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Isaiah Hartenstein

Why Lakers’ Best Path is Trade Russ to OKC and Then Hard Cap Themselves

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The Lakers have a path to move Russell Westbrook but it’s going to cost them a first round pick and will have to be made before the OKC Thunder’s open cap space disappears when this NBA season ends tomorrow June 30th.

While trading Russ into OKC’s open cap space won’t yield a pair of proven rotation players earning $20 million per year, it would give the Lakers three borderline rotation players who would be upgrades over current players. Additionally, it would give the Lakers a $32.4 million traded player exception (TPE) to use to acquire players without sending out salary and the ability to hard cap themselves to use the full $10.4M MLE and $4.1M BAE.

Let’s look at the advantages trading Westbrook to OKC gives the Lakers and why that could be their best path to rebuilding their roster and hopefully returning to being a legitimate contender with a chance at a championship.

Trading Russell Westbrook Into OKC’s Cap Space

Solving the Lakers Westbrook conundrum starts with trading Russ’ $47.1 million expiring contract into the Oklahoma City Thunder’s open cap space, which will disappear on July 1, 2022 when SGA’s new extension starts.

Other than the Pistons and Knicks who have cleared cap space specifically for free agents, the Thunder is the only team with the cap space to absorb $32.4 million of the $47.1 million left in Westbrook’s expiring contract. Oklahoma City will want a first round pick from the Lakers as the price for using their cap space but should be willing to include elite defensive guard Luguentz Dort and 3&D wing Kenrich Williams as quality rotation players.

While the Lakers have positioned themselves as unwilling to include a pick to move Westbrook, there’s no way they want Russ to be part of the roster next season. Dumping him into OKC’s cap space opens other doors.

The Power of a $32.4 Million Traded Player Exception

Traded Player Exceptions allow teams to trade for players without having to send out salary. By sending out $47.1 million and receiving back only $13.4 million, the Lakers would create a $32.4 million traded player exception.

The Lakers could use the $32.4 million traded player exception from trading Westbrook into the OKC Thunder’s cap space for one or multiple players whom other teams are looking to move to save cap space and cut expenses. The Lakers could use their TPE to trade for the Hornets’ Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, or Kelly Oubre, the Pacers’ Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, or Buddy Hield, or the Knicks’ Evan Fournier or Cam Reddish

The Lakers’ $32.4 million Traded Player Exception would be good for a year and could be used to bring back a single elite player or multiple legitimate rotation players. It would be a valuable tool as teams look to create space.

The Benefits of the Lakers Hard Capping Themselves

Trading Russell Westbrook and their 2029 first round draft pick for Derrick Favors, Luguentz Dort, Kenrich Williams, and a $32.4 million traded player exception also enables the Lakers to take advantage of being hard capped.

Being hard capped has three distinct advantages over teams that are not hard capped. Hard capped teams get the full $10.3 million MLE vs. the $6.4 million TMLE, the $4.1 million BAE, and right to receive S&T players. Teams that are not hard capped are limited to the $6.4 million TMLE. Being hard capped opens up the entire free agent market as teams can receive players in sign-and-trade deals, a huge advantage for hard capped teams.

Being hard capped allows the Lakers to sign an elite perimeter defender like Warriors’ guard Gary Payton II to the $10.3 million MLE and a young stretch center like Clippers’ Isaiah Hartenstein to the $4.1 million BAE.

Can Lakers Transform Themselves Into Contenders?

The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to be legitimate contenders to win an NBA championship as long as they have a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Nothing that happened last year has changed that.

For purposes of seeing what kind of team the Lakers could build by trading Westbrook into the Thunder’s cap space and hardcapping themselves, I’ve assumed the Lakers used their traded player exception on Hayward. I’ve also assumed the Lakers used their $10.3 million full MLE on Isaiah Hartenstein and their $4.1 million BAE on Gary Payton II and exercised their team options for Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, and Wenyen Gabriel.

Finally, I’ve assumed the Lakers traded Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and their 2027 first round draft pick to the Houston Rockets for Eric Gordon to provide elite 3-point shooting along with solid perimeter defense.

How Darvin Ham Could Dramatically Change the Direction the Lakers Take

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The Los Angeles Lakers may have struck surprise gold in hiring Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant coach Darvin Ham to be their next head coach, a move that’s received universal praise and raised expectations about his impact.

With a veteran team coming off a horribly disappointing season, most NBA pundits expected the Lakers to hire an experienced NBA head coach or to delay their search until one like Quin Snyder or Doc Rivers became available. The Lakers instead smartly opted to hire the candidate with the greatest charisma and upside despite never having been a head coach before and mainly spending his time as an assistant coach in player development.

