Aloha,

Porzingis was just traded to the Hawks with a little help from the Nets. Everyone said this would be a wild year but I didn’t expect this much activity before the draft.

Aloha,

Usually having just the 55th pick in the draft would be a ho hum draft for the Lakers. But there are a couple of things to look for.

1. There are a couple of teams with more picks than they can use. OKC immediately comes to mind. They have two firsts and the 44th pick. That’s a problem when you have 15 guys under contract. Now they have two with team options but apparently they like them. OKC’s options include trying to move up in the draft by consolidating the picks into one. Draft and stash over sea’s. Or trading for future picks. I would talk to them about their number 15th pick. See if they would swap it for the our 2031 pick. That pick could be more appealing in a trade or possibly drafting an older NBA ready wing or center.

2. The scribes seem to believe there could be many trades in the draft this year. The Lakers could benefit by assisting in a trade, especially if it brings back a center. Think the Mav’s Gafford.

3. One thing about having a new owner with deep pockets is buying draft picks. There is no rule about how much money you can spend on a pick. Could they over pay and buy a pick that could land an older rotation ready player? Think the Nets and OKC’s late first round or either teams 2nd round.

4. As for our 55th. I would like us to draft a player and sign them to a two way deal. That’s not uncommon for a team drafting that late. We had 3 projects on our roster last year and that’s not good for a win now team. It really killed up last year when Trent Jr and Prince both signed minimum deals. With so little money available there will be more bargains slipping through the cracks. Bruce Brown and Deanthony Melton come to mind.

These are possibilities that at least make the draft somewhat interesting for Laker fans this year.

Aloha,

The first thing I believe the new owner should try and get a handle on LeBron’s retirement plans. The trouble with LeBron is, this year to year approach is hard to plan for.

For instance if this is LeBron’s last year, you definitely want to hold on to Rui to slide into the 4 spot. A stretch 4 is valuable in the league and defensively the 4 is his best position.

Same goes for Austin. There is no guarantee that you can find another player with Austin’s scoring ability. He averaged 20 as the 3rd option. He generally scored even more when he was the 2nd or 1st.

With a couple of smart moves I think we are a top 4 seed next year. But becoming a true contender will take more than one off season to accomplish.

If LeBron retires after this coming season. We will have a lot of money to feel in the holes in the lineup and become a deeper more versatile team. Because Austin’s salary is so low his cap hold will only be around 20 mil. We can others first and then go over and sign him for the 30 mil he will be asking for.

Short of the pipe dream of LeBron taking less, I believe we should try and build a team around the future as apposed to making win now moves that may not be enough anyway.

Aloha,

This should be a wake up call for those that believe in click bait articles and trade machines. The Magic gave up good players in KCP and Cole Anthony. Plus 4 1st round picks. That’s what trades for really good players look like. So if you’re dreaming of the Lakers trading for JJJ stop it now! The Lakers do not have the assets to trade for high end players.

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.