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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreIn less than one month, the Los Angeles Lakers have gone from having early season doubts AD would ever take the torch from LeBron James to experiencing the 10-game transformation that signaled his ‘Arrival.’
After struggling with injuries and missed games the past two seasons, Anthony Davis put the Lakers on his shoulders after a rough 2–10 start and has led them to a 3-game road win streak and an 8–2 record in last 10.
During this 10-game stretch, the Lakers have posted the 4th best offensive rating, 8th best defensive rating, and 4th best net rating in the league. They also ranked 2nd in FG%, 8th in 3P%, and 8th in FT% the last 10 games.Anthony Davis’ ‘Arrival’ changes everything for the Lakers and complicates the important looming decisions by ownership and management regarding trading Russell Westbrook and their two available first round draft picks.
The Lakers’ front office was already sharply divided as to whether to invest their two picks to give this roster a shot at a ring or save the picks for next summer. The ‘Arrival’ of Anthony Davis ironically affects both arguments.Let’s examine how Anthony Davis’ ‘Arrival’ the last 10 games as the next face of the franchise changes everything with respect to the Lakers’ needs, trading Russell Westbrook, and Trading their two first round draft picks.
1. Does AD’s ‘Arrival’ Change the Lakers Needs?
Anthony Davis’ ‘Arrival’ should end the perennial arguments about whether he’s better as a center or a power forward. If AD continues to play like the last 10 games, he will most likely win MVP and DPOY awards as a center.
The Lakers have spent the last three seasons futilely searching for a starting center to play alongside Anthony Davis, both to allow him to play his preferred power forward position and to protect him from physicality.
I’ve long supported trading for Myles Turner to play alongside AD but this Shaquille O’Neal version of Anthony Davis is even better than Bubble AD. It’s time for the Lakers to accept Anthony Davis is now their starting center.With Davis at center, James at power forward, Walker at shooting guard, and Schröder acceptable at point guard, the Lakers greatest need now becomes a starting small forward or 3&D wing to defend bigger scorers.
The Lakers need to end those three guard lineups with nobody over 6′ 5″. Fortunately, 3&D candidates for that position include Bojan Bogdanovic, Jae Crowder, Lauri Markkanen, O.G. Anunoby, and Cam Reddish.The Lakers first move should be to trade Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, Damian Jones, and a protected first round pick for one of the above wings to give their starting lineup more size, especially at small forward position.
The Lakers also need better front court backups. Bryant, Gabriel, and Brown, Jr would be the backup center, power forward, and small forward. Lakers’ top bench priority should be a backup center like Kelly Olynyk.Anthony Davis’ ‘Arrival’ has changed what the Lakers need in terms of roster upgrades. Top two priorities are landing a starting 3&D small forward and backup center who can stretch the floor and protect the rim
2. Does AD’s ‘Arrival’ Change Russell Westbrook trade?
With Anthony Davis playing like the best player in the world and the Lakers looking like a legitimate championship contenders, there’s a path emerging where the Lakers keep Russell Westbrook and allow his contract to expire.
The benefits of not trading Westbrook include the creation of $35 million in cap space that could be used to sign free agents this summer assuming they don’t trade for any long-term contracts and keeping one or both draft picks.
Ironically, another benefit of not trading Westbrook is still being able to benefit from his excellent play off the bench. Replacing the volume assists Russ gives AD is one of the major challenges of trading for Westbrook.Unfortunately, other than trading Russ and picks, the only other Lakers’ package that has value is Beverley, Nunn, Jones, and a first round pick, which could bring back player(s) who earn $20 million per year combined.
Theoretically, the Lakers could trade for a player like Bogdanovic to fill out their starting lineup of Schroder, Walker, Bogdanovic, James, and Davis and have a solid bench of Westbrook, Reaves, Brown, Gabriel, and Bryant.If the Lakers can trade Beverley, Nunn, Jones, and a pick for a Bogdanovic, they might have enough with the Shaquille O’Neal version of Anthony Davis and a healthy and rested LeBron James to win it all while keeping Russ.
That’s an argument we should expect the Buss Brothers to make as we approach December 15th and Rob Pelinka and the front office start to execute their key stretch drive moves to upgrade the Lakers’ roster.It makes sense for the Lakers to execute a trade for a starting small forward on December 15, which would still give them a chance to see how the team plays and reconsider trading Westbrook if the need and opportunity arise.