There’s strong evidence that indicates that Darvin Ham is going to become a major part of the executive brain trust making decisions for the Lakers, which is great news for an organization that needs dynamic leadership. Ham has the kind of intelligence that gains immediate respect, the type of personality that builds trust and confidence, and the elite communication skills to inspire Lakers’ stakeholders at every level from player to owner.

Unlike their previous coaching search that ended up hiring Frank Vogel, the Lakers avoided the public gaffes that resulted in hiring their third choice as head coach and having their entire hiring process rudely second guessed. Darvin Ham will start his tenure as Lakers’ coach with a longer contract and more power, independence, and influence than previous coach Frank Vogel had even after winning the NBA championship in the bubble in 2020.

So let’s look at how Darvin Ham could dramatically change the direction the Lakers take, including the possibility of his coaching Westbrook, whether Anthony Davis will play center, and whom the Lakers pursue this summer.

How Will Darvin Ham Affect the Lakers Russell Westbrook Decision?

The latest rumor making the rounds is that Darvin Ham’s answer to the question of what he would do to make Russell Westbrook work with LeBron James and Anthony Davis won him the job as the Lakers next head coach.

The Lakers have supposedly told potential trade partners they’d rather bring Russell Westbrook back next season than give up a first round draft pick to trade him, though they’re willing to take back long-term contracts. This doesn’t mean the Lakers are suddenly going to hold onto those picks and eventually use them. It just means they would prefer to use those picks to acquire valuable young players rather than just to dump Westbrook.

While it’s not a slam dunk that the Lakers will be able to find a trade partner for Russell Westbrook without giving up a draft pick, there will probably be teams willing to take on Russ’ expiring contract to dump salary. Ultimately, the last thing the Lakers should want to do at this point is ask first year head coach Darvin Ham to deal with trying to rehabilitate Russell Westbrook while learning to be an NBA head coach for the very first time.

That’s why all of the talk about bringing back Russ is posturing. Considering the concerns about LeBron’s age and AD’s ability to stay healthy, next season could be the Lakers best opportunity this decade to win #18. Ironically, I would not be surprised to find out Darvin also advised the Lakers that keeping Westbrook would make it difficult to surround James and Davis with the kind of shooting and defense needed to be a champion.

While the Lakers continue to push the idea that they’re going to keep Russ, in the end there’s just no way they’re going to ask rookie head coach Darvin Ham to take on a no-win situation like making Russ work LeBron and AD.

How Will Darvin Ham Affect the Offense the Lakers Run Next Season?

What will the Lakers’ offense look like under new head coach Darvin Ham? Look for an heavy emphasis on spacing, ball movement, and five-out sets designed to create driving lanes for James and Davis to attack the basket.

Darvin Ham was hired by the Lakers in part because of his success with the Bucks in creating the great spacing that was essential to unleashing Giannis Antetokounmpo and helping Milwaukee win the 2021 NBA Championship. The challenges facing the Bucks and Lakers are similar. The Lakers hope Darvin can build an offense to unleash LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the same way the Bucks’ offense unleashed Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The big question facing Darvin is whether to start games playing small with AD at the five or have the Lakers acquire a dynamic young stretch center like Isaiah Hartenstein so they can pay five-out with two bigs like the Bucks. Expect Ham to want to start games with two bigs but close them with small-ball-on-steroid lineups with AD at the five. That’s the perfect formula for the regular season with both big and small options available for the playoffs.

Considering injury concerns for James and Davis and how the undersized Lakers struggled in the paint and on the boards last season, moving James and Davis down a position against smaller players should benefit them. Finally, the versatility to play two-bigs with a center like Isaiah Hartenstein plus James and Davis or small-ball-on-steroids with a lethal 3-point shooting wing like Jerami Grant plus James and Davis could be a difference maker.

Expect Ham, as the Lakers new head coach, to push the team to build a roster with championship versatility to play two bigs like the 2021 Bucks and small-ball-on-steroids with AD at the five like the 2020 Lakers.

How Will Darvin Ham Affect the Defense the Lakers Run Next Season?

What can the Lakers expect their defense to look like under Darvin Ham? While they may be done with Frank Vogel, they may not be done with the pick-and-roll drop coverage that was the heart of his defensive philosophy.

The Lakers under Darvin Ham will likely play pick-and-roll drop coverage on defense like the Bucks with Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Lakers during the regular season when they won the title in 2020. While drop coverage was a successful for the Bucks and the Lakers during the regular season, both teams ended up playing small-ball-on-steroids lineups in the playoffs to take advantage of Antetokounmpo and Davis.

