Aloha,

I keep reading all these different clickbait trades and you kind of laugh. Most could never happen. With the limited assets available it’s hard to see how we could fix all the areas we need to fix. Even if LeBron gave up enough to sign a non tax payer MLE, there isn’t many good targets in this free agent class.

Even our assets are flawed. For instance Austin and Rui are players that might be appealing to quite a few teams. The problem is Rui is on an expiring contract and everyone knows Austin will opt out after this year and become a free agent. This diminishes their trade value. Austin’s contract also is a problem because he is much better than his salary and it’s hard to make a fair value trade because you have to add other assets to make the money work.

For me it’s hard to imagine being able to overcome OKC in one summer. So I think it’s one step at a time. The priority for this summer has to be the center position. That’s step one. And it doesn’t have to expensive center. A good rebounder and rim protector would do the trick. There are scenarios where we could land Gafford as a helper in a trade or possibly the Pistons Duren could become available. Even a bandaid like Capella would make us a better team. Then go after guys like Bruce Brown and Melton both won’t cost much.

We still would be very good but not OKC good. 2026 will be step two. If LeBron retires we will have a boat load of money available and a lot more quality free agents available. Even if he doesn’t we still will be able to make moves.

My biggest fear is Rob will make a stupid move. He has a track record of stupid moves. I think you have to be patient and take one step at a time.

Aloha,

I hear all the time that if LeBron wants to win another ring he needs to take a pay cut. That would be great next year when a boatload of quality free agents will be available. This year? Not so much. There are only a couple of guys that would help us and LeBron would have to give up way more than is reasonable to land them. Now if he gave up enough for us to use our full MLE, Alexander-Walker would be a great fit but I don’t know if LeBron would consider him. He’s not a Klay Thompson.

But there will be guys that could help this team for the tax payer MLE. Actually there will be a few guys that may help at the vet minimum. The new CBA has led to some pretty good players slipping through the cracks.

If you have been wishing we had perimeter defenders like the Pacers and OKC there is a guy that plays like that. Deanthony Melton will be a free agents and he plays like that and also shoots 37% from three. But there is risk involved. He only played 38 games 2 years ago and just 6 last year before tearing his ACL in November. He would be risky but that’s the only reason he will be available for the tax payer MLE. He should be at least close to ready by the beginning of the season.

Bruce Brown is another guy that should be available. He was set to sign the MLE with the Lakers until the Pacers over paid. Two underwhelming, injury riddled seasons later he is going to have to regain his value. He played pretty well for the Pels at the end of the year. He would be a good inexpensive pick up.

I fully expect the Lakers to pursue a starting level center in a trade. But it doesn’t mean they will be successful. If not Clint Capela is the best guy out there for the money we have to spend. He still rebounds, protects the rim and is a good roll man and lob threat. He is good enough to make us a better team. I like Steven Adams as well but Clint is a better fit with Luka.

I expect to see several guys for the minimum that can help us and with Luka and Lebron, I think we will be a preferred destination for those players.

Aloha,

This is going to be a fun series. It is a showcase of what the highly restrictive CBA has created. Moving forward the new NBA model will be one or two stars and elite depth. Both the Pacers and OKC are built that way. They both had 10 and 11 man rotation in the playoffs that wore the other team down.

The Lakers have stars and some elite depth, just not enough depth. I’m not sure we can fix it in one off season. The Lakers have to decide if they are building for the future or trying to win this year with LeBron. Unless LeBron would agree to a pay cut. I doubt he will, so the future it is.

First we can’t make any short term trades. Forget adding a 3rd superstar. We would not be able to win because it would take much of our depth to land one.

I see both sides of the trade Austin argument. On the one hand he is a defensive liability. On the other hand he averages 20 a game as the 3rd option and could climb to 25 when Lebron hangs it up. But there is a big problem trading Austin. He is much better than his contract and it would require adding value contracts to make a deal. I have purposed trades that would give us of a center and add depth but it seems like the Lakers would not be willing to let him go for anything less than a star.

So what can the Lakers do? Step one of course would be add a center.
While I don’t see the Mav’s trading directly with the Lakers. They could assist as a 3rd team in a trade for the PG the Mav’s need. Every trade proposal I’ve read has had Gafford included. One would be the Nets doing a sign and trade for DLO who had great chemistry with AD. The nets could trade Gafford to the Lakers. And the Nets have the cap space to take on say, Kleber, because I don’t see them using that cap space until next year, considering it’s not a good free agent class.

