How Every NBA Team Could Add a Star If It Really Wanted Onehttps://t.co/o9EP8Ehu0e via @BleacherReport
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 18, 2020
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a boat adjacent to the Clippers. They can’t flip a future first-rounder before 2026, and their youngish-player pool consists of Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker.
Getting standout contributions from Caruso and Kuzma helps, and Horton-Tucker doesn’t turn 20 until November. They’re not carrying the Lakers into the Bradley Beal or Jrue Holiday discourse, but they could provide pathways to stars in the tier above scared-face salaries.
Matching incoming pay grades will be an issue if enough player options aren’t exercised. Avery Bradley ($5 million), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($8.3 million), JaVale McGee ($4.2 million) and Rajon Rondo ($2.7 million) can all hit the open market. The Lakers need between two and three of them to return if they also wish to retain Danny Green.
And even that doesn’t put them in an enviable spot. Shipping out Bradley, KCP, McGee, Rondo and Kuzma would allow the Lakers to take on more than $30 million in salary, but who is that getting them? They can include other players to drum up their money-matching limit, but few teams are going to pounce on four-, five- or six-for-one proposals. Roster limits are a thing.
Treating Green as salary filler may be unavoidable in the end. That’s more than acceptable if the Lakers are getting back a star, assuming he’s the right one. Maybe that’s Chris Paul. It’s almost assuredly not Al Horford or Tobias Harris. Could it be Kevin Love? It is definitely not Blake Griffin or Russell Westbrook.