The Lakers were confronted with pro basketball’s version of Sophies’ choice: the mercurial ‘difference-making playmaker’ or the lethal sharp shooter who took more threes than any player not named Steph Curry?
After negotiating with both the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield and the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook, the Lakers made a last minute decision to go with the mercurial playmaker over the lethal 3-point shooter. But there are whispers around the league the Lakers may have been simply setting the stage to expand the parameters of the Russell Westbrook trade to include other players and teams with a goal of still landing Buddy Hield.
In fact, you could argue giving up almost all of your trading chips for a max contract point guard who can’t shoot the three would be idiotic unless the Lakers had a plan to expand the trade to include Buddy Hield or a shooter.
WHY THE WESTBROOK TRADE COULD BE EXPANDED
Because the trade can’t be finalized until after the August 6 free agent moratorium begin, the Lakers still have time and opportunity to expand the trade to enable them to land both Russell Westbrook and Buddy Hield.
There’s a viable argument Rob Pelinka and Tommy Sheppard have agreed in advance to allow either team to expand the trade. Washington already has done this by trading the #22 pick in the draft to Indiana for Aaron Holiday. The obvious tell that this might be the case was the Wizards announcing to their fans that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a keeper but Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell wouldn’t be part of the team’s roster on opening day.
Remember Kuzma and Harrell were the players the Sacramento Kings had tentatively agreed to accept in trade for prodigious 3-point shooter Buddy Hield. Coincidence or not, that opens the door for LA to expand the trade. The way this transaction is happening reminds me of how Pelinka, Griffin, and Sheppard managed the AD deal, which ended up being a three-team trade helping the Lakers could clear cap space to pursue Kawhi Leonard.
The Lakers have multiple options to try and expand the Russell Westbrook trade to include Buddy Hield. While accomplishing that will take some salary cap magic, it’s what multiple-team trades were designed to do.
CAN THE LAKERS AFFORD TO ACQURE BUDDY HIELD?
Aside from the logistic challenges acquiring Buddy, the question may be can the Lakers afford him? Everybody is assuming the Lakers are all-in on paying whatever they have to win since they traded for Russell Westbrook.
The problem is the total cost of going all-in could be prohibitive. Re-signing THT and Caruso, using the MLE, and paying Buddy Hield would result in $180 million in salary, $160 million in tax, and $340 million total payroll. Realistically, that’s way too much to pay in salary and taxes. The Lakers will have to chose between paying for a prodigious shooter like Buddy Hield or trustworthy role players like THT, Caruso, and a player for the MLE.
If the Lakers were to fill out the rest of their roster with minimum salary players, they would have $145.1 million in salaries and $13.7 million in taxes for a total payroll of $158.8 million, which would already exceed many teams. Adding Hield would cost $166.2 in salaries, $83.5 million in taxes, for a payroll of $249.7 million. Adding THT. Caruso, and MLE would cost $160.0 million in salaries and $57.8 million in taxes for a payroll of $217.8 million.
Ultimately, the Lakers may be forced to choose between adding a needed lethal shooter like Buddy Hield to give them the 3-point shooting they need or bringing back Horon-Tucker and Caruso and using the taxpayer MLE.
HOW DO LAKERS LAND RUSS AND BUDDY?
Once the Lakers accept that they have to choose between Hield and the Horton-Tucker, Caruso, and MLE trio of role players, they will have three pathways or options to expand the Westbrook trade to include Buddy.
These three options will depend upon Rob Pelinka and the Lakers being creative in finding teams willing to receive free agents like THT and Caruso in sign-and-trades that will hard cap the receiving team for the rest of season. Talen Horton-Tucker and Alex Caruso are projected to receive offers close to $10 million each so together they bring back $20 million per year in tradeable contracts the Lakers could use to expand the Westbrook trade.
The Lakers’s first option is to convince the Washington Wizards to accept a sign-and-trade for Dennis Schroder in lieu of Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell so the Lakers can send them to the Kings in return for Buddy Hield. The Lakers could offer to replace Kuzma and Harrell with THT and Caruso, two younger players who would be better fits on the the Wizards roster or worth more as trading chips in other deals to upgrade their roster.
The second option is for the Lakers to find a third team without cap space to sign Schroder in free agency but who are willing to sign-and-trade for him. Fortunately, there are a few teams in that situation who need a point guard. The key would be to swap Schroder for a player or pair of players whom the Kings would accept in trade for Hield or whom the Wizards would accept in lieu of Kuzma and Harrell in the deal for Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers’ third option is to find a team who’s interested in sign-and-trading for Horton-Tucker and Caruso and willing to give the Lakers one or two players they could flip to the Wizards in place of Kuzma and Harrell. This could be the Lakers most likely option to expanding the Westbrook trade to include Hield. Both Horton-Tucker and Caruso should be attractive sign-and-trade pieces for teams looking for defense or a potential future star.
Overall, the Lakers should be able to find a way to use Horton-Tucker and Caruso to expand the Russell Westbrook trade to include Buddy Hield and land both the mercurial playmaker and the lethal 3-point shooter.
Buddy Hield or Talen Horton-Tucker, Alex Caruso, and MLE?
Lethal 3-point shooter or trusted low scoring bench players?
$249.7 million total payroll or $217.8 million total payroll?
