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Yes, Hinson is built like Rui, but he also reminds me of Torey Craig, and Tommy Kuhuse reminds me of Steve Blake.
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LeBron James' final two-year deal total, per sources: $101.355 million – almost $3M less than his $104M max, placing Lakers below second apron. https://t.co/Fm9VEVSkr7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2024
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Much appreciated, James.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
I have no idea what is going on. Like I said, I had very low expectations going into the summer but this is ridiculous. Now Robb probably didn’t think that all 3 of the minimum contracts he handed out last year would opt in. But they all for various reasons did. Now are hands are tied. We have a 15 man roster and are into the 2nd apron. I have no idea what Rob is thinking. The Spurs just sent a player to the Hornets with a 2nd round pick. The Hornets will waive him. Robb needs to do something similar. Any of our minimum contract would do the trick. Until we get below that 2nd apron, our hands are tied. We can’t combine contracts in a trade for an upgrade. We can’t bring back even a penny more in a one for one trade. We can’t sign any of the potentially helpful free agents still on the market. I just don’t get it.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
One thing I do want to make clear. I do agree with the Lakers reluctance to give up one or both of their remaining 1st round picks. None of the realistic trade options are game changers. The Trailblazers want two first rounders for Grant. I would not give up even one. He maybe an upgrade over Rui, it isn’t big enough to warrant two first rounders and the contracts it would take to land him. Same goes for Cam Johnson and Finney-smith with the Nets. The Nets want a first for either. They both could help make us better. It’s rumored they would take DLO. But now you have a hole at PG, without a viable replacement, so we could actually be worse. What I want to see is moves around the margins. Save the assets for a true game changer or the inevitable rebuild that is coming.
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MongoSlade wrote a new post
Hope everyone had a great 4th. We had an awesome cookout yesterday and of course the conversation turned towards the Lakers. The question I always put out there is what kinda culture are they building? What’s the guiding set of principles for the future? Somebody made a great point about Meritocracy. It feels like nobody in the positions of power have actually EARNED their status and then how does that trickle down & infect the entire franchise? We all know how the Owner, Governess?, whatever her title got her job. The GM got installed due to his relationship with Kobe while having no practical experience. Head Coach?….pretty much the same situation. 55th pick?…’nuff said. Just another wrinkle that I hadn’t seen previously. We’ve got foundational problems that run so much deeper than just finding a backup center…smdh
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The problem would be easy to fix but I doubt it will ever happen. Jeanie is the problem. She is so insecure that she surrounds herself with a committee. In a way I feel sorry for Rob. Most GM’s make moves and the owner signs off. Robb has to run it by Jeanie’s posse. I mean why does Linda Rambus have a say in basketball decisions? The solution is turn the basketball decisions over to Jessie and Joey Buss. Dr Buss had them interning with Mitch when they were teens. They have grown up in the basketball operations side. They put together and run one of the best scouting departments in the NBA. I wonder how they felt about drafting Bronny. Probably bleed from biting their tongues so hard. Anyway they probably have more basketball knowledge than most owners around the league. I know Jessie admired the Spurs organization and fought hard to build a scouting department. With development more important than ever because of the CBA I really think they would do a good job. But like I said, it probably will never happen.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Trade 6 Lakers for 1 Buck and 1 Bull
Create 4 empty roster spots
Add Dinwiddie and Castleton
2 remaining open roster spots15-Man Roster:
PG: Reaves, Dinwiddie, James Jr
SG: LaVine, Christie, Reddish
SF: James Sr, Knecht, Open
PF: Davis, Wood, Open
CE: Lopez, Hayes, Castleton— LakerTom (@LakerTom) July 5, 2024
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I love this option for Lakers going all-in to win with LeBron and AD but saving their draft picks and swaps for next season. Lakers keep all of their 2 first round picks and 3 first round pick swaps.
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![Profile picture of DJ2KB24]()
I dunno LT. LaVine is an injury waiting to happen. Not ready to give up on DLO.
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![Profile picture of Buba]()
Honestly, something in me tells me we should just keep the team as it is after missing out on free agency. I am very uncomfortable losing what is left of our team in the process of bringing in someone like Lavine who is injury prone. If not for his injury problems, I will definitely go for it in a heartbeat. I have seen great players’ careers come to a halt because of persistent injuries. Brandon Roy, Kemba Walker, and other greats come to mind.