3. Does AD’s ‘Arrival’ Change Lakers Trading Picks?
Anthony Davis playing like the ‘best player in the world’ has to ease any concern the Lakers’ front office may have had that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were still capable of winning the NBA championship.
It should also give the Lakers confidence that the player they gambled would become the heir apparent to LeBron James has finally shown that he is up for that challenge and is right now taking the torch from the King.
That should theoretically give the Lakers confidence to go all-in to win the NBA championship this season both to get LeBron James another ring before he retires and to prevent the Boston Celtics from winning #18.The thing about a Russell Westbrook trade is it could bring back $47 million in combined salary vs the $20 million the Beverley, Nunn, and pick trade could bring back. That’s basically three rather than one rotation player.
Ideally, the Lakers need a starting small forward and a backup center, power forward, and small forward. The only logical way they can acquire those players is to trade Westbrook as well as Beverley, Nunn, and Jones.After trading for Bogdanovic, the Lakers should trade Russell Westbrook and one unprotected first round pick to the Utah Jazz for Jordan Clarkson, Malik Beasley, and Kelly Olynyk to give them needed size and shooting.
That 3-player Westbrook trade would give them desperately needed bench depth and the roster versatility needed to deal with the long regular season and normal injuries and play jumbo big or super small in the playoffs.Anthony Davis’ ‘Arrival’ changes everything for the Lakers and gives them a positive upside that’s clearly worth the team investing both first round draft picks to beat the Boston Celtics and win their 18th NBA championship.
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13 Comments-
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Even in my wildest hopes, I didn’t expect Anthony Davis to break out like he has in the last 10 games. It’s really a miracle for the Lakers and hopefully will convince the front office to go all-in on trading to upgrade roster so we can build a powerhouse around AD and LeBron and not just adding a couple of players.
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“in my wildest dreams” Moody Blues
Of course story. Saw them in Evansville, In. years back. Stopped at the Hotel I thought they would stay. Ask the checker if they were staying there. “No” About a minute later here they came, lol Got Justin Hayward sig on an LP. I told as leaving, “Oh, he’s a Moody Blue,” lol!
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“With Anthony Davis playing like the best player in the world and the Lakers looking like a legitimate championship contenders, there’s a path emerging where the Lakers keep Russell Westbrook and allow his contract to expire.”
Uh…that path has fully emerged and is currently the one being trod by the Lakers. Been that way for some time, too. Some of us just can’t see the trees from the forest because of their obsession with trades. I’m going to ignore your Russ trade scenario because it ain’t gonna happen. Down to 80/20 against on my end.
Anyhow, glad to see my “negative” and “absurd” and “insane” opinions are gaining some traction amongst the mentally fit and stable. For a second I thought I might be losing my mind.|
Honestly, I can still see a path where Turner is the one they trade for simply to add defense and shooting. Of the players you mentioned none of them are the defender that Turner is. It’s his defense that has me wanting him in a Laker uniform and he could play the 4 or the 5. It doesn’t matter what the letters say after his name on the box score, it just matters how he affects the game. Turner and OGA would top my list if it was one of pure imagination.
Still, if Indy holds true to form they won’t trade Turner unless they’re out of the playoff hunt, if at all. No need to buy him out, they can sign him to the best deal out there if they think he’s worth it (or just for the purposes of a trade on down the line) and so on. Or let him expire without the Russ-sized buyout. No need to get hung up on one guy in our case, though.
From your list Cam Reddish tops mine. Feels like he’s in LW4 territory in that he just needs the right scenario to bust out and that ain’t New York which will likely be the last coaching stop for Tommy T. I doubt LM is available and even if he were Ainge will get better than the players he just shipped out and a pick or 2 5 years out. Valuable though they may (or may not) be.
Toronto functions like Indy does: they compete until it’s futile. Hard for me to see them trade OGA before such time and, again, there will almost certainly be better offers on the table than ours. What’s our best offer? Two small guards who struggle to score and picks 5 and/or 7 years out? If we pull that trade off for OGA Rob should win executive of the year.
Better to set our sights on “Reasonable” as opposed to “Highly Unlikely”. Kelly-O is reasonable and could be traded for PatBev straight up. Would Ainge do it without a FRP from us is the real question. Somehow I kind of doubt it since it’s likely they would turn around and just buy Patrick out. That kind of transaction usually costs the team getting the best guy a draft pick. That’s a lot for us to give up for a backup center.
