RealGM

Coming up to trades and FA, I thought I'd highlight a thread that touches on needs and who could fit them and are realistically acquirable.

Team:
Nunn, Reaves, THT, LeBron, Davis -- SJ, Gabriel
TaxMLE (6m/3)
Vet Min deals

Trade pieces:
Westbrook gets traded
THT might get traded
24/25 FRP swap
26 FRP swap
27 FRP
28 FRP swap
29 FRP
a few SRPs

Needs:
Wing defender (SF position best)
Guard defender
Playmaker that can run offense without LeBron
C that can stretch the floor


Anything else to add?

Playmaking FA

Rubio is interesting to me. He might not be that expensive but he can run an offense and he's a good defender. He could fit a couple major needs very well and would fit alongside Nunn.

Schroeder could be worth looking at for cheap.

Tyus Jones is great but probably unlikely that Memphis let him go.


Playmaking via trade
Wall would be an easy trade but it's a bit unknown. Though the more I think about it the more I think this could be a good option to take a flyer..

Conley is a good option IMO. He is probably going to go pretty cheap if Utah blow it up.

Brogdon is a bit risky but he's great when he plays

Fultz is young and has shown a decent ability to get offense happening but hasn't shown elite impact data yet.

All these option shave injury concerns

Westbrook trade for Brogdon and Buddy does seem to make the most sense in that you get Robs guy (Hield *shudder*) and Brogdon - who is the best playmaker gettable via trade. Wall is second best I think.

However, if they don't pull off then I think Rubio is the best target with the TaxMLE... In that scenario, a Westbrook trade likely happens with Knicks (Fournier, Burks, etc) or Hornets (Rozier + Oubre or Hayward).

In the scenario where Monk takes the TaxMLE then I do find it difficult to think of a good defensive PG and SF combo that can be had by trading Westbrook. Anyone have any ideas?

I know it's a long shot ... Myles Turner or bust this off season ...

We all know AD going to go down. Need someone to fill that role.

If you can snag TJ McConnell in any trade with Indiana, that solves the defensive PG issue. If the Wizards aren't going anywhere meaningful, I'd try to get KCP back as well. He's on a neutral value contract and maybe a straight swap for THT would be pliable.

Slava wrote:If you can snag TJ McConnell in any trade with Indiana, that solves the defensive PG issue. If the Wizards aren't going anywhere meaningful, I'd try to get KCP back as well. He's on a neutral value contract and maybe a straight swap for THT would be pliable.

Yeah TJ would great.
Maybe something like:

LAL get TJ, Hield, KCP
IND get Westbrook, Rui, LAL26swap
WAS get Brogdon

zimpy27 wrote:

Slava wrote:If you can snag TJ McConnell in any trade with Indiana, that solves the defensive PG issue. If the Wizards aren't going anywhere meaningful, I'd try to get KCP back as well. He's on a neutral value contract and maybe a straight swap for THT would be pliable.

Yeah TJ would great.
Maybe something like:

LAL get TJ, Hield, KCP
IND get Westbrook, Rui, LAL26swap
WAS get Brogdon

That'd be solid if TJ stays healthy. He made leaps as a playmaker last season.

I might even try and flip Hield for a replacement wing, who's more defensively versatile, albeit a little offensively limited.

Why would Indiana want Westbrook though?

They have Haliburton to run the show for the next decade, he's 50x better than current Westbrook.

I don't think they're in the market of shelving contracts(Hield and Brogdon) and get nothing in return(presumably they'd want Westbrook because he's an expiring, they certainly don't want him to contribute...see Haliburton).

Tbh, the only reason they want to trade Brogdon anyway is to take the ball out of his hands and go full time Hali.

The kid averaged 17.5 ppg/4.3 rpg/9.6 apg and 1.8 spg while shooting over 41% from 3 and .630 TS overall as a Pacer at age 22. You don't add **** Westbrook to a team like this to take away your young stud's usage.

They can easily trade those guys and get real assets back, on more friendly contracts.

Westbrook makes sense in Charlotte because that Hayward deal is a real whooper, much harder to move than Brogdon.
As an albatross expiring. Maybe NY. Maybe Rockets for Wall and then a buyout.

That's it. Any other scenarios are very unrealistic and not even worth mentioning IMO.

I'm also in the camp of thinking that Brog&Hield trade with Indy is extremely unlikely. I think they can do much better than an expiring deal. Who exactly would they be interested in preserving cap space for? As I've previously mentioned, I think there's still some bad blood due to the tampering issue from a few years ago. Why would an owner do business with a team (Pelinka was also here) that was fined for tampering with its star player only a few years ago? Obviously if it's a deal that's too good to ignore you'd reconsider. This proposed Westbrook trade is not even remotely close to being a great deal for Indy. Also doesn't help that Bird is still involved with Indy in some capacity.

