You are absolutely right, Michael. I can’t believe what I saw in James Harden’s performance. I actually saw his regression coming in slow motion even before the playoffs started. But to fall back to earth in this fast and ugly manner is beyond my imagination. In many ways he looks slow, out of shape, and uninterested. Now to talk about a max deal? There is no way I would give him that.

Embid needs help in a big way before he fades away into the sunset. Harden certainly can no longer be the one to count on that role and time and tide waits for no man if you are the Sixers. Who knows, Morey may get him a max deal as they are buddies.

As for Doc Rivers, he just needs to retire. There doesn’t seem to be enough gas left in his tank after all these years of failures at playoff levels. I wouldn’t want him to coach the Lakers either. Hope I am not the only one with that opinion.

Yep!

Other than enjoying some great basketball, we have to look for little blessings while we wait for next year like Harden imploding again in the playoffs and the Celtics blowing the series at home.

And I don’t understand the fascination with Doc Rivers as the potential Lakers coach. If we’re going to have a bias in favor of former Lakers, we should also have a bias against anything that smells of Celtics.

James over Westbrook? I’d still go to battle with Russ. Two seasons ago I might have said differently…maybe…but I’ve never seen the dude play well when the moment demands it of him. He shrinks quicker than a Shrinky Dink in the oven. D-Mo unlikely to abandon his “basketball Jesus” (his words, not mine) so I don’t see them trading him when he opts in. Ain’t no “if” about that one. James needs to have extra dollars for the club he’s rehabbing his hamstring at.

Valid argument since the Nuggets were not a great team.
League needs to change title of award to Player of the Year.
MVP just confuses voters. We have an award for the regular season and the finals but not for the entire year.

Yep, but Lil Stevie got his. I mean got one of Kobe’s and one of Shaq’s.

“The logic was always, well his teams were not dominant. They weren’t very good.”

That’s where everything got screwed up. Seems like hard work don’t matter.

Those years that Kobe missed out on the award were frustrating to me, and that’s why I don’t put any stock to it anymore. It has become a joke to me.

You just have to be in the right circumstances at the right time to win.

The mvp of the season should be the player you’d pick first if you were building a team. The best in the league that year. The finals mvp is the big one though, and renders the other a consolation prize.

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned about Monk is that he’s proven that he can thrive while playing with this version of Lebron. That’s not an easy feat and it’s partly what made losing Caruso so painful. You HAVE to have guys who know how to get in where they fit in and Monk was particularly adept at it. That fact alone makes him very valuable and less of a risk than bringing in a new guy who may or may not be able to adapt to Lebron. It ain’t for everyone… Perfect example were the dudes who surrounded Kobe on those back-to-back teams. Pau, LO, D-Fish, Metta/Ariza, Drew….they weren’t nearly the best players in the league but they knew what was needed to mesh with Kobe. That’s half the battle when playing with some of these transcendent mega-stars.

Aloha, Michael,

“If a team was every going to stretch a large contract it’s this one. If Russ gave up 5 mil in salary with the full MLE and Bi annual exception we could have up to 28 mil in spending power. Here are some names that I believe there salaries could fall to this year.”

…

Wish that were true as that’s a pretty good list of free agents. Unfortunately, buying out Russ for $42M and then only taking a $14M hit to the salary cap does not open up $28M in money to spend. It just spreads the $42M over three years.

Waiving and stretching Russ is not going to create any cap space for free agents. We would still be over the cap even if we renounced Reaves, Johnson, and Gabriel. The only money we will have for free agents will be our $6.4M MLE. If we hardcap ourselves, we could then have the full $10M MLE and $4M BAE, which is 8M more than without hard cap.

I do agree with you that it makes sense to hard cap ourselves so we can get an additional $8M to spend on free agents. That could be a big difference maker for this roster. Hard cap is almost a necessity.

…

Here’s a breakdown on what the Lakers would have available in the form of cap space were they to waive and stretch Russ.

Please let me know if I have any of the numbers incorrect. Easy to make mistakes with this salary cap stuff.

…

Russ makes $47,063,478 if he declines his player option. Taking away $5,000,000 million for buyout would leave $42,063,478, which would then cost the Lakers $14,021,159.33 in dead money per year for three years.