Not sure where the Thomas Bryant hate comes from, still. As the backup I think he would actually compare well against an Olynyk kind of player. Rough comp:
TB: 12.9 mpg, 4.5 FGA, 72% FGP, 4.4 TRB, .6 BPG 8.0 ppg (bench)
KO: 28.5 mpg, 8 FGA, 56$ FGP, 5 TRB, .7 BPG, 13 ppg (starts now)Yes…I know Kelly shoots the three and, on Utah where he’s featured and gets big minutes, shoots it well. Take 16 minutes away from Olynyk and will you get the same offensive production and even less rebounding? Take 3 shots away and where are those coming from? Some from three because that’s how coach Ham uses his big men: as screen and rollers and rebounders.
For the price and losing PatBev (well his contract anyway…) for a position I don’t really consider a weakness that’s not a great trade. I’d rather push our chips in towards OGA and use both Nunn and PB, along with at least 1 FRP, and get the best defender on your list. Now, of course, there is a negative to getting a guy like that as it will eat into LW4s minutes, most likely. Also OGA is under contract until the middle of the decade (POO for 24-25) but I think he’s a player you could easily move, should one choose to, without a pick. You can trade OGA to anyone with cap space and use that TPE to retain LW4 if that’s what the choice boils down to this summer.
Anyway, the only thing I see hampering a lot of these trade scenarios are the same ones I saw last season and over the summer: the Lakers REALLY want to keep those 2 FRPs. They REALLY do not want to take on extra salary beyond this season. They have REALLY limited tools to work with. Oh and Rob’s history of no in-season trades. Every win bulks that one up bigger and bigger.
Cam Reddish feels gettable against that backdrop. So, too, does Jae Crowder who also comes with vet savvy and playoff experience. Phoenix will eventually move off their silly “we need a really good player for Jae!” stance and move towards a “OK, we need to get SOMETHING for this guy” and if PatBev and Russ can become friends I’d love to see CP3 and PatBev on the same team!
I say go for Cam: it only costs you Nunn and I wouldn’t give away more than Chicago’s second rounder. No FRP for him, he’s walking out of NY this summer, guaranteed. They get a serviceable player now and a cheap one this summer. That’s a win for them, at this point.
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Lol, the main reason I never did Twitter was the character limit. Also I try to take the trade proposals seriously.seriously-ish…
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Nice post Tom, you expanded my post. You’re welcome:) I’m glad that you have turned your attention to small forwards, because that’s what we lack. Anything will Utah using PatBev is off the table. I believe they are not allowed to bring a player back that they traded for a year. I don’t see Cam coming either. The Knicks are in the same boat as the Lakers with too many small guards. They are shopping a few already. As you know OG is my favorite here. His 17 mil contract is reasonable and we would have enough space to keep Lonnie. One guy you didn’t mention is Obre. With the Hornets falling he maybe expendable. I would also look in to Kuz. He will definitely opt out of his 13 mil contract. If the Wizards do not think they can keep him they may trade him. I think he enjoyed being a a Laker. If he told other teams he won’t resign with them, perhaps they would deal with the Lakers. But if we keep Westbrook, which I feel they probably will, we will really only be able to make one move. Not sure if it will materialize but hopefully it will. I do believe they will have to spend a pick but perhaps with protections.
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Thanks, Michael. After watching the last two games, I don’t want to risk changing anything in how AD is playing right now. I worry that adding a starting center could wreck what we have. Safest path to me is to get a 3&D starting quality small forward with size. As you stressed, it’s a key need to compete for a championship. No more 6′ 5″ wing defenders.
I just hope Pelinka and the front office don’t just trade Bev/Nunn/Jones/Pick for a bigger wing and then think that’s all they need. I still believe we should get a true quality point guard as we’re going to miss Russ more than we think. The problem is we cannot improve the team enough to win a ring w/o trading him.
Between AD’s ‘Arrival’ and Ham’s ability to get Russ off the bench to work, the Lakers have had two stunning internal developments that probably nobody expected. In the NBA, anything is possible and I guess this could be an example of the benefit of patience and waiting. Can Rob finally finish the job and complete this roster? That’s now the big question.
