Lakers Offseason 2023 Options

So the Lakers have 2 paths that they can go this summer.

Route number 1: Lakers can simply resign everyone on the team regardless of cap space except (Walker, Schroeder, Troy). Every other player we can resign no matter how much it cost. Will our FO be willing to go that high to resign: DLO, Reaves or Rui. I dunno, maybe but legally under the CBA we can spend as much as we want to retain any of these guys.

Route number 2: Try to do some kind of S&T and that's not just for Irving. It could be for anybody in the league. Given the salaries we can have on our books, we could make any trade work. If we resign/keep everyone this summer, we have the following guys making between 15mil - 25mil. (DLO, Beasley, Bamba, Rui, Reaves) So we have the cap space to do any S&T. Now the biggest issue on why teams do not do S&T, is because your team is hard capped to a TOTAL TEAM SALARY 169mil.

So lets break it down to how much of a S&T we could bring back and still keep the core of our team. To me, the core I want no matter what is LeBron, AD, Reaves and Rui. Lets assume Rui gets 16mil deal and regardless of whatever deal Reaves accepts, he is only on our books for 11.4mil next year.

So here is what we have going on if the Lakers go the S&T route.

Lebron: 46,698,737

AD: 40,600,080

Rui: 16,000,000

Reaves: 11,400,000

MLE Exception: 7,021,000 (could be used on Schroeder or CP3 or some other FA willing to take 7mil next year)

S&T Player: 37,043,019 (Any player in the league making 37mil or less or any FA this summer that takes a deal less then 37mil)

17th Pick: 2,799,300

Christy: 1,719,864

Vet min: 953,000

Vet min: 953,000

Vet min: 953,000

Vet min: 953,000

Vet min: 953,000

Vet min: 953,000

Total: 169,000,000

So we could keep Lebron, AD, Reaves, Rui, MLE(7mil) and S&T for a player making 37mil or less.

IMO the FO need to explore trade options for Davis this summer. See if they can get a Rudy Gorbert type deal for Davis. Call Pat Riley and send Lebron back to the Heat for a few second round picks and fillers. He's long in the tooth and the Heat would give him an opportunity to get back to the finals. The Lakers need to pivot at some point and the time is now IMO. This team needs to be built the right way for the long haul. Invest in young talent and nurture it. The old ways of Dr. Buss are long gone. I think if he was alive today he would've figured this out by now. His genius did not rub off on his siblings. Laker Nation will have to stop being impatient and wanted a quick fix.

I sure hope the Lakers do not trade Christie, Walker, Reaves, Rui, Russell, Vanderbilt, Brown.

I would not mind trading AD for a Rudy Gobert or A. Towns. I would not mind trading LeBron now since he still has value for some real good players that are still young like a Jerami Grant or even for Caleb Martin. Lakers need to stay with the youth movement. These old washed up players that want to come to the Lakers would be a big mistake. Just remember what Nash done to the Lakers, Cousins. Lots of money was invested on those two only to be bench warmers.

Kyrie is a very good player, but man this dude has been trouble every where he goes.

I can not believe all the bad scenarios put out by Laker Nation and other publications saying what would be a good trade for the Lakers. They all want the Lakers to let Reaves go to the Bulls and other teams. It sounds more like they want to set the Laker gains they made this season and set them back again with old players, washed up super stars like CP3.

Kendrick Perkins predicted the dumbest move this offseason by saying James Hardin will sign with the Lakers....LMAO!!!!!......Like why do we need him....smh.

You really like Towns & Gobert, they are worse than you think. Caleb Martin? don't be caught up by the recency bias. he ain't that good. he was a no show in the finals

Kendrick Perkins predicted the dumbest move this offseason by saying James Hardin will sign with the Lakers....LMAO!!!!!......Like why do we need him....smh.

No traveling beard please, he’s ok where he belongs….on Shaqtin the foo. Lol.

You really like Towns & Gobert, they are worse than you think. Caleb Martin? don't be caught up by the recency bias. he ain't that good. he was a no show in the finals

OK! So obviously you do not like Towns or Gobert? I am always ready to see if anybody has some good players that can play the five spot now days? You can forget about Joker, so start typing who you think would be available for the Lakers if they decide to go for somebody that can play the center position. Because we all know that AD does not like playing the five spot and has said it to the coaches. And what I have seen is that AD gets hurt a lot. Seems like he gets poked on the eye a lot, gets hit on the groin a lot and every time he jumps to get a rebound he sprains his ankle. He does spend a lot of time on the floor knocked down by much smaller defenders, and does not even challenge the big centers. So YES I would be just fine with Gobert or Towns.

