RealGM

List of unrestricted free agents for 2016- This isn't the whole list, it just a list of players that are unrestricted and can help the lakers.

kevin durant (toss up)
lebron james (resigns)
al horford
pau gasol (resigns)
d wade (resigns)
mike conley
demar derozan
chandler parsons
tim duncan (resigns)
al jefferson
joakim noah
dirk nowitzki
hassan whiteside
rajon rondo
kobe bryant
roy hibbert
brandon jennings
timofey mozgov
nicolas batum
luol deng
deron williams
ryan anderson

obviously some of the names will definitely not be coming to the lakers..like lebron, pau, duncan, and wade. durant will be the most sought after FA next year, and he will instantly make the lakers a playoff team, but for some reason, i just don't see him coming to LA (although LA will do their due diligence and set up an interview)

some realistic possibilities that I think can truly help the lakers are-
1. al horford
2. joakim noah
3. nicolas batum
4. ryan anderson

from the 4 choices above, I think going hard after Batum would be most beneficial..he fills in the SF void and he's very versatile...kind of like odom, he could play and defend multiple positions. Ofcourse, KD would be awesome to take kobe's spot but it seems far-fetched. He's probably best off staying put in OKC where he has the best chance of winning and the biggest contract.

Very few of the big names (even Horford and Noah) are realistic.

My focus in free agency wouldn't be homeruns or guys that take away from the youngsters (including Nance); I'd instead dial in on cheaply plugging defensive holes and finding guys who compliment Randle and Russell.

The biggest need, by far IMO, is for a versatile backup big (PF/C) who can score and defend.

I'd give up any combination of Clarkson, Williams, and Bass for a shot at Taj Gibson.

Whiteside is unrestricted?

What's our odds of landing Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol ?

We need some help in the backcourt, we can sign Rondo and Deron Williams to fill out the roster nicely.

i think it was two off seasons ago, after we struck out on all notable FA's, that mitch said his plan B was free agency this upcoming summer (durant). we can certainly try, but i dont see us attracting any name with grandeur to it. so plan B looks like it might turn to plan C (whatever that may be in mitch's eyes)

someones going to pay clarkson this summer. im sure he wants it to be us, so if we feel the same way, we'll retain him. which still leaves a gaping hole at the SF. derozen is a name LA natives would like to see. personally, im not a fan of him for THIS team. Parsons, more of an off ball player, is tempting. he'll be asking for 20+ a year though (given the huge increase in the cap). batum is far too inconsistent, in my book. but still has the potential to be a fantastic utility guy for us.

im curious to see the complete list of FA's though. Mitch is a guy who goes for the home run, but when he strikes out, he'll settle/wait for scraps (on affordable contracts). ive never been a fan of this approach, especially with serviceable names being signed during that "waiting" period. this summer, those name will be out there. im just hoping to gauge interest in them.

i'd love for the lakers to acquire Al Horford. He should be their number one target. He'd complement Randle and the rest of the team so well by spreading the floor and guarding the tougher big man matchup.

i honestly can't say enough how well i think Horford would improve the team. he's an elite role player that contenders can build their teams with and young budding stars can rely on.

I want us to go after Noah ... Have Noah start as our centre - he recently whinged about coming off the bench and wanting to play C - have him as our C - Re-sign Hibbert for our back up- and have an up coming Upshaw or Black as our 3rd big.

Batum is a pretty decent 3 and D guy. I would go after him since his stock is at a all time low right now.

Hard to see any elite player coming to us next season, for the same reasons the elite players overlooked the Lakers this season. Can't see Horford going anywhere, they're going to be one of the elite teams in the Easy conference.

And with the rising cash tide lifting all caps, our money is no greener than anybody else's.

In general, the Lakers would have to overpay for lesser talent.

Better teams will get the good players looking to win. We have to fight for the last call girls at 4 AM.

Best thing we can do is judiciously use cap space to collect undervalued talent that can appreciate in value under a good coach. That's about it. We're a weak buyer in a crowded market.

Our priority needs to be amassing talent and develop an attractive winning culture, then the free agent game works in our favor. Not now though.

I'd look at guys like Evan Fournier and Nic Batum who might be odd ones out with their teams but with every team flush with cap space, they'll hold onto their own even if only as an asset accumulation. I mean who would have thought Middleton would get a max within seconds of free agency with Giannis and Parker ahead of him?