We still need a quality backup center because Jones and Bryant aren’t the answer. We also need better backups are small and power forward. Can’t get everything we need but we can’t just stop with Bev/Nunn/Pick for 1 player.
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That’s because Jamie enjoys blowing his horn and telling you ‘I told you so’ even when the result is known for sure.
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Just observating and opinionating. Call it like I see it, doesn’t matter what I’d like to see happening. I’m not the one getting paid big money to make these decisions and annoy you. I’m just the lowest hanging fruit on the Obvious Tree.
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I still do not think the Lakers will keep Westbrook for the following reasons:
1. You cannot trust him to close games or win in the playoffs.
2. You cannot fix the size and shooting problems w/o trading him.
3. If you let his contract expire, you have no tradeable contracts.-
1) But they do and they are.
2) Kinda true, there are other contracts that can be traded you’re just uber focused on a grand-slam, home-run trade fixing the Laker World which is highly un,ikely.
3) Untrue. You will sign some combination of players who will be eligible to be traded by 12/15 of the following season. They won’t roll into next season like OKC, $20 mil under the cap and wondering.With Russ’s cap space from his expiring deal it allows you to:
1) re-sign Austin Reaves (yes or no?)
2) re-sign Lonnie Walker 4 (yes or no?)
3) re-sign Patrick Beverley (yes or no?)
4) re-sign Kendrick Nunn (yes or no?)
5) re-sign Russell Westbrook (yes or no?)Added to a non-current roster MLE signing. Or let them all walk and pursue a player for around $35 million.
For me?
1) yes
2) yes
3) no and I hope he gets traded
4) ditto as 3
5) I think the Lakers missed this window, I thought he would be traded this summer for an overpay. I was wrong and admitted such fairly quickly when they started making it obvious by their self-imposed deadlines and adding the 2 more Buss kids to the brain trust and so on and so forth. In the end I do think they just let Russ expire, build off some of the core above, and look to add another player or two with some of that cap space.I will be surprised if we trade Russ at this point. Especially after he’s done all that has been asked of him and we’re playing well. if the playing well part changes or injuries knock out LBJ or AD that equation could change very quickly, depending on timing and our position in the standings and if said hypothetical injuries are season-ending, or close to it.
The question will soon become this: what is Russ worth on the open market vs. his worth to the Lakers? What will the Lakers decide to do? Of course the answer to that lies in the future, when we have a clearer understanding of both what this team is capable of and how Russ impacts that positively or negatively in his current role. If they think Westbrook works off the bench and Russ is willing to come back for John Wall money…? I think they keep him.
Just my two bits, which I guess are just super obvious and people should listen a lot more and stuff lol.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThe latest reports indicate that the Lakers are leaning towards smaller trades that don’t include Russell Westbrook or both of their available first round draft picks as they do not see any trade that’s worth both picks.
The driving force behind making a smaller trade is the Lakers’ constant desire to have their cake and eat it too. The Lakers essentially want to split the baby and use some of their assets to win now and others to win later.
Rob Pelinka is petrified that the post-LeBron James Lakers could be doomed to a decade in the lottery just like the post-Kobe Bryant squads. That’s why he won’t go all-in and spend both picks to upgrade this roster.The Lakers have two trade options to upgrade the roster. The bigger option is Russell Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract while the smaller option is Beverley’s, Nunn’s, and Walker’s $25 million in expiring contracts.
Pelinka’s strategy is to focus on the smaller option and trade Beverley, Nunn, Jones, and one first round pick for size and shooting. By keeping Russ and letting his contract expire, Lakers create $35 million in cap space.The Lakers are hoping the re-emergence of Bubble LeBron and AD plus a small trade for one or two legitimate starters or rotation players could be enough to give the Lakers’ current roster a puncher’s chance to win it all.
How aggressive the Lakers will be on the trade front will be dependent on how successful they are on their upcoming 6-game road trip against the Eastern Conference Bucks, Wizards, Cavaliers, Raptors, 76ers, and Pistons.Here are 10 trades in order that make the Lakers better that don’t include Westbrook. All of them but one include the Lakers’ 2027 unprotected first round draft pick. Lakers could also trade Westbrook and their other pick.
