Clean slate.
Thats all I can say. For all thats wrong about what today represents, to me it also represents a new dawn/age in the NBA. The Big Market LA gets scorned/spurned/rejected in favor of a smaller one. Everyone that was looking for a tingle wanted Dwight to choose Houston. Later, when all else fails or very little works, everyone would simply say: He should’ve chosen the Lakers. No one walks away from the Lakers.
In this day and age, where a homegrown band that plays music from garages and thinks they are the next Beatles, its hard to separate the wannabe from the real thing. Today, the Lakers have a unique opportunity to address a problem as it should be – head on. Today, we face the team’s real needs based on our needs and not to cater for Dwight’s deficiencies.
Its hard when you try to insist/instill/inculcate the principles of Kobe and winning onto a personality that views the NBA as a “game” rather than his work. Such is both, but your inclination will determine where you reach. Lebron did not magically become a champion. He worked hard. He realized the value of the criticisms that he had in the past, mind you they are a million times worse than that of Dwight, and made an effort to find his glory. In the end, or atleast as far as 2013 goes, he is the world’s most dominant player, the current, reigning and undeniable champion. Much will still be said about the path he chose when he left Cleveland, but now that he has the goods to show, everything will be a murky memory.
Dwight, on the other hand, chose an easier path. He claims he has bet 30 million on this decision. While we know thats not necessarily true, we give the guy his due. “Whatever Rocks your Boat, Dwight” …
The team, the Lakers brand, as maligned as Jim Buss is and as unrecognized his feats are, he is once more given a great opportunity to prove his doubters much like Lebron had. He has a unique opportunity of making good out of a bad situation and coming out on top. And when he’s up there, he can remember a fellow from the southern part of the Philippines that grades him a solid A in his performance so far when the rest of the world can only muster a C-.
Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol… to a certain extent. Metta World Peace. These are great names, while you can say that their best years are behind them, their greatness are unquestioned. Their resolve, despite their bodies are resisting, remain ironclad. Motivation can be a very bad thing for angry great players.
Before you suggest the 4-letter word that insults the laker brand, or use the 7-letter word that blasphemes the Lakers’ greatest SG, think again. And then think some more. Give these guys a chance.
So what if Dwight does leave? Did you ever stop to think about it?
With Howard and Clark:
Without Howard and Clark:
As you can see the Lakers have 80 million in payroll committed to 8 players. Add in the possibility of Ryan Kelly and Earl Clark coming back and you got an estimated 84 million payroll to 11 players. Assuming the last roster spots occupy a mere million, 85 million in payroll translates to 28.75 million in taxes.
Lets take a look at our depth chart assuming Howard leaves (for nothing) and Clark re-signs (safe assumption) and Ryan Kelly gets his 2nd-round contract:
1: Steve Nash – Steve Blake
2: Kobe Bryant – Jodie Meeks
3: Metta World Peace –
4: Earl Clark – Ryan Kelly
5: Pau Gasol – Jordan Hill – Robert Sacre
Pau Gasol plays center while Earl Clark and Metta World Peace would alternate at both forward positions. Thats assuming not either of them gets amnestied. Pau being amnestied would bring the Lakers out of tax territory and would now then be allowed to use the full MLE. Ron being amnestied lowers our payroll by 7.7 million and we would still be about 7 million over the tax apron.
The use of the amnesty on Pau Gasol would bring the Lakers to 64 million in payroll, well below the apron. We would then be allowed to use the full Mid Level Exception. Then again name me one mid-level guy thats better than Pau Gasol especially at this state of ours? No rim protection whatsoever and you would pay Pau Gasol 19 million to play for another team? The savings of 30 million would not compare to the shame and scrutiny the team will get all season long.
The use of amnesty on Metta World Peace would bring our payroll to 76 million or so. At this point you would lose a very able defender despite being 33 years of age. Ron also provides some sort of offense which he has rediscovered this past season after being in shape and after surgery.
The only remaining option would be Steve Blake. Yeah, after his best Laker season ever, as he proves to be the ONLY insurance to Steve Nash’s 40 year-old back and legs. His amnesty, if ever, would bring minimal impact to our already-bloated payroll.
So, how do you figure this team now? Its Pau Gasol + Mini MLE vs no Pau + full MLE. Its Ron out at the risk of needing yet another big body. Not to mention the fragility of Pau’s tired knees and Jordan Hill’s uncertainty of offense. Now pair that with Kobe being injured and you have yourself starting Jodie Meeks.
I know, Yikes.