ROballer wrote:Why would Indiana want Westbrook though?

They have Haliburton to run the show for the next decade, he's 50x better than current Westbrook.

I don't think they're in the market of shelving contracts(Hield and Brogdon) and get nothing in return(presumably they'd want Westbrook because he's an expiring, they certainly don't want him to contribute...see Haliburton).

Tbh, the only reason they want to trade Brogdon anyway is to take the ball out of his hands and go full time Hali.

The kid averaged 17.5 ppg/4.3 rpg/9.6 apg and 1.8 spg while shooting over 41% from 3 and .630 TS overall as a Pacer at age 22. You don't add **** Westbrook to a team like this to take away your young stud's usage.

They can easily trade those guys and get real assets back, on more friendly contracts.

Westbrook makes sense in Charlotte because that Hayward deal is a real whooper, much harder to move than Brogdon.
As an albatross expiring. Maybe NY. Maybe Rockets for Wall and then a buyout.

That's it. Any other scenarios are very unrealistic and not even worth mentioning IMO.

They can do what OKC did with CP3 and Schröder, basically pump his value for half a season and dump him for assets at the deadline or in an S&T in the summer. If there’s a coach that can get a tune out of an enigmatic PG, it’s Carlisle.

..or they can get the assets straight up for Brogdon and/or Hield?

Without sacrificing a full year of the rebuild with pumping up Westbrook's sorry ass.

Haliburton is unselfish as ****. Passive when he has another running mate who needs the ball in his hands.
He deferred to Fox in Sacramento and even Brogdon in the very few games in which they played together. That's why Indy want to get rid of Brogdon first and foremost. You can't get 100% of Haliburton when both play, they don't mesh well together.

But Carlisle has been running him to death when Brogdon sat as the guy who runs the team and he delivered. There's no **** way a guy like Westbrook comes along and gets to play.

At the bare minimum. Let's say they get desperate, don't get the assets they want and want to shed the salaries(Brogdon has 3 years left on his deal, Hield 2 years left). They take Westbrook but he gets the buyout the next second(like the Thunder did with Kemba Walker this past summer). No way he plays a second in Indianapolis.

But that's just wishful thinking at this point. Both Brogdon and Hield have fairly usable contracts, their not cap killers and I'd argue both have positive value based on their production.

I honestly don't think we are quite as far from being competitive as we looked during this season. We need some wing depth, shooting and athleticism. We should have some opportunities to address those needs even with cheap signings in FA. Off the top of my head, guys like Jarrett Culver, Josh Jackson, Taurean Prince, Otto Porter, Jeremy Lamb would all be good fit on this team and can get us elements that we didn't have last year.

I dislike Westbrook as much as the next guy but we have to tread the water very very carefully with him. Last thing we need is another dumb trade that sets us back for years like the Schroeder and Russ trade. If we can't find a trade we like, keep his ass around and wait for another opportunity to open up.

Why do we need a center who can stretch the floor? I'd much rather have one that can score in the paint. We have a SF/PG who will chuck enough 3 pointers at 35%. And a PF who will be chucking 20' fade a ways. Having a big that can consistently play in the paint and shoot 70% in the paint is what we truly need.

Nothing "old school" about it. Ten 2 point shots at 70% is better than ten 3 point shots at 35%. Forcing fouls and putting pressure on the defense in the paint will actually create better looks from outside.

slifersd wrote:I honestly don't think we are quite as far from being competitive as we looked during this season. We need some wing depth, shooting and athleticism. We should have some opportunities to address those needs even with cheap signings in FA. Off the top of my head, guys like Jarrett Culver, Josh Jackson, Taurean Prince, Otto Porter, Jeremy Lamb would all be good fit on this team and can get us elements that we didn't have last year.

I dislike Westbrook as much as the next guy but we have to tread the water very very carefully with him. Last thing we need is another dumb trade that sets us back for years like the Schroeder and Russ trade. If we can't find a trade we like, keep his ass around and wait for another opportunity to open up.

Our "athleticism" issues are largely in our top 2 players. If Davis uses his athleticism he gets hurt and while Bron is still strong as an OX the zip is no longer there. Getting athletes that won't touch the ball isn't our problem. It's an aging star and one that is made of straw.