1. Pacers’ Myles Turner
2. Hornets’ Kelly Oubre, Jr. and P.J. Washington
3. Pistons Bojan Bogdanovic
4. Raptors O.G. Anunoby
5. Suns’ Jae Crowder
6. Hornets’ Terry Rozier
Damian Jones cannot be traded until December 15th
7. Knicks Cam Reddish
8. Raptors’ Gary Trent, Jr.
9. Pacers’ Buddy Hield
Damian Jones cannot be traded until December 15th
10. Jazz’ Jarred Vanderbilt
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4 Comments-
While none of these trades are going to transform the Lakers into immediate championship contenders, they al bring back players who fit what the Lakers need to be a contender.
Per Jovan Buha’s latest article, the Lakers are between only a Bev/Nunn/Pick trade and Bev/Nunn/Pick trade followed later by a bigger Westbrook/Pick trade.
The way I read this is the Lakers will go all in and trade both packages if the Lakers can show they deserve it by winning 4 out of the next 6 games. We have won 6 of last 8. That would give us 10 of last 14. I think we need to do that to get LAL to trade both picks.
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Coach needs to tell Westy to STOP SHOOTING! He getting 14 shots is about 10 too many!
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Coach needs to make sure he does not start or close halves or games. That will solve the Westbrook problem. Until he gets traded.
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The Lakers are weighing three different paths for a potential trade, per @jovanbuha
“Path 1 is to trade Russell Westbrook…Path 2 is to trade some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and picks…Path 3 would be two separate deals” pic.twitter.com/Sz2qxT4PdP
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 1, 2022
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThe better 23-year old shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV plays, the more Lakers fans bemoan the fact there’s a good chance the Lakers will lose their young star to free agency this summer like they lost Malik Monk last year.
That Lonnie’s been far better than expected only adds to the pain. He’s now averaging 16.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 31.5 minutes per game shooting 47.7% from the field, 36.3% from deep, and 84.4% from the line. Walker smartly bet on himself and signed a 1-year contract with the Lakers that will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, when he will be looking to beat Monk’s 2-year $19.4 million contract with the Kings.
That’s where the problems begin because there’s a good chance the Lakers will lose Walker to as a free agent next summer just like they lost Monk last summer since the most they will be able to offer will be $7 million MLE. When your roster is short three or four legitimate rotation players, losing a young star like Monk or Walker, who’s even better, without compensation is a bitter pill to swallow, which is why the Lakers need a rethink what to do.
Last offseason, the Lakers let two valuable role players become free agents without any compensation. The Lakers lost Malik Monk to the Sacramento Kings and Alex Caruso to the Chicago Bulls receiving nothing in return.
Next summer, the Lakers will face the potential loss of a player in Lonnie Walker IV who has a greater ceiling than Monk or Caruso. This time, they need to make sure to not let Lonnie walk for nothing as a free agent.The Lakers have three options to avoid losing Lonnie to free agency for nothing. They can create cap space and re-sign him as free agent, trade him before the deadline, or sign-and-trade him this summer.
1. The Cap Space Option
The Lakers have already explored a scenario where they keep Russell Westbrook for the full season and allow his $47 million contract to expire, which would then give them $35 million in cap space for free agents.
Were the Lakers to utilize this option, re-signing Lonnie Walker IV as a free agent should be at the top of the team’s list of targets for their $35 million. Walker is better than Monk and could receive offers as high as $15 million. Unfortunately, not trading Westbrook for needed size and shooting would doom the current Lakers squad to a second straight year as a lottery team, with their first round draft pick this time owed to the Pelicans in a swap.
While there are those in the Lakers front office who believe the team should not trade their two available first round picks, it’s hard to imagine the Lakers sacrificing the season for a hope and prayer next summer.
Not with LeBron soon to turn 38 and AD playing better than Bubble AD. The Lakers essentially promised James to trade the picks to get him to sign an extension. They’re not going to break their word with LeBron James.There’s also a scenario where the Lakers keep Westbrook but trade Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, and an unprotected 2027 first round pick for an difference-making player who could give them a long shot at winning. Frankly, there’s probably little to no chance the Lakers will not trade Russ unless they’re able to convince the Pacers to trade Myles Turner, the Jazz to trade Lauri Markkanen, or the Nets trade Kyrie Irving for that package.
The Lakers would have to pull of a blockbuster one-pick trade with Beverley and Nunn in order to keep Westbrook and allow his $47 million contract to expire to create $35 million in cap space next summer.