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![Profile picture of Buba]()
Tom, do you know what I am sensing in the sports media? They seem disappointed with the Lakers lack of action in the free agency. Even with this inaction the Lakers topics are always on their menu.
Pro basketball talk without the Lakers included doesn’t fill their plates. The Lakers can only boost their ratings. Imagine if the Lakers were in this past NBA finals what the ratings would be. Unfortunately, we are busy trying to figure out how to pull a rabbit out of a hat of chaos caused by this evil of a collective bargain.
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DJ2KB24 wrote a new post
LBJ’s job to carry this Team. That’s AD’s job! And how nice to have a sidekick that has best shooting of his career and 25-8-9. Joker didn’t carry his team this year. Steph, PG13, KD, Hally, Embbid, Gianis and the list of Stars and Superstars goes on and on.
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DJ, I like your take on sidekicks. Makes sense.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Lakers trade 4 non-impact players for 2 high impact players in Brown & Olynyk, open up roster spots to sign Spencer Dinwiddie & trade for Walker Kessler.
Russell, Dinwiddie, James Jr
Reaves, Brown, Christie
James Sr, Knecht, Lewis
Olynyk, Vanderbilt, Wood
Davis, Kessler, Hayes pic.twitter.com/3tuFEWfpm6— LakerTom (@LakerTom) July 4, 2024
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
That’s a terrible trade. Brown Severely with a capital S under performed since leaving the Nuggets. He is under sized for the 3, doesn’t offer much offense. Doesn’t stretch the floor. 31% from 3 last year, 33% for his career. And he slid defensively as well. AND you want to give up a 1st as well? Pass.
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Another thing, I have no idea why you are so down on Rui but no impact? We made our run down the stretch after Rui was added to the starting lineup. 16.7 ppg 57% from the field 43% from 3 on 4 attempts. 5.5 boards and 113.9 defensive rating in 31 minutes. No impact?
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That’s as the 5th option! I really don’t know what impact looks like to you.
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By the way the Lakers team defense was 118.4 over the last 32 games. Rui’s rating was 113.9 over that same stretch. But no impact.
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![Profile picture of humanomaly]()
Having Prince follow the previous coach to Milwaukie was a blessing. He contributed (hyothetically speaking) more than Vanderbilt and Vincent (if both those guys were healthy)….Prince did shoot a decent corner 3 now and then. Unlike Tom and others, I am not as down on Rui. I feel Lakers should retain Rui, absolutely Reaves, and even DLo as long as he is not toxic (off the top of my head his big toxic moment was the Nick Young thing, but DLo was probably a teenager, age or mentally back then, and Nick was Nick. Between Wood and Hayes, they both have some talent, but are too small to play against large opponents. Lakers don’t have much to trade, an overpaid Vanderbilt, an injury recovering Vincent (both are locked in too long), DLo …who the team could actually benefit from keeping if he plays as well as he did for 3/4 of last season (but he is on a one year expiring contract)….Hood-Schifino whose game and potential are unknown because of back issues (over past 2 years I believe)….Lakers do need a center than can play with the starters effectively (not an old Mark Madsen/Turiaf/Sacre type)…
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
So, the Mav’s trade Hardaway jr into the Pistons cap space. It creates a trade exception that allows them to trade for Klay. This creates a trade exception for the Warriors and they sign Buddy into it.
And our Lakers can’t even find a trade for a minimum expiring contract that we pay to land into some teams cap space. We have a team option for next year on Maxwell Lewis so even he’s an expiring deal.
A trade puts us under the 2nd apron and allows us to make some moves. Don’t you think Rob that you should do that while there are some useful players still available?
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By the way, Buddy cost the Warriors a 2031 2nd round pick.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
I am having a hard time figuring out what the Lakers are doing. I’m not at all upset that we didn’t get Klay. We didn’t have a chance anyway. The Warriors didn’t want to take back salary in a trade and Dallas had a trade exception. I’m also hoping that the Derozan nonsense has passed.
I’m not upset that we haven’t found a big trade. There isn’t many names that seem to be on the trade block. So naturally the sellers are asking a lot for them. I try and look at net gain in a trade. Does what we give up make us significantly better for what we gain. With the names out there I feel the answer is no.
