2018 Trade Ideas thread

[MachoMan]

If the anticipated FO's Plan A is successful in signing Lebron and PG-13, the focus immediately becomes "now". The team is immediately on the clock with an expiring window. My assumption is the next move is to package other assets on the roster in seeking another superstar or at least another All Star. I think Ball, Ingram, Kuzma and Hart are all immediately on the block to a degree. I understand we as fans get an emotional attachment to the young guys, but I do not think Lebron is going to trust his title hopes to a 2nd year PG or a 3rd year developing wing. Our young guys have potential, but none of them will be championship caliber players next season. Ball and Ingram would likely be the foundation of an offer to acquire a player on the level of Kawhi or AD. If neither of those players could be had, I think a package would be built around either Ball or Ingram (with other assets) seeking to acquire a lesser veteran player.

If the anticipated FO's Plan A is unsuccessful in that we sign neither James or George, or only George, I think more focus will be placed on retaining Randle and punting cap space to the following summer.

Well you have to remember any deal will start with Ingram because we have to keep Ball because we need a PG, and LeBron is fond of him he has been watching him play for a while now.

yeah, I am not buying into that too much....every year, these guys come to cities and are asked about that teams young player(s), and they always give praise and mostly speak in narrative ("he plays the game the right way", "he is going to be a special player", "guys are going to want to play with him"), and the teams fans think those are deep thoughts or have meaning. In my opinion, Lebron is not "seeking" to play with any 20 year old including Ball. I am sure he had some positive quotes about Andrew Wiggins before free agency began in the summer of 2014.....right before he had him sent to Minnesota. Remember his thoughts on Shabazz Napier right before he bounced out of South Beach? Watching Lebron play in recent years....a PG shooting 30% from 3 would not even receive passes from Lebron.

[LAKESHOW]

Sign Paul George.

[larry14r]

If the anticipated FO's Plan A is successful in signing Lebron and PG-13, the focus immediately becomes "now". The team is immediately on the clock with an expiring window. My assumption is the next move is to package other assets on the roster in seeking another superstar or at least another All Star. I think Ball, Ingram, Kuzma and Hart are all immediately on the block to a degree. I understand we as fans get an emotional attachment to the young guys, but I do not think Lebron is going to trust his title hopes to a 2nd year PG or a 3rd year developing wing. Our young guys have potential, but none of them will be championship caliber players next season. Ball and Ingram would likely be the foundation of an offer to acquire a player on the level of Kawhi or AD. If neither of those players could be had, I think a package would be built around either Ball or Ingram (with other assets) seeking to acquire a lesser veteran player.

If the anticipated FO's Plan A is unsuccessful in that we sign neither James or George, or only George, I think more focus will be placed on retaining Randle and punting cap space to the following summer.

Well you have to remember any deal will start with Ingram because we have to keep Ball because we need a PG, and LeBron is fond of him he has been watching him play for a while now.

yeah, I am not buying into that too much....every year, these guys come to cities and are asked about that teams young player(s), and they always give praise and mostly speak in narrative ("he plays the game the right way", "he is going to be a special player", "guys are going to want to play with him"), and the teams fans think those are deep thoughts or have meaning. In my opinion, Lebron is not "seeking" to play with any 20 year old including Ball. I am sure he had some positive quotes about Andrew Wiggins before free agency began in the summer of 2014.....right before he had him sent to Minnesota. Remember his thoughts on Shabazz Napier right before he bounced out of South Beach? Watching Lebron play in recent years....a PG shooting 30% from 3 would not even receive passes from Lebron.

Then LeBron can kiss my ass and go to Houston. Also you can kiss my ass with your opinion too.

Really?! You don't think you over-reacted just a smidge on this one? Regardless, you've been around long enough to know this kind of thing is pretty much a guaranteed warning. - Kilroy

[milesfides]

Ball and Ingram would likely be the foundation of an offer to acquire a player on the level of Kawhi or AD.

I don't disagree, but Lebron-George-Kawhi would be unlikely, because none of those guys want to play the four full-time. So which two would you want, among Lebron, George, Kawhi, and Ingram? I'd say George and Kawhi.

Ingram's not a sure bet to develop in time (or at all) into a player at their level, and it's far more likely that George will sign with us if we have Kawhi/Lebron. But Lebron is a risk injury/decline at this point. Mid 30s are when it happens for everybody - even the best. Also, while Lebron might want to cherry pick his point guard, PG and Kawhi would be more likely to trust in a young but universally recognized unselfish and great playmaker in Lonzo.

I'm not sure about Lonzo Ball being traded at all. Who can replace him?

