RealGM

The plan is operate below the 1st Apron.

Player options and extentions:
Pelinka presents Mavrelous plan to LeBron, he's excited, he opts out and signs 1+1 starting at 48.
DFS gets sent a copy to his horse's stable, he also approves, opts out and signs 54/4 fully guaranteed, maybe add a 5th year with small guarantee to match it to full MLE.
Luka is given a case of Blue Moon, 1/2 hour later, he signs 2+1 extension at 30% max.
Reaves is presented with 89/4 max extension, shows Pelinka one of his fingers and tells him to suck it.

Milton is waived and sent his merry way.
This drops ~10M (Lebron 4, DFS 3 and Milton 3)

Trades:
Vanderbilt, Maxi and Vincent + 31 1st unprotected to the Nets for Calxton + #36 + 2 future 2nds, with confirmation from the nets they aren't extending QO to Sharpe to sign as a FA, Calxton and Sharpe fill the 2 center spots, one is switchable and springy, the other is classic drop big.
Deal sends 34M and receives 25M, add 4M for 2nd pick exception + roster spot, saving is ~5M

Rui Hachimura for DJJ + min contract.
Clippers trade defense for offense and rebounding, Hachimura gives them a full sized 4 who spaces the floor and rebounds, DJJ gives the Lakers POA defender and a lob option who proved to fit very well with Luka.
Deal drops ~8M (6M + fills amin spot)

This opens ~25M for 13 roster spots, meaning full MLE and BAE are open with some margin

FA signings:
MLE signing -- NAW full MLE, NAW will provide POA defense with OK spacing and can help with some ball handling tasks.
BAE signing -- Dayaron Sharpe full BAE, classic drop big who rebounds and protect the rim.


Final product:
Main 9 man rotation:
Claxton(28)/Sharpe(20)
LeBron(30)/DFS(18)
Luka(34)/DFS(10)/Knecht(4)
DJJ(24)/NAW(8)/Knecht(16)
Reaves(32)/NAW(16)

3rd string bench of Bronny, min contract from Clippers, Goodwin, #36, that's 13 players, with 2 vet min.
They will have 4-5 million below the 1st Apron for emergency spending.

Main concern is going from a team deep with forwards, they become short on forwards, only 4, with Luka and LeBron 2 of them, only DFS as a 2-way forward, Knecht would be the 4th, when Luka and LeBron miss 15-20 games each, rotation would be short.
Strength is they are now deep at center and deep on POA defense, if Luka is healthy and in shape, with Claxton, they can be a very effective switch everything team in the PO, with Sharpe and DJJ and NAW on the floor, they can implement drop coverages that capitalize on DJJ and NAW screen navigation.

Preferable adjustment:
Lakers trade 26 1st+27 swap to UTA for their 27 1st back, with the Mavs trade 28 for 29 back +Hardy dumped on UTA , and send 30 1st to Brooklyn, this way, they'll have 32 1st available at the deadline for a trade.
Kessler Edwards is a good vet min target, he was good with the Mavs as emergency forward, he did forget how to shoot though.

Nice ideas.


I think I'd even be happy with
Reaves, Doncic, DFS, LeBron, Claxton
Bronny, Jordan, Knecht, Rui, Sharpe

So Vando+Kleber+Gabe+picks for Claxton+Sharpe(SnT)+36

zimpy27 wrote:Nice ideas.


I think I'd even be happy with
Reaves, Doncic, DFS, LeBron, Claxton
Bronny, Jordan, Knecht, Rui, Sharpe

So Vando+Kleber+Gabe+picks for Claxton+Sharpe(SnT)+36

You need a POA defender, LAL were really lacking that last year, maybe absorb Okoro into MLE, though DJJ and NAW are better...
Luka/Reaves/LeBron lineups were brutal defensively, you need to optimize lineups of 2 out of these 3 + defense around them, in the PO, I trust LeBron to become great defensively, and Luka if he's healthy and has a rim protector behind him.

Mavrelous wrote:

zimpy27 wrote:Nice ideas.


I think I'd even be happy with
Reaves, Doncic, DFS, LeBron, Claxton
Bronny, Jordan, Knecht, Rui, Sharpe

So Vando+Kleber+Gabe+picks for Claxton+Sharpe(SnT)+36

You need a POA defender, LAL were really lacking that last year, maybe absorb Okoro into MLE, though DJJ and NAW are better...
Luka/Reaves/LeBron lineups were brutal defensively, you need to optimize lineups of 2 out of these 3 + defense around them, in the PO, I trust LeBron to become great defensively, and Luka if he's healthy and has a rim protector behind him.

There's diminishing returns on POA defenders with these guys because smart teams will just switch them off their guy anyway when it matters. Unless you get a full court pressure type guy.

Better value with space defenders and space on offense. Lakers need more vertical space and athleticism.


I'm not saying your wrong, just thinking it might be a stretch too far for Lakers to get all of it.

I like all this, a small aside is that I would look for another archetype of backup center, Sharpe shares most of Claxton's defects... he lacks size, he doesn't shoot, etc. although obviously he would be a great improvement.