Aloha, well Kuz just signed a 3 year 40 mil extension. Which I believe is where his market value is right now. If continues to grow like he has a player that could be a bargain contract as early as next year. It also gives us another tradable contract for the right opportunity. It’s a win win for everyone.

Aloha

KCP resigned for 3 year 40mil. Unless something is going on with Javelle they must have back loaded the deal. Only had 12 mil to sign him for this year.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
The Los Angeles Lakers are nearing a deal with Montrezl Harrell, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, sources tell

Aloha

With the news that Gasol is a Laker target now, you kind of wonder if it was the Lakers and not Dwight that changed their minds. He is signing for slightly less with the 76’ers. Gasol’s agent may have gotten back to the Lakers late. I never thought much about Gasol because I thought he would get better offers then the mid-level. But it would be great if we do land him. In the mean time it appeared that Christian Wood was going to the Rockets for the mid level. Then there was an announcement that that deal has not been finalized. Perhaps the Lakers don’t believe his ready to win now.

Aloha,

Well tomorrow is going to be very interesting. It’s always funny to me that you are not allowed to negotiate prior to the start of free agency, yet there are all of these signings 10 minutes after free agency begins. I know that the team wants to keep cap space available for future free agents, but I think it’s more important to have a team that can win it all when you have the chance to.

Championships are hard to win and we are not building for a future championship, we have a chance to win another now. Reasonable contracts for good players can be moved, so I hope we are not waiting for next year, with our signings this year.

We were able to land our potential 3rd scorer in Dennis and at what I thought was a very reasonable price. But we did give up some defense versatility. You are not going to put Dennis on Some of the bigger wings in the league. That is one reason I think it’s essential that we resign Kenny.

I believe defense will remain our focus in free agency. After all it won us a championship. Unless there is a trade Javelle has agreed to, we will still need another center. I like Banes a lot but how much will he cost? I think perhaps signing Boogie on a minimum contract could be a gamble worth taking. Since AD plays half the game at the 5 a 75% Boogie would be huge.

If we go that route, I would seriously look at Harkless for the MLE. He can guard 2 through 4 and has a decent 3 point shot. Ideally we could also keep Morris with the bi-annual, although landing Harkless would make that less important. End of the bench free agents out there that could help might be Jeff Teague and Wayne Ellington who was just released. I don’t think we need anything to splashy to repeat, which is good because we don’t have enough remaining trade assets for that. It will be interesting to see who is left after the big free agent money is spent. It will be fun and hopefully we can find the right tweaks that leads to another banner.

Aloha,

Well the big names are coming off the board now. And it’s like I’ve posted a couple of times, we just didn’t have assets to land a top tier star. Actually I think we did really well landing Dennis. So I believe it’s going to come down to who we can land with the MLE and other exceptions. One guy to keep your eye on is Joe Harris. Will the Nets resign him, now that they are focusing on Harden? If they let him walk, I would really make a serious push for him. He is tall enough to play either wing, shoots 44% from 3 and is a decent defender. There will not be a lot of cap space out there, so perhaps he could fall into the MLE. One thing is for sure, resigning KCP becomes even more important now.

With only 3 forwards under contract and Danny who played on the wing gone, I think we will keep Kuz. At 3 mil he is a bargain. He made a huge leap as a defender, and was vastly improved as a playmaker. He runs the floor and moves well without the ball. He was one of the few guys on the team that could create his own shot and get to the rim. At 25 he will continue to improve. If he can straighten his 3 point shooting he could be huge. I think he can. He shot 38% his rookie year. Last year he took 4.5 3’s a game and hit 1.4 of them. If he can hit 1.8 of them, he’s a 40% 3 point shooter. I don’t believe that’s an outrageous goal for him. And no matter who it is, if you want a legit 3rd scorer he will need more then the 11 shots a game that Kuz got. One can have fantasy trades, but realistically There really isn’t anyone out there that we have enough assets left to land, that would be much of an upgrade. They might even consider extending him. That would give them a contact to trade next summer if needed.

Aloha,
As I have expressed i really love our team. Of course you can always improve it. I really doubt we have the assets required to swing a block buster trade. For instance my favorite star trade target was Jrue Holiday. well the Hawks and Pels are in serious talks about a Holiday trade. i dont know what players are being discussed but the Hawks #6 pick is on the table. this is going to be a problem, beecause not only do several contenders have more assets than us but there will be a few teams like the Hawks who feel they are a player away from the playoffs.