Here’s our salary cap situation

Russell Westbrook: $14,021,159
1. LeBron James: $44,474,988
2. Anthony Davis: $37,980,720
3. Talen Horton-Tucker: $10,260,000
4. Kendrick Nunn: $5,250,000

Total Guaranteed: $111,986,867

5. Stanley Johnson: $2,351,521
6. Wenyen Gabriel: $1,878,720
7. Austin Reaves: $1,563,518

Total Not Guaranteed: $5,793,759

8. Rookie Minimum $1,004,159
9. Rookie Minimum $1,004,159
10. Rookie Minimum $1,004,159
11. Rookie Minimum $1,004,159
12. Rookie Minimum $1,004,159

Cap Holds to 12 Roster Spots: $5,020,795

Total Salaries: $122,801,421
Salary Cap: $122,000,000

Lakers will be over the salary cap by $2,801,421

They could save $2,781,282 by not guaranteeing Johnson, Gabriel, and Reaves, but that would still leave them $20,139 over the salary cap.

In case you need more infi on Phil/Nurse: https://t.co/UoT0WPbQcb

— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) May 3, 2022

Lakers coaching update: Phil Jackson consulting Los Angeles on search for new head coach, per reporthttps://t.co/sOC8BcgS2T pic.twitter.com/z5W6b8aQKh

— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) May 3, 2022

This is why I continue to ask…why would a top-notch coach want to walk into this mess? If we can all see it as fans from the outside then you gotta wonder what’s being said inside among the coaching fraternity? The culture here is borderline toxic right now.

Good post, Michael. There’s no question that the Lakers’ ownership, front office, and coaching staff have made a lot of poor decisions the past two years that should make any player or coach thinking about joining the team have second thoughts.

We’re just fortunate that we have such an illustrious legacy, history, market, and fanbase that we can often overcome our own misfortunes to win regardless. Truth is we’ve left championships on the table because of incompetence.

Will that apply to teams looking to trade for Russell Westbrook? For those teams who might be thinking Russ they might be able to get a good year out of Russ, hope they didn’t see Russ this past season or hear his exit comments. Russ hasn’t helped his case. He’s essentially closed the door on returning to the Lakers, which other teams cleary see and note.

Fortunately, most of the teams who will be interested in trading for Russ are doing so as a financial transaction and plan on buying Russ out or flipping him at the trade deadline. None of the teams the Lakers are likely to trade Russ to – Pacers, Hornets, Knicks, Thunder, Pistons, and Rockets – are trading for Russ the player. They’re trading for Russ the expiring contract.

I’m more worried about how the Lakers dysfunction could adversely affect the coaching search or recruiting free agents with our MLE or, if we hard cap, our BAE. Those are the places where our incompetence can negatively impact us.

SHHHHHHH! We tryin to trade him, ha, ha.

Aloha, Michael,

Execellent post and point about this summer. I agree 100% that the Lakers are going to need more than trades to contend next season. Frankly, they’re going to need a perfect storm of smart decisions, right players, good health, and lucky bounces like we had in the bubble to win it all. Not that that isn’t always a major but looking at the way the Lakers are going and the way the league is going, next year could be our best shot in this decade to win another title. And we’re going to be top ten candidate at best based on last year and our current situation.

But enough for reality. There’s no question the Lakers will have chances to move Russ. We’ll have to be lucky with the musical chairs but hopefully we’ll get a deal for Russ. I think if we can trade Russ for Hield and Brogdon, that could be the big move and maybe without a pick. There’s a part of me that also thinks looking for a sign-and-trade could open up chances to use the full MLE and BAE, which could get us two better rotation players.

Anyway, I’d feel a lot more comfortable if we had somebody other than Rob making the decisions and better contributors than Jeanie, Kurt, and Linda chiming in but it is what it is. Rob just needs to make smart moves. Hopefully, we’ll get dealt four aces and Rob will understand now is the time to go all in.

Great analysis, Michael. I like the suggestions, but I can only hope Rob works his magic and get us a roster next season.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Please rethink! LT blasted me once and I told him and he apologized. We all get a little off balance. Hope you stay!

