I have a question, why can’t KCP start with Avery and Danny come off the bench? Actually with the strides Alex has made. He start with Avery and Danny coming off the bench. Any way you slice it, that’s a quality guard rotation.

Actually everything I’ve read says he plans on opting in…

Regardless, whenever he has to make that decision by that will be a large piece of the puzzle solved, at least to some degree.

Good comments, Jamie. All signs point to Avery declining his player option, which I think is good for the Lakers. As I said before, I like him a lot and think he brings a lot to the table but I also think it’s naïve to think the Lakers aren’t going to be looking to hit a home run, especially since there are likely to be some big moves made by the Warriors, Clippers, and Bucks to make a leap. If you look back at the initial championships we won at the start of our two repeats and one threepeat, we never stood pat and I don’t see us doing it this time, not with LeBron at 35.

Your question about KCP versus Christian Wood is interesting. First, Wood would be such a signing for the Lakers that it seems too good to happen. All these trade ideas are mostly pipe dreams, even if they make great sense. Wood only earned $1.6 million per year and if the Knicks or Hornets offer him $15 million for 3 years, I don’t see how he declines that and takes $9.3 for a year from the Lakers, even if that might be a very smart move to bet on himself. Would I rather have Christian than re-sign KCP? Absolutely for the same reasons you stated. We could plug Bradley or Caruso in and not miss a beat like we did in the playoffs. I see Wood as being a mini clone of AD. A modern big who can play both ends of the court at all three levels. We have nobody like him except for AD. The idea of having two of them is intoxicating.

Timing is as you said the key. We re-sign AD first, then the MLE. Then we sign the Bird, Early Bird, and BAE, all of which allow us to go over the cap.

Here’s an interesting thought. What if KCP gets an offer we don’t want to match? And what if Rondo and Morris accept their player options. The Lakers have $68.5 million guaranteed plus $28.8 for AD for a total of 97.3 million. Cap is $109 million. If the league approved the Lakers removing Deng, they would have $16.5 million in cap space to sign Wood. They couldn’t then use Bird or Early Bird to sign KCP or Rondo but they would still have their $9.3 million MLE.

I did not. I both hope he opts in and stays a Laker.

In some ways I agree, that of we shell out that much for KCP he’ll likely start. My question is: do we really need to shell up that much? If Bradley opts in than we just replaced KCP’s production, if not improved upon and you keep Caruso’s unfolding role stable. If anything it brings more balance to the team.

The bigger domino to fall is do the Lakers truly feel the heat to pull off such a big deal as a trade that would include multiple players? Feels like a move that would be better saved until the middle of the season, closer to the deadline.

I’m not too confident that we can bring the same level of impact the players listed we would be traded bring in one, single player. Toss in that we will have almost no draft picks for several years and trading the ones we have makes less sense.

In short, I don’t think the Lakers need to engage in too much ‘addition by subtraction’ this off season. If Bradley and McGee opt in you have 2 of the cornerstones that got you the best in the west record. Playoffs. Make re-signing Rondo and to a lesser degree Morris a priority. KCP is with Klutch so, in a lot of ways, if he’s coming back it’s already probably only a handshake away (collusion colschmoozin).

We’ll have time to deal with KCP, and as you say he can be re-signed using Bird Rights so one might as well get literally everything else on the list done before entering into negotiations. I’d rather see the Lakers make a run at a few other players before making Pope a priority, especially if Bradley opts in.

Here’s a question for you: if Bradley opts in do you see signing someone like Christian Wood more important or keeping KCP?

Agreed. Let’s just hope for the best possible outcome.

Not suggesting that we trade Bradley. I would rather trade Green, McGee, and Cook but other teams might see Avery as a better option and I don’t think the Lakers will hesitate to move any of the guys with expiring contracts if the right player they want is available. Frankly, I think that even applies to Alex Caruso, whom I would be extremely hesitant to trade. Bottom line, the only untouchables on this roster are LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

I would say let’s keep them both. KCP deserves a raise, no question about that. But Bradley’s value should not be discounted either and should be considered a luxury to have.

No, but that was almost like two seasons ago, Buba. Now he’s coming back to a team where KCP was the starter and closed out the NBA Finals with 15, 16, and 17 points in the last three games after starting the entire bubble and playoffs. Avery is on an expiring contract and KCP most likely on a new multi-year deal with a raise in pay that will earn him at least three times as much.

Could Avery win back the starting role? Sure, but he’s no longer the default starter. Then there’s the issue if the Lakers sign a true point guard like Dragic or Schroder. Just unlikely Bradley starts next season. Nothing against him but Lakers looking to upgrade and get better.