.
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) October 15, 2020
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Building a Better Championship Team: Could Lakers Trade for Buddy Hield?
We may still be a month and a half away from NBA teams being able to sign free agents and make trades but you can bet Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office are already discussing strategic moves to remain atop the NBA.
And they know for certain that the front offices of the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, and Golden State Warriors are already starting to put together plans to catch and surpass the Lakers next year. That means standing pat and rolling out the same roster that dominated and won the championship this year is not an option. If the Lakers want a chance to repeat and keep a threepeat alive, they need to get better.
That means Pelinka working with his front office and coaching staffs to identify the team’s needs and pulling off the right moves to fix the roster’s shortcomings and make next year’s Lakers an even better and deeper team. Heading the list of Lakers’ needs are a third scorer and elite 3-point shooter they can trust to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which could be challenging considering the Lakers’ limited trade assets.
The first candidate we’re going to consider to fill that role is Sacramento Kings’ shooting guard Buddy Hield, who lost his starting job last season after having signed a 4-year $84 million extension that takes effect next season. The 27-year old, 6’4,” 220 lbs Hield is a 5-year NBA vet who averaged 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 30.8 minutes per game last year, shooting 42.9% from the field, 39.4% from deep, and 84.6% from the line.
What are the Terms of the Proposed Trade?
The basic parameters of the trade would be 25-year old, 3-year veteran power forward Kyle Kuzma and 33-year old, 11-year veteran shooting guard Danny Green for 27-year old, 5-year veteran shooting guard Buddy Hield.
Should the Lakers be determined to land Hield and the Kings demanding a sweetener, the Lakers could include the 28th pick in the first round of the November 18 draft or talented young shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker.
Why Would the Lakers Agree to the Trade?
Hield would give the Lakers the reliable third scorer and elite 3-point shooter they need to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Buddy is a proven 20-points per game scorer and career 41.1% shooter from deep. While he’s not the defender Green is, he’s six years younger and exactly what the Lakers need offensively. He also has the size and athleticism to be a better defender when immersed in Frank Vogel’s defense-first culture.
While the Lakers love Kyle Kuzma’s growth as a defender, playmaker, and rebounder, the reality is he’s a starter quality player who plays the same positions as the team’s two superstars and their most valuable trading chip. The timing is also right now to move Kuzma, who will become a restricted free agent after next season and will certainly attract offers worthy of a starter, especially if he improves his average 3-point shooting prowess.
As for Danny Green, he’s still been one of the Lakers’ highest ranked players when it comes to net ratings and plus/minus despite struggling at times with his 3-point shooting and on-ball defense against small, quicker guards. While the Lakers will miss Green’s leadership and defense, Hield can slide right into Green’s starting slot and give the Lakers’ that elusive third scorer and elite 3-point shooter they need to complement LeBron and AD.
Why Would the Kings Agree to the Trade?
It’s obvious Buddy Hield has a problem with Sacramento head coach Luke Walton, who demoted him to the bench in favor of Bogdan Bogdanovic despite the Kings having just signed him to a 4-year, $84 million extension. Now that Walton’s been given a vote of confidence from new Kings general manager Monte McNair, it’s almost a certainty Hield will be moved, especially since he’s apparently refused to return coach Walton’s calls.
Luke Walton has always been a fan of Kuzma and the Kings and Lakers had discussions before the last trade deadline involving Kyle and Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Kings obviously view as Buddy Hield’s replacement. Green could slide right into Hield’s backup two guard role and give the Kings needed perimeter defense and veteran leadership. Replacing the disgruntled Hield with Green would help Walton build team chemistry.
Swapping Hield’s 4-year, $84 million deal with Green’s $15 million expiring contract makes good business sense for the small market Kings considering the uncertain economy the team is facing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The trade would also give new GM Monte McNair financial flexibility going forward. Beside addition by subtraction, it would give the Kings a chance to see what Kuzma and Green can bring without a long term commitment.
What Are the Chances the Trade Happens?
Predicting a trade in today’s NBA is like picking 100 to 1 long shots because there are so many moving pieces and other possible options for teams and many trades simply happen because of the relationships between GMs. While Buddy Hield is going to be traded, the big questions are always what do the Kings think about Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma and what are other teams willing to offer. Hield is a talented young player who will be coveted.
There’s been no shortage of NBA teams rumored to have interest in trading for Buddy Hield. At the top of the list are the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers. We’ll have to wait until the NBA and NBPA agree when teams can sign free agents and trade players to find out but we know the Kings like Kuzma, Green’s a great short term fit, and the trade frees up options for McNair.
There are bigger targets the Lakers could pursue and there’s always the issue of not wanting to commit to more than 1-year deals to save cap space to chase Giannis but there’s also the pressure with LeBron to win now. Frankly, the Lakers might be wise to jump at the opportunity to trade Kuzma and Green for a proven young talent like Hield rather than waiting and gambling again like they did with Kawhi. Hield would be a perfect fit.
John Hollinger predicts the outcome of all 43 options this offseason
From Bobby Portis' team option (hell no) to Nic Batum's player option (hell yes), @johnhollinger predicts the outcome of all 43 options this offseason ⤵️https://t.co/llsC0ycmM5
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) October 14, 2020
PLAYER OPTIONS
Reminder: A “No” verdict on the player option means he becomes a free agent, a “Yes” verdict means he picks up the option and stays.
…
Anthony Davis
Lakers
$28,551,774
(October update) With a world championship under his belt, the issue isn’t whether Davis opts out, but what type of contract he re-signs with the Lakers. He will be getting a raise on his $28.5 million regardless, as his max contract would be $32.7 million for 2020-21 even if the cap number stays at $109 million. (Side note: Davis is not supermax eligible).