Schematically, when the Lakers go two bigs, they’ll play pick-and-roll drop coverage. But when they go small with Davis at the five, they’d be better off switching everything and counting on their positional size and physicality. The versatility to eat up minutes playing pick-and-roll drop coverage with two bigs to start games but closing with a small-ball-on-steroids lineup playing switch everything could be the Lakers’ perfect defensive formula.

Building a roster that can play both big and small is challenging. Starting games with a center but closing them with a wing essentially requires the team to have six starters with the center and wing sharing the fifth slot. For Darvin Ham to be able to start games with two bigs, the Lakers will need to trade for or sign a dynamic young center like Isaiah Hartenstein. They will also need to trade or sign a legitimate defensive wing like Otto Porter, Jr.

Expect Darvin Ham to play a similar defensive style to that of Frank Vogel. The Lakers rely on two bigs lineups during the regular season and rely more on their small-ball-on-steroid lineups when they get into the playoffs.

How the Four ‘Right’ Players Could Transform the Lakers to Champions!

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Last season was a brutal reminder of how important picking the ‘right’ players is to success in professional sports. Rob Pelinka will have to do a better job this summer than he did last summer if the Lakers are to win.

Unfortunately, finding the ‘right’ players is difficult and more of an ‘art’ than ‘science,’ requiring a lethal instinct for player strengths and weaknesses and ability to envision how the different players will fit as a team. More than anything, Pelinka’s failure to properly assess the risk and cost of the Westbrook experiment failing was the kind of mistake that ends careers. He’s lucky he will get a second chance, even if it will be challenging.

Here are the Lakers’ player needs this summer: (1) point guard to run the offense, (2) shooting guard to space the floor, (3) modern physical center to protect the rim, and (4) defensive forward with size to guard bigger wings. Importantly, for these four players to be the ‘right’ players, three of them must be able to space the floor with 3-point shooting and three of them must be plus defenders capable of guarding multiple positions and levels.

Last season, the Lakers filled those needs with Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, DeAndre Jordan, and Talen Horton-Tucker. Unfortunately, Westbrook bombed, Jordan was cut, Nunn never played, and Horton-Tucker regressed. This season, with luck and blessings of the basketball gods, the four ‘right’ players filling those needs could be Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nic Claxton, a major upgrade of Lakers’ roster.

The Lakers should be able to get Brogdon and Hield in a salary dump from the Pacers for Westbrook and 2027 first rounder, Hartenstein with their TP or NT MLE, and Claxton from the Nets for Horton-Tucker and 2029 first rounder. That’s 2 players and 2 picks from the Lakers for 4 players. They swap Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, 2027 first round pick, and 2029 first round pick for Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nic Claxton.

So let’s take a closer look at what each of these four new players brings offensively and defensively and why they’re the ‘right’ picks to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis and transform the Lakers into a champs.

1. Malcolm Brogdon, Point Guard

Malcolm Brogdon, 29-years old, 6′ 5″, 229 lbs
19.1/5.1/5.9 and 44.8%/31.2% on 5.2 3PA/85.6

While trading for a difference-making point guard to reduce LeBron James’ on-ball and playmaking workload didn’t work with Dennis Schroeder or Russell Westbrook, trading for Malcolm Brogdon should be a winning move.

Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte are the Pacers’ backcourt of the future, which makes Malcolm Brogdon and his 3 years and $57.6 million an ideal chip to swap with Buddy Hield for Russell Westbrook’s expiring contract. Indiana has no interest in Westbrook as a player but are willing to take on his 1 year and $47.1 million to avoid Brogdon’s 3 years and $57.6 million and Hield’s 2 years and $39.1 million to save $49.6 million in long-term salaries.

One of the appeals to the Lakers of trading Westbrook and a first round pick to the Indiana Pacers is the opportunity to get a proven starting-quality two-way point guard like Malcolm Brogdon back as part of the trade return package. While the Lakers have to gamble Malcolm can stay healthy, they’re getting an All-Star point guard who is an elite 3-point shooter and playmaker with the size and physicality to defend multiple positions.

Brogdon is the ‘right pick’ for the Lakers to trade for as their new starting point guard. His size, 3-point shooting, and solid defense elevate him over other trade candidates like Terry Rozier, Derrick Rose, or Kemba Walker.

2. Buddy Hield, Shooting Guard

Buddy Hield, 29-years old, 6′ 4″, 220 lbs
15.6/4.4/2.8 and 44.7%/36.2% on 8.5 3PA/89.6%

Buddy Hield to the Lakers should have and almost did happen last summer but the Lakers changed course at the last minute and traded for Westbrook. Now, in a sweet shift of fate, the Lakers may have a chance for a do-over.

