Which Laker free agents will be back?

[alexthegod]

This is just my own personal opinion, please let me know yours gang!

KCP- 40/60. He played his butt off during the playoffs, brought great energy and just enough 3 point shooting. The question now is how other teams around the league view him. If he anybody views him more than a role player, he will get a lucritive multiyear deal elsewhere. The Lakers wont break the bank to keep him.

Rondo-50/50. It all depends on Rondo. Does he want to chase a big contract or run it back on a short term deal? Playoff Rondo earned himself a nice little payday if he wants it, but that payday won't be with the Lakers

Howard 20/80. Like Rondo it's on Howard. He also likely has earned himself a nice pay raise with another team. The Lakers will only offer him so much. At the end of the day I think Howard takes the payday somewhere else.

Morris 55/45. Morris is that prefect role player, a 3 Pt shooting big that is solid on D. He gave up his entire years salary to escape Detroit and chase a ring. With his mission accomplished he chases money. BUT he might find it a tough market and might be back with the Lakers on a cheaper one year deal to try his luck again at seasons end.

McGee (player option). 90/10 He's staying put whether you like it or not. His market is not worth 4 mil, so he takes his 4 mil option.

Bradley (player option). 75/25 Since he opted out of the playoffs, its unlikely Bradley will exceed his 5 mil option on the open market, he too takes the player option.

Dudley. 75/25. A veteran locker room guy who will only see the floor a handful of games. IF the Lakers decide they can burn a roster spot on such a player he'll be back at min salary

JR Smith 5/95. Cant see him being on an NBA roster let alone the Lakers.

Waiters 5/95. There is a reason why he was unemployed before the bubble.

Let me know your thoughts gang!:rockon:

[dd24]

I think out of the bunch that Howard, Rondo, and Bradley are the most important. I think part of it is who the Lakers intend to go after once free agency opens. They don't have a lot of money to work with. They really need that 3rd person behind Lebron and AD. I could see Kuzma getting traded as he's the one guy that seems to generate at least a little interest. If they were to do something crazy like a CP3 trade then they would have to sign and trade a few of those guys to match salaries I would assume. I don't know if Dwight earned himself a huge pay raise. He's almost just a vets minimum type of guy at this point. Lots of teams would like to have him but it's the price point that will hold them back. The cap is going to be less and people aren't going to spend that on a back up center (or potential starting one).

[alexthegod]

All good points DD24 and hello by the way LOL.

Agreed its going to be interesting to see who they go after in free agency. That can definitely affect how they handle their own free agents.

[bladefd]

With Schroeder's trade, we should keep Dwight, Bradley and KCP. All 3 play solid defense and complement Schroeder well (and Caruso).

Imagine a clutch time lineup of AD-LeBron-kcp-Schroeder-Bradley. Good scoring lineup. Caruso is also there if we need defense then you switch out Schroeder for Caruso. If you want balance then you go AD-LeBron-Caruso-Schroeder-KCP/Bradley (depends on who is playing better that night)

I'm guessing this means Rondo will be gone. I would try to trade Kuzma + McGee + Tucker + future 1st for another good backup shooter like J.J Redick if he is on the market.

[dd24]

I have to wonder if they are going to try to sign Cousins again as well. Seems like that would be a good fit.

[bladefd]

I have to wonder if they are going to try to sign Cousins again as well. Seems like that would be a good fit.

I would do it only if we can move McGee.. I would like to see Kuzma/McGee/next year's 2nd rounder traded for someone like JJ Redick. Then I would be good with adding Cousins.

I don't think Dwight is coming back. Someone is going to overpay him so I would replace him with Aron Baynes (I prefer Ibaka but I don't expect him to leave the Raptors but I would still offer him full MLE).

A center rotation of Cousins/Baynes or Ibaka/AD would be nice. All 3 can hit 3s and the latter 2 play solid defense.

[bladefd]

I have been hearing rumors about Wesley Matthews, but tbh I would rather keep kcp or even go trade for JJ Redick than sign Matthews.

I don't think Matthews is a very good 3pt shooter, which is what we need off our bench. He is sometimes good but very streaky. I don't think he is someone I like starting at the 2 either alongside Schroeder at the 1. Schroeder can play either guard positions, but I want someone starting with him who plays good defense & can hit 3s. Bradley would be perfect for that, but I am unsure if he will be playing this season..

[dd24]

Yeah, I've seen the Matthews rumors too. With Green gone they want him to fill that role. I think they can make a run at Ibaka. It would be a good fit.

[alexthegod]

I have to wonder if they are going to try to sign Cousins again as well. Seems like that would be a good fit.

agreed, I think they will look at him again as they will most likely loose one or both of Dwight and Mcgee. I am thinking Dwight is as good as gone, he wants to get paid.

[alexthegod]

I forgot about Ibaka. If he comes at the right price he would be a great replacement for Dwight!

[bladefd]

Well, we got Wesley Matthews.

Still have MLE for 1 more player to finish our roster. I hope it's Dwight or Ibaka. I prefer Ibaka because of his 3pt shooting.