No what is frustrating me, is we haven’t freed up a roster spot yet. The rumor is that LeBron would help keep us under that 2nd apron but currently we haven’t created the space. It’s not that hard. Pay a team with cap space to take a guy. Send Lewis into the Hornets cap space along with a 2nd rounder.
The inventory of free agents that can help is drying up. We needed center help and most of the best low cost centers are gone. Every year there are a couple of quality guys that have to sign for less but the longer the Lakers wait, the less likely it is that we will be able to land one.
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https://x.com/EricPincus/status/1808694415776698603
1. The Blazers’ Contracts
A combination of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Christian Wood would be enough salary to bring back Grant and Williams without trigging a first-apron hard cap, though the Lakers would be hard-capped. That could require James to take about $4-17 million below the max, though.
2. Get D
eBest Player Available
Perhaps the Bulls would expand a trade to include center Nikola Vučević, with the Lakers sending Russell, Hachimura, Hood-Schifino and Wood to Chicago. The Bulls would likely want additional compensation, such as a first-round pick, which may cause the Lakers to hesitate.
3. Lakers Aim for the Mark-kanen
Markkanen’s contract ($18.0 million) should make a deal even more appealing. Since the Jazz are under the cap, they could help the Lakers offload contracts en masse. How about Russell, Hachimura, Lewis, Hood-Schifino, Wood and Reddish into Utah’s cap room, plus the picks?
4. Pay to Dump Players
Instead of focusing on the return, the Lakers’ best move may be to give up cash and/or second-round picks to offload as many unneeded players as possible.
The Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons or Jazz could absorb those players into their cap space. Any team—even those without cap room—can take on minimum contracts like Wood or Reddish without having to match salaries. The Brooklyn Nets are one of many teams with prominent enough trade exceptions to give the Lakers necessary relief.
5. Ride it out
The Lakers could look to improve ahead of the February trade deadline, but only in deals that reduce salary. Given their current lack of leverage, perhaps none of the deals that we proposed here are available. Waiting for a better opportunity may be the best path forward.
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Personally, only option that makes sense is Blazers Contracts. That at least gets you 3&D wing & elite backup center we need.
Only change I would make is replace Russell w/Vando and Gabe. Keeping DLO is the key to making this trade work. We keep point guard but lack POA guard. https://t.co/1SumcreZCu— LakerTom (@LakerTom) July 4, 2024
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PG: Russell, Dinwiddie, James Jr
SG: Reaves, Christie, Reddish
SF: Grant, Knecht
PF: James Sr, Wood
CE: Davis, Williams, Hayes— LakerTom (@LakerTom) July 4, 2024
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Read MoreNobody is saying it but it’s looking more and more like the coming NBA season could be LeBron James’ last dance as Rob Pelinka continues to resist going all-in to give the King one final chance to win his fifth championship.
LeBron James has to be sad and discouraged that Rob Pelinka failed to take advantage of his willingness to give up as much as $20 million per year so the Lakers could receive access to the $12.9 million NT MLE to add depth. With media reports the Lakers may not trade their two available first round picks until next summer, Pelinka may now be focusing on making small moves on the margins and preserving his draft capital for next season.
Frankly, it’s hard to believe a Los Angeles Lakers team that cultivated an image as place where superstars close their careers and establish their legends could bail out and not go all-in on LeBron James’ last dance.
It’s just embarrassing watching the franchise that rewarded 35-year old Kobe Bryant with a 3-year max deal after suffering a torn Achilles not being willing to spend their available draft picks and swaps to upgrade this team.The Lakers apparently believe paying LeBron James a near max contract for the next two years and using their #55 pick in the 2024 draft for his son Bronny James was all they were obligated to do for their iconic superstar.
It’s hard to imagine James not being disappointed in Rob’s repeated failures to make moves needed to surround James and Davis with a championship caliber starting lineup and rotation for the 5th time in 6 years as a Laker.If there’s anything other than Father Time that might make LeBron James call it a career after the coming season, it’s watching Rob Pelinka and his clown crew of associates waste what could be the last year of his career.
At their core, the Lakers front office has apparently lost confidence that LeBron James and Anthony Davis can still be a championship caliber duo and don’t see any of the feasible upgrades as being worth gambling on.Frankly, I’m totally tired of hearing Rob Pelinka parrot the same lame excuses for not spending his draft capital and upgrading the roster. The Lakers’ offseason plan was poorly conceived and horribly executed.
