Aloha,

The biggest problem facing the Lakers this summer is draft capital. We read about consolidation trades. We read about guys the Lakers are interested in trading for. The problem is lack of draft capital. We have 1 first and one distant 2nd to work with. Our 26 and 28 swaps available are pretty useless, especially for a rebuilding team that more than likely not be as good. The 2030 and beyond may have some value but it’s been costing multiple 2nds and in some cases 1st round picks to move contracts. And at this point in the summer not many teams have the cap space to even absorb much more salary under the cap. The Lakers have been playing it close to vest but I’m not sure if there is anyone out there that is available that we can realistically land that would be enough of an upgrade to matter. I expect Shake to be waived but then what?

Aloha,

Well free agency is pretty much over for the Lakers. They do have one move they could make. They have until July 24 to waive Shake. That would free up a roster spot and 3 mil in cap space. I expect them to do it but I don’t know if they will sign anyone else.

All in all they came out okay. Losing DFS was a blow but if he hadn’t walked we may not have been sign any center. All our targets signed deals larger than we could have offered. Even with all of the flaws in his game, Ayton was the most talented center in the Lakers price range. He is much better than a 8 mil player. I think he may have a good year. Actually he has to if he ever wants to get another big pay day. He has the talent, hopefully he will have the motivation. I also liked the Laravia signing. He is a good young player with a lot of upside.

After that weird 7 team Durant trade which for some unknown reason the Lakers had to be part of, we are now free to sign Adou. They may not immediately. There is a chance that his rights could be part of a trade. Once he is signed they still could because he’s a rookie but not for 30 days.

Coming into free agency we heard that DeAnthony Melton was a Laker target. If he is recovered from his December surgery he would be a huge upgrade, especially on a minimum deal. He is a high end defender that can hit the 3 and the only reason he’s in the bargain bin is because of the injury. He was supposed to be ready for the season but his name has been mentioned at all in connection to anyone. It makes me wonder if he had a set back in his rehab.

I am not expecting much else to happen. Yes there still could be trades. But there is a lot of problems in or trade situations. We lack draft capital that would be needed to grease the wheels on any meaningful trade. We have expiring contracts but don’t want to take on money beyond 2 years in return. And of course most teams don’t want to help the Lakers and if they do a trade they want to screw us.the only way I see a trade is if each team has a need that a trade would fill.

I believe this is a good team. I never was so delusional to believe we could build a true contender in one summer. How good really will come down to internal growth. That would have still been the case even if we hit a home run.

Having a full training camp with Luka will definitely help. While we did a good job incorporating him for the most part, it was apparent that they needed more time together for it all to really work.

All of our young guys will have to have good growth spurts. Bronny took a big one last year from where he started to where he finished. I’m happy that we still have Dalton. I think he will be much improved. He isn’t exactly the 1st rookie to struggle defensively. I like Jake’s upside as well as Godwin’s. And our rookie Adou will have to hit the ground running. I have a really good feeling about him.

As for the Vets, Vando has to find his offense. He has in spurts but all the injuries really set him back. But this is the first summer in two years he was healthy enough to work on his game.

Gabe was either really good or invisible last year. We need consistent really goods from him.

Can Jaxon actually learn to play the position? He still relies strictly on his athleticism. It would be nice if he could learn shot blocking and rebounding angles.

One thing that many people missed, I’m thinking of you Tom, was Rui’s overall improvement on defense and rebounding. That was something JJ repeatedly pointed out. With the way he shoots, another step on the defensive end will make him a lot of money next summer.

Austin has improved every single year and will need to again. Any defensive improvement would be huge.

Can Luka adapt to a more ball movement oriented offense? He’s never played with this many playmakers before. Last year he would slip into his one on one mode too often. A full training camp will help. The word is he’s getting into tremendous shape. Hopefully that’s translates into better perimeter defense.

And finally. Does Lebron have one more year like last year in him? For us to have a chance he has to.

Even if all these things happen it’s probably not enough to get past OKC and the Rockets. But you play the games for a reason. A lot can happen in a season.

Regardless, I still think this will be a fun team to watch.

Aloha,

There are a few articles on how Rob totally pissed off DFS. His camp felt like Rob was bad mouthing him in an effort to drive down his market value. On top of that he only offered him a two year deal. I understand that part. The silver lining is when you look at what the other center targets signed for, we would not have been able to sign any of them. So DFS walking gave us a center.

Still you want him to leave on good terms when he is one of Luka’s best friends and you want to keep Luka. I’m sure they talked. One of articles went on to talk about Rob as one of the least liked GM’s around the league. That’s not news but a reminder of how this guy really needs to go.

It’s too late to make a change right now but this needs to be Rob’s last season. Heck I would remove him before the season ends.