There we have it. The Lakers tax table in case we want to delve into the further tax.
Age
By December 2013, Dwight Howard would only be 28 years of age. Earning the 1st year of his new max contract (starts at 20.5 million) after having decided how to run his future. By choosing another team other than the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard’s contract would logically be 4 years long, but a player option at the end of the 3rd season. If he did this, he could earn his new maximum contract then if his play and his health still warrants it. After 3 more summers, Dwight Howard would have been 30.5 years of age.
Money
Should DH choose the Lakers’ offer of 5yrs and 120M (and the key to the city), he may yet have option years added on the 4th and 5th season when he is 30.5yo and 31.5yo pondering his next contract. In terms of the monetary value, Dwight’s 120M/5 deal can be viewed as an average salary of 24 million. If he took another contract instead, via outright signing or a sign-and-trade, his deal would total 88M/4 for an average salary of 22 million. This is the real way to look at things and not on “30 million difference”.
Should DH choose another team, his deal is limited to earning 22 million annually (not bad if you ask me) and his deal would surely contain an option after the 3rd season. At this stage, Dwight would only be giving up a measly 2 million dollars. (difference between the 1st 3 seasons in LA vs the 1st 3 seasons elsewhere) If you ask me, that is not much of an incentive if he could be “happier” elsewhere. If other teams can make a case for him, and they will, then the Lakers “money” offer is not much of an advantage after the 1st 3 seasons.
Rosters
The difference between the 2 deals that are presented to Dwight until he is age 31 are the same. A difference of 2 million dollars is not a strong case to make. However, it is in the aspect of team-building that Dwight will want to see the “plan” for each team. He will look at current rosters and most importantly he will look at future rosters and the team’s ability to recruit and reload. At this point, we focus the comparison on Dwight’s 3 biggest destinations: Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.
Houston wins the most-logical choice award. With no star-power on the team since Yao and Tmac, the Harden-Howard combo would become that of the same caliber. With Harden breaking out a year earlier, with a team composed of youth and flexibility and no long-term commitments, the Rockets present a brand new way of building teams thanks to its genius GM Daryl Morey aka Dork Elvis.
Basketball analytics get ahead of the game as we move into the moneyball aspect of the game. Last season, the Rockets finished in the top 3 in scoring league-wide. This without the support of another consistent scorer beside Harden. If you combine that with the prospect of adding Dwight Howard’s defensive prowess and added offensive game, watch out league! This is why I think Houston makes the most sense for Howard. But not before hearing the 2 other suitors.
Dallas has a very strong case themselves. Although for the most part, its about theatrics and the lure of Marc Cuban. After all, Cuban is someone who’s made his fortune on the geek business and has now transformed himself into a sports mogul. He is someone thats volatile in nature but would also be the ideal fit for an in-prime superstar. The same way the Lakers take care of its superstars, Cuban has a track record of very well-fed employees especially the one that brings him the most dough. So, the intangible enigma that is Marc Cuban, the ageless jumper and heart of Dirk Nowitzki and the maneuverable cap space, makes Dallas a destination not to be under-estimated.
Atlanta would also not be brushed aside. Matter of fact they win my darkhorse team to sign Dwight award. Outside the fact that this team has just won 44 games despite a roster overhaul, this is also Dwight’s hometown. Instead of being faced with treacherous decision to leave LA and sign for greener pastures, Dwight Howard can do the exact opposite of what Lebron James did just 3 summers ago. Dwight can decide to take his talents “home” and become the Superman of Georgia instead of Hollywood. And even though, this place has that much less of a lure than a Texas or California, what comes ahead might be the biggest kicker in the decision-making process: Danny Ferry.
Danny Ferry has long worked for the Spurs top management. He was also an executive in Cleveland at one point. All stints point to Ferry having a team that supports the thought process of RC Buford – a well-built team with an established core, a team filled with players that fit the theme and the coach and a team that plays like a team.
The biggest lure of all is that Atlanta, though not very openly-discussed, has the unique opportunity to make the league’s deadliest big three. Here’s How:
With only 18 million in guaranteed contracts in 2013, the Hawks have an estimated cap space of 40 million. They have Al Horford, Lou Williams and John Jenkins combining for that 18 million. From that 40 million you deduct the cap holds of their important free agents like Josh Smith and restricted FA Jeff Teague. Pending talks with Cp3 who, himself has an even keel chance of leaving the Clippers for the Hawks, Dwight Howard would be given the most-unique proposition of playing beside Chris Paul! In his hometown! And not only that, if the Hawks somehow find a way to package Horford and Jenkins to LA to participate in a sign-and-trade for a leaving Dwight Howard, somehow manage to offer the 1st dibs and uncontested offer sheet of Jeff Teague to the LA Clippers as a consolation prize, you suddenly have Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Lou Williams and the bird rights of Josh Smith intact. Knowing Ferry, this plan has already been set in motion. The Hawks can then re-sign Josh Smith at a discounted rate with the opportunity to play beside Howard and CP3. That would seriously be lob city.
