Aloha,

The chatter around the league is that the Hornets are talking to the Pacers about Turner. The Pacers love Hayward and the Hornets have the 13th and 15th pick in the draft this year. It’s very possible that we see Hayward and a 1st going to the Pacers for Turner.

But I don’t think that would necessarily kill a deal for Russ. The Hornets seem to still be interested in Russ. The Pacers owe Scary Terry around 70 mil over the next 3 years. And while he’s a good player he’s not the best fit with Ball, now firmly in charge at point guard. Terry would be a much better fit on the Lakers because he is a decent shooter and can play off the ball. I would suspect we would see Terry and maybe Plumlee to the Lakers for Russ and a 1st round pick. I would love Ubre but if the Hornets move Hayward then they probably want to hold onto Kelly. I actually like this better then Hayward because he’s 32 and hasn’t been able to stay healthy.

Aloha,

Over the last couple of weeks we have close click bait headlines that the Lakers are interested in LaVine, Beal and now Kyrie. Of course they are. Duh! I’m waiting for the headline for that some team is interested in Westbrook, even THT. That hasn’t happened yet. Until it does it’s all click bait.

Aloha,

The first big man trade just hit. The Rockets received an unremarkable
Collection of players BUT, they also receive the 26 th pick in this years draft. Like I’ve been saying all along, a pick 5 years down the road is not as valuable as a pick that can be used right away. I expect more of the same this summer.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
· 5m
Sources: The Mavericks are sending Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss and the No. 26 pick to the Rockets for Christian Wood.

Aloha,

Jabari Walker is a guy I’ve been hearing about lately. The son of former Laker Samaki Walker he worked out today for the Lakers. Definitely the kind of forward we should be looking at. By the way he is a huge a LeBron fan which would be a plus if he goes undrafted.

e: Second round-UDFA
PPG
14.6
RPG
9.4
3FG PCT
34.6
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We didn’t quite get a full-blown breakout season from Jabari Walker at Colorado after he thrived in a small role as a freshman, but the foundation is there for him to continue his development into a solid role player in the NBA. The 6-8 forward has good positional size and length, strong shooting touch (he was in the 93rd percentile as a frosh in spot-up shooting situations) and really good rebounding instincts for his position. If he can return to form as a knockdown catch-and-shoot guy (after being miscast in a big role as a sophomore) and add that to his length and defense then there’s more than enough here for him to return value as a real value late in the draft or even as an undrafted priority free agent.

Aloha,

It is too early to tell if there will be trades or what free agents we can land. But one hire that needs to happen is a all world shooting coach. All of our young guys showed a lot of potential in certain areas. The one area they all need help in is shooting. If these young guys can be elevated into the 35% range they could become a very useful core. Perhaps a great coach could help Russ with his 3 point shot. What is clear, trade or no trade we will need contribution s from at least a couple of these guys. I believe in their abilities to defend and even improve in that area. It’s the shooting that will tell how far we can go with these kids.

Aloha,

So it appears that Rasheed Wallace one of the great villains of Laker lore will now be one of the coaches. Ironic isn’t it? All I know is Rasheed was one nasty dude. Hopefully some of that nasty rubs off on our young guys. Heck I hope some of the Nasty rubs off on AD. I wonder though, are coaches suspended after 16 technical fouls like players😂

Aloha,

Well the Russ trade proposals keep coming hot and heavy and will only intensify over the coming weeks. Now of course all of these are writers coming up with them. There actually has only been two teams that are said to be possibly interested in a trade for Russ. The Hornets and the Rockets.

So what I have been doing is pulling up these teams on Bleacher Report just to see what the local writers with some inside information have to say. Sadly Russ is never mentioned. For instance the Pacers are interested in Colin Sexton. They could offer Buddy to the Cav’s for Sexton. Considering the Cav’s need floor spacers they would probably go for it. It would depend on the offers Sexton receives.

This is the way it is with every team. Even the Hornets site aren’t talking about Russ but they are talking a lot about other targets. Primarily centers with Hayward mentioned. This is why I think the Lakers have asked for plans on using Russ. Not so much that they want to keep him but after a month of talking to teams there is the very real possibility that they won’t be able to find a trade.

The same thing goes for THT and Nunn, neither are talked about on other sites. On the brighter side Monk is not being talked much by the teams that could sign him for more then the mini mid level.

It’s still early and deals that no one has even thought of may surface. Still, I’m not holding my breathe.

Aloha,

Marc Stein has reported that the Lakers are telling
Anyone who will listen that they are keeping Russ. That they will not give up future assets to move him nor will they waive and stretch him. Posturing? Perhaps, or it could be reality setting in. The Front office has had ample time to talk with everyone in the league and gage what opportunities are out there. There simply may not be a trade that they see as a path to elevating the team into contender status. And why waste assets on players that won’t do that.

