Aloha,
I remembered a remark that Rob made a year ago about wanting to acquire talent that matched AD’s time frame. Now while I’m sure they are discussing the aging stars I would be surprised if they weren’t considering younger options as well. There are risks to handing big contacts to 35 year olds with recent injury issues.
The Cav’s Sexton has been discussed here and the more I think about it the more appealing he becomes. He would bring scoring and 3 point shooting and he’s young. We could send Kuz and probably our 1st round pick. I’ve read a couple of articles were the Lakers were listed as the best destination with that trade.
Then you could send Dennis to the Bulls for Markkanem. He has been mentioned in possible trades for a point guard and still has a lot of upside if he can stay healthy. The Bulls would send him to one of two places. The TWolves have literally no Power Forwards and a lot of guards. He can stretch the floor and would be perfect next to Towns. The TWolves would send us Malik Beasley. So we would have a young quality back court for life after LeBron leaves.
The Kings would be just as good, but not for Buddy, but for Harrison Barnes. The Kings are rebuilding and Harrison is wasted there. They might take on a young Power Forward with a lot of upside. He would be the perfect fit next to LBJ and AD on the front line.
Come to think of I think I would rather have Barnes then Malik. He’s still only 29, can hit 3’s and is a very good defender.
Then we can resign a few of our own players and maybe find a bargain vet with the mini mid level.
Anyway I wouldn’t be surprised if we chased a big name but I wouldn’t be surprised if we did something like this either.
Thanks, Michael. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and I totally agree with you. I especially like how you juxtapose the players you mentioned to match the reality of our current situation in order to produce a favorable outcome and swing the pendulum in our favor.
Even though I was all for Buddy Hield, I find your take on Harrison Barnes to be very appealing and tantalizing, and to me, it is an avenue worth exploring. The same goes for Malik Beasley.
Honestly, Rob Pelinka might want to consider having a sit down with you, if not the whole Lakerholics bloggers, to discuss the state of affairs of the Lakers.
There are seasoned veterans on this blog whose views and expressions give me a healthy dose of what I need for my day, and help keep me afloat on my daily routines. And I do agree with most of their opinions which makes this blog a great place to be. Great take.
Mahalo for the kind words Bubba. I’ve tried but Rob never returns my calls 🙂
Solid and realistic post Michael. We often get caught up looking at the Maserati and Lambo’s when what we really need is a sturdy pick up and an economy sedan. Guys like Barnes and Sexton can definitely help the Lakers and there won’t be the same kind of “how can we fit all these alphas on one squad?” I love the idea of adding Barnes because he’s in a very similar timeline as AD and is good enough to man the three. His defense fits in with what we do and he’s improved his playmaking. I’d be quite happy with any of the players mentioned
Thanks Jamie. I’m in agreement about adding a 3rd alpha. Plus all the big names mentioned are ball dominate players and I just can’t see LeBron playing off the ball all the time. I am also concerned about signing 35+ year olds with injury issues. If the rumors about AD playing the 5 are true a front line of LeBron, AD and Barnes would be the best in basketball. And with Sexton you have a guy that can score and play off or on the ball. You could also keep KCP and the 2 and let him do what he does best, defend. As the 5th option that’s all we really need is his quality defense. Then when THT is ready you have a young back court for years to come. I believe that would be a better team with Sexton and Barnes then one of the aging stars.
@Jamie. I love the Maserati and Lamborghini vs sturdy pick up and economy sedan analogy. Good one.
I mean who doesn’t like to walk through the show room? But in the end you look at the price of the Hot Rod and choose something sensible that fits into your budget.
Well said, man.
Well thought out and reasoned post, Michael. There’s definitely a strong argument to be made that the role players we surrounded LeBron and AD with last season were not a great fit. Schroder could score but not shoot and make plays but not without turning the ball over too much. Harrell became more and more unplayable as the season went on. KCP became afraid to shoot and Kuzma afraid to score. And Drummond was a disaster. Etc.