And then of course, there’s us: the Lakers. We have an injured Kobe, a disgruntled Gasol, a hobbling Metta World Peace and the ageless Steve Nash.
Go Figure.
As of February 2013, this is how the Lakers payroll looks like. According to Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss, the Lakers are not expected to trade any of its core players. That means Bryant, Howard, Gasol and Nash.
“We will not make a trade. We will not trade Dwight Howard. We have no intention of making a trade. It’s unlikely that we’ll make any trade with any of our principal players.”
He said he will not trade Dwight Howard. He cannot trade Kobe Bryant. Steve Nash is hooked with Mike D’Antoni. That leaves Mr. Gasol, question is, is he part of the “principal players” group?
Intentions are one thing, further events (and interviews) may compromise that. In a recent interview with TJ Simers Pau Gasol poured out everything that screamed “Please send me anywhere” but insists he will not ask for a trade atleast this season. But why? For both the Lakers and himself, why wait? For a puncher’s chance at the 8th seed going to win it all?
I beg to differ. Mitch can say he won’t make a trade to increase his leverage but not to block suitors. He can always make the calls himself gauging interest and exploring supposed trades for the summer, but it doesn’t really change who Pau Gasol is or what he brings to the table for the team. The clear impediment is his 19 million salary. Other than that, 29 other teams would love to have a center like Pau.
Note that I mentioned the term “center” and not power forward. I don’t need some sort of advanced statistics to show you to prove that Pau has played his best games without Dwight this season. Its also no secret that his lack of athleticism at this stage in his career makes him a very slow power forward. Therefore whoever we try to trade with, must be seeking a center and not a power forward.
Assuming the plan is to ride the season out, we shall proceed with looking at our payroll (after paying 30 million in taxes this season) we move on to Draft, of which we have no draft picks, and then the dreaded Free Agency.
The 1st step is simple: secure Dwight Howard with a 5-yr maximum contract. Give the man whatever else he wants.
The 2nd step is to secure Earl Clark with a 4-yr 16M contract. After that the payroll would look like this:
At 103 million, the Lakers HAVE TO use the amnesty. We can only use it on 5 candidates: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Chris Duhon, Steve Blake or Metta World Peace. Using the amnesty on either one guarantees exponential savings in terms of the luxury tax. The bigger the better. My best guess: If Pau Gasol is not traded by the 2013 deadline, then he is a prime candidate for the amnesty. Reducing 19 million in payroll for 2013/14 season means lowering the taxable excess to 14M (computed at 84M less 70M projected tax line). At 14 million over the Lakers are then just expected to pay some 30 million in taxes. Unless its Kobe you spend the amnesty on, which would be possible but highly improbable.
Fast forward one year later and you got yourself the 25 million cap space with only 3 players on board: Dwight Howard, Earl Clark and Steve Nash’s expiring contract. Depending on how he is at age 40, options can be explored.
At this stage, the purported 25M in cap space is still not the final value. The Lakers own its own 2014 draft pick and thus the salary of this player is still deductable to that space. Should Kobe choose to remain with the team beyond his contract, he would have to either retire, have his bird rights renounced, or sign a new deal estimated at 12.5M starting salary. This amount is then deducted from the payroll and thus leaving the Lakers with about 10 million left. So its either Kobe and the 10 million or 25 million less the draft pick.
There is also a chance that Dwight might not want Kobe back by then. There’s a chance Kobe would have retired then. Then its all a matter of wait-and-see which among the listed future free agents best fit our team.
So unless you tell me Lebron James is coming over to help Dwight win a championship, I don’t think this cap space plan works. I’m just glad the Lakers can finally structure its payroll well enough. There are still plenty of variables involved in this, perhaps the Lakers can pawn off Nash and the draft pick to another team. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps. All I know is there is no way the Lakers can build a championship contender overnight. We just have to do this smartly and properly. Unless of course, Lebron decides to come over. But why would he?