There are other opportunities that could pop up. Before the Lakers traded for Mark Williams they talked to the Pistons about Jalen Duran. An athletic 6’ 10” 21 year old who averaged 10 boards, 3.6 of which were offensive and 1.1 blocks in 26 minutes. The Pistons turned them down. But things change. The Pistons are interested in either Myles Turner or Naz Reed. And they are one of the few teams with the cap space to sign them. Now I don’t think Turner is going anywhere. You could tell how much he loves the Pacers after his post game remarks. He will get paid. But Reed has made it crystal clear that he feels he is a starting caliber center and wants to be one. I could see him leaving for an up and coming team like the Pistons. And the Pistons will need more shooting. Hardaway is 33 and in decline. I don’t think they will resign him. Dalton could be a good fit for them.
And there will be other opportunities.

Landing another two way guard or wing could be harder with only the tax payer MLE available. That might have to wait until next year unless LeBron wants to help.

I won’t count out internal growth as well. Vando was injured the last two summers and couldn’t work on his game and missed huge chunks of the season. There have been some stretches where he has shown some offense. If he can just become a neutral offensive player he has elite defensive chops and is even better with a rim protector behind him.

If Dalton isn’t traded I expect improvement from him. He’s not the first rookie to struggle defensively his first year. My goal for him would be to become a neutral defender.

Then there’s Brony. Yes Brony. I was impressed by how far he came from summer league to the end of the season. He struggled in the beginning in the G league but ended as one of the best in the league. I watched a lot of G league games and he was dominant. You can’t forget that he nearly died on the court. While his body healed he had a tremendous mental hurdle to overcome. Add the pressure of playing with his dad, it’s no wonder that he got off to a slow start. I can see him eventually taking over Gabe’s job. I think he will get 10 to 15 minutes a game to start next year.

Goodwin was another guy that could contribute as a depth piece. He plays with a tremendous amount of energy and was quite disruptive at times. Tre is another. He has one more year on his 2 way contract but I wouldn’t mind seeing him as a third center. You need enforcers.

There should be a few free agent bargains as well. Bruce Brown was ready to sign with the Lakers until the Pacers overpaid to get him. He has had a rough couple of years and will probably be a minimum contract target. He needs to repair his value. He’s the kind of free agent we should look at.

I’m not sure what the Lakers will do. Finding that center rotation is a must. If LeBron does retire after this year, there will be a lot of quality free agents available next year and we will have the money to grab a few. It’s about to get crazy in a month.

Aloha,

Paul George has finally impacted the finals. He was traded to OKC for Sabonis, who was traded to the Kings for Hali. The Thunder traded PG to the Clippers for SGA. Probably the most impact he will ever have on the finals. I wonder if he regrets choosing the Clippers over the Lakers. Lakers had carved enough cap space for him to join AD and LeBron.

Aloha,

As I have watched the playoffs unfold, it is apparent that the times indeed have changed. Because of the new CBA and the pace of the game, top heavy teams salary wise can no longer compete for a championship. Deep teams, built around a star or two is becoming the new normal. OKC doesn’t beat you with their starting five, they beat you with their depth. The same can be said for the Pacers.

The Lakers lost in the playoffs for two reasons, no center rotation and depth, especially the 2nd units lack of offense. But I believe we have a championship level core. I believe we can add what we need without trading any of our core because we don’t need more stars, just a couple of solid role players at center and perhaps another wing.

The click baiters are proposing trade for high priced players that would decimate our depth. I feel any trade that requires us to send out more than one of our core players is a bad trade.

There is a never ending stream of trade ideas for Austin most of those leave a hole at shooting guard and back up point guard because Austin serves as both. So if Rob decides to trade Austin, it has to be a smart trade.

First you have to identify offense starved win now teams, a rebuilding team won’t want him. Sorry Kessler fans. I would talk to two teams in particular. The Magic and the Rockets. Both very good teams that need offense.

I will give you an example. The Magic have a wealth of bigs but lack scoring. I would send Austin out for Goga Bitadze and Anthony Black. Goga is a starting caliber center. He is a terrific rebounder and shot blocker and at 7 feet a decent lob threat. Anthony Black is a 21 year old 6’ 7” PG that played a lot off the ball. While his offensive efficiency dropped some in his 2nd year there is upside there. But he is considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and at his size can guard one through three.

The Magic could plug Austin next to Suggs a top 10 defender in his own right. Austin would probably take over PG duties considering Suggs is more of a combo guard. This is a win win for both teams. We get our center and a replacement for Austin without giving up our draft pick.

If the Lakers are going to trade a core player, this is the kind of deal they should be looking for.

