Aloha
Well crazy time is on us. I get a real kick out of the first hour of free agency. There are always free agents signed in the first five minutes, but you are not supposed to talk with players prior to 12:01am. 😂 The NBA should just end the charade. EVERYBODY is talking😂
Now having a big 3 comes with a lot of restrictions but I think we have a chance to build a really good team. But it starts with our own players. Continuity is important and we have some very good role players.
I think it’s important to keep Alex. Not just for his elite defense. With Russ on board, Frank will probably stagger Russ and LeBron. Alex and LeBron have excellent chemistry when Alex plays the point as a secondary ball handler. His market value is estimated at around 10 mil. I would go even go over a little. Unless someone comes in with a over the moon offer., I think Alex stays.
I’m confident that THT will stay. He’s younger then many of the 1st round picks and he’s developing quickly. He can play 1 through 3 and is almost an elite finisher at the rim. Yes he make young player mistakes but with the amount of Vets we are going to have we can live with them. Plus he would be hard to sign and trade. He will get offer sheets and if he signs one we can’t trade him if we match. Plus regardless of what we sign him for we can only take back 5.5 mil in contracts. That won’t get you any one better. In December that changes but for now I think he sticks.
I really hope we can retain Wes. Defensively he is nearly as good as KCP. He had an off year shooting the 3 but it was a weird year and I think he will rebound. I could even see him starting.
I also want to retain Morris. He had a real uneven year but he was really good during the stretch that he was starting. I think he would be better in a more consistent role.
Now for additions, if we keep our guards I think our top priority should be small forward, especially if LeBron is playing the 4 a lot. This is the position I would use the mini MLE on. My favorites are:
Reggie Bullock
Otto Porter Jr
Nick Batum.
Reggie may get a better offer with the Knicks. Otto Porter Jr seems to be willing to play for 4 to 6 mil. The Clippers can’t offer Nick more then us, so would he walk across the hall? We will see.
Now for Vet min guys.
Rudy Gay
Melo
Corey Joseph
Trevor Ariza
Dewight Howard
Paddy Mills
Torrey Craig
I think Melo is a given. It gives another scorer off the bench. Of all the guys it’s almost guaranteed he is a Laker.
I almost put Rudy with the MLE candidates and wouldn’t be to upset if he was our MLE player.
Corey is a Klutch client and I I think he would be great for depth.
Would love to have Trevor back but he hasn’t played much lately for personal reasons. Don’t know what’s going on with him.
I like bring back Howard in a limited role. With the addition of Russ, AD will be playing more center. I also hope Gasol is back because he is the perfect 2nd unit center playing with Russ. Howard would be a nice banger to bring in and beat up some of the bigger centers for 10 minutes or so.
I like Mills and we need shooting. I would love it if he took the vet min. But he has a couple of rings so I kind of think he will look for a little more money and the 3 is a bigger priority for us.
I love Torreys defense and if we can steal him on a vet min, that would be huge. I just don’t think he offers enough offense as my other MLE picks.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if one of 2 way players has a strong camp we sign them to the varsity for a cheap end of the bench player.
There is also chatter about Iggy and Dragic as possibilities. But as now of now the Heat have yet to decline the team options. They have to do it today, so will see. Expect Iggy on Lakers if the Heat cut him loose. Rob was his agent.
So if we can can keep our own guys and a few of the above I think we will be a very tough team to beat. The good thing about living in Hawaii is midnight eastern time is only 6pm here. So after the rest of you go to bed I can follow the signings. I’ll keep you posted😊
Wow less then a minute after I hit post I get an update that Iggy has been released. Welcome to the Lakers Iggy.
Oops forgot Mckinnie. I think they keep him. I liked him and he’s a cheap contract.
Damn, that’s some good stuff you posted, Michael. Don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight, but I can’t wait to see how this team looks like this season. You made great points about the players we have to retain including Wesley Mathews, THT, Caruso and McKinnie. I like all of those players. I will be looking forward to your updates.
Aloha, Michael,
Were having a live Lakers Fast Break Podcast tomorrow at 2:30 pm PT in case you were interesting in joining the conversation. Let me know if you are and I will have Gerald send you a link. Should be a fun show that will last a couple of hours and be live on Facebook. Love to have you join us.
While the Big 3 does make it tough to fill out the rest of the roster, I prefer to focus on the benefits, especially since the Westbrook deal has been committed to and that part of it is not going to change. We now have a Big 3 and the challenge is to turn the roster into a super team. What we need to do that is players who are volume 3-point shooters. Guys who shoot 2 to 4 threes per game are not going to solve the problem. The Lakers need shooter who take 6 to 10 threes per game. That’s the only way they can create the spacing to make the Westbrook trade a success. Otherwise, teams are going to pack the paint mercilessly.
I would love to keep Alex and THT but not at the cost of not being able to add a volume 3-point shooter like Buddy. Much as both contributes, neither is a starter and neither even averages a single made three per game. My greatest worry after calculating how much it would cost the Lakers in taxes to trade for Buddy in addition to Russ is that the Lakers will make the same judgement mistake you made and believe keeping THT and Caruso is more important than adding Buddy. If that happens, you will be correct that the Westbrook trade was a mistake. There is no way in the win now world of the Lakers that the Lakers will win if they keep THT and Caruso instead of adding Buddy.
When it comes to the vet minimum players, we’re in agreement. Wes and Keef are essential to re-sign. The other guys on your list also make great sense for the Lakers. I also love the idea of Bullock, Porter Jr., or Batum for the mini MLE.
I’m even willing to take Dwight back as a backup center although I’m concerned that most of the pundits somehow still seem to be ignoring the news about AD playing the five and are presuming that Gasol or maybe even Dwight would start at center.
Let me be clear. Only an idiot of a coach would start a center like McGee or Howard who cannot shoot alongside a point guard like Westbrook who cannot shoot. What does it take for these idiots to understand you cannot have only one shooter on the floor with LeBron, AD, and Russ. You must have two shooters on the floor and they should be the shooting guard and small forward. Russ only works if you start AD at the five. Starting guys who average less than one made three per game is not going create any spacing. Russ at the one, LeBron at the four, and AD at the five requires shooters at the two and three. Period.