This one is for those who hope to keep Andre’ Drummond in the purple and gold beyond this season. Not gonna lie, it’s one heckuva long shot.
Tidbit #3
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April 5, 2021 4 Comments
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This is an awesome read and gets into the nitty gritty on various issues the Lakers will have retaining the upcoming crop of free agents. Enjoy!
Great read from Eric Pincus who projects the Lakers trying to use the non-taxpayer MLE to re-sign Andre Drummond for $9.5M, which would then hard cap them. Kind of rejects Jeanie Buss’ comments about not being afraid to pay luxury taxes to keep team together but bug difference between $10M and $100M in taxes. We’ll have to see.
Personally, I don’t see the Lakers taking the route Eric outlined unless Andre Drummond turns out to be the savior at centers the Lakers need. For me, Jeannie’s not going to be satisfied with a step back win or lose this season because LeBron James window is closing and who knows what is in store for the Lakers once he’s gone. I say Jerannie goes all-in.
The hard cap does provide a convenient excuse for remaining fiscally conservative but I think there are better fitting and impacting options at center than Andre Drummond. Maybe Dre can prove me wrong but I seriously doubt it. My best guess is there’s no way Drummond is going to stay for $9.5M or Harrell for $11.1M. Time will tell.
Did you see he has like 4 pathways we can tread, all interesting.
Yeah, I read them all because I think Eric knows what he is doing. I don’t find any of them to be paths I would follow because…
1. I don’t see Drummond as the answer or him at 27 taking just $10.9M.
2. I don’t see us not making major improvements with LeBron at 36.
3. I don’t see us hard capping for any reason as it guarantees we can’t upgrade team.