2. The Trade Option
Unless they get an opportunity to upgrade their roster without trading Russ and decide to go the cap space route, the Lakers should seriously consider trading Lonnie Walker IV rather than losing him for nothing in free agency.
One of the reasons the Lakers recently pushed the deadline to decide whether to trade Westbrook and their two available first round draft picks to December 15 could have been that was when they could trade Lonnie.
Not only will free agents that signed with other teams last summer become eligible to be traded to the Lakers on December 15, but the free agents the Lakers signed this summer, including Walker, will be eligible to be traded.Lonnie earns $6.4 million per year. He, Beverley and Nunn earn $24.6 million and could bring back player(s) earning $19 to $30 million. Adding Russ raises total to $71.6 million and could bring back $54 to $89 million.
Financially, including Lonnie Walker IV in any trade package enables the Lakers to make a bigger trade that could bring back more legitimate rotation players, including more shooters, playmakers, and defenders.Strategically, Lonnie Walker IV could give the Lakers a valuable stealth trading chip that could be the difference maker in getting a Westbrook trade to elevate this team to be legitimate championship contenders.
Being able to include an exciting 23-year old two-way young star like Lonnie with his elite athleticism and 3-level scoring ability is almost like having a third first round draft pick that’s ready to play right now.Of course, the Lakers will have to trade Lonnie to a team who will have the cap space to re-sign him but all of the teams willing to trade for Westbrook not only are looking for picks and young talent but have lots of cap space.
3. The Sign-And-Trade Option
If the Lakers decide to keep Lonnie Walker IV or were unable to find an acceptable trade for him before the trade deadline, they should then work with Lonnie to find a trading partner willing to sign-and-trade for him.
Teams who receive players in sign-and-trades are automatically hard capped but not teams who send out players. Thus, the Lakers would not be hard capped if they sign-and-traded Lonnie Walker IV next summer.
Since Lonnie should be a coveted prospect and his agent is Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the Lakers should be able to find a team willing to trade a good player or players for a budding young star with upside like Lonnie.A sign-and-trade would prevent the Lakers from losing Lonnie Walker IV to free agency for nothing and bring back a valuable player or players who earn around $15 million per year or whatever amount Lonnie signed for.
While the Lakers likely opted not to let Monk and Caruso go for nothing to cut their luxury tax bill, they need to get a return for Walker, who has great value in a sign-and-trade because of his age, performance, and upside.The reason unrestricted free agents like Lonnie Walker IV should look for teams willing to sign-and-trade for him is it expands the number of teams beyond just those who have $15 million in cap space to sign free agents.
For players like Walker, who want to play for a contender, their best path to being traded to a championship contender is often done via sign-and-trade as the top teams rarely have significant cap space because of superstars.If the Lakers do not trade Lonnie Walker IV before the trade deadline or re-sign him as a free agent next summer, then they need to sign-and-trade him to a team to avoid losing him to free agency without compensation.
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7 Comments-
Lakers need to make sure not to lose Lonnie Walker IV to free agency with nothing in return like they did Malik Monk and Alex Caruso. Can’t let great talent walk and get nothing back.
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Lost Caruso the summer before last but other than that you are correct. This is a pattern with the Pelinka front office: good players walking away for absolutely nothing. Compound that with throwing FRPs away on trades where you don’t retain the player (Dennis Schroder, Russell Westbrook?) and possibly get nothing back in return and it’s not hard to see why we are where we are.
While we invested little in Monk we gained nothing from his departure. The best GMs make sure they get something in return for the investment of time. Rob (and/or Jeannie) don’t function like that. I don’t know if it’s cheapness, not caring about true team-building or development but it certainly is a problem when you look at both our lack of overall talent and draft assets.
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Unfortunately, a lot of it was cheapness and bad personnel decisions not to keep valuable players. Pelinka’s biggest issue has been inconsistent analysis of personnel, which we all know can be a franchise killer.