Aloha,

Lots of trade chatter regarding Austin, especially to the Mav’s. Laker Tom has posted one. For me if I were to trade Autin to Dallas, I would ask for Lively and Max back. Max would at least give us a replacement shooting guard. With Kyrie out for most if not all of next year. They are desperate for a point guard. They will not be able to land anyone better than Austin, without a lot more salaries and picks. I would possibly consider Lively and Naji Marshall but I would want some draft capital as well. Marshall would be a big boost to our wing rotation.

The biggest problem with trading Austin is it opens up a hole at shooting guard and back up point guard. We won’t find one guy on the scrap heap that can do both. When making a trade one must consider the holes it opens in other areas.

My hope is we can assist Dallas in a 3 or 4 way deal that lands them a point guard and brings us Gafford. But if we are trading Austin, I definitely want Lively as part of the package.

Aloha,

Wow talk about miracles. The Mav’s lost a generational talent but we’re just handed another. Unless Nico does something totally stupid, the will draft Cooper Flag.

Dallas has an abundance of front court talent. Unfortunately Kyrie could miss most if not all of next season. The big problem for Dallas is that Flagg will earn 12 mil on his rookie deal.

His salary pushes their salaries to just 3mil under the 2nd apron. Which means they can’t even use the tax payer MLE. Daniel Gafford is probably the guy they will look to move. This is a contract year and Lively is due an extension. They just can’t afford to pay that many front court guys.
26 year old Gafford is the perfect center for the Lakers. He is a great defender, rebounder and lob threat. He averaged 12 points, 6.8 boards and 1.8 blocks in just 21 minutes. He will definitely get more run with the Lakers.

Nico is one of the few GM’s with a good relationship with Rob, If he’s not fired. The Lakers could help the Mav’s trade for a point guard. I look at DLO or Malcom Brogdon as guys that might help the Mav’s hold down the fort while they wait for Kyrie to return. Hopefully the Mav’s big break is a big break for the Lakers as well.

Aloha,

I have been reading all of these trade proposals and they all seem to be direct trades. But there may more opportunities for the Lakers helping a team in a trade. For instance, the Mav’s have a huge problem. Kyrie will be out for most if not all of next season. And they do not have another PG under contract. With perhaps only the tax payer mid level at their disposal, they may not be able to find that point guard in free agency. While I am not sure Dallas would have the guts to trade with the Lakers again, it might be different if we were helping them get what they need.

DLO is a free agent with the Nets and will probably get closer to the full MLE than the mini one. With his history working with AD he might be the perfect fit to run the team while Kyrie heals.

The trade. Lakers send Gabe, Skake (Which is on a non guaranteed contract) and out 1st to the Nets. The Nets sign and trade DLO and send him to the Mav’s. The Mav’s send Gafford to us. We could substitute Dalton for Shake and the first. I wouldn’t give them both Dalton and the first.

We have a Center, the Mav’s have a point guard and the Nets have another asset. Everyones happy.

We could do the same with Brogdon with the Wizards, and both the Magic and Pistons have extra bigs and need shooting. I’m thinking this is more likely the way the Lakers will aquire the center as opposed to a direct trade.

Aloha,

I keep seeing Austin in all of these trade rumors and for me most of them are crap. And the couple that could make sense are click bait fantasy that will never happen.

A question that comes up is, who will be the star to replace LeBron. For me that’s not an issue to trade for. When LeBron does hang it up we will have a ton of cash available.

And perhaps we already have his replacement. The only players who averaged at least 20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists this season are (sorted by win shares) Shai, Jokic, Giannis, Tatum, Harden, LeBron, Reaves, Dame, Luka, Cade, Fox and LaMelo.

Now how many of those players are 3rd options. Just Austin, heck Dame and perhaps LeBron now are the only 2nd option on the list. The rest are first option players. By the way they are all stars

Typically when Austin had to step into the number two option he had big games. When he had to step into the number one option he had even bigger games.

For those that can’t understand why the Lakers do not want to trade him, that’s why. They know what they have. I know there are defensive issues but having decent paint protection would go a long way in solving that.

I firmly believe the Lakers have a championship core. They need to add a decent center, not necessarily a star center. I believe we can add what we need without breaking up that core.

Aloha,

The NBA 2 minute review confirmed what everyone saw. McDaniels did indeed stick his foot out, causing Luka to trip. Two made free throws would have definitely impacted the finish. It would have put us up by one and we would have kept that time out Luka had to call.

I actually hate those 2 minute reviews. They just piss me off more.