Lakerholics

A Lakers Fan Community

Rich Paul

Could a Lonzo Ball S&T This Summer Be the Lakers’ Answer at Point Guard?

By 9 Comments

There are good reasons why a Lakers and Lonzo Ball reunion are unlikely this summer, including Ball preferring not to return to the team that traded him and the Lakers not wanting to be hardcapped due to a sign-and-trade.

But there are also compelling reasons why Lonzo Ball today could be the perfect point guard to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis and a better option as a playmaker, shooter, and defender than Dennis Schroder. Lonzo is also a better complement for 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker, whom the Lakers project as part of their backcourt of the future who needs to be paired with a guard who can shoot the three and take care of the ball.

The 23-year old 6′ 6″ Ball shoots 38.4% on 8.1 threes and makes 5.7 assists to 2.0 turnovers per game whereas the 27-year old 6′ 3″ Schroder shoots 34.1% on just 3.3 threes and averages 5.4 assists to 2.8 turnovers per game. The younger and bigger Ball also has greater upside as a player and is more versatile as defender than the older and smaller Schroder. Ball averages 0.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game vs. 0.2 blocks and 1.2 steals for Schroder.

Like Schroder, Ball is going to be looking for a big raise in free agency this summer. He knows his days in New Orleans are over and because he’ll be a restricted free agent, the Pelicans will be looking to sign-and-trade him. Spending more than $20 million for Lonzo Ball, even though it would hard cap them, would be a smarter move than spending that much for Dennis Schroder, who’s nowhere near as good a fit for what the Lakers need.

But there may be strong competition for Ball, who’s dramatically improved his shooting over the last two years. He’s not only become an elite high volume 3-point shooter but is now also shooting almost 80% from the line. With Zion dominating the ball for the Pelicans as a point forward, Lonzo has learned to thrive off the ball, becoming a true 3&D guard whom the Pelicans would like to keep but not at the cost of going into the luxury tax.

Should Lonzo be interested, the Lakers should jump at the opportunity. They could move some long term salary commitments to open up space under the hard cap to give Horton-Tucker and Caruso well deserved raises. The Pelicans might be receptive to receiving Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in return for Lonzo Ball. Kuzma and KCP are both young, proven, championship quality rotation players on team friendly contracts.

A sign-and-trade with the Pelicans for Lonzo Ball on a 4-year deal starting at $20 million for Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s combined $26 million per year would end up saving the Lakers $6 million salary per year. Lonzo Ball would become the starting point guard and Talen Horton-Tucker the starting shooting guard, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a dynamic young backcourt of the future to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

As for being hardcapped again, there’s a sense from writers following the Lakers like Eric Pincus the Lakers might welcome financial constraints to prevent them from overspending and incurring stratospheric luxury taxes. There was talk from Woj and other pundits that the Lakers were looking for ways to get out of some of their future commitments to create flexibility this summer to re-sign their own free agents Horton-Tucker and Caruso.

Another wrinkle of a Lonzo Ball and Lakers reunion is Ball’s agent is now Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. It’s no secret Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul have a history of making moves to mutually benefit the Lakers and Klutch clients. There’s something karmic about Lonzo signing with the player agent who engineered his trade to New Orleans. What better story than the prodigal son returning to lead the team that drafted him to more championships.

At 23, Lonzo has become his own man, no longer tethered to the whims and opinions of a dominant father. He’s put his career in the capable hands of Rich Paul and worked hard to become a better and more valuable player. While New York is tempting, Rich Paul surely knows the best landing spot for Lonzo Ball and his career would be back at Staples next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He’s the perfect point guard for the LA Lakers.

Temporarily overshadowed by his younger brother LaMelo’s sensational rookie season, Lonzo has an opportunity to return to Los Angeles, rejoin LeBron, and become the first Ball brother to win an NBA championship.

Los Angeles Lakers Are Playing Chess While the Rest of NBA Plays Checkers!

