Let's say you package the No. 7 pick with Nash, who is owed $9.7 million in the final year of his contract, in a trade for: a good young player like Klay Thompson, who is eligible for a lucrative extension on a team that isn't sure it wants to pay him yet. Let's say you hold on to Nash until closer to the trade deadline when everyone else is clearing out salary to position for what could be an epic free agent summer of 2015.
It's not a catbird seat like Miami will be in for as long as LeBron James is there, and it's not as strong of a foundation as teams that already have two young stars like Houston, Portland or Chicago are working with. But it's a something. And things could really get interesting if the Lakers can find a way to package Nash with the No. 7 pick in a deal -- likely after July 1 -- that doesn't return any salary (say for a future draft pick or a veteran on a non-guaranteed deal) so they clear between $11 and $12 million in salary for this free-agent summer, giving them over $30 million in cap space to work with
That's enough so that if two of this year's superstar free agents -- LeBron, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, etc. -- each took a little less ($15-16 million each) and wanted to play together and alongside Kobe Bryant, they could form a pretty hellacious threesome. It's also plenty of money with which to woo one superstar on a max deal and player in the $10-12 million range, like Luol Deng, or re-sign Pau Gasol.
That's a heck of a lot of ifs, of course. One of the biggest being whether younger generation stars want to play alongside Bryant during his golden years after the experiment with Dwight Howard failed.
It's also part of the image the Lakers have been projecting since giving Bryant that thank-you-for-your-service, parting gift of a two-year, $48.5-million contract last fall.
They were built by superstars and they know how to treat them. That's the mission statement. This is Hollywood, come get the star treatment.
Regardless of what path Mitch and Jim decide to go. The slow rebuild route, the make a big splash with a free agent signing or even the trading the draft pick for a seasoned vet if it becomes available. No matter what they choose we just have to understand they have the singular goal of getting us back on top. I thought this was a pretty solid article as usual from Ramona. She always has the thought process of the Lakers Front office in her write ups.
Thoughts?
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