Barnes and Sexton would cleasrly be major upgrades but I’m going to have to disagree with your Maserati and Lamborghini vs sturdy pick up and economy sedan analogy because the Lakers need more than additional role players to compete with the Brooklyn Nets Superstar Big Three next season.
I think Barnes would be an excellent addition, especially if LeBron is going to move to the 4 and AD to the 5 to open up a starting spot at the three. Sexton is intriguing as a scorer but his low salary, horrible assists to turnover ratio (1.57 to 1), and subpar defense make it hard for me to see the Lakers pursuing him. I think there are better options for a point guard who is a better 3-point shooter, playmaker, and defender. If I were going to gamble on a 22-year old, I would keep THT rather than trade for Sexton.
Finally, it’s naive to think the Lakers can build a championship team for Anthony Davis reign at the same time as trying to optimize LeBron James dwindling championship window. Lakers should have only one focus right now and that is to win another championship. Sorry but we need proven championship caliber players to go with LeBron and AD, not 22-year old kids putting up big numbers on one of the worst teams in the league.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prioritize players in their mid to late 20’s instead of 35 and 36-year old veterans who might be on their last leg, assuming everything else is equal. For example, I could see a S&T for Lonzo Ball as having some advantages (and disadvantages) compared to a S&T for Chris Paul. Lonzo is younger, shoots more threes, and is a better defender. CP3 is older but a better playmaker and proven winner. In some ways going younger in this case might make sense as Lonzo is not some 22-year old kid scoring big numbers for a losing team.
Anyway, give me a Maserati or Lamborghini or Porsche over a sturdy pick up and economy sedan any day of the week. That beat up old picking and Hondo is what we have right now. We need a third star to mactch up with the Nets more than we need slightly better role players.
I’m going to have to disagree with you for several reasons Tom. First we will will never out gun the Nets. The only way to beat them will be with defense and depth. It’s imperative that we keep an advantage with both. Signing Lowery, Paul or Ball are all sign and trades and would make it harder to maintain our depth.
Sure we could bring in a but if over the hill vets in on minimums and hope they have one more year left. but I prefer the depth that my trade provides.
Come on Tom, you think Sexton and Barnes are only slightly better role players? Sexton scored 24 points a game last year and his .385 career 3 point shooting is better then any of the big name PG available. I would start Sexton over THT everyday at this point in THT’s career. And Barnes is a NBA champion and is known for his quality defense plus he is a reliable 3 point shooter. Those two fill our greatest need.
LeBron is going to be LeBron. No matter who they sign he will have the ball in his hands a lot. Bringing in a ball dominate PG is really not the answer as far as I’m concerned. Paul and Lowery both are best when they run the show. They would be sharing with LeBron which would diminish their value. Sexton is effective on and off the ball. Where we really save wear and tear on LeBron is on defense. If we start AD at the five Barnes is a great defender and can match up with the Paul George’s and Durants, while LeBron can guard Power Forwards.
Until THT is ready to start we would be starting 4 NBA champions so we could afford having one kid on the floor.
Finally Paul, Lowery and Ball have all had injury issues. Both Paul and Lowery will both want at least 2 maybe 3 years. Paul will want at least 30 mil a year to opt out of a 44 mil deal. And Lowery is probably looking 25 mil. And may get it. Barnes and Sexton costs us around 27 mil. Cleveland has cap room and can absorb the rest of Kuzmas salary. And Barnes last year drops to 18 mil. When you consider the hard cap trading for Barnes and Sexton gives us a deeper better team.
We’ll have to A2D, Michael. As I said, I’m not opposed to trading for Barnes but not for Colin Sexton.
Sorry but starting a 22-year old point guard who’s never played for a winner and has a dismal assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.57 is not how you optimize LeBron James diminishing championship window.
Not when the Lakers greatest priority is a ‘difference-making playmaker.’
Finally, what were talking about here is upgrading the Lakers’ starting lineup. You’re replacing Schroder and Drummond with Sexton and Barnes. I’m replaceing Schroder, KCP, and Drummond with Lowry, Bullock, and DeRozan.
