Stein:Many Believe Lakers will package Lottery Pick for Love

[ArC_man]

If we have a top 4 pick I would definitely say no. However, if we have the 6/7th pick and we can trade it for KLove + their pick (13th) I would be very tempted to do it. We could net something like KLove + WCS/Ennis. It's less net gain but would be a safer play than to wait for him in free agency where we also run the risk of the TWolves either trading him away to a team he might enjoy playing for (possible) or him signing outright with another team (unlikely). Mitch and Jim are gamblers though so I don't see them playing it safe.

Even if it is a top 6/7 pick I would rather develop that player than take a gamble on Kevin Love. A top 6/7 player will most likely be better than most of the players we have on the roster while costing about the same. One of the luxuries to having a player on a rookie deal is that he will be locked up for a few seasons. Chances are you aren't going to find a solid contributor for cheap through free agency while locking him up for a couple of seasons.

Taking a gamble on Kevin Love would be idiotic. We already saw Dwight Howard screw over one franchise and then proceed to screw over another in a years time. We could see Carmelo leave this summer for another team if it means going to a winner. Whats to stop Kevin Love from leaving us when he won't have much ties to this team similar to Dwight? You have to remember there is a ton of pressure on Kevin Love to win. The guy hasn't sniffed the playoffs since being drafted in 2008 so I'm not sure if Kevin Love is going to be thinking about the long term picture when free agency rolls around. If Minny fails to make the playoffs again next year he is probably looking to go somewhere he knows will be guaranteed to make the playoffs without him doing all the work.

I agree I would not just trade the pick directly for Love, I'm talking about if Minny swaps picks with us.

If Minny gives us their pick there is no gamble. We'd getting a top 10 player who wants to be in LA and still have a late lottery pick. With Kobe healthy we would definitely make the playoffs next year which means Love for sure wouldn't leave since he so desperately wants to make the playoffs. Dirk + Ellis are making the playoffs this year, no way Kobe + Love + draft pick isn't better than that.

In my scenario it would be someone like Ennis/WCS + Love this next year vs Smart/Randle/Vonleh/Gordon next year and Love in 2015. Obviously it would be nice to have the higher pick + Love but that' where the gamble comes in because there is no guarantee he doesn't get traded next season (which I think is very likely).

[DEEP3CL]

It's always LaMarcus Aldridge.

[minnytola1960]

This would be stupid. We need to take risks in order to build a championship contender. Use the lotto pick to draft an upcoming stud and hope Kevin Love signs here next offseason. Love wants to be a Laker, and we need to take full advantage of that fact. You don't win championships by playing it "safe" in situations like these. That's how treadmill teams are made.

[TyCobb]

Kevin Love comes up every time we have a game in Minny.

[iamworthy]

K.Love is a top player in this league. Its so hard to pass up on something like that for a kid in college that should be a stand out player. I get that K. Love is SUPPOSE to sign with us the season after next but is that something people are willing to risk? Thats no guarantee. Its going to take any one of these college kids a while to actually do anything in the NBA. I dont want to suck for that long. Im willing to go to battle with Gasol, K.love, and Kobe. I say get K.love when you can. Lets bring that 26/12 as soon as possible. Thats just my opinion.

[Kilroy]

Kevin Love comes up every time we have a game in Minny.

Well this is true...

That said, I still don't understand how trading a top 7 pick for Love, especially if it didn't mean Parker, Embiid, or Wiggins, is a dumb idea...

Even out of those three, there's an overwhelming probability that none of them will be as good as Love.

And we'd still have solid cap space.

[crazyeights]

What else would we trade to make the numbers work?

[Sofa King]

It would be Billy King level incompetence to trade something as valuable as a lottery pick in a loaded draft for a player we can sign outright in free agency in a season. I can't imagine Mitch doing this. Do the right thing, tank another season, develop your lottery pick and prospects like Hill/Henry and beef up in 2015.

I agreed with everything up until " tank another season", how would that benefit us if we don't even own our draft pick. I get it theres only so much lakers can do next season but at the very least I expect us to make the playoffs. Wouldn't you?

We can keep our pick in the top 5. If we make the playoffs, well and good but we'd still be strengthening our division rival by sending them a pick. I just don't see how a similar team with an even older Kobe & Nash being the only major additions can be considered a 50 win team, which is what it would take to make the playoffs in the west. I can't even see this team making the playoffs with a Nash/Kobe/Love/Pau core to be honest if that trade somehow went through.

Only way I see the Lakers tanking for another season is if Kobe is out for the season again.

[Adenusi]

KLove has already made it clear he wants to join the Lakers.

"People think it's so far-fetched that I would stay in Minnesota," he says. "And I'm not **** on the Lakers, but we have the better team, the better foundation. I'm having fun."

[Sofa King]

KLove has already made it clear he wants to join the Lakers.

"People think it's so far-fetched that I would stay in Minnesota," he says. "And I'm not **** on the Lakers, but we have the better team, the better foundation. I'm having fun."

"That was just some **** I had to say. I'm really joining the Lakers."

[serevei]

kurt rambis though

[Dilly]

Don't forget about the knicks who will have cap space and Phil sales pitch to him

[leeprettyp]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan/status/449744258719678464[/tweet]

It doesn't make sense to question Love today about this. Like he's gonna really open up about the topic.

[myersia]

As many posters have stated we have to wait until the lottery. If we get anything from a 6th pick and on I would agree that trading the pick for Love makes sense. Gasol, Love, and healthy Kobe is quite the team to build on for next year. We also would still have cap space to grab another player I believe. If we somehow grabbed Deng while trading for Love and retaining Gasol for cheap we would have deeply improved for next year. However, if we get a 1-4 pick depending on who is available I would have to rethink trading for Love when like many posters have said we can sign him the following year.

Another random but interesting statement did anyone catch LeBron's comments regarding Maggs deal with the Tigers? He said if he were offered 292 million he would opt out and sign with a team. Made me think man if we didn't have a salary cap like baseball ! I'd offer LeBron a 300 million dollar contract in seconds!

[crazy8ights]

Can't help but laugh at the wolves mod quoting us. The Lakers rebuild like no other.

[ROballer]

No,just no

Slava nailed it as to why,no need for further explanations

[Takingbaconback]

Can't help but laugh at the wolves mod quoting us. The Lakers rebuild like no other.

Yeah if Phil Jackson was your GM I would be scared but not with Jim Buss calling the shots.

[ROballer]

Can't help but laugh at the wolves mod quoting us. The Lakers rebuild like no other.

Yeah if Phil Jackson was your GM I would be scared but not with Jim Buss calling the shots.

How do you know how good is Phil as a GM for one?I surely don't

We still have Mitch and we still landed Dwight with Jimmy in charge,we traded for CP3, etc....Lakers do rebuild like no other,deal with it

That being said,no thanks to Love for our pick....we'll take our chances with him as a FA next year

[Dr Aki]

jimmy and jeanie better not loses their heads, panic and negotiate from a position of ineptitude.

luckily, we can place our trust in mitch. he understands how to negotiate from a position of power and won't give up the pick.

[minifang]

I agree with Slava. Unless we magically sign Lebron this summer, we aren't going to make a splash next year. It would be much smarter to take a chance at getting two back to back top picks to pair with Love who we can sign through FA.

2014 top 5 pick
2015 top 5 pick
2015 sign Love as a FA
2016 cap space for potential Durant signing

The only problem would be management convincing Kobe that we need to tank the following year. It's not gonna bode well with him, but he'll have a higher chance to win a chip in the final year of his contract.

This plan keeps us relevant for the short term and long term (if things go smoothly).