If we are to believe Jim Buss on the Land O Lakers interview with the Kamenetzky brothers, these 3 personalities above are the triumvirate of Lakers operations.
Shaking off the rust from a 3-month layoff from pleasure writing, I now come back to feature the follow through of the prediction I made from my last post. Back then we didn’t know what July 1st brings, or what the Sessions and Hill acquisitions brought to the team. Most importantly, back then we didn’t know how well (or not) we would do in the post-season.
First off, let me echo my thoughts on what an excellent job the Front Office has done with regards to team direction. I’m sure many posters that just want their spoiled luxuries fulfilled would say otherwise. But taking it from the perspective of business and basketball, or should I say the business that comes from basketball, here’s why:
1. Savings.
The 2 deals (with Cleveland and Houston) on the last trading deadline enabled the Lakers to slash 2013 payroll by nearly 10 million in payroll, 20 million in total dollars.
Well considering the guys you’ve traded out is either 37 years old or only half healthy, thats 20 million of real world savings. Assuming we do end up losing both guys we acquired in the deal (Sessions and Hill) then we can walk away with knowing we did shave that much from the payroll, where there contributions would be equivalent to that of 2nd round picks and veterans minimum pickups.
2. Talent Upgrade
Should I say HUGE talent upgrade. From the perspective of talent, where most fans (and not businessmen) focus on, the Lakers got themselves 2 spring chickens that are raring to prove themselves. And despite the disappointment that every Laker fan felt at the end of the season, I for one feel very optimistic about our chances of retaining them and felt we did “the best we could” with regards to what our assets were supposed to fetch.
3. A future.
Well, that depends now on whether we are able to retain the services of both Hill and Sessions (on reasonable prices) with regards to the overall scheme of things. With this one, at the onset of July 1st, I write about the possibilities in which these 2, among others, are going to be retained, let go or otherwise.
Now onto the real power. This is where not only Mitch or Jerry or Jim controls the fate of the Lakers. His name is math.
Let me take you back some 7 months before the season began. The Lockout was finally over and the team executives can once more buy new Ermenegildo Zegna pinstripe suits paired with IWC Da Vincis. When mommy and daddy finally decided to meet halfway to get the proverbial ball rolling, one team stood out in the crowd and once more reminded the whole world who owns Showtime.
The Los Angeles Lakers had acquired the league’s best point guard! Thats right, CP3 is coming to town baby.
(Insert screeching sound here) Or Not. Before you can say the words “OMG” David Stern gets the best block of the season. Better than any Lebron James chasedown or a Dikembe Mutombo finger wag, David Stern, with the help of two the funniest-looking owners in pro sports, zapped his mighty thunderbolt all the way from Mount Olympus onto the Lakers.
One week later, CP3 was a Clipper. But thats not really the point.
If you base it on the NBA’s most famous letter written in Comic Sans, you get the idea. If you examine it closely, it wasn’t as much as the Lakers getting the best PG in the game as it was the MATH involved in the process.
Read the letter once more:
Commissioner,
It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul in the apparent trade being discussed.
This trade should go to a vote of the 29 owners of the Hornets.
Over the next three seasons this deal would save the Lakers approximately $20 million in salaries and approximately $21 million in luxury taxes. That $21 million goes to non-taxpaying teams and to fund revenue sharing.
I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process. And it doesn’t appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make a trade for Dwight Howard. (They would also get a large trade exception that would help them improve their team and/or eventually trade for Howard.) When the Lakers got Pau Gasol (at the time considered an extremely lopsided trade) they took on tens of millions in additional salary and luxury tax and they gave up a number of prospects (one in Marc Gasol who may become a max-salary player).
I just don’t see how we can allow this trade to happen.
I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do.
When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?
Please advise….
Dan G.
You heard it right, the little man is complaining about the Lakers not only getting the best player in the deal but “saved over $40 million the process” …
And that’s the same theme we saw with each of the Laker deals we did during the deadline, and its safe to assume it will be the same premise we will be operating for future deals.
You see, running a successful franchise is not all about getting lucky with players, sucking so bad so you can stockpile Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook all in 1 team… but its also something to do with being a smart businessman like Mickey Arison that brought the Heat to the 2012 championship. That said, Pat Riley and Mickey Arison employed Mr. Math 1st and got his reward. Now Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss and Jerry Buss are doing the same… and while the reward may not come or result in a 2013 championship just yet, you can be assured it will.
When 2014 comes around, between now and that time the Lakers will have employed no one, will own an estimated 60M in cap space, possibly less what a projected Kobe Bryant extension will look like. You heard it here 1st.