But I want to read your comments as to who would be a good center for the Lakers.

To me, I feel like we need the biggest upgrade at the PG position. Schroeder and DLO can leave us and there is nothing we can do about it. So if we are going to pull off some kind of trade, I think it needs to be for a guard.

Also if we the Lakers and AD are going to go back to where AD plays the 4 and we start another center next to him. Why can't we just use Bamba for that? Also I really enjoyed Rui's big body frame going at it against Joker in that series. Why can't he be our starting center? We don't need some amazing player for our center when we have AD at the 4. We just need someone that can play with AD and is a big body. A front court of Lebron / AD / Rui is plenty big for the NBA in 2024.

If we did do some trade for a Center, I think Turner is a perfect fit for us and next to AD.

I would also look at Naz Reid for the 5. I don’t mind sticking with Bamba as a security guard for AD. Lol. If B.Lopez can be had for the mid level exception, I would consider it as well.

I agree either Turner or Brook Lopez would be great. AD looked pretty bad against Joker, but then again they all looked good against our Lakers. Murray, Gordan, Porter and even the former Laker Pope. They were a hot team against us. I would keep Bamba as a back up five. AD is not small by any means, but he is soft when it comes to banging on the paint with bigger centers. JMHO!

Now I disagree about getting another point guard. I am assuming you are referring to CP3 who blows hammies every year and is old. OR Kyrie who is a very good player, but he will not come cheap and all of you know the Mavericks would want the best the Lakers have and we all know they all want Reaves and Rui. We can not give up the farm again. Man that would make me sick if that happens. We are basically young right now, WHY go back to old fossils.

Don't get me wrong Kyrie is one of the better players I have ever seen in the NBA, but the guy is nuts and can not depend on him to even play.

We already have real good point guards: LeBron who is not, but? Reaves, Schroeder, Russell, I think even Beasley could play point guard. Pelinka has to study and see where the Lakers were weak, and that was the five spot. If the Lakers would have had a good strong center, I think they could have gotten past the Nuggetss because our losses were within five points most of the games. Because Rui tried hard to stop Joker, but man he looked small comparing to Jokic. And even if Joker was in foul trouble they still had our former centers in Bryant and Jordan. We only had the 6'10" AD. and the 6'8" Rui. Too short!

Fwiw I was quite impressed with T.Thompson as well in the limited mins he got. We just need a big body to bang with the opposing bigs, crash the boards/ grab rebounds, set strong screens and of course do part time Bodyguard duties for AD. Lol. No need to tie up big bucks on a center (unless of course you could get B.Lopez on the mid level).

Still wondering how they went away from that championship winning duo of Mcgee and Howard. Jokic actually looked like a “circus joker” while dealing with them and Morris in the 2020 conf finals.

Wouldn't mind trying to get Jalen Suggs this off season from the Magic.

So good news for the Lakers. Beal traded to Suns for Shamet and CP3. Which means CP3 will be waived by Wizards. And he can not resign with the Suns. Which means 99% chance we get him for Vet min. He can come home and play with his best friend. Also we will have the PG depth to play him 20ish mins a night and just keep him ready for the playoffs.

I am all for CP3 if he doesn’t affect our cap space and as a Vet min, he wouldn’t.

Are we sure that the Wizards are planning on waiving him?

Dude the Wizards got robbed. Why didn’t we throw an offer out there? DLo (Sign and Trade), Beasley, Mo and a 1st would have been a hell of a lot better. Could have retained Reaves and Rui with that.

Dude the Wizards got robbed. Why didn’t we throw an offer out there? DLo (Sign and Trade), Beasley, Mo and a 1st would have been a hell of a lot better. Could have retained Reaves and Rui with that.

Because Beal is the only player in the league with a no trade clause. So essentially he got to pick his team. Simple as that. He could just say no to any other offer that was given to the Wizards.

Are we sure that the Wizards are planning on waiving him?

So as of right now it’s reported the Wizards are hanging Chris out to see who will bit and join in as a 3 team trade.

So if the Lakers went that route, I assume we would be bidding against the Clips for CP3.

CP3 is getting 25mil in trade to wizards. So money wise we could trade the Wizards, Bamba and Beasley and that would work money wise. Probably have to give up 1 or 2 (2nd) round picks.