Aloha,

The 2027 plan that we are saving our cap space for is intended to land the Joker. He can opt out of his contract and become a free agent. And he is really good friends with Luka. A match made in heaven. It would be one of the most devastating duo’s in league history. But the question is, could we win a championship.

With the way the game is evolving, can a team win it all with two players making close to a 140 million per year? The trend of course is for deep teams playing at pace. Considering our lack of assets it would be extremely difficult to fill out a roster that can compete. And do we basically give up on the next two seasons to chase a pipe dream?

I think our chances of landing the Joker would be just as good if we had solid players to trade if he requested a trade to the Lakers.

Well the Jazz has a price for Kessler. Two firsts and a young player. That pursuit is probably over, especially since we are landing the Joker-in two years lol.

The Lakers under Rob and Jeanie’s leadership have always had this attitude that everyone wants to play for the Lakers. While there is some truth to that, guys want to get paid. Players are not going to wait around while the Lakers decide on who they want to sign. If they are offered the right amount of money, they are going to take it.

Apparently Rob has looked into trades for several centers including Nick Richards. The Time Lord and that Misi kid from the Pelicans. But the longer the Lakers Fiddle around the more likely they are going to be left empty handed.

Click baits are funny. They have the Lakers being linked to Dame. The logic is, sign him to a cheap two year deal. He won’t play this year but we would have him for the next season. Right. He turns 35 this month. He will be 36 recovering from a torn Achilles before he plays again. Considering the holes we need to fill that doesn’t even make sense. Even Rob’s not that stupid. Is he?

Aloha,
Romona Shelburne is reporting that the Lakers had an offer on the table for Brook Lopez but Rich Paul’s quote spooked him so he signed the Clippers.

LeBron is beginning to irritate me. LeBron is concerned about playing for a championship. While no one should have to take a pay cut BUT if a championship is the goal than that 52 million available will not get it done. Not only does it hamper the Lakers ability to bring in necessary role players but the amount of assets a team would have to give up to trade for him is staggering. Teams just are not going to give up several very good players for a year or 2 of LeBron,

If winning was indeed his priority, he should have never picked up that option.

Aloha,

Nick Richards is one more center option. He averaged 9 pts, 8.2 rebounds 2.7 offensive, and a block in 22 minutes. His salary is 5 mil. Even after the Durant trade the Suns are still deep in the 2nd apron. What would be appealing for the Suns is they could trade him into the Lakers MLE or Bi annual, without taking back salary. Now would they take our 2032 2nd for him? Perhaps if they can’t find a better deal they might consider it. They brought in two new centers. I am not sure of the 2nd apron multipliers but they save minimum of 2.5 mil in taxes and his 5 mil salary. Even if we were to sign Ayton, Richards would be a great pick up.

Aloha,

No stone left unturned Rob, better hope there are stones left to turn or our center rotation will be Hayes, Koloko and Jamison. That’s if we don’t lose Hayes while we wait.

Aloha,

I never thought I would say this, but if we don’t sign Ayton, we are screwed. We have watched every decent center sign contracts in our price range while we wait on a head case to make a decision. And now the Pacers suddenly need a center.

I am totally against this 2 year contract nonsense. It’s pie in the sky, hoping a star walks, when most stars move via sign and trade these days. The way things are going, Rob doesn’t have to worry about it because he won’t be around in two years.

Aloha,

The Clippers signed Brook Lopez. So with both Capella and Brook off the board one wonders if it’s going to be Ayton. They can’t sign him until he clears waivers. But we will have a better idea by what other moves they make. There could also be a trade. If the Lakers were to cut Shake they could have up to 5 roster spots, so a lot can happen.

Aloha,

Something is going on in Houston. They just signed Capella, giving them 4 centers and with The DFS signing pushes close to the 2nd apron. Could this turn into a sign and trade with the Lakers for Lawndale and Whitmore? It would make sense for both teams. We’ll see.

Aloha,

Apparently the Trailblazer are buying DeAndre out. I wonder what his market will be. He has been a head case his entire career. I’m sure Rob will be in touch tomorrow, he may have already but your not supposed to do that 🙂 not many teams with much more then the non tax payer MLE available. This is an opportunity for Ayton to rehab his value. Unfortunately head cases often don’t. At the very least that’s one more center on the market.

Aloha,

I was looking up the Cav’s salary situation as some people has suggested that a LeBron trade could happen. But there is really no way the Cav’s could swing it because they are over the 2nd apron and are not allowed to combine salaries in a trade.

But there is an interesting possibility. The Cav’s are looking at a 250 mil tax bill. They appear to be looking for ways to lessen that and Jarret Allen is being discussed as one way of doing that. The Celtics basically dumped Porzingas. Will the Cavs consider doing the same? Taking back assets would not help the Cav’s. There could be a 3 way trade that trades Allen into the Nets cap space and the Lakers send assets to the Nets. They Cav’s may look to move Garland but at 39 mil he could be hard to move without taking salary back. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks.

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.