I hope you saw it from this light.
After seeing how seamlessly Ramon Sessions has been incorporated into our team, there is now one teeny tiny problem: RS7 has an ETO (early termination option) to be a free agent at the end of the year. In order that we may assess the possibilities, its best to know what is, are and would be in terms of the Lakers payroll.
There is a silver lining in assessing the team we have now. Its a conflict by itself because usually, contending teams are breaking the bank to acquire players. Our team, is on a tight budget and for good reason. Running a team on the basketball end doesn’t mean you have to sign or acquire every player that presents itself, it means you have to be wise about player acquisitions, managing your roster and trying to make everything fit.
I have raved much about how wise the Sessions acquisition was for us. Mitch Kupchak pulled out another Ariza deal – a deal comparable to a rabbit out of a hat. Here’s how he did it and why:
Lakers sent: Luke Walton, Jason Kapono and LAL 12 1st (cash considerations not mentioned, most likely none)
Lakers received: Ramon Sessions, Christian Eyenga.
In terms of payroll, the Lakers effectively cut salary now and in the future, WHILE getting 1 starter and one possible contributor. Lakers sent out almost 7M in salaries while taking back only 5.4M. In terms of luxury tax hit, that deal by itself saves us some $3.6M. In terms of 2013 salary, pending Sessions’ decision to stay or explore free agency, the Lakers have sent out a total of 9+ million in salaries while taking back Sessions’ player option and Eyenga’s forgettable 1M. That alone, linearly speaking, we can afford to sign RS7 to a contract amount of 8M and be back where we started.
So without worrying about what happens in 2013 and what RS7’s decision would be, the Lakers saved money THIS YEAR and NEXT, without giving up big time assets WHILE giving ourselves a big time chance to go for it. Ramon Sessions, as evidenced by his performance yet, has impressed us in more ways we can expect out of a non-CP3 PG.
Moving a bit further and caressing the proverbial crystal ball, here we start to make assumptions that are considered to be the most-sensible things to do.
1. Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace is not walking away from 2yrs and $15 million to not be a Laker. Meaning, safe to say, he will be a Laker next season unless management thinks otherwise. We can either trade him or amnesty him. But if you ask me, none of those 2 are happening.
2. Andrew Bynum’s team option worth $16.5 million will be picked up, fingers-crossed, if all things go well.
3. There have been reports that the team option for Jordan Hill worth $3.6 million have already been declined by Houston prior to the trade. If such is true, and even if its not, all points lead to him not being with the team for that much. So we can scratch that out of the way.
4. Team options for Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock will be picked up. At 700k apiece, its safe to say they are exactly what Gary Vitti ordered – cheap contributors with lots of potential.
5. Devin Ebanks will be allowed to explore free agency, would get looks from other teams, but we have the Gilbert Arenas rights on him to match whatever contract he receives from another team.
6. Matt Barnes and Troy Murphy are well-travelled vets who will have their fates decided after assessing the other options.
After the 6 assumptions, the Lakers have a payroll of $80.5 million pending Sessions’ decision.
Route A: Sessions opts in, gets an extension.
Payroll: $85M
Route B: Sessions opts out, we sign him $8M starting.
Payroll: $89M
Either way, the Lakers are not in danger of losing Sesh.
Sooooo the Hawks have their own problems… and you know what they say about another man’s garbage… well, the idea is simple. The Lakers, bound to be middling in all this uncertainty, decide to make a “sensible” move to try to do more middling.
In all this “middling” (did I just say middling again?) the Lakers decide that there are 2 ways to do about these things: and being LUKEwarm is not one of them. I know, lukewarm and middling… but hear ye, the Lakers actually decide to take on an identity with this move and for what it may be worth, younger.
But better.
Its not one of those super duper blockbuster grandslam deals… its one of those I-would-tempt-Hollinger-to-interpret kinda deals. Which, by the way, will make Hollinger (biggest Hawks fan I know) try to justify the move by deviating from logic and proceeding to sentimentality.
So while the Hawks settle their own identity and appeasing their semi-star Josh Smith, they trade him instead. And because Kirk Hinrich’s return to the lineup has actually hurt more than it helped, in this proposed scenario, they decide to take a swipe at one of the league’s most-commitful salaries in Pau Gasol.
I know, you would only trade Gasol for Dwight Howard or Deron Williams. But hey, a return of J-Smoove and Cap’n Kirk isn’t that bad. Its not one of those fantasy scenarios… instead, its one of those deals that make perfect sense in all matters pertaining to Mike Brown and the new Laker identity which is defense.