Whatever we might feel about Beasley and Bamba, they are still relatively young and would both serve a need on the team. I don’t understand how you trade those 2 for a dude who is essentially well past his shelf life. And throw picks in as well? Lmfao.

Just need to roll with the current squad and not overcompensate like they did a couple of years ago when they brought in Brickboy. We basically need a wing /shooter and a center and we should be set. This team also needs some time (continuity) together to build some chemistry. They were put together post trade deadline, which means they only had a couple of months together and they still managed to reach the west Conf finals.

I don't expect much from this team next season. Same ol same ol. LeBron will be even older and will still won't have enough to beat Denver or PHX. As I said this before, time for the FO to pivot this summer.

I agree that the Lakers need to fill spots that are needed bad, such as a big man to play the five spot. AD is not a player that is strong enough to play that position. He is a true power forward and should be played there. But I do like the players the Lakers signed last season, like Rui, Vanderbilt, Russell and maybe even Beasley. I was disappointed with Beasley, but he was a three point sniper on other teams. But if they can find somebody that is a good shooter, maybe he would be a good trade.

I am not sure about Schroder. Well, first of all he will want big bucks and to me he is too inconsistent. You just do not know which Dennis is going to show up. I would probably let him go because the Lakers already have several that play the point guard position. Plus we have a small forward that takes over the point guard position more then what he should (Lebron James).

I believe Jerami Grant is a free agent. He used to be a very good player. Another player who would be a good fit IF the Lakers could afford him is Deandre Ayton, Myles Turner is another center.

That is all the Lakers need, just a couple of critical spots. We lost all four games to the Nuggets, that is a fact, but the Lakers were only losing by a small amount. Game one loss by 6, game two by 5, game three was the biggest 11 and the final by 2. All close except game three. I really believe the Lakers with small critical moves will be better next season.

LeBron is worrisome because of his age, but he was still playing at a high level this past season. So he is a freak of nature for sure to be playing that good. But maybe the coaches can cut his minutes down in order to get his maximum production.

Also for those who still want Turner and Hield. This is pretty much the players involved to make that trade happen money wise.

Lakers: Turner / Hield

Pacers: Beasley / Bamba / Christy / Harrison

Also I imagine this would cost us our 2023 1st round pick in the draft tomorrow. This a trade that could happen on draft night and we would have to pick for the Pacers. I haven't heard this rumor, just an FYI of what it would cost to get Hield and Turner.

I hate to see Christie involved on that trade. He is young and a very good player. I would rather let go of Pippen Jr, plus Swider, and if Triston Thompson if he is still a Laker.

Christie has great potential, showed he is a great three point shooter, plays good defense and is 6'6". Could give the Lakers many years of service after LeBron is gone next season.

I think tomorrow is going to be a big day. I have been reading a lot of articles including names like Turner, Hield, and Kristaps. I just now found out that Kristaps is 7'3'? Jeeeeezze.. I also read an article that mentioned that Lebron is fed up with A. Davis. How about we send them both packing?

Yep! Kristap is a tall center, but he is one of them tall centers that wants to hang around the three point line. He will not get in the paint and bang with the big centers. He is a sharp shooter or used to be anyways. Cuban got rid of him, so he was not what they expected with the Mavericks. Turner and Hield would fit good with this Laker team, but it all depends what the Lakers want to let go. I value young players that show great potential. I will never forget when they traded away Ingram, Koo's and others just when they were about to start maturing as nba players. In other words the Lakers did not have the patients to develop these youngsters and traded for players like Westbrook and AD. So I do not get all excited when I read about these old geezers that were super stars at one time, but come to the Lakers to get the big payday even though they are at the twilight of their careers.

Glad we got rid of Cupcake. Seems like Pelinka has better eye for talent. But I also read where the Lakers are going to trade our number one draft pick already in a package for other players.

I think Turner and Hield is the best option. CP3 for the min unless he goes to clippers.

CP3/Dennis

Reaves/Hield

LeBron/Vando

AD/Rui

Turner/Plumlee

We’d still have the exception to use for a PG or backup big. I’d take Dennis back as the backup PG with Miles Plumlee at C. We’d just need a backup wing at this point either for the min or in the draft. Troy Brown isn’t great but not a bad fit for the minimum.

I hope Vando is really working on that corner 3.

I like the move to get up to 40 from 47. Unfortunately I don’t think we will be making a player trade with the Pacers too. Seems like it would have been wrapped into one trade.

why not just buy the # 40 pick?

I like the move to get up to 40 from 47. Unfortunately I don’t think we will be making a player trade with the Pacers too. Seems like it would have been wrapped into one trade.