By 4 Comments

Whether it’s the game to win on the hardwood or behind the scenes to land talent, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Rob Pelinka and Klutch Sport’s Rich Paul are veritable chessmasters while the rest of the league are still playing checkers.

In a series of visionary moves, Pelinka and Paul engineered a truly dramatic rebuilding of the Lakers’ championship team and transformed a makeshift and flawed roster into a dynamic juggernaut poised to dominate the future. They not only secured the future of the franchise by signing Klutch clients LeBron James and Anthony Davis to long term deals but also upgraded the supporting cast into a deeper and more talented and versatile roster.

There’s no question Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers and Rich Paul of Klutch Sports were working in concert this offseason to solve the team’s personnel needs and negotiate perfect landing spots for the agency’s clients. The Lakers/Klutch partnership that brought LeBron and AD to the Lakers continued to reap benefits as the team re-signed Klutch client KCP to a team friendly deal and stole Klutch client Montrezl Harrell from the Clippers.

While the rest of the NBA was trying to copy and catch up with the Lakers, Pelinka and Paul shocked everybody with one masterful move after another as they zigged through an offseason while their competition was zagging. The moves they made not only established the purple and gold as odds on favorites to repeat as champions but also set the stage for the eventual transition of the Lakers from LeBron James’ team to Anthony Davis’ team.

The biggest grandmaster moves Pelinka and Paul made this offseason were the new two-year $85 million contract extension for 35-year old LeBron James and five-year $190 million contract for 27-year old Anthony Davis. While everybody debated whether AD would sign a 1+1 or 2+1 contract, the Lakers and Klutch Sports surprised the league by locking up superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis for three and four years respectively.

In a league where superstars wield the power and control teams with short term deals and player options, Pelinka and Paul opted to go in the other direction with James and Davis committing long term to being Lakers. Knowing the league’s two best players will be wearing purple and gold for the foreseeable future gives the Lakers’ franchise a major advantage over every other team in terms of stability and appeal as a player destination.

While the Clippers’ and Bucks’ futures are being held captive by superstars with free agency options, the Lakers with the help of Klutch Sports have been able to secure the future of the franchise by extending LeBron and AD.

The next grandmaster move by Pelinka and Paul was stealing Klutch client Montrezl Harrell from the crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers for the $10.3 million non-taxpayer MLE for two years with a player option on second year. The only thing better than signing a talented young player at a significant discount is stealing that player from one of your major competitors. The move not only made the Lakers better but also weakened the Clippers.

The Lakers essentially did the same thing to the Milwaukee Bucks, stealing elite 3&D starting wing defender Wesley Matthews with their $3.6 million Bi-Annual Exception for two years to replace Danny Green who was traded. What’s interesting about the Matthews signing is Wes is represented by Jeff Austin, who is also the agent for Dennis Schroder, the point guard for whom the Lakers traded Danny Green and their 2020 first round draft pick.

Once again, we see Rob Pelinka and the Lakers use their close relationship with prominent player agents to steal two valuable players from their two main competitors, savvy moves that transformed the Lakers’ back court.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Talen Horton-Tucker give the Lakers 5 Klutch clients. Dennis Schroder, Wesley Matthews, and Kostas Antetokounmpo give them 3 Octagon clients. Building a close relationship with Jeff Austin and Alex Saratsis of Octagon could give Rob Pelinka the opportunity to recruit Giannis Antetokounmpo much like his signing of KCP gave him the chance to recruit LeBron and AD.

Giannis Antetokounmpo grew up idolizing LeBron James and recently said that winning is his primary goal, he would be happy playing with LeBron and AD, and being the number 2 or 3 option on the team would not bother him. While the Lakers may have abandoned their plans to chase Giannis in free agency, they still seem to be pursuing a plan to build a Superstar Big Three with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Unlike Kawhi, Giannis seems open to the possibility of joining LeBron and AD on the Lakers and Pelinka appears to be following the same agency game plan to acquire Antetokounmpo he deployed to land James and Davis.