The Lakers will go as far as Bron and Davis take them. The way Bron plays these days precludes anyone else impacting us that much IMHO. I dislike Westbrook as much as anyone (and more than most) and could see that he wouldn't fit.... I also see that other than people who park in the corner waiting for a pass with 5 seconds or less on the clock isn't a fit either.

We will have a new coach but we will have the same offense and initiation. Bron isn't stepping aside for a PG to run the show. He may for a few stretches but the end of the game is the dribble/chuck show.

Landsberger wrote:

slifersd wrote:I honestly don't think we are quite as far from being competitive as we looked during this season. We need some wing depth, shooting and athleticism. We should have some opportunities to address those needs even with cheap signings in FA. Off the top of my head, guys like Jarrett Culver, Josh Jackson, Taurean Prince, Otto Porter, Jeremy Lamb would all be good fit on this team and can get us elements that we didn't have last year.

I dislike Westbrook as much as the next guy but we have to tread the water very very carefully with him. Last thing we need is another dumb trade that sets us back for years like the Schroeder and Russ trade. If we can't find a trade we like, keep his ass around and wait for another opportunity to open up.

Our "athleticism" issues are largely in our top 2 players. If Davis uses his athleticism he gets hurt and while Bron is still strong as an OX the zip is no longer there. Getting athletes that won't touch the ball isn't our problem. It's an aging star and one that is made of straw.

The Lakers will go as far as Bron and Davis take them. The way Bron plays these days precludes anyone else impacting us that much IMHO. I dislike Westbrook as much as anyone (and more than most) and could see that he wouldn't fit.... I also see that other than people who park in the corner waiting for a pass with 5 seconds or less on the clock isn't a fit either.

We will have a new coach but we will have the same offense and initiation. Bron isn't stepping aside for a PG to run the show. He may for a few stretches but the end of the game is the dribble/chuck show.

We certainly need the stars to actually show up and play, that's for damn sure. But even when the stars played last year, we still had a glaring problem of not having enough athleticism around them to compete with younger teams. We routinely gets roasted defensively because the players are just too slow and can't keep up. Upgrading this team from an athleticism perspective would help. But of course, nobody is going to come in and replace LeBron and AD to single handedly take us over the top.

slifersd wrote:

Landsberger wrote:

slifersd wrote:I honestly don't think we are quite as far from being competitive as we looked during this season. We need some wing depth, shooting and athleticism. We should have some opportunities to address those needs even with cheap signings in FA. Off the top of my head, guys like Jarrett Culver, Josh Jackson, Taurean Prince, Otto Porter, Jeremy Lamb would all be good fit on this team and can get us elements that we didn't have last year.

I dislike Westbrook as much as the next guy but we have to tread the water very very carefully with him. Last thing we need is another dumb trade that sets us back for years like the Schroeder and Russ trade. If we can't find a trade we like, keep his ass around and wait for another opportunity to open up.

Our "athleticism" issues are largely in our top 2 players. If Davis uses his athleticism he gets hurt and while Bron is still strong as an OX the zip is no longer there. Getting athletes that won't touch the ball isn't our problem. It's an aging star and one that is made of straw.

The Lakers will go as far as Bron and Davis take them. The way Bron plays these days precludes anyone else impacting us that much IMHO. I dislike Westbrook as much as anyone (and more than most) and could see that he wouldn't fit.... I also see that other than people who park in the corner waiting for a pass with 5 seconds or less on the clock isn't a fit either.

We will have a new coach but we will have the same offense and initiation. Bron isn't stepping aside for a PG to run the show. He may for a few stretches but the end of the game is the dribble/chuck show.

We certainly need the stars to actually show up and play, that's for damn sure. But even when the stars played last year, we still had a glaring problem of not having enough athleticism around them to compete with younger teams. We routinely gets roasted defensively because the players are just too slow and can't keep up. Upgrading this team from an athleticism perspective would help. But of course, nobody is going to come in and replace LeBron and AD to single handedly take us over the top.

Not disagreeing one bit but our athleticism issues are with the players that will get the overwhelming minutes for the team. Melo, Bron, Davis and Howard all were OK to decent at one point but they are traffic cones these days. Bron isn't going to play with younger players... he's angling for more 30+ year olds and the statement from Pelinka made it clear that Bron is still fully in charge of roster construction to me.

Landsberger wrote:

slifersd wrote:

Landsberger wrote:
Our "athleticism" issues are largely in our top 2 players. If Davis uses his athleticism he gets hurt and while Bron is still strong as an OX the zip is no longer there. Getting athletes that won't touch the ball isn't our problem. It's an aging star and one that is made of straw.

