Will the Lakers find a Fool, and if so, Which Team?

[meekrab]

If I'm the Spurs I would do Dougie Buckets for WB + 2 top 1 protected picks and then just tell Westbrook to stay home. McDermott is not going to be in the NBA the next time the Spurs make the playoffs, might as well get him gone so he doesn't accidentally win any games for you.

[dirkforpres]

If it meant getting rid of Davis Bertans, I’d be more than happy for Nico Harrison to “play the fool”

Bertrand is making 16m where is the other 30 coming from?

Powell and Hardaway

[Swish1906]

If it meant getting rid of Davis Bertans, I’d be more than happy for Nico Harrison to “play the fool”

Bertrand is making 16m where is the other 30 coming from?

Powell and Hardaway

Yeah they are not trading THJ for a bricking bum who is unwilling to play within a system.

They are going to sit on Bertans next season and straight after draft night they are offering Bertans 17+5 contract with multiple FRP around the league

[Ballerhogger]

Westbrook is biggest salary cap filler of all time . A team will use him in a trade for xyz.. The jazz would take him if they got 3-4 picks and just absorbed his 1 one year deal

[Lockdown504090]

He was pretty good in Washington & Had 18,7,7 with 45% from the field last season.

high volume terrible efficency, too many turnovers, still did nothing well, just used up lots of possessions so worse players didnt.

Kobe averaged 25.5.5 for his career with 45 % is he all that too, i swear people don’t watch games.

relative to the rest of the league thats not the same thing. its about vs your contemporary, thats what a percentile is.

[Ballerhogger]

You have to look at Westbrook deal outside of the court and how you can use his salary to get picks or players .

[LAL1947]

As a Laker fan, am I the only one who has the overwhelming urge to respond to post like this simply with 'Your Mom"....

.... and his auntie too.

[Ruma85]

high volume terrible efficency, too many turnovers, still did nothing well, just used up lots of possessions so worse players didnt.

Kobe averaged 25.5.5 for his career with 45 % is he all that too, i swear people don’t watch games.

relative to the rest of the league thats not the same thing. its about vs your contemporary, thats what a percentile is.

percentile to what, i’m not following.

[Ruma85]

If I'm the Spurs I would do Dougie Buckets for WB + 2 top 1 protected picks and then just tell Westbrook to stay home. McDermott is not going to be in the NBA the next time the Spurs make the playoffs, might as well get him gone so he doesn't accidentally win any games for you.

why would the lakers do this for mcdermott?

[BlackThought]

If it meant getting rid of Davis Bertans, I’d be more than happy for Nico Harrison to “play the fool”

Bertrand is making 16m where is the other 30 coming from?

Powell and Hardaway

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2215369

Made the exact trade suggestion a few weeks ago.

[BlackThought]

Bertrand is making 16m where is the other 30 coming from?

Powell and Hardaway

Yeah they are not trading THJ for a bricking bum who is unwilling to play within a system.

They are going to sit on Bertans next season and straight after draft night they are offering Bertans 17+5 contract with multiple FRP around the league

THJ is easily replaceable. Just look at some of the wings that got signed this off season. You can get similar production for about 1/2 the price. What you get with Westbrook is the 60 mil you save from having to pay Bertans and THJ for 2 extra years.

[dockingsched]

I am willing to be a fool and give up Randle for the expiring and picks!

According to OP it costs 2 firsts to unload Westbrook's contract, so it's going to cost you roughly 4 unprotected firsts to unload Randle's.

Why on earth would anyone take WB for less than that? There’s absolutely no reason and almost no one who even could

There isn’t a team out there that has $47 mil to “take on” Westbrook’s contract.

Saying a team is “taking on” Westbrooks salary is incorrect, teams would need to send back a comprobable salary amount, in which case they aren’t “taking on” much and in most scenarios where it isn’t expiring going back, are probably unloading salary rather than “taking on”.

Tired of people saying teams are “taking on” the $47 mil as if teams out there even have the ability to absorb that much.

[rocketsfan100]

Jazz who are on a mad pick sale might take on Russ for two firsts in exchange for Beverley Bogi and Malik Beasley?. They see Russ as the ultimate tank commander for next season and he comes off the books . Spurs might be another in full tank mode who could use the ultimate tank commander

[Darthlukey]

The Lakers can bring in a number of players from various teams (Utah, Indiana) simply by shipping out Russell Westbrook's $47 Million salary to anyone who'd take it. Taking on that much dead money is worth 2 Unprotected 1rst Rounders. The Lakers will angle to put protections in, similar to when they had three #2 picks in a row (Lonzo Ball, DeAngelo Russell, Brandon Ingram) that didn't convey due to protection. They just need a team to let them put protection on the picks, so if they are really bad in 2027 and 2029, they keep the picks or they convert to 2nd Rounders.