What better point guard has the talent, motivation, and opportunity to play with our potential two superstars? Chris Paul at 34? Kyle Lowry at 33? You run out of names pretty quickly.

I think Ball is staying, for lack of an adequate replacement at his position.

Ingram? Way more likely to get traded. Paul George, Lebron, Kawhi, Klay Thompson (in 2019), are available, so I think the likelier bet is that we get upgraded at the wings.

[Pointgod]

Sign Paul George.

This. LeBron is really just a pipe dream. If we don't sign George the off season is a bust.

[Penberthy]

0. Shakes hands with Julius on the undisclosed deal.
1. Re-signs Brook Lopez for 2yr/$30m.
2. Signs Avery Bradley for 2yr/$20m.
3. Signs Wesley Matthews for 1yr/$15m.
4. Re-signs Julius Randle for 4yr/$85m.
5. Ed Davis or similar player - 1yr/$5m (MLE)
------
Depth Chart
C: Brook Lopez (25min) / Ed Davis (18min)
PF: Julius Randle (32min) / Draft (?)
SF: Kyle Kuzma (34min) / Josh Hart (20min)
SG: Brandon Ingram (34min) / Wesley Matthews (25min)
PG: Lonzo Ball (32min) / Avery Bradley (20min)

NBA games are 48 minutes.

[biscuittoman]

0. Shakes hands with Julius on the undisclosed deal.
1. Re-signs Brook Lopez for 2yr/$30m.
2. Signs Avery Bradley for 2yr/$20m.
3. Signs Wesley Matthews for 1yr/$15m.
4. Re-signs Julius Randle for 4yr/$85m.
5. Ed Davis or similar player - 1yr/$5m (MLE)
------
Depth Chart
C: Brook Lopez (25min) / Ed Davis (18min)
PF: Julius Randle (32min) / Draft (?)
SF: Kyle Kuzma (34min) / Josh Hart (20min)
SG: Brandon Ingram (34min) / Wesley Matthews (25min)
PG: Lonzo Ball (32min) / Avery Bradley (20min)

NBA games are 48 minutes.

5 x 48 = 240.

[scoobs07]

1. Draft Holiday with #25 and Kubolka with #42.

2. Renounce all free agents except Randle.

3. Max out George.

4. Trade Deng, Holiday, 2020 Lakers 1st and 2019 Bulls 2nd to Atlanta for 2020 2nd (top 55 protected)

5. Max out James.

6. Try to sign Lopez with room exception. If he dont take it, offer half of it to Zubac and the other half to somebody like Seth Curry.

7. Fill out the roster with vets like Joe Johnson, Bellinelli, Mbah Moute and Chalmers.

8. Bring back Wear and Bryant.

8 man rotation:

PF-Kuzma 30 mpg
SF-James 34
C-Randle 30
PG-Ball 34
SG-George 34
SF/PG-Ingram 30
SG/SF-Hart 26
C-Zubac 18

[Unbiased hater]

Lakers shouldnt go for James bc he would ruin this young core , he is cancer in the locker room and always need to blame someone else when team is losing so he would just ruin the team and it would affect the whole franchise and its image. George also has bad personality but his style of play is similar to guys on our team and he would help us to get to the playoffs . He would be go to guy and someone who takes responsibility so young guys wouldnt have so much pressure on them and that would help in their development bc they would finally play competitive basketball. He is good at defense too so he would be improvement on that end. Next year or two would be transition period where Lakers would be a playoff team and after that i expect that that Lonzo elevate his game and fullfil predictions of becoming Jason Kidd alike player and to make players on his team better , that Ingram and Kuzma become legit stars who would form Big 3 with George and to go for NBA title. Throwing that away would be biggest mistake in franchise history .

If Lopez go, Lakers should go for FA center that is producing similar to him on offense but is better at defense to be defensive anchor surounded with George, Lonzo, Ingram and Randle so we can win with good defense even when team shoot bad or when our best players have a bad night .

[TKainZero]

Move deng at minimal cost (or get rid somehow)

Anything else is peachy

[MachoMan]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[LAKESHOW]

They can recruit all they want, #1, they ain't comin. #2, with Melos game and contract, he is an Anchor on a sinking ship. #3. They cant recruit a ball handler or a ball dominant player, because there's a guy on that team who won't give up the rock.

[shakes0]

Ideal offseason involves Lonzo spending the entire summer in the lab fixing his shot.

[LeCalinou]

I think the Lakers are devising several scenarios concerning their chances in the off-season, and if we take cue from the current successful teams in the league, this should involve 3 things beyond the obvious (signing max-money superstars):

- be opportunistic in trades.
For example, Houston got their main stars Harden and Paul when their former teams had to give them up. They gave up only marginal talent (Lamb, Kevin Martin, Beverley, Dekker, Harrell) because they had been smart with their drafting.