A good example is the Pacers. Buddy and Brogdon is everyone’s favorite trade. Yet there hasn’t been one hint of interest coming from the Pacers camp. They have repeatedly said they are going to build while trying to stay competitive. That are not tearing it down. Considering they are way under the salary cap and not an ideal destination for free agents there really isn’t a need to create additional cap space. They can simply hold onto their players until the right opportunity comes along.
Perhaps the Lakers would consider adding draft picks to obtain the two but it’s likely that a trade isn’t available.

The two teams that the rumors were supposed to come from the front offices are the Rockets and Hornets. The Rockets want a first and I wouldn’t do that either. I’m sure the Hornets interest revolves around Hayward. The Lakers probably have talked with a Mitch. Maybe the Lakers do not like the Hornets proposal. Honestly I could see why the Lakers would hesitate about giving up picks for Hayward.

The Lakers will have cap space again after Russ falls off the books. Perhaps they are not willing to take on contracts for the players that maybe available for several years after Russ would have been gone, if it is not a championship move. Or Perhaps after talking with other teams there just isn’t a trade available. While expiring contracts are valuable 47 mil for one player is problematic. And if that player is seen as a negative it becomes even more difficult. While I rarely say never, I’m not optimistic that a trade will happen for Russ this summer.

Aloha,

The Lakers have dug themselves a nasty hole with their foolish attempt to build a big 3. A hole they will have a hard time climbing out of. LeBron could help. Lebrons net worth is estimated at 850 million dollars. He is well on his way to becoming a billion dollar basketball player like MJ. He could retire today and still hit the billion dollar mark in a few year through endorsements and his various business ventures. So it begs the question, how important is winning another ring to him? He has stated that he won’t accept anything but a max contact but if he wants to win, signing another max contract will make winning another ring very difficult. If he took less, say 25 to 30 mil that would leave money for a couple of quality role players and could even open up the full MLE and bi annual slot. And if he goes into free agency who could even pay him that? Or want to at his age. It will be interesting to see which is bigger, his ego or his desire to win another championship. He probably can’t get paid 50 mil and win again, no matter where he is.

Aloha,

There is only 30 head coaching jobs in the NBA. So of course when one opens up you do want it. Still in the back of these candidates minds they have to be asking themselves, do I really want this? Luke had LeBron and a bunch of kids 4th in the west until LeBron and other key players went down with extended injuries and he got canned. Frank inherited AD and they win a ring. The roster is fiddled with and injuries plagued the team again and they only managed getting into the play in before AD got hurt again. Then the remaining pieces of the championship squad are moved or allowed to walk, replaced by basically Russ and senior citizens. Injuries strike again and Frank is canned. These candidates have to be asking themselves, how much of a chance will I be given? Considering the roster will need to be overhauled yet again, I’m sure they must have some reservations. Who will the lucky guy be😂

Aloha,

Long time Lakerholics may remember Dave Murphy’s excellent Searching for Slava blog. As it turns out Slava Medvendenko is currently fighting in the Ukraine. It kind of put our basketball obsessions in perspective. My prayers go out to Slava and his country.

Aloha

Regardless of what happens with trades there are two silver linings for the Lakers. First this is the tightest money market in the NBA in years. There will be talent that slips through the cracks. Whether it was a vet with a injury history looking to re-establish value like Otto Porter Jr last year or an under performing young player like Malik. The draw for the Lakers is if Lebron and AD are healthy playing with them will elevate their games on a large stage. And with so many open spots there will be a lot of minutes available that may not be there in other situations for these guys.

I’m thinking of a Guy like TJ Warren that has only played 4 games in two years. I could easily see him sliding down to a vet minimum level. Olindipo is another guy that could free fall, although perhaps not all the way down to vet min status.

Is there another Malik out there? I’m thinking Kevin Knox here. He has shown flashes of promise but he has a 8 mil qualifier and there is no way the cash strapped Hawks are going to pick that up. Another guy is Mo Bamba. His qualifier is over 10 mil. Again I don’t see the Magic picking that up. Another name to watch is Jalen Smith. Now he might be more of a mini mid level guy. He looked good for the Pacers but because the Suns declined his team option before the trade the Pacers can not offer him more then 5 mil.

One other thing to watch is undrafted free agents. With the Lakers development reputation and roster spots galore we should be able to snag some best ones available.

I would like to hear from you guys. Is there any free agents whether it’s an established guy or a young under performing one that you feel might be available on a vet minimum deal? Maybe we can compile a list and send it to Rob. Lol. What I don’t want to see over the hill 35 year olds chasing a ring.