Building around AD and LeBron next season

[stan francisco]

We all know that there’s a $44M elephant in the room. Even Westbrook knows that he’s that elephant.

Us fans may not know who decided to get Westbrook, but the people in the know know who messed up. It might have been Jeannie via Magic, what do we really know here? Whomever it was, looking at you Linda Rambis (lol), needs to never ever again make such decisions again. It should be a given that this person is forever demoted.

But if LBJ would rather move than dig in, let’s help him pack right now. As long as we get Cleveland’s promising youth in return.

AD plays defense for three. He can stay even if a glassman.

[zimpy27]

The mistake in the offseason was not going for positive defenders and effort/IQ players as the base requirement of each acquisition.

With defense and effort/IQ as a base, you then look for them to have one offensive skill like playmaking or shooting.

This is what Lakers need to correct in the offseason.

Guys who currently fulfill positive defense and effort/IQ: Davis, LeBron, Johnson, Reaves, Howard, THT, Ariza, Jordan, Westbrook (borderline)

Guys who have an offensive skill on top: Davis, James, THT, Westbrook (borderline)


The tiers of overall impact stats this season have been:
1 - LeBron
2 - Davis
3 - Howard, Monk, Westbrook
4 - THT, Reaves, Jordan, Melo
5 - Johnson, Ariza, Bazemore
6 - Ellington
7 - Bradley

[zimpy27]

Team is locked in for this season with no trades hanging over their heads and no players coming to take their role.

Smart thing is just to see how it goes before making decisions. This is the best time to evaluate players and their fit independent of distraction.

Try clear the slate of impressions in your mind currently and be objective of what you see over the next couple months.

The one thing I want to see is for Bradley not to be used much. I think he's being used as a crutch as a POA. I want to see Reaves and even Westbrook be forced on to that role.

Also that Westbrook, Monk, Reaves, THT, LeBron lineup looked legit good. More of that.

[tamaraw08]

I think the Lakers FO is going to make a final push to make LeBron happy and comfortable with the moves they have planned, if he's not, they're going to help him get where he wants to be... I think they're done letting him and Klutch call the shots from a personnel perspective... I also wouldn't be surprised to see Magic brought back in in some sort of advisory position...

I don't have any idea what moves they have if lebron stays, or if they just end up with AD... Or if both of them are gone...

But I wouldn't be surprised to hear Rajon Rondo as coach... Regardless of what happens, I think this is Frank V's final run.

I think Jeannie, Rob and Klutch would sit down, iron out their differences and plan what is best at least for the next couple of years. They would agree Lillard is a much better fit and AD and Lebron would go full on recruiting mode. They fire Frank and hire Stotts.
I’m betting Magic is already back as consultant but unofficially because he can’t shut his mouth. He’ll push for Rondo to be the coach but Rajon will be hired as assistant because of lack of experience.
Lebron also recruits Tristan Thompson.

[wco81]

How do you move WB even as an expiring without taking a lot of salaries back?

Is a team with a lot of cap space like OKC going to give the Lakers picks for WB?

Or Orlando going to give up assets to get WB as an expiring?

Someone mentioned the Pacers so maybe they will make a trade to free up some cap space for summer of 2023.

But why, are the Pacers going to attract max contract free agents to Indianapolis? Especially if they give up assets to trade for WB?

I don't know if the Knicks are over the cap but maybe they will give you Randle for WB to get off that contract?


BTW, do any Lakers fans regret the AD trade or it's fine as long as Lakers bounce back to the top of the WC and the league next season?

Or is that Bubble title alone worth it even if the team is out of contention for a few years?

[LAL1947]

Here's a GREAT reason for the Lakers management to put their thinking/trading caps on and figure out how to trade Lebron for Luka. The Lakers are 9th in the attendance rankings despite being the most storied franchise in the league. 9th!! While a Dallas team featuring Luka are 1st, even though he's surrounded by a motley crew who aren't starting quality.

Luka + Lakers = Love

http://www.espn.com/nba/attendance/_/sort/homePct

[stan francisco]

Yeah, I like the idea but how are you going to blackmail Cuban into parting with Luka? Dirk played for only one franchise. I can see the same with Luka. Who knows…

[TheHartBreakKid]

We are very, very unlikely to trade Lebron unless he demands one. In that case, we are very unlikely to get anything of much value for him.