The partnership Rob Pelinka built with Rich Paul has benefited both the Lakers and Klutch Sports so it’s only natural Rob would be open to creating a similar symbiotic relationship with Jeff Austin and Alex Saratsis of Octagon. There’s also no doubt Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers are targeting Giannis. The difference is the Lakers may have a secret weapon via their budding partnership with Octagon to help them land Antetokounmpo.

It may take Giannis demanding to be traded to the Lakers like Anthony Davis did and vowing not to re-sign if traded to any other team but there’s no question Pelinka is working to set the stage for Giannis to join the Lakers. From signing Kostas to a two-way contract, trading for Schroder, and then signing Matthews, Rob Pelinka has been following the same successful game plan that brought LeBron James and Anthony Davis to the Lakers.

While the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, and Golden State Warriors are also strategizing how to land Giannis, they’re still playing checkers when compared to grandmaster Rob Pelinka, who’s playing world class chess.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis Are Chasing the Ghosts of Laker Legends!

By 4 Comments

There’s more at stake in these NBA Finals than just surviving the bubble, defeating the Miami Heat, and winning the league championship. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are also chasing the Ghosts of Laker Legends.

They’re on a holy quest to honor Kobe Bryant by winning the Lakers’ 17th championship and have their retired jerseys hanging together in the rafters at Staples alongside legendary duos Magic and Kareem and Kobe and Shaq. Winning this championship is just another step in a grand master plan to catapult LeBron James past Michael Jordan as the GOAT and Anthony Davis past Giannis Antetokounmpo as the next Best Player on the Planet.

LeBron knew he needed more than just championships to become the greatest ever. He needed a bigger platform to provide him with the ultimate opportunity to become a hero, which is why he signed with the Lakers. Winning a first championship for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers was great but resurrecting the Los Angeles Lakers and leveraging their big market advantages to put a crown on his legacy as the king was the key.

The Miami Heat are just the unfortunate team in the way of LeBron’s grand plan, not unlike the New Orleans Pelicans who suffered the misfortune of having the young superstar James and his team at Klutch Sports coveted. And while coronavirus and the bubble threatened to derail the plan, LeBron and Anthony were able to prevail and dodge the bullets that took down the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers and make it to the Finals.

Now they find themselves just three wins away from winning the first of what could be multiple NBA championships together, an achievement that will open up opportunities to make the Lakers even better next season. While the offseason talk will be focused on the return of the Golden State Warriors and the ascent of the Brooklyn Nets, the threat contenders should be worrying about is the Los Angeles Lakers building another dynasty.

While the Lakers still need to take care of business and finish off the Miami Heat, LeBron James, Rich Paul, and Rob Pelinka are already strategizing on short and long term moves to transform the Lakers into an NBA dynasty. Short term goals could include luring a top free agent like Jerami Grant to force a sign-and-trade or a young superstar like Victor Oladipo, who’ll be a free agent next offseason, to force a trade to the Lakers ala Anthony Davis.

Long term goals could include LeBron re-signing at a discounted salary to create the cap space for the Lakers to sign a third superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo to help win now and take over after LeBron finally retires. Another enticing and realistic option down the road could be the Lakers signing Atlanta Hawks’ dynamic young point guard Trae Young, who just signed a contract for Rich Paul of Klutch Sports to become his agent.

There’s no doubt LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Klutch Sports are working in concert help James in his crusade to pass Michael Jordan as the GOAT and Davis in his mission to win the Best Player in the World title. This championship will be a key step towards executing the grand master plan that started with LeBron James signing with LA two years ago. Lakers fans should get ready to enjoy a fun dizzying ride over the next few years.

The sky is the limit right now for the resurgent Los Angeles Lakers as superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are following a grand master plan for NBA domination and chasing the Ghosts of Lakers Legends.