The obvious candidates to play the fool (if they can find one) are:

Herb Simon, Indiana (could send Buddy Hield and Myles Turner)
Greg Popovich, San Antonio ($21 Million under MINIMUM TEAM salary with 12 players signed, and 50 Million below luxury tax).
Danny Ainge, Utah (could send Patrick Beverly, Malik Beasley and Bojan Bogdanovic for 2 unprotected picks + $1M salary reduction)

If the Lakers decide to bring talent in by moving Westbrook, will any of the above teams cave and do a deal with protections. Doesn't make sense to me, but I'm certain that's the type of deal that the Lakers are looking for.

If those picks have any protection, they are not worth ****. The lakers will tank and make sure they keep the picks. They only have value if they are totally unprotected.

[Darthlukey]

According to OP it costs 2 firsts to unload Westbrook's contract, so it's going to cost you roughly 4 unprotected firsts to unload Randle's.

Why on earth would anyone take WB for less than that? There’s absolutely no reason and almost no one who even could

There isn’t a team out there that has $47 mil to “take on” Westbrook’s contract.

Saying a team is “taking on” Westbrooks salary is incorrect, teams would need to send back a comprobable salary amount, in which case they aren’t “taking on” much and in most scenarios where it isn’t expiring going back, are probably unloading salary rather than “taking on”.

Tired of people saying teams are “taking on” the $47 mil as if teams out there even have the ability to absorb that much.

Its not so much that Russ $47m needs two picks as compensation. Its expiring, that makes it almost value in itself. The issue the Lakers have is that the entire league knows that Lebron wants russ moved and he must be moved for help-now levels of talent. Carrying Russ for the year basically writes off a year of Lebron's career. So teams can ask for what they want as they smell blood in the water. Pay up picks or ride and die with Russ. Its not fair, but it happens.

For years when boston had ~8,000 firsts, all proposed deals for the Cs had a massive 'surcharge' compared to what other teams offered simply cos boston had a bigger warchest. It actually made it harder to get deals done. Basically, perception matters.

[Darthlukey]

If I'm the Spurs I would do Dougie Buckets for WB + 2 top 1 protected picks and then just tell Westbrook to stay home. McDermott is not going to be in the NBA the next time the Spurs make the playoffs, might as well get him gone so he doesn't accidentally win any games for you.

why would the lakers do this for mcdermott?

And why would the Spurs do it for protected 1sts?

I assume the OP means they get out from under Russ deal, not realising that the lakers actually need contributing rotation piece/s back

[Darthlukey]

You have to look at Westbrook deal outside of the court and how you can use his salary to get picks or players .

I cant imagine that picks will interest Lebron, only the lakers, unless they went to a third party for rotation players

[Darthlukey]

Taking on an expiring 47m is worth two unprotected first rounders? Show me one example in history of that.

Its not 2 unprotected picks for the contract, its (up to) 2 unprotected 1sts to get rotation players onto the lakers to not waste a year of Lebrons career. Russ contract is just a vehicle to get other players.

[Darthlukey]

I love how in every thread, a Laker fan proposes a trade where the Lakers get all the best players involved, everyone else gets bent over, and the Laker fans all reply to it with "Great trade for everyone involved" Like they're doing everyone a favor to send them Westbrook and a pick from a year where LeBron's son will be older than Luka Doncic is right now.

I like to see the lakers suffer. But those picks in 27 and 29, if unprotected are worth the gamble. If they are protected, they are **** worthless though.

[Johnny Bball]

According to OP it costs 2 firsts to unload Westbrook's contract, so it's going to cost you roughly 4 unprotected firsts to unload Randle's.

Why on earth would anyone take WB for less than that? There’s absolutely no reason and almost no one who even could

There isn’t a team out there that has $47 mil to “take on” Westbrook’s contract.

Saying a team is “taking on” Westbrooks salary is incorrect, teams would need to send back a comprobable salary amount, in which case they aren’t “taking on” much and in most scenarios where it isn’t expiring going back, are probably unloading salary rather than “taking on”.

Tired of people saying teams are “taking on” the $47 mil as if teams out there even have the ability to absorb that much.

Charlotte and its a really good fit for both. Lakers just have to realize its their only option. Charlotte clears a ton of cap space and gets 2 picks, Westbrook and filler (THT or Nunn), LAL gets Hayward, Rozier and Plumlee.

Charlotte waives Westbrook at the deadline or maybe some team gets even more desperate and trades for him.