First off we have to take a look at our projected roster depth going into the summer. I'm going to assume there are no mid-season trades this year and that we will tender qualifying offers to both Clarkson and Black. Brandon Bass will also not exercise his player option and become a free agent. Also under the assumption that Kobe will retire. We don't keep our pick.

Russell
Clarkson/Williams
Young/Brown
Randle/Nance
Black

We'd be at $25M in committed salary with a projected cap of $90M. With that in mind, let's look at projected max number figures in terms of years played in the league:

0-6 years ($21M) Tier 1
7-9 years ($25M) Tier 2
10+ years ($30M) Tier 3

Now let's take a look at roster needs:

-Backup PG
-3&D wing
-Defensive anchor
-Floor spacers

Onto free agent targets:

PG

Matthew Dellavedova (Restricted)

Brandon Jennings

Mario Chalmers

Mike Conley

Beno Udrih

Grievis Vasquez

Ish Smith

DJ Augustin

Ramon Sessions

SG

Courtney Lee

Gerald Green

Arron Afflalo

DeMar DeRozan (ETO)

SF

Kent Bazemore

Nicolas Batum

Chandler Parsons (Player option)

Harrison Barnes (Restricted)

Luol Deng

Kevin Durant

Evan Fournier (Restricted)

Maurice Harkless (Restricted)

PF

Ryan Anderson

C

Al Horford

Joakim Noah

Timofey Mozgov

Festus Ezeli (Restricted)

Roy Hibbert

Hassan Whiteside

A perfect offseason would revolve around Whiteside and someone like Batum. I don't see Durant coming here.

Durant is dream #1
Noah is dream #2

A little more realistic: Whiteside and Batum i'd be happy with. Heck, resigning Hibbert and nabbing Batum i'd be ecstatic. I'd like to keep Bass, but i'd rather let Nance get his minutes.

Reunite the Gators together, Noah can play when we play against bigger players.

Joakim Noah is already breaking down after years of putting in work under Thibs and he's always been injury plagued anyway. I'd avoid him as far as any large chunk of commitment is concerned.

Slava wrote:. I mean who would have thought Middleton would get a max within seconds of free agency with Giannis and Parker ahead of him?

Anybody who realised they play different positions

andyhop wrote:

Slava wrote:. I mean who would have thought Middleton would get a max within seconds of free agency with Giannis and Parker ahead of him?

Anybody who realised they play different positions

So not someone who looks beyond boxscore and realizes he spent more time playing SF than SG and is more efficient there.

http://www.82games.com/1415/14MIL11.HTM#bypos

Slava wrote:

andyhop wrote:

Slava wrote:. I mean who would have thought Middleton would get a max within seconds of free agency with Giannis and Parker ahead of him?

Anybody who realised they play different positions

So not someone who looks beyond boxscore and realizes he spent more time playing SF than SG and is more efficient there.

http://www.82games.com/1415/14MIL11.HTM#bypos

I know it doesn't really fit in this thread but in your opinion how long before Milwaukee shops one of those 3?

WVlakerfan wrote:

Slava wrote:

andyhop wrote:
Anybody who realised they play different positions

So not someone who looks beyond boxscore and realizes he spent more time playing SF than SG and is more efficient there.

http://www.82games.com/1415/14MIL11.HTM#bypos

I know it doesn't really fit in this thread but in your opinion how long before Milwaukee shops one of those 3?

They are playing Middleton at SG and he is decent there. Giannis can also play 4 so I'm not sure they will trade them especially as Kidd likes bigger players at each position.

It's going to be a tough couple years while Russell and Randle develop and I'm slowly coming to grips with that.

Focus on 1A) Kevin Durant: Maybe he'll say yes and want the bright lights of Los Angeles and being a Laker. I doubt it unless Russell and Randle really develop the rest of the year.

1B) Al Horford: Maximum on Horford, tell him if he agrees, he can sign the contract on the dot and there doesn't have to be any waiting around for big free agents. Doubt he does that.

Maybe, maybeeeee if we sign Horford that will attract Joakim Noah a little bit more and we can bring him on. Also, at the same time, if I were Mitch, I would be phoning Bradley Beal and letting him know that we'll sign him to an offer sheet on Day 1 after the league year is set.


If none of the above, re-sign Clarkson and Roy Hibbert (smaller contract) and buy lots of Crown Royal. Cause we'll need it.