The Lakers will go as far as Bron and Davis take them. The way Bron plays these days precludes anyone else impacting us that much IMHO. I dislike Westbrook as much as anyone (and more than most) and could see that he wouldn't fit.... I also see that other than people who park in the corner waiting for a pass with 5 seconds or less on the clock isn't a fit either.

We will have a new coach but we will have the same offense and initiation. Bron isn't stepping aside for a PG to run the show. He may for a few stretches but the end of the game is the dribble/chuck show.

We certainly need the stars to actually show up and play, that's for damn sure. But even when the stars played last year, we still had a glaring problem of not having enough athleticism around them to compete with younger teams. We routinely gets roasted defensively because the players are just too slow and can't keep up. Upgrading this team from an athleticism perspective would help. But of course, nobody is going to come in and replace LeBron and AD to single handedly take us over the top.

Not disagreeing one bit but our athleticism issues are with the players that will get the overwhelming minutes for the team. Melo, Bron, Davis and Howard all were OK to decent at one point but they are traffic cones these days. Bron isn't going to play with younger players... he's angling for more 30+ year olds and the statement from Pelinka made it clear that Bron is still fully in charge of roster construction to me.

That is true, we not only need to sign athletic players but also give them big roles instead of trying to go with the golden oldies again. LeBron has proven to be a train wreck of a GM. I know we as an organization always gravitate toward kissing his ass any chance we get, but this offseason, we need to do what's right for the team. If LeBron wants to get another 5 of his buddies jobs, then we need to show him tapes of last season and tell him F*CK NO! Lakers always wants to talk about how our relationship with LeBron is a "collaboration", so make it collaborative instead of taking orders from LeBron like we are his servants

Landsberger wrote:

slifersd wrote:

Landsberger wrote:
Our "athleticism" issues are largely in our top 2 players. If Davis uses his athleticism he gets hurt and while Bron is still strong as an OX the zip is no longer there. Getting athletes that won't touch the ball isn't our problem. It's an aging star and one that is made of straw.

The Lakers will go as far as Bron and Davis take them. The way Bron plays these days precludes anyone else impacting us that much IMHO. I dislike Westbrook as much as anyone (and more than most) and could see that he wouldn't fit.... I also see that other than people who park in the corner waiting for a pass with 5 seconds or less on the clock isn't a fit either.

We will have a new coach but we will have the same offense and initiation. Bron isn't stepping aside for a PG to run the show. He may for a few stretches but the end of the game is the dribble/chuck show.

We certainly need the stars to actually show up and play, that's for damn sure. But even when the stars played last year, we still had a glaring problem of not having enough athleticism around them to compete with younger teams. We routinely gets roasted defensively because the players are just too slow and can't keep up. Upgrading this team from an athleticism perspective would help. But of course, nobody is going to come in and replace LeBron and AD to single handedly take us over the top.

Not disagreeing one bit but our athleticism issues are with the players that will get the overwhelming minutes for the team. Melo, Bron, Davis and Howard all were OK to decent at one point but they are traffic cones these days. Bron isn't going to play with younger players... he's angling for more 30+ year olds and the statement from Pelinka made it clear that Bron is still fully in charge of roster construction to me.

Davis and LeBron are slow, the move the least per minute in the league just about. In the championship season (both in regular season and playoffs) they were bottom 10 in the league for average speed (distance moved per minute on court).

So it's true they don't move much but that didn't stop them winning a championship.

The need the right type of movement, this season they went fast paced because of Russ but it's not the movement you want, you want slow paced but players moving on offense to get you best possible looks. Not just upping pace and running to get both sides more possessions.

How do you guys think of a trade for Conley, Clarkson, Gay?
Would need Westbrook and 1 FRP. But I think it could be worth it.

Clarkson has become a solid impact player even in a poor shooting year. He does a lot of things that help winning beyond scoring. Conley is a great player when healthy but that's the big question mark for him. Gay has been solid too and I'd have him as a Kuzma replacement.

Conley, Clarkson, Gay, LeBron, Davis -- Nunn, Reaves, THT, Gabriel

zimpy27 wrote:How do you guys think of a trade for Conley, Clarkson, Gay?
Would need Westbrook and 1 FRP. But I think it could be worth it.

Clarkson has become a solid impact player even in a poor shooting year. He does a lot of things that help winning beyond scoring. Conley is a great player when healthy but that's the big question mark for him. Gay has been solid too and I'd have him as a Kuzma replacement.

Conley, Clarkson, Gay, LeBron, Davis -- Nunn, Reaves, THT, Gabriel

Sign me up. Anything that gets productive players here and eliminates Westbrook - I could honestly not care in the slightest.