Aloha,
If the Lakers are looking for a move for Russ that brings a little something back, I think the point guard hungry Knicks might be the most likely place for Russ to land.they would have a year to see if he fits. I I like the idea of Brogdon/Buddy with the Pacers but let’s face it, Russ would be a fall back deal not the top of their list.
The Knicks would send us Fournier and Walker who they have been trying to move. Walker has been so bad that they are sitting him the rest of the year but Fournier could be useful as a scorer off the bench. Walker could be an end of the bench break glass PG or he could be stretched. His 9.5 mil left wouldn’t hurt much. The Knicks would have to include Taj Gibson. His contract isn’t guaranteed so we could cut him or hold on to him for depth. The final player and the jewel of the trade world be Cam Reddish. Thibs never wanted that trade for Cam. The Knicks have cap space so no more salary would be needed and we knock at least 12 mil off our cap. I wouldn’t even include any future 1st since we are helping each other. Maybe a couple of 2nd’s if Cam is included.
This is my preferred trade partner as it opens the door us to also keep Monk. Russ is a prototypical Thibbs player, as well.
The Pistons asking price for Grant was 2 1sts. If we could pull off a Knick trade without giving up a 1st, perhaps the Pistons would take THT, our 2 firsts and Walker who is expiring and could be cut for Grant.
That would be a great move imo.
Aloha, Michael,
I also like the Knicks as a trading partner and Reddish as our stealth target. The pieces aren’t as appealing as the Pacers pieces but there are more options on players. I would like to see if the Knicks were willing to move Rose if we took Randle. Need a point guard to replace Russ, which is why I like the Pacers trade. Also always loved Julius as a small ball point five.
The other team that’s interesting is the Thunder because we could get Favors, Muscala, and Williams while creating a $30 million trade exception that could be used for a player like Kevin Love or Tobias Harris.
The key is taking back contracts of players who woud be big upgrades over the minimum salary players we have starting next to LeBron, AD, and Russ right now. When healthy, that is.
Give me three new starters to replace minimum salary vets and Lakers will be back in contention.
Aloha Tom, when looking at the Knicks, I tried to stay with what they tried to do, find a point guard while shedding a couple of contracts they didn’t want. I doubt they would give up Randle. And Rose is Thibs guy, I can’t see them giving him up. My reasoning was we could make this swap and save our draft picks to land another quality player like Grant. I don’t like the OKC trade. While it creates a big trade exception, they are not as valuable without picks to send back. It’s unlikely that my proposal happens but if everything did i think we could be pretty good.
lebron is going to play his game until he retires so you dont need a great point guard. you need a hard nosed defender and secondary ball handler who can also generate offense and hit some 3’s. Nunn fits the bill. while the focus has been on AD and LeBrons injuries, Nunn is a good player and it really hurt us that he hasn’t played. at this point I suspect he will opt into his option. And with the tight money this summer its not a sure thing that Makik wont be come back for the mini mid level . he really appreciates the fact that the Lakers gave him a chance and there will be more money the following year. so along with the trades. if those 2 things happen we could look something like this.
PG Nunn
SG Malik, Austin, Fournier. Center AD
Forwards, Lebron. Grant, Melo, Reddish, Stanley.
With the tight Market there will be some talent that will trickle down. sign a couple of vets. Maybe bring Damien Jones back. and maybe another young guy with promise. finding a couple of promising 2 way guys would be helpful. while this may not win a championship, it’s about as good as i think we could do considering our assets. and if we were relatively healthy, you never know.
Aloha, Michael.
I’m not sure the Knicks would like to get out of Julius’ new 4-year contract. The bigger question is would the Lakers be willing to take on his contract? Last year might have been an outlier. Anyway, we need good 4’s and 5’s because LeBron and AD are not enough.
You may be right about Nunn but I would guess 50/50 based on how the rest of Rob’s signings went. Availability is an important ‘ability.’
I think the Lakers need three new starters as I don’t think anybody else on the roster, including Monk and Reaves, is good enough to be a starter on a championship team. I don’t think Nunn can be one of those starters either although the Lakers paid him like they thought he could.
Anyway, I’m all in for being able to move Russ without giving up a pick and I wouldn’t mind splurging and spending the picks to get Grant. That is only part of the perfect solution though as we need a point guard. Think we could get Hield and Brogdon but it will take a pick for sure. Getting both would be GM wizardry.
Hield and Brogdon are more important than Grant although that’s debatable since we have LeBron on the team. We probably have enough left if we can get the Pacers to take Russ to maybe get Cam Reddish. Brogdon, Hield, and Reddish would be a perfect offseason.
Definitely like Damian Jones too. Bring back Melo, Monk, Reaves, and Johnson.
I must disagree on Nunn. I’ve seen him play. He’s a very good player and was widely regarded as the steal of free agency. And in preseason he was the talk of training camp. You can’t be great at every position, when you have superstars you just need to be good around them, and I think Nunn is about as good as we can get if we make other moves. Brogdon would be great but he will be highly sought after if the Pacers put him on the market. They can probably get more for him. And if we did make the Knick deal we would have Fournier which is pretty much a Buddy like player. A shooter that can’t defend. Although Fournier has a little more playmaking ability then Buddy. I honestly don’t believe we have the assets to add 3 new starts. We would be lucky to land 2.
I do agree that, If there’s a player on this roster who could become a starter, it would be Nunn. Just hard to count on a player who can’t even get healthy for a single game. I mean it’s not like he tore his Achilles or ACL.
My other concern is size. I love small ball but prefer it played by guards who are 6′ 5″ or taller. Same with small ball bigs who are skilled but also big. Small ball on steroids is the unbeatable style. It’s one of the reasons I’ve coveted Brogdon for so long. 6′ 5″229 lbs.