As for RW I think the worst thing we could do is trade him for bad contracts that extend past 2023 (Lebron's last year under contract with us).

We should be able to keep lebron in the 2023-2024 on a one year deal, with the dream scenario being him taking a discount as he would know that this season would be his last competitive one in theory. Wherever he goes in 2024 with Bronny is not likely to be a contender barring some extreme luck/ maneuvering by him. I also think it's safe to say that we won't willing or able to draft Bronny, so 2023, if he resigns, is the last year Lebron would be in LA.


If we avoid mistakes with trading RW, we would enter 2023 with AD under contract, possibly a rookie or minor pieces, and a lot of capspace.

Whether we could retain LEbron on a discount that year or not, we should still have the capspace to add firepower next to AD moving forward. Of course, AD's stock might be so low at that point that no elite FAs would want to sign here to play next to him and one year of lebron moving forward. If that's the case, we are screwed anyways and should be looking to trade AD and enter a full rebuild by that point.


Truth of it is that we are screwed, but we could control how badly we are screwed with smart moves and a long term outlook. While trading Lebron would be ideal in putting ourselves in the best position after 2023, I don't see him helping us get a good return for him considering his plans and influence. He simply isn't a valuable trade asset. RW also would not provide good enough pieces other than poor salaries. We need to play the free agency game imo in the near future until we are ready/able to commit to a rebuild either around AD, or without him.

Summer 2023 atleast allows us to possibly retain Lebron for a discount for one last season, where we could use his influence to gain pieces for the future with our capspace. I would be very pessimistic about us being able to add talent via Free agency in 2023 or 2024, please don't get me wrong. But I think it's our best option considering how unlikely we are to make any positive trades happen. And atleast if we are betting on free agency, we are far less likely to make damaging moves that could hurt the franchise long in to the future after Lebron is gone.

[wco81]

Just list the Klutch players who will be free agents in 2023 and 2024.

[danfantastk32]

Truth of it is that we are screwed, but we could control how badly we are screwed with smart moves and a long term outlook. While trading Lebron would be ideal in putting ourselves in the best position after 2023, I don't see him helping us get a good return for him considering his plans and influence. He simply isn't a valuable trade asset.

My understanding is that Lebron has a no trade clause. So yes....if he doesn't want to be traded, then we're stuck. But if he does, I disagree with you that he doesn't have value. It's just gotta be the right circumstance.

I mentioned the Suns, and CP3's closing door. Perhaps the 6-ers (should they lose in 5-or-6 to the Nets, or Bucks). Lebron himself mentioned Cleveland. Well....they are currently 5th. What if we took Love, and his salary off their hands (he has 1 more year) but we got some decent (not one of their studs....but a decent young player) a first, and a second? I think there is value in Lebron's 1 year deal. As long as you don't ask for the farm.

This team we currently have is either not a playoff team....or BARELY one. Getting SOMETHING for Lebron makes sense....especially since we won't magically win the title next year either with this trio. If anything, we'll be slightly worse, thanks to another year in age.
Keeping Lebron does nothing, except then he walks for nadda.

We literally traded the cupboards bare for Westbrook. So now we need to get whatever picks / youth we can. If nothing else, to make trades for in the future.

This team is a dying cow. It's sick, and dying. We're not gonna get much.....but once it's dead, your not getting squat. This team blows, and it's not even fun to watch. So why bring it back? Get anything you can for these 3.....spare us another year. Literally anything you can get will be a start towards the future. This.......? This is just painful to watch.

[danfantastk32]

Somewhere out there is a GM who knows his time is running out. (Besides our own)

Somewhere out there is a player (shout out to D-Lillard) who's getting tired of running into the wall again and again.

Players always overestimate eachother (Just look at what Lebron and AD thought Russ would do). They ignore the past, and think about what could be. The weakness of a giant ego. Just think about what we could do....

If Dame fizzles out in the first round again, would a trade for AD and ALL THAT HE CAN BE appeal to him? Would Portland be willing to pay a little more than they wanted to, if doing nothing means Dame is gone?