Man, this can’t be real. Where did this all begin and where will it end? Seems like a total confusion to me. I am completely blindsided.

This blog has been one of the most regarded and respected blogs for the Lakers nation, and everything Lakers, as evidenced by a poll posted here last year where the blog ranked 4th among the top 10 if my memory serves me.

While I would like to express my appreciation for both of you I am also concerned about the bickering. Disagreement exists in all facets of life but disagreements don’t have to have a negative ending! Dealing with or overcoming disagreement together can make us stronger.

We must accept that our perspectives can be different but not wrong. And even if those perspectives are thought to be wrong, let’s just remain calm and seek commonalities that lead to a win-win situation.

We must have a forward-looking focus on making the blog a better hang-out spot and just let the dead bury the dead.

Let us all chill and calm down.

I’m sorry to hear this Michael, I must have missed that exchange but know that Sean also felt. Tom can have a heavy-handed way of enforcing his points and ideas without allowing for many other viewpoints to be seen in the same light. I don’t think he intends for some of those things to come off as being insulting but they do. Sean had a similar issue in a podcast , which I personally believe he took too far but also who am I to say how another person should feel or think? At any rate I do how you reconsider or at the very least continue to pop by from time to time. Regardless of the choice you make keep on enjoying life, be well and go Lakers.

I have apologized to Michael for my hurtful comment and have asked him to reconsider remaining as Blog Editor. I also explained that I never intended to accuse him of any sexual connection with Malik Monk and should have not used the words I did. I was trying to say he was just infatuated with a great young Lakers player much like I was with THT and then also with Monk. At any rate, my apologies for this happening. It’s my fault and I accept responsibility and will try hard not to allow it to happen again. I do hope Michael will accept my apology and reconsider. If not, my best wishes to him and he will always be welcome to return. Thanks.

The assumption is that the Buss family’s ultimate goal is to win the title…they’ve shown in the past (and recently) that it isn’t. The business side is just as important and Lebron is great for business. They’ll pay what it takes to keep him here and continue to fill the arena, appear on national tv games, and rake in the money…title or no title. They did the same thing with Kobe’s last contract and proceeded to be the worst team in the league for about 5 seasons iirc. Time is always on the side of ownership.

That is a very lethal combination and a proven formula that works. Quite a similar to a situation where you have to pick your poison.

By the way, Michael, do you remember which one of our previous teams had 2 scorers and a rock-solid defense? Kobe and Shaq? Kobe and Pau?

Teams win with guys in their primes, it’s simple as that. Sure there are instances when the team leader has just begun his decline and has an ascending guy alongside him and they managed to make it back to the mountaintop. Think Kobe in 2010, Lebron with Kyrie and then again in the Bubble. It’s certainly not something anyone can bank on going forward.
When the athleticism and durability are gone, and teams are stuck continually paying the guys who can’t carry the team annually increasing salaries, championships are a pipedream.

Celts also seem to have found a great young head coach in Udoka…something we seem to be unable to do. I’d like to see Rondo get a shot but then I look at how bad Nash is getting schooled by a guy with actual experience.

Utah lost it when they traded Joe Ingles. Never understood that move. Utah Jazz is becoming more and more irrelevant to me. Regular Season juggernaut? Sure. Playoff soul? Nada.

Surprisingly, why hasn’t Donovan Mitchell’s name been mentioned in any Lakers trade scenario? And why is there no mention of Rudy Gobert to the Lakers? We could use his defense. One thing is for sure this Jazz team has run its course and the Quinn Snyder to the Lakers has never been in my cards. Nick Nurse? Sure. But I would rather have Rondo or Sam Cassel as our next coach.

Not sure why but those two guys keep banging on my head even before Frank Vogel’s casket was being prepared.

Yep!

I asked the question when Snyder’s name first got mentioned for the Lakers job….what has he done? He’s had 2 years to figure out the Gobert switching problem and still hasn’t done it and now finds himself down the the Mavs without Luka. We’ve just seen what happens with a coach who can’t make adjustments. If he doesn’t take want this job it’ll be no big loss for either party…somebody else will hire him.