The good news for the Lakers is free agent money will be tight this year and with the Covid uncertainty teams may also be reluctant to hand out large contracts. Here is some of my free agency targets. keep in mind to play for the Lakers you will have to be able to defend at least at a good level. its the teams identity and i don’t see that changing. with the Clippers and Warriors around, perimeter defense will remain a top priority.

Full MLE Canditates.
Chritian Wood. He may or may not get this. He Looked great at the end of last year but the sample size is small and the league is littered with half year wonders that never came through.

Joe Harris. 44% from 3 and an under rated defender. If the Nets don’t resign him, he could slip into MLE territory.

Mo Harkless. great defender snd competent 3 point shooter. Would be a serious upgrade over Morris.

Partial MLE Candidates. You could split the MLE for 2 of these guys.
Derek Favors
Aron Baynes
Serge Ibaka

Bi Annual Exception. They also could be added with a apartial MLE
Paul Milsap
Boogie
Dwight
Markief
Jeff Green.

Vet Min. Whether Rondo returns or not either of these guys would make sense to have on the squad.
Jeff Teague
DJ Augustine.

While never say never to a blockbuster trade. Remember Pau? I think this year we improve around the edges and go big game hunting in the future.

Aloha

I was thinking of different roster moves that could be the least painful while upgrading the team and keeping most of the team together. So I came up with this.

Everyone knows that Christian Wood wants to leave. I would offer Danny Green and our 1st round pick for him in a sign and trade. I’m pretty sure Wood wouldn’t mind playing for the Lakers. At least the Pistons get something for him. Great thing about sign and trades is the player gets to pick the destination.

I would then go after Mo Harkless with the MLE. with the few teams that do have cap space out there he will probably still get the MLE or close to it in offers. He is an upgrade over Morris. We could keep Morris with the Vet min. Free agent money is going to dry up quickly so who knows. He could be available.

Finally I would add Jeff Teague even if we bring Rondo back. While Rondo was great in the playoffs, he has missed a lot of time with injuries. Teague would be a great insurance policy.

With this we are a better team and we keep all of our developing younger players. Danny’s defense would be missed but i believe KCP will be back and Alex is ready for a bigger role.

Aloha,

The video Tom posted of what Rob is planning is most revealing. Looking to find players that fit AD’s timeline seems to eliminate a lot of potential free agents and trades. It also seems like he’s looking more to just improve a little this season. Like me I am sure he believes baring injury that LeBron probably has at least 2 more years at the level he displayed this year.

Christian wood would be a move that would fit into AD’s window. But you still need a solid supporting cast if we are able to land a younger free agent. Currently these are the guys that fit AD’s window.
KCP
Kuz
Alex
Avery
THT

That is a nice supporting core. And one thing that is not discussed much is next years cap. KCP is the only one that needs to be paid this year. Next year both Kuz and Alex will have low cap holds and Avery will only be a little over 5 mil. And they all will have bird rights. So we can sign someone and resign them and go over the cap. If the young guys continue to improve this could be huge.

You read all this wild trade scenarios but For me there isn’t a REALISTIC trade out there that would be worth giving up our young core for. And I look at the top teams, none of them have much more to work with than us. I believe ever one of our young guys will be next year. Unless something unexpected drops out of the blue like Pau Gasol did, I don’t see us making any big trades.

Aloha,

Well the NBA 2nd season has begun, also known as the arm chair GM season. We just won a ring but you always want to do what you can to improve your. While we don’t have a lot of amo to work with, either does our major competitors.

First I want to say, I love this team, it’s the best defensive team in the league, with two of the best offensive players in the NBA. It’s deep and versatile. We can play any style of basketball. I believe if we brought back the exact team we would be even better and win it all again.

Continuity is very important. And it’s easy to forget how many new players we added. One of the big surprises for me was how much we won early. We were winning ugly, but still winning. As the season went on, we just got better and better as a team. With a year under our belts, I can’t see a reason why we wouldn’t continue to improve. I watched Kuz after the early injuries begin to develop into a very good defender and play maker. All he really needs to do is correct his 3 point shot. If he can get it back to where it was as a rookie he is going to be a terrific player, and he will continue to improve. He could develop into a guy that can guard the big wings in the league and at 6’ 9” he taller than most of them. He actually showed that ability multiple times in the playoffs.

Alex also grew tremendously over the course of the season, with his defense and hustle he could actually grow into a star. I actually like him better now than Lonzo. He became better at running the offense as the season progressed and he has an undeniable chemistry with LeBron. Again, if he improves his 3 point shot the sky’s the limit. I would actually like to see Alex and KCP start with Avery and Danny coming off the bench. That’s a terrific rotation.