If anything us moving up in the draft could seem like we may trade the 17th pick for someone and the Lakers feel good about a certain player that falls to the early 2nd round.

Time will tell.

Wow GSW just traded Poole for CP3. I don't really like that trade for GSW, they have no bench at all and no way of getting one.

They are just a lesser version of the Suns. Both have 4 core guys and nobody else and no way of getting anybody else. Plus GSW guys are way older then the Suns.

All this talk about Porzingis and CP3, however they are barely on the floor when it matters. Cp3 is a ball hog and is only successful with the ball in his hands. Curry on the other hand is the motor who drives that GSW vehicle. Asking him to relinquish the ball in favor of a prehistoric Godzilla is borderline criminal. I mean I’m a laker fan so I’m all for it…lol. But from their perspective it’s not a smart move.

Celtics trading away their heart and soul (M.Smart) for a dude who is always banged up is quite baffling. They earned their defensive mindset/mentality essentially due to their defensive captain M.Smart, who also kept everyone accountable on that end of the floor. Plus he would hustle for all loose balls, get into opposing players heads and also hit those timely shots from the deep. Imho Grizzlies won that trade. You are now adding Smart along with Jaren Jackson Jr. (DPOY) and D.Brooks(in case they decide to stay with him). They look scary in the west.

Yes I agree AD should play 4 except for the last quarter where he can switch back to the 5 during some stretches. That’s the formula which worked for us in 2020 when we won the title. Just get a serviceable big to bang with opposing bigs. Let AD do his thing from where he’s most comfortable at.

I don’t understand why the lakers brass are so stubborn.

I would also not get crazy giving away our picks (unless Hield and Turner are involved). I’m eyeing Dereck Lively with the 17th pick, if we somehow get lucky and he drops to 17. I was very impressed with how Tristan Thomson performed in the limited mins which he got due to the stubborn azz coach. He should have been involved from the get-go against a big Nuggets team. He was called upon during the fading mins in the close out 4th game. Plus Bamba should be given a chance to prove his worth. He was injured unfortunately and we couldn’t establish his effectiveness.

The bigger problem imho is the coach who likes to play small ball even against bigger teams. Even if you pick up some big name centers in the off season, there is no guarantee they would be showcased by the silly coach. They need to get some established assistants on his staff. He is just doing crazy ish, purely based on gut instinct. That doesn’t always work out. We need some solid X’s and O’s guys to reel him in.

Wizards get Poole for CP3 who was traded for Beale.

Lot of trading going on that really does not make sense to me, like the trade of Smart of the Celtics, WOW. I thought that guy was just as good or better then Tatum.

CP3 at this stage of his career is literally not sustainable. GSW is basically dumping Poole's salary in order to resign Draymond, etc. CP3 will give them nothing. They should buyout CP3 and move on.

Blockbuster move!! Lakers trade 47 for 40! I hope this isn't it for the night.

lol

Are we getting Jalen Suggs in a trade tonight?

Why do they pick undersized shooting guards? These guys are useless cause they cannot slide to sf to defend opposing forwards. Imho the height threshold of a SG should be like Kobe/Jordan…6’6” cause they can also assume SF duties and become legit 2 way players. Only select a PG if you are going below 6’6”

I’m not sure why they didn’t pick Cam Whitmore. He was a steal at 20. Houston lucked out.

Edit: it appears that he is listed as 6’6” on ESPN. But there are other sites which have listed him as 6’5”. Would have still preferred Cam, but I will give the scouts the benefit of the doubt since they invariably get it right.

It’s frustrating when every team in the west seems to be getting better. Dallas had a great night. PHX, Denver and GS making moves.

The Sun have really gone out to spend big bucks on their team. Just Durant, Booker, Beal and Ayton do not come cheap. That would eat up most of the budget if they want to stay under the cap.

Let’s hope we do something in Free Agency.

wiz was close to waiving paula but gsw is stupid enough to give way too much for a 38 years old lol

I agree that the Warriors really messed up getting CP3 and letting Poole go. Poole could play and shot really well, but there was a lot of friction between him and Green. So sometimes the organization has to move one or the other just like the Lakers did with Shaq and Kobe.

I have never seen Jalen Hood play, but every article I read say's he is a big point guard at 6'6"with a big frame at 215. LOL! seems like every article I read keeps making him look bigger and bigger, so his real height is probably an inch shorter. Which is in material as far as I am concerned because I have seen some point guards that were 6'1" which were really good for that position. If he is 6'6" that is a plus I guess for those who like tall point guards.

