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I imagine 3 different scenario this summer...

1)
LAL draft with 4th pick Cam Reddish (or a player like that - Hunter or Culver)
Sign 1 max contract (Irving or Leonard)
Use MLE for a C
MLE/James/Leonard/Ingram/Ball bench: Kuzma/Reddish/Hart/Wagner/Vet Min PG


2)
trade 4th pick and Ingram for Beal...
use cap space (near 18 M) to sign Vucevic...
use MLE for back up SF/PF (Ariza?)

Vucevic/James/Kuzma/Beal/Ball bench: Hart/MLE/Wagner/Vet Min PG

3)
trade 4th, Ingram and Lonzo (to PHX for 6th pick) and future 1st for AD...
use cap space (near 25 M) to sign Kemba...
use MLE to sign SG (KCP?)
Davis/James/Kuzma/MLE/Walker bench: Hart/Wagner/Vet Min PG/Vet Min PF/C

Which one is your favorite? i prefer 1st scenario... more balanced and more depth...

#1 With Kawhi, I agree this is the best option. However, there is almost no chance Kawhi signs here. Kyrie may, but he has a lot of other (better) options. Chances are greater we get a 2nd or 3rd tier player for a max contract - eg. Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, or Tobias Harris. Plug those guys in the lineup, and I don't think we have a contender, unless 2 of our young guys make a major leap.

#2 gives better balance than #1, and less risk than #3. We'd be fringe contenders for a few years, but would be in full rebuild mode again in 3 years.

#3 It would take more than 25 mil to get Kemba, but it is doable. There is even a slim chance to get Kyrie instead of Kemba... Assuming AD is healthy, we'd be contenders next year. But will he stay healthy, and be more than a 1 year rental? If NO is willing to trade and he's willing to sign a multi-year extension, then you definitely do that trade. Two big ifs!

Assuming no Kawhi, I'd take #3 if we could swing it.

mighty_duck wrote:#1 With Kawhi, I agree this is the best option. However, there is almost no chance Kawhi signs here. Kyrie may, but he has a lot of other (better) options. Chances are greater we get a 2nd or 3rd tier player for a max contract - eg. Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, or Tobias Harris. Plug those guys in the lineup, and I don't think we have a contender, unless 2 of our young guys make a major leap.

#2 gives better balance than #1, and less risk than #3. We'd be fringe contenders for a few years, but would be in full rebuild mode again in 3 years.

#3 It would take more than 25 mil to get Kemba, but it is doable. There is even a slim chance to get Kyrie instead of Kemba... Assuming AD is healthy, we'd be contenders next year. But will he stay healthy, and be more than a 1 year rental? If NO is willing to trade and he's willing to sign a multi-year extension, then you definitely do that trade. Two big ifs!

Assuming no Kawhi, I'd take #3 if we could swing it.

I agree that option 2 may be the most reasonable and realistic option. However, I would prefer to get a serviceable starting PF, C, and PG and move Lonzo and Kuz to the bench. Kuz is a liability at PF. Zo is underutilized playing w/ Lebron. I’d like Zo to lead the bench unit and be our 6th man. I think Beal and Lebron can manage the first team if they have complimentary players that can stretch the floor.

Anything involving LeBron and Kawhi is my dream option.

Keeping Ball, Ingram, Kuz, Hart, #4 and future picks also gives us future trade prospects should we need it to fill in the roster a different way.

We could technically trade for Beal in late July after we sign our draft pick.

Ball, #4 pick salary, Bonga, Wagner, future pick would equal enough outgoing salary to bring in Beal. So then you have a roster of:

PG: Hart/Caruso/
SG: Beal/
SF: Kawhi/Ingram
PF: LeBron/Kuzma
C: Ed Davis (Room)

+ whatever guys come along with minimum deals. Lots of good options out there who will come.

If the Lakers land Kawhi then they don't need to trade for Davis. LeBron+Kawhi+shooters+the kids is good enough to beat a KD-less Golden State, imo. But if you can land Davis without giving up all of the kids then I would probably do it. Barring injury that should win you a ring.

People forget how good "KD-Less GS" was... Getting KD was an embarrassment of riches... It was a little awkward and forced a lot of the other guys out of their comfort zones... If they can get Klay and Green back and add some other pieces here and there (maybe even keep Cousins on another cheap 1yr deal), they may actually be better than they were with KD, from a team perspective.

So no, I don't think LeBron and Kawhi and the kids is enough... Partially because I think there's way too much overlap between LeBron/Kawhi/Ingram, not to mention throwing Kuz into the mix...
As much of a fan of Ingram as I am, if Kawhi is interested in coming here, I think you have to trade Ingram for something that fits a bit better and gives more of the court to Kawhi and LeBron...

Now if by some miracle we got KD, then I might be cool not trading anyone... I think Ingram/KD/LeBron is a decent mix of talent if they commit to it... And adding Ball to that and with Hart and Kuz off the bench, we might have enough to take the best teams apart.

Option 4.

Sign Kyrie.
S/T for Kawhi with 6th pick, 32 pick (in trade for 4th), Hart, Bonga, Moritz and others + future 1st rd. pick
Keep all of our core youth.
MLE on Demarcus Cousins

Starting:
Kyrie
Lonzo
Kawhi
Lebron
Cousins

Closing:
Kyrie
Ingram
Kawhi
Lebron
Cousins

tlifeset wrote:Option 4.

