Aloha,
I don’t understand why so many people believe that DFS is moving on because he opted out. This doesn’t mean he’s leaving. He is looking for more years, not necessarily more money. So it’s not a surprise really.
As for the using the Full non tax payer MLE on say Alexander-Walker. That’s tricky. Using that caps you at the first apron. That’s the tax line. That’s why it’s called the non tax payer MLE. That’s projected to be around 195 mil. The MLE is around 14 mil. If we use it we are at 190mil leaving 5 mil to work with.
So if we are going to use that we better have a trade for a center locked up, because we won’t have the money for even Capela in free agency. You could break the MLE into two but that won’t get Alexander-Walker. Here is the rule.
The Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (NTMLE) allows over-the-cap teams to sign players, but it comes with restrictions. If a team uses the full NTMLE, they are hard-capped at the first tax apron. This means they cannot exceed that apron, even with other exceptions. Additionally, using the NTMLE can impact a team’s ability to use other exceptions later in the season.
Bringing DFS back at roughly the same salary gives us the tax payer MLE and an additional 10 mil to play with. Without trades signing a full MLE contract would be a disaster. Even with trades it would be difficult to fill out the roster with minimum contracts.
I think what the Lakers want is cap space to sign a max free agent this summer to replace LeBron. Their moves will all be designed to maximize their cap space next summer. |
They’ll try to pull of moves for centers and wings but without giving up draft capital. They want that also next summer. We’re now on the Luka timetable, not the LeBron timetable.
we’ve already seen the positioning of expectations that we’re going with a short term solution at center this summer. They’re keeping the pick and making what I think is the right decision to prioritize building around Luka, which means keeping the picks.
And LeBron and Klutch also realize it. The new owner makes it completely clear. This will be LeBron’s last year in purple and gold but it might not be his last year in the NBA.
This is good for everybody. The time is now right.
So the question becomes do you give up on this year? While Adou looks promising, I don’t think he can fill DFS’s shoes his rookie year. And if we use the tax payer MLE on a center, we would need to fill the void with minimum contracts. Not sure that can be done.