As for the desirability of this job..the bloom seems to be off the rose. The stories about what a fiasco our front office has devolved into are all out there for the world to see. They didn’t want to give T-Lue the years and also wanted to pick his coaching staff; this is a guy with a ring as a head coach. Snyder made his comments after seeing the bush-league way they handled the (justified) firing of Frankie. Kidd saw the inner-workings up close & personal and chose to leave. He had to know there was a great chance the job would be his next season when the Lakers only gave Frank 1 extra year on his deal…and he still chose the Mavs.

I just hope we don’t end up with Dantoni again….

This discussion has to lead to whom should the Lakers be looking at as their next head coach? I think chances are remote that the Lakers hire somebody brand new who hasn’t been brought up yet. So of all the names bandied about, which coaches would you be satisfied as the Lakers next head coach?

1. Mike D’Antoni
2. Mike Brown
3. Quin Snyder
4. Mark Jackson
5. Shaquille O’Neal
6. Doc Rivers
7. Sam Cassell
8. Rajon Rondo
9. Kenny Atkinson
10. David Fizdale
11. Phil Handy
12. Steve Clifford
13. Terry Stotts

I know Buba. Lol. Poor Kings fans. They have had 11 head coaches in the last 16 years, since Adelman.

Excellent post, Michael. There is a lot to like about OKC as a trading partner if we don’t connect with Hornets or Pacers. As you pointed out, the route is not straight forward but it does provide a path to keep Monk and have tools to fill out the starting lineup and roster with better players than we could get for the minimum. And that, I agree, is a big point in favor of this route.

I also agree you’re right that we probably wouldn’t be a championship team but I think that’s the outcome of any of the various trades being discussed because LeBron and AD have to prove they can stay on the floor. Otherwise, all the season is about is where is the pick we traded away going to land.

Pincus also listed this as what he thought was most likely to happen. My big worry is going this route will require Pelinka and the front office to make a series of smart moves whereas pulling off a trade with the Hornets or Pacers is likely to be a one-shot deal. Hornets and Pacers are easy deals to make compared to the OKC deal but I agree it’s a viable option.

Anyway, Lakers have multiple options and I’m confident we will find one of them that the front office and Klutch can agree upon so we can move forward. Lakers will have solid options to rebuild this summer.

In terms of desirability, I doubt the Lakers would go this route unless they had no better option. It doesn’t have the pizazz or big names the Lakers could need to get LeBron to jump aboard. And, as I said, it will require some smart follow-up moves to execute this option.

Injuries and all I would take a flyer on Rubio. Has great skill, defense and is big for a PG.

Heard a Dame for Westy deal?

Should still be a Laker.

In the end the Bulls lost. Maybe we can trade THT and a 1st rounder for Alex…

This is why I’m not holding my breath for any great positivity to come out of this summer. At best we’ll lateral, at worst we’ll somehow manage another step back…

if you read the entire article it’s obvious that the Lakers are not going to refuse to trade for Hayward because of his injury history. They’re just not going to make him the featured player in the trade and their going to adjust what they give to reflect the risk in trading for Hayward. It’s nothing more than the Lakers posturing to make sure Charlotte knows that part of the price to dump Hayward is going to be including Terry Rozier.

I would even go so far as to require PJ Washington and THT to be added to the deal. Washington is an elite 3&D wing who’s only 23 and could be the most important player in the trade for LA. His defense, 6′ 7″ 230 lbs size, and 43% shooting from deep are exactly what the Lakers need at the three.

While I love the idea of trading for Turner, being able to get Rozier, Hayward, and Washington for Russ, THT, and our 2 picks could actually be our best possible deal. I might start Washington at the 2 to help cover Terry’s lack of size at point guard. Bottom line, Rozier and Washington are two great young players to get for Russ and Hayward is perfect if he can stay healthy.

The only problem I have with Rozier is his size, which makes him almost impossible to play alongside Malik Monk., You can cover for one small defender if the rest of the lineup has great size but two smalls will often lead to a leaky defense.

Turner, Brogdon, and Hield is still first for me.
But Hayward, Rozier, and Washington is close second.

Great narrative to send him home and jump start the Lakers rebuild. Look truth is, he ain’t the guy no more. No shame in it, but had he not blown up the Lakers roster for one bubble ring, he’d be in that same position in LA. BI is certainly closer to being a team leader than AD.