Would the Lakers sacrifice THT and Caruso for Buddy Hield? That is the question because it seems doubtful the Lakers would be willing to pay the $180 million in salary, $160 million in tax, and $340 million total payroll it would take to be able to do both. As profitable and committed to winning as the Lakers have historically been, going all-in like this is probably too much even for Jeanie Buss to commit to.
The question then is are the Lakers willing to even go as high as $166.2 in salaries, $83.5 million in taxes, for a payroll of $249.7 million to land Buddy Hield when the cost to keep THT, Caruso, and the MLE would be $160.0 million in salaries and $57.8 million in taxes for a payroll of $217.8 million. That too is doubtful. I could easily see the Lakers deciding $83.5 million in taxes was too much despite Jeanie’s saying they would pay what they need to do to win.
The question then is how do the Lakers get enough shooting. The problem they have is not that they can’t get several players for less who are high percentage 3-point shooters. The issue is they need one or two players who are high volume 3-point shooter. Guys like THT and Caruso, who only take 2 to 4 threes per game are not the answer. The Lakers need players like Hield who take 10 threes per game.
The Lakers may tell themselves that defense and physicality won them the championship in the bubble and adding Westbrook to that team should be enough to win a championship even without upgrading their 3-point shooting. I hope that’s not what they decide, but I am worried that may be what happens. That risks turning the Westbrook trade into a disaster rather than an opportunity. We’ll find out tomorrow whether or not the Lakers go all-in to land Westbrook and Hield.
Aloha Tom
I’m sure Alex is dying to play for the Kings. And what if THT doesn’t want to play for the Kings and signs an offer sheet with another team. We can match but then we couldn’t trade him till December. While you can make deals work on paper, reality is much harder to make happen. As the musical chairs are being set up at PG I think its going to be easier to find a team willing to take on Dennis in a sign and trade because its looking like there will be a couple of teams left without a chair.
No Lakers player other than maybe Kuz wants to be traded but it’s still a business and millions of dollars can ease the pain of having to take off your Lakers jersey.
Yes but S&T’s require the players’ acquiesce. The key piece that this article kind of ignores is the fact that players basically leave the Kings when they can minute one. They’re a terrible organization, Luke is on the hot seat (even with his contract picked up) and the Kings a re super-guard heavy. You can’t force a S&T on THT or AC to places they don’t want to play, players under contract I don’t believe have that luxury, they can be included.
LMAO. Jeez, I never realized that sign-and-trades required the players’ approval or that no player in the worls is willing to go to the Kings. Thanks for educating me on those points. Try opening your minds instead of negatively reacting to everthing. Talk about confirmation bias.
Seriously, I laid out numerous options how the Lakers can still get Buddy Hield and the salary cap numbers say the only way it’s going to happen is if the Laker are willing to pay the tax and sacrifice Alex and THT. If they’re willing to do that, they can find a way to trade for Buddy.
Funny how you want to keep Alex and THT even if it means we don’t have any money for shooters. You’re crazy if you think a bunch of vet minimum and role player guys like Alex and THT who don’t even average a made three per game is going to give the Lakers what Buddy Hields 4 makes and 10 takes per game would give us.
Would you want to go to Sacramento?
AM I wrong in that the rules require a player not under contract to consent to a a S&T? Sheeeeeesh…
They have guards up the wazoo, even when/if they trade Buddy. As I’ve said on podcasts, here and on FB I don’t see a way we get Buddy. Simple as that.
Dude, these are simple disagreements, man. Come on…it is a blog, right?
And, yes, I do want to keep (and expect we will) Alex but am on the fence about THT. Feel free to use your own words and stopping yours into my mouth. Please and thanks.
The big question is where are the Lakers at with respect to luxury taxes. Are they willing to pay $160M in taxes and $340M in payroll to get Hield and keep THT and Caruso? It’s not impossible they may decide they can’t afford Hield or even Caruso and just keep THT because of Klutch. We still don’t know where the front office is and what the walk away figure is for luxury taxes.
This should be a decision between shooting or no shooting but it’s looking more and more like it may be a decision over how much taxes the Lakers are willing to pay. They can get Hield if they want but it could cost them THT and Caruso. I say go for it. I’m sure you say THT and Caruso are more valuable. But that’s whay we have a blog.
Honestly if there is a trade for Buddy, it will happen in December. Because of the Arenas rule, teams can’t offer more then the Lakers for THT in the first year but they can back load in the 2nd and third. So really you can’t buy THT with a contract over market value. And Caruso too, how much are the kings willing to pay Alex over market value to land him, especially since there will be other teams interested. The Kings are probably 30th in desirable landing spots in the league. Both Alex and THT will have offers from better franchises. One other thing how badly would the Kings want them? Think they would pay Alex 12 mil or more to out bid other teams? I just don’t see a realistic way to make a trade for Buddy unless we can get a desirable piece in a trade for Dennis.
One last point, the Kings need help on the front line. That’s what Kuz and Harrell were appealing. The Kings have good young guards. Would they use a big trade piece like Buddy for 2 more guards?
The Arenas rule says teams can load the 3rd and 4th years, not the 2nd and 3rd.
Lakers just need to find a buyer who will give them enough for THT and Caruso that the Wizard will accept in lieu of Kuz and Trezz.
Doesn’t have to be the Kings. Just a team to give them enough to get the Wizards to take instead of Kuz and Trezz.
Kuz maybe on his way to the Nets in a Dinwiddie trade. Still a chance the Knicks may try for Dinwiddie but all the chatter seems to be leaning towards the Nets.