Actually the second draft pick that the Lakers got might turn out to be the better of the two they drafted. #40 draft pick who was Maxwell Lewis out of Pepperdine had impressed the Lakers so much on pre draft workout that they paid the Pacers $4.million to trade from the 47 pick to get the number 40 pick which is how they ended up getting Maxwell Lewis. He is a small forward who can play the wing really good. He is 6'7",wing span at 7'. So maybe the Lakers are finally doing their work in scouting which they never did before Pelinka. He averaged 17.1 points per game while in competition at Pepperdine. Twenty years old. both Jalen Hood and Maxwell.

Taurean Prince was just let go. I think he would be a great addition at the wing. We need a wing presence and a center to support AD, so he could be more effective at the 4. Just run it back and make some marginal tweaks. No need for radical changes.

Another guy to watch out for is Bruce Brown of the Nuggets. There are some reports that Lakers have significant interest in Bruce Brown

The Lakers could offer him the full MLE ($12.3M annually). Nuggets can only offer up to $7.8M this year.

BB was quite impactful for the nuggets during their title run.

As mentioned above we do have access to the Full MLE which is 124mil, which is what Bruce Brown will get from whichever team he selects.

However by using the Full MLE, we trigger a Hard Cape and can not exceed 171mil for Payroll.

So it really comes down to what the Lakers thinks they can get from the Full MLE and BAE.

Let’s assume we makes deals and we for sure have the following main guys on our team. LeBron, AD, Rui, Reaves, DLO.

We basically have to decide. Do we want to keep:

Beasley and Bamba and MLE (5mil)

Or

Full MLE (12.4mil) and BAE (4.5mil)

We have to pick one or the other of those 2 options. And the issue is? They probably don’t know who exactly they can get for the Full MLE until Friday.

Can Bruce Brown Play PG? or just a SG?

Bruce Brown was very impactful on the Nuggets winning the championship. But I am not sure who is out there besides Brown that can really fill in the vacant spots for the Lakers.

Today will be the day that we get a glimpse as to the direction we plan on going with our team.

(1) Try to retain all of our rooster and run it back at any cost.

(2) Go the route of being Hard CAP from triggering Full MLE or S$T.

So the Lakers have to make a decision with what to do for Beasley and Bamba:

If we release Beasley and or both Bamba today: then the Lakers are planning on using their Full MLE (12.4mil) on 1 or multiple players this offseason. At minimum we have to release Beasley to get access to our Full MLE and stay under the 171mil hard cap. Most likely we would have to release Bamba also, but depending on what we pay Rui and DLO, Bamba could possibly stay with us.

If the Lakers keep both Beasley and Bamba today: then Lakers will only have access to MLE (5mil) to spend this off season. And pay our own free Agents (Rui, DLO and Reaves) any amount of many to keep them.

If the Lakers keep both Beasley and Bamba today: then Lakers will only have access to MLE (5mil) to spend this off season. Also this could be the first step in a S&T at some point. In order to do a S&T for significant player, we need those salaries from Beasley, DLO and Bamba.

Beasley and or both Bamba release today: Our front office has decided there is FA on the market that we want more that will accept 12.4mil this summer.

We keep Beasley and Bamba: We are most likely running the same team back or we could do a S&T.

There is a lot of talk about how the Lakers think they can get Bruce Brown for Full MLE. Which is the most money he will get, just a matter of which team he chooses to go to. So lets pretend the Lakers go this way. They would be Hard Capped and total payroll would have to stay under 171mil. We would also have the ability to use the BAE which is 4.5mil we can give to a player.

Here is the rooster with this situation. Of course you can switch Bruce and Schroeder out with any players that are willing to accept those salary amounts listed.

The main thing would be DLO and Rui salaries together would need to stay at no higher then 34mil total for both of them resigned. If we pay those 2 guy more then 34mil together, then we will go over the 171mil total salaries which we can not do being hard capped.

Here is the rooster for this scenario.

LeBron James $46,698,737

Anthony Davis $40,600,080

DLO $20,000,000

Mo Bamba $10,300,000

Rui $14,000,000

Vanderbilt $4,698,000

Max Christie $1,719,864

Reaves $12,000,000

Jalen $2,799,300

Maxwell $1,000,000

FullMLE (Bruce) $12,400,000

BAE (Schroeder) $4,500,000

Vet min $1,000,000

Vet min $1,000,000

TOTAL $170,715,981