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The giant assumption is that Lebron would like to return to Cleveland and that Mitchell would extend. The idea would be to cash in Mobley / Garland for players who fit better around Lebron/Mitchell. (I'm not sure how the extension/trade rules work when it comes to extension, but perhaps this trade happens after Lauri and Mobley have extended?)

There's a chance this is DOA if someone smarter than me can't figure out how Cleveland could retain the players they traded for, but I think some combination of sign and trades could get you there, or at least close.

LAL IN: Levert, Niang, 25 LAL 1st, 27 LAL 1st
LAL OUT: Lebron James
Why: Let James get what he wants while allowing you to reset via the draft. You could then move AD (or not), but this gets close to the maximum value for Lebron.

UTA IN: Mobley, McCollum
UTA OUT: Lauri, #29, 2027 LAL
Why: Upgrade from Lauri to Mobley for the cost of #29 and the LAL pick. It's the bird in a hand versus the one in the bush. It would be predicated on the idea that you think Mobley has a higher ceiling and better matches your timeline than Lauri.

CLE IN: Lebron, Markkanen, Jones
CLE OUT: Garland, Mobley, LeVert, Niang
Why: Fairly obvious; the assumption is you get the best chance at the title you'll likely have for quite a while.

NOP IN: Garland, #29
NOP OUT: McCollum, Jones, 2025 LAL
Upgrade from Jones to Garland, plus get off the final years of McCollum.


To me, this really hinges on three questions:
1. Would the Jazz pay to upgrade from Lauri to Mobley?
2. Would Garland fetch Jones + 2025 LAL pick?
3. Would getting their picks back incentivize LAL to do a sign and trade?

I would rather have Mobley next to Lebron and if the cost is filler and 2 1sts for Lebron they can likely get that with a Garland trade alone. Then can trade off Allen to address their wing needs. I don't think Utah really belongs here with Jones taking over at SF.

If Lebron wants Cleveland then he will get there, I don't think LAL are going to require their own picks back to make this work. Other assets can be used.

I really can't wait until Mobley signs his extension.

psman2 wrote:I would rather have Mobley next to Lebron and if the cost is filler and 2 1sts for Lebron they can likely get that with a Garland trade alone. Then can trade off Allen to address their wing needs. I don't think Utah really belongs here with Jones taking over at SF.

If Lebron wants Cleveland then he will get there, I don't think LAL are going to require their own picks back to make this work. Other assets can be used.

I can definitely understand that. I think the ceiling of a Mitchell/Jones/Lebron/Lauri/Allen core is higher than a Mitchell/x/Jones/Lebron/Mobley core but I can definitely respect the opposite opinion.

I think the spacing and size the Lauri/Jones lineup provides would be devastating defensively plus would provide ample spacing for Lebron and Mitchell. I also feel like Lauri can slide effortlessly into the number two option when Lebron is inevitably out in ways Mobley’s not yet capable of.

But it’s definitely geared towards winning now; whereas Mobley could be a better choice long term.

bkohler wrote:

psman2 wrote:I would rather have Mobley next to Lebron and if the cost is filler and 2 1sts for Lebron they can likely get that with a Garland trade alone. Then can trade off Allen to address their wing needs. I don't think Utah really belongs here with Jones taking over at SF.

If Lebron wants Cleveland then he will get there, I don't think LAL are going to require their own picks back to make this work. Other assets can be used.

I can definitely understand that. I think the ceiling of a Mitchell/Jones/Lebron/Lauri/Allen core is higher than a Mitchell/x/Jones/Lebron/Mobley core but I can definitely respect the opposite opinion.

I think the spacing and size the Lauri/Jones lineup provides would be devastating defensively plus would provide ample spacing for Lebron and Mitchell. I also feel like Lauri can slide effortlessly into the number two option when Lebron is inevitably out in ways Mobley’s not yet capable of.

But it’s definitely geared towards winning now; whereas Mobley could be a better choice long term.

Mobley looked pretty capable when he was finally being fed last 2 games for 2 career play-off highs... I like Lauri, and wish we hadn't traded him. But at the cost of Mobley, I'm out. I'd do the trade with the Lakers and Pels, with some tinkering, I'd guess.