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1. The Cap Space Option
The Lakers have already explored a scenario where they keep Russell Westbrook for the full season and allow his $47 million contract to expire, which would then give them $35 million in cap space for free agents.https://t.co/7krdidMQq3
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 30, 2022
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2. The Trade Option
Unless they get an opportunity to upgrade their roster without trading Russ and decide to go the cap space route, the Lakers should seriously consider trading Lonnie Walker IV rather than losing him for nothing in free agency.https://t.co/7krdie3Ts3
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 30, 2022
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3. The Sign-And-Trade Option
If the Lakers decide to keep Lonnie Walker IV or were unable to find an acceptable trade for him before the trade deadline, they should then work with Lonnie to find a trading partner willing to sign-and-trade for him.https://t.co/7krdidMQq3
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 30, 2022
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I really like our young dudes..The IV, TBryant, Austin, Gabriel. They’re great role players. But the way we’ve screwed up our salary structure, paying too much for The IV may not be feasible. Might need to spend that money on more of an impact player. He’s not gonna be our #1 priority..
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Lakers Fast Break wrote a new post
Read MoreThe Lakers, without Anthony Davis in the lineup, finished the two-game set in San Antonio with the Spurs. LeBron James led a scoring explosion with 39 as the Lakers outpaced the Spurs 143-138. Tune in as Joe Soro from lakersball.com, YouTube’s John Mikaelian, “MagicMan” Sean Grice, and Gerald Glassford share thoughts on the Lakers without AD in the lineup, why the loss highlighted the need for a move, and what’s up ahead for the team. Plus, when will Joe take the “One Chip Challenge”? The conversation flows once again on Small Business Saturday right here on the Lakers Fast Break podcast!
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreAs expected, the Los Angeles Lakers front office has once again moved the goal posts for making a final decision on trading Russell Westbrook and their first round picks from the end of November to December 15th.
The move was not unexpected in the aftermath of the Lakers winning three of the last four games with Anthony Davis playing the best basketball of his life without LeBron James, who missed the games with an injured groin.
Not only will players who signed as free agents last summer be eligible to be traded on December 15th but that will give the Lakers 11 more games to accurately access what the best moves would be to upgrade the team.Beginning this Friday against the Spurs, the Lakers will have to figure out how to integrate LeBron James back into the starting lineup and rotation while still allowing Anthony Davis to continue to dominate at MVP level.
It may have taken longer to happen than planned but Friday’s game should hopefully be the game that officially starts the transition of the Los Angeles Lakers from being LeBron James’ team to becoming Anthony Davis’ team.Here are four smart moves Darvin Ham can do to ease the Lakers’ transition from James to Davis while still taking advantage of LeBron as a superstar without taking away touches or opportunities from AD:
1. Reduce LeBron’s Minutes To Preserve Him for Playoffs
If the Lakers want to preserve and extend LeBron’s career in purple and gold, they need to start load managing his minutes and back-to-backs. This season, LeBron’s averaging 35.7 mpg vs. a career average of 38.2 mpg.
The Lakers should consider limiting LeBron to 32 minutes per game during the regular season. They should also hold him out of back-to-back games to give him time to shake off nagging injuries and be fresh for the playoffs.
Having James play 3 to 4 minutes less per game would result in a reduction in minutes over the rest of the season equal to taking of 5 games. That would also represent additional minutes for Anthony Davis to dominate.With Anthony Davis suddenly playing at an MVP level, the time has come for the Lakers to give him the torch as the team’s top player and to start managing the load soon-to-be 38-year old LeBron James had to bear.
2. Have LeBron Focus on Facilitating Rather Than Scoring
While they spent three offseasons searching for point guards to take the main playmaking load off LeBron’s shoulders, the Lakers smartest move right now could be for James to focus on facilitating rather than scoring.
Russ has been excellent at getting the ball to AD, especially off pick-and-rolls. To take full advantage of MVP AD, LeBron needs to the same when he’s in the game. Takes advantage of Ham staggering Russ and LeBron.
During the 4-game stretch where AD dominated, the Lakers did a great job of getting the ball to him on isolations on the left side or via pick-and-rolls with Russell Westbrook, Lonnie Walker, or other Lakers guards.For the rest of this season, I’d like to see LeBron running a heavy diet of pick-and-rolls that get him and AD both going downhill to the basket. On offense, we need LeBron to focus on facilitating rather than scoring.
3. Stagger LeBron and AD Minutes So One’s Always On Court
Other than to start or close halves, Darvin Ham should stagger LeBron James’ and Anthony Davis’ minutes to ensure that one of the team’s two superstar was on the court all of the time during the regular season.
Aside from always having a go-to superstar on the court, staggering their minutes gives both James and Davis opportunities to go one-on-one or choreograph a scoring opportunity with one the team’s other players.
