What’s next

Aloha,

I have read quite a few articles on our series loss to the TWolves and honestly, I get a bit annoyed. You read words like embarrassing and humiliating dropped. It was as if they blew us out every game. Yet the last four games came down to the wire. Luka playing with the flu in game 4 and a bad back in game 5 didn’t help. Also LeBron injuring his knee in the 5th didn’t help and evidently Austin played the series on a bad toe. Still we lost the series for the very 3 reasons I was afraid of going into the playoffs.

1. Lack of size and rim protection at center.

2. Very little bench scoring.

3. And the team still trying to figure out how to play together in such a short period of time after the Luka trade.

I never believed that we could compete for a ring this year. But I actually came away encouraged by what I saw. I believe our core of Lebron, Luka, Austin, Rui and DFS is a championship core that needs a couple of additions.

Our small ball line up is one of the best in the league. But it takes a tremendous amount of energy to play that swarming, switching defense when you don’t have a big. Being forced to play that way most of the game, wore us down and we ran out of gas in every 4th quarter.

So naturally center is at the top of the list for the team this summer. For me it doesn’t have to be a high priced star center. Go after one of them and then it will require part of the core and now you have another hole or holes to fill. The center just needs to be starter quality. He doesn’t need to be a star, because we will continue to go small because it’s effective.

As for trades, everyone would love Walter Kessler from the Jazz and I would not be surprised if Rob hasn’t already called Danny but Kessler had a break out year and I doubt Danny will give him up, at least for what we have to offer.

I look around the League and it seems like the Magic might be the most logical trading partner. They have an abundance of bigs and no shooting. We have a shooter in Dalton.

Wendell Carter Jr would be an excellent fit for the Lakers. He is a big body at 6’ 10” and 270 pounds. He rebounds well and can occasionally knock down a corner 3. He is a lob threat as well but honestly has been utilized because the Magic lack a true playmaking PG. They also have Goga Bitadze . He’s 6’ 11” 250 and great rebounder. While he is not a shooter he is a better shot blocker with 1.5 blocks a game in only 20 minutes. Either would be perfect for what we need and they wouldn’t break the bank.

LeBron is the wild card in our off season plans. LeBron said last year he was willing to take less to sign a good player. Klay was his guy but fortunately for us Klay chose Dallas. If LeBron is willing perhaps he would give up enough to sign Clint Cappella if we can’t trade for a center. Clint saw his role diminish last year because the Hawks had a young center they were grooming, but he was still good for 9.5 boards and a block in a little over 20 minutes a game. And he still catches those lobs. Clint will probably fall into MLE or even mini MLE territory. He would be enough for us.

So let’s say we can trade for a center. We could also use a wing defender that can score some. If LeBron cooperated I would go after Alexander-Walker from the TWolves. He would definitely require the full MLE. With Randle and Nazz Reed both having player options that could push them into the 2nd apron they may not be able to keep Alexander-Walker. He would be the perfect addition.

When you look at the cap situation around the League, there isn’t a lot of cap space out there. Like last year there will be bargains available for the minimum. We could have had several good players including Gary Trent Jr if we had a roster spot available. Well this year we do. And with Luka we will be a top destination for those free agents.

I feel like we are close with the players we have and we only need a couple of guys to push us over the top. The Lakers as usual will be attached to every star and mentioned in blockbuster trades. But that isn’t what we need. A few smaller moves will be enough.