Expecting 22-year old Sexton to be able to match what future HOFer Kyle Lowry can do for the Lakers is naive. Same with Harrison Barnes and DeMar DeRozan. Lowry and DeRozan are proven future HOF players. Sexton and Barnes are not. Yet you want to soend more money to create a roster that’s not close to being as good.
It’s not what you spend that counts but how you spend your money. There’s a route to the Lakers having a starting lineup of Lowry, Bullock, DeRozan, James, and Davis with a bench of Mills, Caruso, Matthews, Morris, and Gasol. You can argue that’s a long shot to happen but not that it’s not a championship caliber roster.
Here is my point, I don’t like bringing in a player that’s best skill is play making, running the offense when you have LeBron. LeBron will do what he does and sharing with LeBron wastes some of that players skill set.
Now if I had to choose between adding Sexton or Derozan, I’ll take Sexton. He offers the same scoring punch and he stretches the floor. Derozen doesn’t do that. And it’s a wash defensively. By the way, don’t you think that Sextons assists would go up playing for a team that can actually make shots? And Harrison Barnes is way better then Bullock. Not even close and Barnes has the size to play both forward positions. I wouldn’t mind KCP as the 5th option because we need to keep a versatile defender in the back court. That’s essential and we lose defense with Derozen. Defense is still our path but my trades add needed shooting as well. Paul and Crowder led a bunch of kids to the finals. We will have a bunch of vets with only two kids. Both Sexton and THT are both talented enough for the team to over come their mistakes. And both will continue to get better. In the end, if we are not near the top in defense we will not win another championship. I just feel your model offers enough defense to do that.
Good discussion, Micheal. LOL. Like I said, nothing wrong with disagreeing. It’s what makes the conversation’s interesting. Anyway, we’ll have to see what the Lakers do to see who is right or whom the Lakers agree with. Of course, as just bloggers, we lack inside info but I’ve still seen lots of bonehead moves by the so called experts so even that is not proof who is right. Then there’s the matter of post trade performance and how that affects who’s right or wrong. My opinion is opinions are cheap so why not opine? This is after all a blog.
But seriously, if the Lakers could pull it off, you don’t see Lowry, Bullock, DeRozan, James, and Anthony as a championship offense … and on a budget? Claim it can’t happen but don’t ignore that it’s a great lineup.
Is LeBron the best option at the one? For sure but is that the best option for the team. That’s the better question.
The Lakerrs do NOT want LeBron to continue to play the one. They want him to play four, which is the position he plays defensively. They believe it will extend his career and allow him to rest as needed. If we get a great pg, then it will work. If not, LeBron will play the one.
But behind all of this is the AD to the five, which finally allows the Lakers to play five against four instead of four against five for a change.
Center is a tough poisition to fill today and much of the time it is 4 against 5 if you don’t have a dynamic center. I’d love Lakers to trade for Turner but if not, then I want AD at the five. It’s like being awarded a sixth player to start. It can even allow you to fit in a DeRozan because everybody else can shoot.
Still don’t get why the Nets (who didn’t even make it to the conference finals…) are the barometer for the league. That smacks of looking specifically at one end of the court and not the other. Incredibly the game of basketball happens on not one but two sides of the hard wood. The Nets are about to lose talent with no mechanism to replace it, their big 3 has barely played and likes to nurse injuries for weeks, will Harden once again play his way from the club to the court throughout the season? Durant is the only “pro” on that team, Nash had no answer for any of the defensive wrinkles the Bucks threw at them.
The Nets are a dog and pony show on the same level as the Clippers. if you’re building a team to play like them you’re building the wrong team, in my opinion. You don’t want to compromise the defense (which is where I do agree with LT, Sexton is not a solid defender and so maybe switch out Patty Mills who might not have the dynamic upside but knows the role game and is solid on both ends) in the name of a couple streak shooter who may or may not make shots in our “offense”.
