LT, do you know what kind of Cap space we have for next season if Giannis?
The Toughest Decision Every NBA Team Must Make This Offseason
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September 1, 2020 6 Comments
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I have mixed feelings about trading Kuzma. In the end, it may come down to what Zach Buckley says: how other teams value him. Can he be part of a package with Green and a pick to bring back a third star? That’s the real question.
It also depends on whether the Lakers win the championship and Frank Vogel’s willingness to make adjustments to give Kyle a starting role. Lakers cannot afford to give him a new long term contract unless he is going to start.
Kuzma’s not going to replace LeBron but he could replace AD if Vogel moved him to the five or Green if Vogel were creative. I think Kyle could be the Lakers third star and a 20-point per game scorer who played outstanding defense. He’s proved he can do that if given the minutes.
Kuz just needs Frank to believe in him and give him the role. He needs to start for the Lakers to make an intelligent decision whether to keep him or trade him this offseason.
Kuz can start for around 20 teams in the NBA.
Kuzma being traded is based more on how teams value our under-performing veterans than anything he brings to the table.
Danny Green is obviously the key. He will have value because he still can contribute on both ends, has championship experience, and will have a $15 million expiring contract that will be very appealing to many teams in the current economic client.
There’s no way you can say a $15 million deal is attractive after this season. Wait for them to soothe the cap hit and we can talk. Speculating how that will go down is an exercise in futility.
For the Lakers part you’re falling into the same trap as many arm-chair GMs do: it ain’t my money, let’s spend it!!! The Laker franchise relies on their TV deal for money, gate revenue (and they don’t even own STAPLES so that’s probably split to some degree) and that’s all going to be down. This off season will be about one thing: who can move big money contracts the fastest and lock up cheap talent.
Now if there’s an amnesty provision that’s agreed upon to both give players the freedom to look for gainful employment elsewhere and put the payment of said amnesty into some form of escrow…that’s one thing.
If they say that they’ll smooth this cap loss out over 2-3 seasons on down the line (like they ought to have done with the boon hit) that’s another. But none of it points to a team that’s capped out (like the Lakers currently are) to adding salary.
My four bits.
Everybody expects the league to keep the cap the same as last year. Teams are going to be looking to cut expenses and the only way to do that is to trade longer contracts for expiring contracts. If KCP, Bradley, and McGee opt to decline their PO’s, then the Lakes will have over $30M in expiring contracts to go after a player who is on a max deal who might fit. One target could be Chris Paul. See my latest post. Deal would save OKC over $50M the next 2 years.