Most NBA pundits were surprised the Lakers did not go through with a proposed trade with the Kings for Hield last summer as he is the perfect high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter to complement LeBron and AD. Hield, part of Indy’s bounty from the Sabonis trade to Sacramento, makes too much to come off the bench. With Haliburton and Duarte set as their backcourt of the future, the Pacers need to trade Hield and Brogdon.

While not an elite defender, Buddy Hield has the size, strength, and quickness to be a plus defender, especially in a switch-everything defense with rim protection. Hield averaged 0.9 steals and 0.3 blocks last season. Pairing the 6′ 4″ Hield with the 6′ 5″ point guard Brogdon gives the Lakers a big high-scoring backcourt with the range to rain threes, willingness to share the ball, and size and toughness to play physical defense.

Buddy Hield is the ‘right’ pick as the starting shooting guard for the Lakers because his high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting will create more space than candidates like Eric Gordon, Evan Fournier, or Kelly Oubre, Jr.

3. Isaiah Hartenstein, Center

Isaiah Hartenstein, 24-years old, 7′ 0″, 250 lbs
8.3/4.9/24 and 62.6%/46.7% on 0.3 3PA/68.9%

There may be no attainable player who could have a greater impact to unleash the beast in superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and help the Lakers become a legitimate contender than Isaiah Hartenstein.

With LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggling to stay healthy in an increasingly physical NBA, the Lakers need to commit to signing a bully-ball modern center who will allow James and Davis to slide down one position. Hartenstein is the perfect fit for what the Lakers need, a mobile young center who can protect the rim and defend out to the 3-point line. In 17.9 minutes per game last season, Isaiah averaged 1.1 blocks and 0.7 steals.

Hartenstein is the Clippers’ version of Malik Monk in that the most they can offer him next season is just $2.3 million, 120% of what he earned last year. Salary cap experts expect Hartenstein to fetch $7 to $8 million this summer. With a little salary cap magic, the Lakers should be able to keep their total payroll under the $155.2 million hard cap, which means they could offer Hartenstein up to the full $10.3 million of their MLE.

After a revolving door of failed ‘rent-a-centers.’ the Lakers have an opportunity this summer to sign Isaiah Hartenstein as their next great center. Hartenstein is the ‘right’ center at the ‘right’ price for the Lakers.

4. Nic Claxton, Power Forward

Nic Claxton, 23-years old, 6′ 11″, 215 lbs
8.7/5.6/0.9 and 67.4%/0.0% on 0.03PA/58.1%

There is no player more in demand in the NBA than a 6′ 8″ to 6′ 10″ mobile forward who can defend bigger wing scorers like Jason Tatum, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, or Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Claxton is defensive jack-of-all-trades in that he can play all three front court positions — small forward, power forward, and center — and defend all five positions at al three levels of the court-paint, midrange, beyond the arc. While a great lob but not shooting threat, Nic gives the Lakers a defensive tool who can protect the rim and defend the perimeter so well he cannot be played off the court like so many traditional low post bigs.

Fortunately for the Lakers, the Nets have too many centers and appear unlikely to want to extend Claxton at this time, which mean they would probably be willing to trade him for Horton-Tucker and a first round pick. Trading for Claxton also gives the Lakers the defensive specialist they need to play any style of basketball, especially during the regular season when the Lakers want to save playing Anthony Davis at the five for the playoffs.

While he can’t stretch the floor, Claxton is the fourth ‘right’ player for the Lakers to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He gives the Lakers an elite defensive center and shut-down wing defender to guard big scorers.

5. Four ‘Right’ Players Transform Lakers into Championship Team

When healthy, no team in the NBA has two better superstars than the Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The problem has always been finding the ‘right’ three players to start alongside their two superstars.

The four new players — Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Nic Claxton— should give LeBron James and Anthony Davis the high volume 3-point shooting and versatile positional size to unleash their games. Brogdon, Hield, Hartenstein, and Claxton should be the best four players on the Lakers after James and Davis. While Brogdon and Hield are 29-years old, 23-year old Hartenstein and Claxton make the Lakers younger.

The Lakers not only traded Russell Westbrook and a first round pick for two quality starters also swapped Talen Horton-Tucker and a first round pick for a starter and signed Hartenstein with their full MLE for a fourth starter. Signing Hartenstein for the full $10.3 million MLE requires the Lakers to be hardcapped for the rest of this season. Being able to stay under the $155.2 million hard cap gives the Lakers another $8.2 million in MLE and BAE.

Here’s a breakdown of how the Lakers get under the NBA hard cap:

Rob Pelinka is facing a difficult challenge to rebuild the Lakers to championship level with few trading chips but there are multiple legitimate rotation players who would transform the Lakers into a contender.