- use ALL available assets.
Direct translation = trade cash for picks, or absorb unwanted contracts from other teams and get picks as well. Keep drafting the way they have. Examples: Clarkson, Nance, Zubac, Kuzma, Hart. They have gotten useful rotation players, or even starter-potential like Kuzma, by not discarding the value of late picks.

- play the market to their advantage
You obviously need 1 or 2 superstars to be able to succeed. But the rest of the roster is just as important. Example: the center rotation for GSW is made up of 2 reclamation projects (Pachulia + McGee), a late draft pick which they bought (Jordan Bell) and David West. Not the best players at their position, but given the rest of the roster, these 4 players maximize their talent in the roles they're given, for a combined total of less than 10 million per year.

Following that mindset, there are only a few teams with cap space this summer, and their specific needs (Philadelphia, for example, is looking for an established all-star type) or timeline (Dallas, Phoenix, Sacramento etc.) do no make sense for players like:
1. Nerlens Noel, Dwayne Dedmon
2. Will Barton
3. KCP, Tyreke Evans
4. Isaiah Thomas, Elfrid Payton

Depending on the needs of the Lakers, if they only sign 1 max FA (George would be my choice), trade for a very good player (Leonard for example) and sign their own FA (Randle), I can see 2 or 3 players out of this group go for 1 year deals.

In that scenario, LAL would improve and :
- give their young players a taste of playoff basketball while they develop
- take fliers that maybe of the 3 would out perform expectations
- get another chance to draft smart.

[NYG]

Not a Lakers fan, but trying to get a feel for what the Lakers are trying to do this off-season if some one or a few of you combined could let me know a detailed breakdown of what they’re likely to do this off-season.

[Landsberger]

Magic is here to save the day. I think we're swinging for the fences, however I think in the end we'll hit a double or two.

I think Bron is on the radar as is PG. Bringing in those 2 with our current crew doesn't create a balanced team. We lack shooting other than Kuzma and if we re-sign Randle he's on the bench.

I think we'll move fast if we're looking to trade one of the young guys. One scenario is we might try and attach Kuzma or Ingram to Deng to create multiple max slots and have the ability to re-sign Randle. In the PG/Bron scenario we have more starting caliber forwards than we need.

The Randle re-sign will be the interesting part. My guess there is that another team will make an offer that will be very hard for us to match and have the other domino's fall. The trade of a young guy with Deng could be the equalizer to keep Randle. I think Dallas is coming for him with a central roll spot and a near max offer.

My gut tells me that Magic want's a "name" in here to pump up the extended fan base again. Ownership wants this as well to maximize viewership and peripheral merchandise sales. The Buss Family lives off this team unlike most other owners who have teams as toys in their portfolio. They need this team to be relevant again and my guess is that they try and move BIG when the gun sounds.

This forum will be hot come July. Cap locks posts will be everywhere is my guess....

[scoobs07]

1. Sign George to max contract.

2. Trade Deng, 2018 Cavs 1st, 2020 Lakers 1st to a team with cap space.

3. Sign James to max contract.

4. Match any offer sheet given to Randle.

5. Sign Lopez with room exception.

PF-Kuzma
SF-James
C-Randle
PG-Ball
SG-George
SF/PG-Ingram
SG/SF-Hart
C-Lopez

[Laker_Kid]

not sure if unloading Deng with just picks is realistic, but it is definitely a must if we would hope to get 2 max guys + Randle onboard.

[Slava]

Even if PG comes, I'd be all for bringing back KCP on a one year deal if he can't find a better contract elsewhere considering the money shortage around the league.

Randle - Zu - Bryant
Ingram - Kuzma
George - Deng (?)
KCP - Hart
Ball - IT - Caruso

Move Deng in the 2019 offseason.

[scoobs07]

not sure if unloading Deng with just picks is realistic, but it is definitely a must if we would hope to get 2 max guys + Randle onboard.

I hear you, but picks are valuable. On the trade board there was some Hawks and Bulls fans saying they would like to utilize their cap space to acquire picks. Another thing we could do is on draft day, trade Deng, 2018 Cavs pick and 2019 Bulls 2nd to the Bulls for Asik. Then in July, we could flip Asik and a 2020 1st round pick to a team like Atlanta for cap space. This way, we are not stuck having to stretch Asik, which would open up and extra 2.4 million or so. We would be cutting it close with salaries other wise. Another thing about doing such a trade is we know before free agency starts the we have the neccesaey cap space to sign two max players and bring back Randle.