Sign Kyrie.
S/T for Kawhi with 6th pick, 32 pick (in trade for 4th), Hart, Bonga, Moritz and others + future 1st rd. pick
Keep all of our core youth.
MLE on Demarcus Cousins

Starting:
Kyrie
Lonzo
Kawhi
Lebron
Cousins

Closing:
Kyrie
Ingram
Kawhi
Lebron
Cousins

IMO, Kawhi is the best player in the NBA not named Giannis.
While I see why Toronto would be receptive to a S&T if Kawhi was going to leave; it’s an awful pill to swallow.

What you’re proposing is terribly lacking. The trade package would need to be more on par with what was being proposed for AD. Zo, Ingram, & the #4 and possibly a future 1st rounder. I would do that in a heartbeat.

tv24lakers wrote:

tlifeset wrote:Option 4.

Sign Kyrie.
S/T for Kawhi with 6th pick, 32 pick (in trade for 4th), Hart, Bonga, Moritz and others + future 1st rd. pick
Keep all of our core youth.
MLE on Demarcus Cousins

Starting:
Kyrie
Lonzo
Kawhi
Lebron
Cousins

Closing:
Kyrie
Ingram
Kawhi
Lebron
Cousins

IMO, Kawhi is the best player in the NBA not named Giannis.
While I see why Toronto would be receptive to a S&T if Kawhi was going to leave; it’s an awful pill to swallow.

What you’re proposing is terribly lacking. The trade package would need to be more on par with what was being proposed for AD. Zo, Ingram, & the #4 and possibly a future 1st rounder. I would do that in a heartbeat.

Giannis isn’t even on his tier and sign and trade to teams take what they can get if said player is leaving anyway. No way they get a AD package for a FA. But also that sign and trade wouldn’t work regardless cuz of salary cap.

There’s only one choice. Land Kawhi or rebuild. Nothing in between will beat the Warriors.

milesfides wrote:There’s only one choice. Land Kawhi or rebuild. Nothing in between will beat the Warriors.

For the most part I agree with this but it does seem there has to be some combo of LeBron and AD that would work.

It's possible, but you'd need to get elite three-point shooters around them, who can also play defense. The problem is that those guys play for Golden State.

If the Lakers make no moves except signing Kawhi to a max contract this offseason how much cap space would they have, if any, after the 2019-2020 season?

AcecardZ wrote:If the Lakers make no moves except signing Kawhi to a max contract this offseason how much cap space would they have, if any, after the 2019-2020 season?

0

milesfides wrote:There’s only one choice. Land Kawhi or rebuild. Nothing in between will beat the Warriors.

There is 0.0% chance that GSW will be resigning both KD and Klay this summer. Presuming Klay resigns w/ GSW this summer at an expected salary of $25 and the following year when Draymond is a FA, I would expect the collective salaries between the 3 would be in the $90m + range. I would question if GSW resigns Draymond to the max as they would assuredly be hitting the salary tax, which can be intensely costly. That all to say, next season may be the last run for the dynamic trio, so no need to rebuild right now.

First, KD is leaving (which doesn’t really hurt the Warriors). GS will max out Klay this summer and will easily keep Draymond in 2020 when the cap goes up to $118. The Warriors’ will continue to attract top veteran role players to fill in the ranks. The Warriors won’t necessarily even be in luxury territory, but if they are, they can pay it, especially as possibly the greatest team in NBA history with the big three in their prime.

lelelazza8 wrote:I imagine 3 different scenario this summer...

1)
LAL draft with 4th pick Cam Reddish (or a player like that - Hunter or Culver)
Sign 1 max contract (Irving or Leonard)
Use MLE for a C
MLE/James/Leonard/Ingram/Ball bench: Kuzma/Reddish/Hart/Wagner/Vet Min PG


2)
trade 4th pick and Ingram for Beal...
use cap space (near 18 M) to sign Vucevic...
use MLE for back up SF/PF (Ariza?)

Vucevic/James/Kuzma/Beal/Ball bench: Hart/MLE/Wagner/Vet Min PG

3)
trade 4th, Ingram and Lonzo (to PHX for 6th pick) and future 1st for AD...
use cap space (near 25 M) to sign Kemba...
use MLE to sign SG (KCP?)
Davis/James/Kuzma/MLE/Walker bench: Hart/Wagner/Vet Min PG/Vet Min PF/C

Which one is your favorite? i prefer 1st scenario... more balanced and more depth...

The option 1 with Kawhi is the best option. After that, the 3rd option is the best but I have a hard time believing we can land AD w/o sending out Kuz.

If Kawhi signs here lakers are immediate title contenders and should be favoured even if KD somehow elects to resign with GSW. If the AD fiasco did not happen, lakers make the playoffs and probably would have the honor of getting swept in the WCF as Portland did.

ois wrote:If Kawhi signs here lakers are immediate title contenders and should be favoured even if KD somehow elects to resign with GSW. If the AD fiasco did not happen, lakers make the playoffs and probably would have the honor of getting swept in the WCF as Portland did.

Toronto’s win tonight validates my argument to build a balanced roster as oppose to assembling 3 superstars with no concern for the supporting cast. While I believe GS will still win the series, I find it remarkable that not only did the Raptors make it to the Finals they were the successors in game 1.

Watching the game, GS was relentless in not giving Kawhi an inch; the rest of the team truly rallied and knocked down shots. All the while Toronto’s presumptive 2nd best player, Lowry, was in foul trouble all night.

*Personally, I think Siakam is the more consistent player, but that I’ll leave that for another debate.

The Lakers need to establish a serious plan of action with the correct mix of stars, solid veterans, young players and some good rookie talent. Who will be on the roster in the fall 2019 and how will the trade market work for the Lakers and the free agent market who is coming to the Lakers. There is a lot going on each step should be thought out by management and the coaching staff on the process of rebuilding carefully with prudence.