[dd24]

I feel like both of those guys are hoping for more than that. I wonder if they're looking at Cousins.

[dd24]

Well, Dwight is a 76er now. Which I find odd because it was the minimum at 2.6 million. Seems like LA would have offered that and he would have rather stayed here.

[bladefd]

I feel like both of those guys are hoping for more than that. I wonder if they're looking at Cousins.

Cousins I would sign for veteran's minimum tbh. He hasn't proved he can stay healthy unfortunately

[bladefd]

Well, Dwight is a 76er now. Which I find odd because it was the minimum at 2.6 million. Seems like LA would have offered that and he would have rather stayed here.

Yeah, that's odd. LA would have offered 4-5mill because we have his Bird rights. I have no idea what happened :confusedshrug:

[dd24]

Odd Dwight said he was going back to the Lakers. Then he was going to Golden State. Then he chooses the 76ers.... GS and LA are both better choices. Dwight isn't going to be happy there. I think they will need to look to Cousins now. They apparently have a meeting with Bogdanovic now. That would be really interesting. Maybe that's why they are waiting on the vets minimum contracts. They need all the space they can get. Clearly they would need to move someone to sign him. That would be a pretty major upgrade though.

[bladefd]

Odd Dwight said he was going back to the Lakers. Then he was going to Golden State. Then he chooses the 76ers.... GS and LA are both better choices. Dwight isn't going to be happy there. I think they will need to look to Cousins now. They apparently have a meeting with Bogdanovic now. That would be really interesting. Maybe that's why they are waiting on the vets minimum contracts. They need all the space they can get. Clearly they would need to move someone to sign him. That would be a pretty major upgrade though.

I read Bogdanovic agreed to deal with Atlanta

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/jxyxo5/carchia_restricted_free_agent_bogdan_bogdanovic/

[dd24]

That's changed in the last few hours I guess. He's going to meet with Atlanta and LA.
https://sports.yahoo.com/rumor-lakers-among-teams-expected-204515684.html

[bladefd]

Seems Dwight had decided to stay in LA then changed his mind at the last minute. He deleted that tweet in just minutes. Don't know what happened or changed :confusedshrug:

https://i.redd.it/vfb96zr9lh061.png

[bladefd]

Added Montrezl Harrell.. Uhhh, I don't know what to make of it.. Harrell is a good player, but I rather have Dwight.. I don't know.

[bladefd]

Signings so far:

Danny Green to Matthews is close enough. Might be minor downgrade, but it's close. It's worth saving the money though if we can spend it elsewhere.
Rondo to Schroeder is an upgrade.
Dwight to Harrell is a slight downgrade.

Our defense has gotten bit weaker overall. Offense is more explosive and has more firepower for sure.

I don't know what is up with Bradley. Lakers might end up keeping him in the end, idk. I hope Lakers keep either Bradley or KCP. We need their defense.

[dd24]

Yeah, I would have rather had Dwight, especially when you look at what they both are going to get paid. It sounds like it was the Lakers who messed up the Dwight deal though.

However, sources within the organization are adamant that a formal offer was never made, maintaining that dialogue was merely a “deal concept.” Howard thought if he agreed to the “deal concept” that it was a done deal, sources said. He was forced to delete his tweet. – via Chris Haynes @ Yahoo! Sports

Lakers management informed Howard’s agent that they had to consult with team ownership and seek approval before making an official offer, sources said. Howard waited for nearly an hour without hearing back, sources said. Communication was strictly between the Lakers front office and Howard’s agent, sources said. – via Chris Haynes @ Yahoo! Sports

[dd24]

I keep seeing Marc Gasol rumors somehow too.

[bladefd]

Okay, Lakers used full MLE for Harrell when we could have kept Dwight for under 3mill.. I don't like this, but it is what it is. I hope Harrell makes me look bad!

Well, now we only have veteran's minimum and our Bird rights players like KCP/Bradley/AD. That's our off-season. I hope we bring back either Bradley or KCP or both if Lakers want to go deep in luxury tax territory.

[dd24]

I have to figure they must be thinking about another trade. It's just not making sense. Harrell clearly had better numbers than Dwight but he's so small I don't see how it works exactly. The Lakers definitely need another big. They also need help at the guard position.

[bladefd]

I have to figure they must be thinking about another trade. It's just not making sense. Harrell clearly had better numbers than Dwight but he's so small I don't see how it works exactly. The Lakers definitely need another big. They also need help at the guard position.

I agree about Harrell being undersized. That could be an issue.

As for guard, we have Bird rights over KCP/Bradley. Bring 1 or both back and we are set at guard.

[bladefd]

Roster so far:

Harrell/Gasol/Bell
AD/Kuzma
LeBron/Kuzma/THT/McKinnie*
Matthews/KCP
Schroeder/Caruso/KCP

Still have 4 slots left for veteran minimums. Hopefully Markieff returns to backup AD at the 4. Dudley implied days ago he would return for veterans minimum.

*Lakers got ALFONZO MCKINNIE from Cleveland in McGee salary dump so maybe Lakers will keep MCKINNIE on bench for garbage minutes rather than waive him.