FYI, the Lakers problems are on offense and Kobe shooting the lights out (or themselves) on most nights. And the sad thing is, not even Phil Jackson has a red enough light to make him stop shooting. Therefore, why not trade the very good Gasol for 2 pieces that would make sense if the Lakers decide to acquire “flexibility” and legs in the deal.
On paper it would look like:
Pau Gasol
Darius Morris
–for–
Josh Smith
Kirk Hinrich
So what’s my silly attempt to justify this?
First off, Gasol is owed some 38 million in the next 2 seasons after this one. And we all know the CBA trouble last June was all about 27 other teams making money out of New York, Dallas and the Lakers via tax money. So, the Lakers, most-affected by the new CBA, decide to give the 27 teams (NY and DAL are now economically sound) a big middle finger.
Kirk Hinrich’s deal expires. In the open market, a 30-sumthin-non-superstar PG gets the MLE but not more. It will be an easy deal for Mitch to negotiate him his new contract, at worst a 1-yr 6-7M deal that gets LA off the hook completely by 2014.
Josh Smith has a 2-yr deal that expires at the summer of 2013. And while LA tries its hardest to deal out any contract beyond 2014 except one that shall not be named (Kobe) and the possible extension for Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are now in position to win in 2012 with defense, perhaps try 1 more time by 2013, and have a mulligan by 2014.
While all this makes your ears hurt a bit, the Lakers will actually be acquiring pieces that fit the team as currently constructed… we’d have depth, finally a starting PG albeit Hinrich has been horrible as of late.
But in the end, either LA commits to doing something or they are in the worst position to be better. Too good to lose, Too old to win.
Somehow, I feel this deal addresses 2 of those issues: depth and youth.
Ciao.
After that nice morale-boosting win, the Heat have been rumored to be seeking more help down low. Meanwhile in Lakerland, the guy we acquired for the mini MLE has fallen out of the rotation because Troy Murphy has decided to ball lately.
Heat send: Mario Chalmers
Lakers send: Josh McRoberts, Darius Morris, LAL 1st
Mario Chalmers is signed to a decent contract, something of LA’s liking in terms of payroll situation… Chalmers has great long-ball percentages, probably due to Miami’s run and gun uptempo offense.
Speaking of the same offense, I believe Josh McBob and Darius Morris, along with a decent-to-late 1st rounder is sufficient to entice the rival to give up on the PG since they also have Norris Cole waiting to break out.
Just a bullet thought.
I will keep this simple. Its a rebuild, but not too far away. Its just 2 years down the line and the team might even be better as a result. Championship caliber? Perhaps. About a slightly lower odds than where we are right now. But the future? Shining bright.
LAL << Elton Brand, OJ Mayo, Lou Williams
LAL >> Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Steve Blake
Elton Brand is a 2-yr rental and plug in at the PF spot whose midrange game is useful under LA’s offense. OJ Mayo is given his qualifying offer worth 7M next season and becomes a very nice spark off the bench. Lou Williams becomes the Lakers lead PG whose penetrating skills benefit the Laker offense.
Basically the Lakers sacrifice a bit on a lost season.
All salaries taken in by LA expire in 2 years time. That is, the time when only Kobe Bryant will be on the Lakers’ books. By that time, LA will have some estimated 28M (less the rookies they haul in) in cap space along with the new contracts of Bynum and Mayo, if they see fit to retain. Wouldn’t be too hard to imagine we amnesty Kobe at this point and do a Miami-like coup.
PHI << Zach Randolph, Steve Blake
PHI >> Elton Brand, Lou Williams
Sixers upgrade big time at the 4 spot. ZBo when he comes back is a nice fit to the offense that Doug Collins runs in Philly. True post presence, good mid-range. They swap Lou Will w/ Steve Blake.
MEM << Pau Gasol, Ron Artest
MEM >> Zach Randolph, OJ Mayo
Gasol siblings united in Memphis, Pau comes home to MEM on a deal where the Grizzlies clearly win this time in favor of LA’s retool. They have to absorb MWP Ron Artest but he brings a defensive tenacity to their team that they lost in Shane Battier. Mostly out of obligatory acceptance, not hinging much on his value. After all, MEM still gets a clearcut upgrade while saving salary on the long-term.
Its posted RealGM style… where a supposed explanation is being put after seeing what each team gets and sends out. Its a classic ESPN Trade Machine play which makes sense.
Does it?
Mind Over Matter 