Unlike how their clumsy coaching search was saved by hiring JJ Redick, the Lakers offseason upgrade plan was essentially dead on arrival and its corpse has drained Pelinka and the Lakers front office of any decisiveness.In the end, I would be happier if the Lakers took a giant gamble and traded their cap sheet for a Lakers’ Big Three with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Trae Young or Zach LaVine. Problem is Westbrook took Pelinka’s balls.
Lakers just need to use the picks and swaps to trade with the Blazers for Jerami Grant and Robert Williams or the Nets for Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith or the Jazz for Walker Kessler or the Wizards for Kyle Kuzma.There are still multiple difference-making players available who would be great fits on the Lakers and would help elevate them to contender status. As usual, Pelinka can’t find a deal he likes while available options decrease.
After failing to find a player who would meet LeBron’s standard and accept the NT MLE, Rob seems to be paralyzed, simply hoping the Jazz, Blazers, or Nets will change their mind and take less for the players the Lakers covet.That’s at least the more charitable explanation for why Rob Pelinka has not made any moves in free agency other than re-signing Max Christie. Is Rob simply incompetent or has he decided to just ride out LeBron’s last dance?
It’s hard as a Lakers fan not to expect Rob to come out and announce at any moment that the Lakers are not going to trade either of their two available first round picks because that will not be enough to win a championship.The only silver lining from Pelinka failing to find a quality MLE candidate is we no longer have to worry about ending up with DeMar DeRozan via either the NT MLE or a S&T since we will be over the first luxury tax apron.
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Lebron couldn’t carry a squad 3 years ago and convinced them to waste the remainder of his still effective, post-prime with the Westbrook deal. Everything’s been window dressing ever since. So unless there’s a top-5 MVP candidate gettable (quick tip, there isn’t), this team is stuck in playin purgatory, regardless of the moves around the fringes. Lebron would do everyone a great service, himself included, by moving on to a contender.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
We are currently 1.8 mil over the 2nd apron, meaning we need to shed salary before we can even consider most deals you have suggested Tom. We can’t combine two contracts. If we say trade Dlo at has to be for a player making the same or less than DLO. Now LeBron could take slightly less. Maybe a couple of mil. There is rumors that he might. But until we get under that 2nd apron, we can’t make any big trades.
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My understanding is we’re not officially over the second apron until July 6 so we can still shed salary, aggregate players, sign buy-outs, and reshape roster. If we want.
If we do nothing, however, we will be over the second cap unless LeBron takes a couple of million less. At the least, we will do enough to avoid the second apron penalties.
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That’s based on his cap hold, not his new contract. Although his new contract is only slightly over his cap hold.
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We’re in a moratorium. None of these deals can be finalized until Jul 6.
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Based on the rumors i have read, lakers are reluctant to give the nets 2 1st rdp for cam johnson and dorian finney smith..they only wanted to give 1 1st and 2 2nds for both players..for bruce brown lakers are reluctant to give a 1st for bruce brown and olynik..to the blazers, the lakers do not want to give 2 1st rdp for grant..they want to give 1 1st and 2 2nd..to the utah, lakers do not want to give up austin reaves, 3 1st rdp for markannen
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Yes, the Lakers could get out from under the apron restrictions, but that would mean salary-shedding trades where they take back zero money or significantly less money in a deal.
Certainly possible, with a couple of teams still sitting on significant cap space, but those teams… https://t.co/6hj9KUb3j8
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 3, 2024
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The only silver lining from Pelinka failing to find a quality MLE candidate is we no longer have to worry about ending up with DeMar DeRozan via either the NT MLE or a S&T since we will be over the first luxury tax apron.https://t.co/mgKo1lxU2h pic.twitter.com/HgdR2Bw2D1
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) July 4, 2024
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![Profile picture of therealhtj]()
THERE WAS NO WORTHWHILE DEAL TO BE HAD, NO MATTER WHAT THE TRADE MACHINE TOLD YOU.
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Hinson is someone I’m going to be watching. He was considered perhaps the best shooter in the draft and yesterday he did not disappoint going 5 for 7 from 3. And man, his shot is pure. He is built like Rui, 6’ 8” 230 pounds although he doesn’t have a wing span like Rui’s 7’ 2”. He went undrafted because he is 24, missing a couple of years early on because of health. If he can prove that he can play at least decent team defense the Lakers may have found another gem.