Have to agree with Michael and many others here, including myself, when they point out that Lowry has all the makings of Nash 2.0. I don’t see a good reason to break the bank, give up solid young talent or hard cap ourselves to acquire Lowry. I think there are younger, better fits for our team than Kyle, whom I like both as a player and a human being.
The other thing I like about Michael’s roster is that there are ton of trade-worthy deals on it. This avoids the same issue that the Nets will have: how do you improve a roster weighted so heavily towards the superstar end of the spectrum. The Bucks had a solid trio surrounded by really solid role-players/character guys like Brook Lopez, P.J. Tucker, “Big” Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton.
Of course LT wants the Lambo. The thing is, the Lakers might want that, too. The Lakers are in the ‘splash’ market so it’s certainly within the realm of possibility they look to hit a bunch of home runs and cap themselves into a pretty specific team as opposed to building something both for the present and the future, which I totally agree is possible.
Only thing I know is that I don’t know what the Lakers are planning. That and it really doesn’t matter what moves we make if LeBron and AD aren’t at full health come the playoffs.
Here is the thing about defensive rankings. I don’t know how good of a defender Saxon can be in a good defensive system. The Cav’s were 25th in league in defense so it’s hard to say. Now look at Lonzo who Tom loves. He had a 115.7 defensive rating which is awful but we know that Lonzo is a very good defender on a bad defensive team. I didn’t see Sexton enough for the eye test but pared with 4 great defenders like he would start with, I’m pretty sure his ranking would go up.
There’s no doubt defensive ratings are heavily influenced by whom you play with. Play with a good defensive team like the Lakers, you’ll have a lower defensive rating and vice versa.
Great defensive ratings are almost impossible on a poor defensive team because unlock scoring, playing good defense is a team thing and you need everybody working in sync to play great defense.
However, I could find no evidence in the media that Sexton is anything but a scorer. Let me know if you saw anything different. And I looked because I was intrigued that the Cavs were trying to trade him. He could get better but betting on 22-year olds to help LeBron and AD win next year is silly.
The Nets are the barameter because the oddsmakers have made them that and most prognosticators believe they have the best team in the league because of the three superstars.
I do agree their Achilles Heel is their defense. KD, Kyrie, and James may be unstoppable offensively but none of them can match the Lakers James or Davis (or Lowry) when it comes to defending. That’s not even counting that defense in the NBA today is a team effort as much as an individual effort. Lakers would have a shot even with just LeBron and AD because of their defense. My goal is for them to build a team that makes LA the favorite. LeBron, AD, and Lowry > KD, Kyrie, and Harden.
While Kyle did miss 26 games this season, he showed no signs of slowing down. He averaged 17.2 ppg (6th best in 16 years), 5.4 rpg (2nd best in 16 years), and 7.3 apg(4th best in 16 years). He shot 43.6% from the field (3rd best in 16 years), 39.6% from three (3rd best in 16 seasons), and 87.5% from the line (2nd best in 16 years). He also took 7.2 3PA per game (4th most in 16 years) and posted a 2.7 to 1 assists to turnover ratio (4th best in 16 years).
Does those stats look like a player who’s washed up? Steve Nash was also 38 years old when he joined the Lakers. Lowry is only 36 years old. Unlike Schroder, he is a master at the pick-and-roll and can run an offense and score as well as any point guard in the league.
No I’m not saying that your line up couldn’t win sure it could. I’m just saying I like mine better. It has enough offense and a better defense which is key to another ring. Plus I worry about guys like Lowery in their mid thirties. His body has already been breaking down. Also I think you need to develop some young talent. Sexton and THT will both make some young player mistake but they are both talented and will be a net positive for the team. I don’t know what Harrell will do but assuming he opts out I ran some numbers and even paying THT and Alex 10 mil and adding a one 2nd round buy in player or undrafted player for the end of the bench you could do it with only go over the tax apron by about 6 or 7 mil which isn’t terrible.
Going over the cap by a few million is nothing. It’s when you really bring in the big salaries – CP3, Westbrook – that things go crazy and you’re paying $50 to $100 million like the Dubs and Nets.