Another benefit to staggering James’ and Davis’ minutes is it will increase the time Anthony Davis does not have to share the court with LeBron James and allow him to continue to dominate when James is on the bench.Besides giving both superstars opportunities where they’re the focus of the offense, staggering James and Davis also allows the Lakers to have one of their two superstars on the court for almost all of the minutes of the game.
4. Ignore LeBron Chasing Kareem‘s Career Scoring Record
Despite his public support for Anthony Davis taking the torch from him, Anthony Davis understands it’s not easy to become the main man and face of the Lakers while LeBron James is still playing like a top-10 NBA player.
Kareem’ scored 38,387 regular season career points, a record many thought would never be broken. LeBron has 37,311 points, short by 1,076 points. James would need to average 16.3 points in last 66 games. to break record.
That means LeBron’s pursuit of Kareem’s career points scored record should not prevent him from focusing more on facilitating than scoring for the rest of this season. Like to see LeBron James averaging 20/10/10.While LeBron has always wanted Anthony to take the torch from him, it’s still going to be up to AD in the end to go out and continue to play the dominating MVP caliber basketball that we saw in the last 4 games.
LeBron James cannot give the baton to AD. Anthony has to take it.
5 Comments-
We now get to see just how good a coach Darvin Ham is. After four dominant Anthony Davis games without LeBron James, how does Darvin integrate LeBron back into the starting lineup and rotation? That may be the most important coaching decision he makes this season. I’ve been impressed with what Darvin has done with Westbrook so I have high hopes for how he manages to keep AD playing at this clip. If he can do that, the Lakers front office will have no choice but to trade Russ and the picks.
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I mean…tell Kobe to play second fiddle to D’Angelo Russell or Julius Randle, see how that goes.
Players like LeBron got to where they are by doing it their way. It’s why we never saw on offense from Frank Vogel: LeBron is the offense. The adjustment isn’t one Ham can make, honestly. Davis has to demand the ball and it may not happen in the first game or five they share the floor. Ham can encourage, show how it works better in film but it will be up to the players to adjust and mainly in AD to force himself to be open and available.
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Here are four moves Ham can do to ease Lakers’ transition from James to Davis:
1. Reduce Bron’s Minutes and back-to-backs.
2. Have Bron Focus on Facilitating Rather Than Scoring.
3. Stagger LeBron & AD Minutes.
4. Ignore LeBron Chasing Kareem‘s Record.https://t.co/3lcal1fOfg— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 25, 2022
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I’m not sure LeBron will change his game much. That’s why it made no sense trading for ball dominate point guards. We won a ring starting two shooting guards, while a LeBron ran the point.
I do think he will make the effort to get AD the ball more but I think the best way will be to stagger the two as much as possible. Westbrook has a good chemistry with aaD so bring Russ in for Lebrons rest. 2nd quarter start LeBron and bring in Bryant for AD. While he has only taken a couple of 3’s he is a better shooter than AD from 3 and will be able to stay outside for kick outs from LeBron.
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It’s definitely going to be interesting to see what LeBron does. It’s not like he doesn’t want AD to become the alpha on the team but it’s also not like he’s going to just stop shooting and give AD the baton. AD has to take it.
I do agree with you that staggering James and Davis makes the most sense. We need one of the two superstars on the court for 48 minutes per game. It means LeBron and AD will only be playing together at the start and end of halves and games, which makes sense.
Lakers also need to stagger LeBron and Russ and give them each the ball when they’re in the game. LeBron is still going to score but I like his points to come from pick-and-rolls with AD where both of them get going downhill. Russ has done a great job getting the ball to AD, especially in pick-and-roll bounce passes and lobs. I’d like to see LeBron do the same whether with AD or with Bryant.
I did think Bryant played well. He still doesn’t have much lift and he needs to get confident enough to start making threes. He’ll never be good enough to start imo but there are critical moments when AD is going to need to rest that we need a center who can stretch the court and contribute. For now, that’s got to be Thomas.
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The one big change from my long standing position is that I no longer want to trade for Myles Turner. While I think they could work well together, I just don’t want to disturb what we’re seeing from Anthony Davis. The Shaquille O’Neal version of AD we’ve seen the last 10 games is too good to mess with changing. Get me Bojan or Lauri or OG so AD can only play center. Need to get Olynyk to backup AD as Thomas Bryant is not good enough.