I’m also excited by THT. The kid showed me a lot and he doesn’t turn 20 until next month. He is only 6’ 4” but plays bigger with his fullback body and huge wing span.

But you can always improve the roster. A lot will depend on what Rob wants to do. Chase a 3rd star next year or keep a 2 star system, with a deep roster of quality role players. Personally I like the later. So if we stay the course, who could we bring in? Like Tom my vote goes with Christian Wood. His youth and upside is intriguing. It would be nice to have a little more youth on the roster. He can learn from AD and LeBron and from our secret weapon. Phil Handy, the best player development coach in the NBA. In a tight money market we might be able to land him with the MLE. And worst case he would still be better than Javelle. If we can’t get him, I would make a play for Joe Harris and his 44% 3 point shooting. He’s also a decent defender. In this market he also might be had for the MLE. I would then try and Land Boogie for the minimum or bi annual at center.

Speaking of the bi annual exception I hope we could keep Morris with that. Now we have bird rights on KCP, Rondo and Avery so we can go over and sign them. I still kind of think McGee will opt in. Even if we resign Rondo, I would look at Teague or Augustine for a veteran minimum contract. With Rondos injuries it would be a nice insurance policy. If Rondo leaves I definitely think we need one of those two.

I don’t think we need to do a lot to repeat. So we will have to wait to see what Rob thinks.

Aloha,

Well we won number 17!!!. I think this year will go down as the greatest Championship run in NBA history. While very good teams like the Bucks and Clippers wilted in the bubble, the Lakers seemed to get stronger with every round.

First I love this team. The old adage if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it applies to this team. I remember the Lakers let most of their supporting cast walk after the 2010 championship. That left them with a thin roster. And it seemed like we ran out of gas in the 4th quarter of ever game in the Dallas series. By the way Dallas blew up their roster that year and haven’t played for another championship since. A move Cuban still regrets to this day. So I’m hoping we can bring most of these guys back. We don’t have a lot to work with so I believe most of the moves will be around the edges. But here are a few things I believe we won’t see.

1. Trading for a star.
First we lack the assets to do that. While Kuz is developing into a nice all around role player, I’m not sure of how other teams view his upside. Alex is a guy every team would want on their team but not worthy of trading a star for. Beside their combined salaries are only around 5 mil, which brings up the 2nd problem. Salary matching. Both KCP and Rondo are opting out. Avery out played his 5 mil and will probably follow. What we have left in tradable contracts won’t add up to a star. Especially someone like CP3 and his 40mil. Which is a blessing because trading half a championship team for one guy would have been a disaster. Plus our 27th pick in the draft isn’t much better then a high 2nd rounder.

2. If we do make a trade it won’t be for a point guard like some of articles I read. Besides LBJ is the best point guard in the world. And led us to a ring. If we do make a trade it will be for a position of need. If Rondo decides not to resign we might take a look at guys like Augustine or Teague on vet minimums.

3. Whether it’s through a trade or free agency whoever we bring in will have to be able to defend at a high level. This team was built with a defense first blue print. We hired a defense first coach and we won a championship. If you are going to play for Frank you better defend. Tom posted an article and I have read others on trading for Buddy Heild. There is a reason he lost his starting job with the Kings. If you recall Luke is a defense first coach. The first two weeks of training camp is all defensive drills. He shares this philosophy with Frank. Buddy is a flat out bad defender. Again, defense wins Championships.

4. The myth of the 3rd option. My question is this. Where are shots coming from for a consistent 3rd scorer. The offense runs through AD, one of the most potent scorers in the league. And will be even better. LeBron is our 2nd option, again one of the best scorers in the league. LBJ isn’t going to hunt for that 3rd guy. He looks for the open man. And when AD plays the 5 we have 5 guys on the floor capable of knocking down a shot. Now we aren’t always consistent but they are good enough to be honored at all times. We did set a record for made 3’s in a finals. Many wanted to see Kuz become that 3rd guy. But he just doesn’t get enough shots. Most of his points are based on cutting and running the floor.

One last time, defense win rings!!!! For next year I would like to see us keep as much of our back court rotation as possible. It was the best defensive rotation in the playoffs and that was with out Avery. He brings an additional element with his ability to guard the small quick guards of the league. I think we might of only lost one playoff game with Avery. I would also like to retain Morris and I think it’s important to keep at least one banging big on the team to get past Denver and a couple of other teams with physical centers.

We are positioned to repeat next year. We finished the season 3rd in defense. But we played in the west. If we had been in the East playing all those weak teams for times a year we would be number one. It would not have been close. Why Fix what ain’t broke?