There's alway a deal to be made. As long as we're willing to take 80-cents on the dollar, we can totally offload this squad. Hell....I'd be beyond ecstatic if we got 80 cents. I'll do 70. I'd prob take 60, if we're being honest.

[euphorbus]

<According to Woj, Rich Paul recently met with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and team owner Jeanie Buss to discuss LeBron James' future in LA.>

https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-future-discussed-in-rich-paul-jeanie-buss-rob-pelinka-meeting/

[MAMBAEMD]

I hate to admit it but think the Lakers and LBJ (and Clutch) are headed for a divorce.
It's complicated because there are two superstars on the Lakeshow that are Clutch clients.

At the same time, unless something drastically changes for the better in the off-season, the Lakers would be better off getting some picks and young players for these guys before it's too late.
At first, I was of the mindset that we should give it one more go next season with a rested and healed duo of LBJ and AD (and hopefully trade Russ). But I'm seeing the power struggle with Clutch play out in public which is a terrible thing for the Lakers.

No superstar should ever be above the Lakers team and brand. Might be best to cash out sooner than later, before both LBJ and AD lose more value.

[TheHartBreakKid]

Truth of it is that we are screwed, but we could control how badly we are screwed with smart moves and a long term outlook. While trading Lebron would be ideal in putting ourselves in the best position after 2023, I don't see him helping us get a good return for him considering his plans and influence. He simply isn't a valuable trade asset.

My understanding is that Lebron has a no trade clause. So yes....if he doesn't want to be traded, then we're stuck. But if he does, I disagree with you that he doesn't have value. It's just gotta be the right circumstance.

I mentioned the Suns, and CP3's closing door. Perhaps the 6-ers (should they lose in 5-or-6 to the Nets, or Bucks). Lebron himself mentioned Cleveland. Well....they are currently 5th. What if we took Love, and his salary off their hands (he has 1 more year) but we got some decent (not one of their studs....but a decent young player) a first, and a second? I think there is value in Lebron's 1 year deal. As long as you don't ask for the farm.

This team we currently have is either not a playoff team....or BARELY one. Getting SOMETHING for Lebron makes sense....especially since we won't magically win the title next year either with this trio. If anything, we'll be slightly worse, thanks to another year in age.
Keeping Lebron does nothing, except then he walks for nadda.

We literally traded the cupboards bare for Westbrook. So now we need to get whatever picks / youth we can. If nothing else, to make trades for in the future.

This team is a dying cow. It's sick, and dying. We're not gonna get much.....but once it's dead, your not getting squat. This team blows, and it's not even fun to watch. So why bring it back? Get anything you can for these 3.....spare us another year. Literally anything you can get will be a start towards the future. This.......? This is just painful to watch.

If he does have a no trade clause then this is moot. I was actually operating under the assumption that he doesn't have one. But even then, I think finding a good trade partner considering Lebron's outspoken intentions of playing with Bronny in 2024 is pretty much impossible. Yes, a certain right situation (like the Suns with CP3) could happen and bring back some value, but even then, whoever trades for him would know that he's either a rental (or that they need to give up pieces to draft Bronny to keep him). Additionally, any team willing to draft Bronny to get Lebron also would know that he could probably be had for the minimum in 2024, vs having to give up assets for him when he is getting paid this much. Lebron's trade value is getting attacked from all directions. Trading him is possible if he demands one or collaborates in making one happen...but in that situation, he is far more likely to deplete his value even further considering it would work in his best interest.


Lebron right now can basically tell any team trading for him that he is gone after next year. The team trading for him would have no leverage in resigning him. Not only that, the team should also expect to trade assets or waste a pick on Bronny in order to get him.


I guess Cleveland is a possiblity if Lebron plays along...but even then there is no reason for them to give up more than love and protected firsts. Mobley and Garland aren't going anywhere. The first time when we can trade LEbron (summer) is when he'll be an expiring contract. And not just any expiring contract. An expiring contract with a ton baggage, who has outright said that he would not care about money moving forward. No one will need to give up much for him unless he forces the issue himself and wants out that bad, which I don't think he does because I think he wants to stay in LA moving forward minus the one year that he plays with Bronny.