The only real issue for Davis is how long a deal to sign. Under present assumptions about the cap, he might prefer to sign a multi-year deal with 8% raises, since it’s not clear whether the cap will jump that much in 2021-22. A likely target for him would be a three-year deal with an opt-out in 2022, when he qualifies as a 10-year vet and can get 35 percent of that year’s cap as a first-year salary. If he remains a max-worthy player and the cap number has rebounded by then in a post-COVID return to normalcy, Davis could be looking at a $250 million payday. Verdict: No
…
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Lakers
$8,493,746
(October update) KCP is an enviable position after a strong playoff run that showcased what had previously been a largely theoretical 3-and-D case for himself. He’s 27 years old and just had 50 points in the final three games of the NBA Finals while mostly guarding Miami’s best players.
Cha.
Ching.
At the absolute worst, Caldwell-Pope will have a huge market at the MLE, with 15 or so teams in position to use it and seemingly everybody looking for 3-and-D wings. There’s no chance he makes less than $8.5 million next year if he opts out.
He could also do much, much better. Once could easily see a team like Atlanta, Charlotte or even Phoenix deciding to take the plunge on KCP as a starting 2 with a salary in the low-t0-mid teens. Over four years that gets him $50-60 million. As with Grant above, a long-term extension with the Lakers is another theoretical possibility; he could opt in for next year and then tack on a four-year, $45 million extension that brings the total value to $53 million over the five years. At this point, however, he likely can do about the same or better in unrestricted free agency without locking in for half a decade.
If he does opt out, the Lakers should still be a strong contender to retain his services. They will have full Bird rights on Caldwell-Pope, have a manageable situation regarding the luxury tax, and can point to an obvious fit in terms of role, playing time and title aspirations. But any chance of him opting in evaporated during those last three Finals games. Verdict: No
…
Avery Bradley
Lakers
$5,005,350
(October update) Bradley played better for the Lakers this year than in his past two seasons with the Clippers and Detroit (although he actually scored at a relatively high clip in his brief 2019 cameo with us in Memphis) … but the tale of the tape still says his last three seasons have yielded PERs of 9.6, 7.6 and 8.9. Ugh.
Bradley has value beyond his stats because of his on-ball defense, but it’s hard to see his three-year track record generating offers greater than the room exception money he received last summer, and there’s some downside risk that the market could turn on him and deliver quite a bit less. Additionally, he wasn’t part of the Lakers run to the championship because he opted to sit out the NBA bubble, depriving him of the playoff halo that some others have cashed in on. Overall, it’s hard to see why he’d mess with a good playing-time situation on an elite team. More money will be out there next summer. Verdict: Yes
…
JaVale McGee
Lakers
$4,200,000
(October update) McGee has one of the toughest decisions of any player this offseason. He started all year for a team that won the NBA championship, but he’s 32 years old and his role vanished into DNP territory as the playoffs wore on.
Bigger picture, McGee’s Laker incarnation was a pleasant surprise – he was legitimately good in 2019-20 and offered value well beyond his $4M contract. He’ll be wading into an unfriendly market for bigs, but even so, it’s hard to imagine him making less than the biannual exception based off the year he’s had in L.A. Another advantage for McGee is his Early Bird Free Agent status because of his two years of service with the Lakers. As a result, L.A. can re-sign him at a number above last year’s salary without using exception money.
I’ve gone back and forth on this one, but I think the conditions might slightly favor McGee opting out, knowing his absolute worst-case scenario is next season’s 10-year veteran minimum of an estimated $2.6 million. Verdict: No
…
Rajon Rondo
Lakers
$2,692,991
(October update) Playoff Rondo is about to make some coin for Regular Season Rondo. For most of the 2019-20 season, Rondo was a 34-year-old backup whose play graded out as replacement level-ish each of the past two seasons. In the playoffs, however, he morphed into a completely different creature, one who was arguably the Lakers’ third-best performer in their run to the championship.
That well-timed burst of quality play should up Rondo’s price point far beyond the minimum salary he earned a year ago, even if it’s buyer beware for any acquiring team that sees him as a key piece of their regular season operation. One option, of course, is to re-sign with the Lakers on another 1+1 deal, albeit at a higher price. Verdict: No
NBA Rumors: Will the Trade Market Open Back up Soon?
NBA Rumors: Will the Trade Market Open Back up Soon? https://t.co/Kk8N8Zjc6R via @undefined
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 14, 2020
Back in February was the last time NBA teams were permitted to make a trade. The Philadelphia 76ers snagged Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for multiple picks. Typically, by October, the 76ers and several other teams would’ve made some moves in the trade market, but this year has been anything but typical.
Back in March, COVID-19 struck the league and sent the season into a hiatus. Although the time off felt like an offseason, the NBA and the Player’s Association decided to enter a moratorium as the season paused. When the season started gearing up for a return, Adam Silver and the NBA extended the moratorium period.
Now that the 2019-2020 season is finally over, the offseason is here officially. Just because the season’s over, though, doesn’t mean the trade and free agency markets open back up. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, trades, extensions, and released remain unpermitted for the time being.
While that can all change soon, Windhorst reports that the NBA and NBPA have to agree on some of the key issues regarding the CBA. While the discussions will likely be challenging, those involved seem optimistic about the potential outcome. If all goes well, it seems December 1 could be the opening of offseason transactions. An earlier date hasn’t been ruled out — and is still possible. However, Windhorst believes the first of December is the most logical hypothetical date.
No Goat
My opinion is there probably isn’t one Goat. LBJ, sure, Kobe, yes, MJ, of course, perhaps even Magic, Kareem, Russell? Not really a Gretzky standing alone. Just my thoughts. : )
VOTE, if you haven’t and Vote for Democracy as we’ve known it! Don’t let it slip away, Lakers didn’t!!