I hope i'm wrong but I don't see any deal that would make sense for Lebron. Would Love and a protected 1st be worth it this offseason for Lebron vs possibly losing him for nothing (which is very likely)? I don't know if it is. Atleast with Lebron you're keeping AD and klutch happy, and have a far unlikely but still possible chance at attracting FA's through him and his influence, not to mention putting together a more entertaining product next with a slim but who knows chance of making a playoff run. Love and a protected pick does nothing. Anything more than that, imo, is simply not likely.

[SlimShady83]

Should be looking at building a team around REAVES ... Lakers need players like Reaves - and I'm not even joking at this point

[zimpy27]

Should be looking at building a team around REAVES ... Lakers need players like Reaves - and I'm not even joking at this point

It's not a joke. The best players to put around LeBron, Westbrook and Davis are guys like Reaves. Quality IQ players, defenders that do all the small things, average shooters are fine.

The only joke was going for shooters at the expense of more guys like Reaves.

[SlimShady83]

Should be looking at building a team around REAVES ... Lakers need players like Reaves - and I'm not even joking at this point

It's not a joke. The best players to put around LeBron, Westbrook and Davis are guys like Reaves. Quality IQ players, defenders that do all the small things, average shooters are fine.

The only joke was going for shooters at the expense of more guys like Reaves.

I'm actually talking about building the team around Reaves and players like him, not including Bron/AD/WB they can all move on and anyone who is on Klutch sports

I want Lakers to move along from Klutch sports and anyone related to them (hoping Reaves is not LOL) and maybe even consider bringing back Magic Johnson

This team also needs to stop worrying about super teams 1-2 players build around hustle energy type of players and players who want to WIN and play hard both ends of the floor

Edit: p.s Fook Klutch sports/bron etc - the bubble chip doesn't count IMO, that's just my IMO others will disagree on that one, but the bubble chip was a fluke and only won because shorten season

[zimpy27]

Should be looking at building a team around REAVES ... Lakers need players like Reaves - and I'm not even joking at this point

It's not a joke. The best players to put around LeBron, Westbrook and Davis are guys like Reaves. Quality IQ players, defenders that do all the small things, average shooters are fine.

The only joke was going for shooters at the expense of more guys like Reaves.

I'm actually talking about building the team around Reaves and players like him, not including Bron/AD/WB they can all move on and anyone who is on Klutch sports

I want Lakers to move along from Klutch sports and anyone related to them (hoping Reaves is not LOL) and maybe even consider bringing back Magic Johnson

This team also needs to stop worrying about super teams 1-2 players build around hustle energy type of players and players who want to WIN and play hard both ends of the floor

Edit: p.s Fook Klutch sports/bron etc - the bubble chip doesn't count IMO, that's just my IMO others will disagree on that one, but the bubble chip was a fluke and only won because shorten season

Bubble championship doesn't count? That's an odd thing to say, that playoffs was the least impacted by injury and home-court advantage in the history of the NBA. You will never get a fairer assessment of who was the best team in any playoffs than that championship.

Lakers were bottom dwellers for 5 seasons.. They got Randle, Ingram, Ball, DLo, Hunter.. They drafted well and had top picks, yet still they would have been an over the cap team right now that looked kind of like the Pelicans.

Lakers have the perfect setup to bring in stars, they should be drafting guys in the late first round or second round or undrafted like Reaves, Hart, Kuzma, Caruso.. Awesome role players to put around stars.

Doesn't have to be Klutch stars, could be others in the future.

[bargara]

Tough spot

Roster construction has been a disaster this season & have very few assets

IF they flame out this season then they can’t blame it on the play of LeBron but next season he’s an expiring & old

If the Nets collapse then maybe Simmons + something

I like AD but he’s arguably the better trade asset due to his contract

Jaylen Brown + Marcus Smart +?

[Landsberger]

I think the Lakers FO is going to make a final push to make LeBron happy and comfortable with the moves they have planned, if he's not, they're going to help him get where he wants to be... I think they're done letting him and Klutch call the shots from a personnel perspective... I also wouldn't be surprised to see Magic brought back in in some sort of advisory position...

I don't have any idea what moves they have if lebron stays, or if they just end up with AD... Or if both of them are gone...

But I wouldn't be surprised to hear Rajon Rondo as coach... Regardless of what happens, I think this is Frank V's final run.

Magic in the center ring again? What could go wrong?