07-11-2024, 10:07 PM
Per Stein:
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of only three teams at this point of the offseason, along with Boston and Cleveland, that have brought in no players from other teams via free agency or trade this offseason (H/T to my pal Keith Smith for that tidbit.)
All that adds up to make Trent-to-the-Lakers just too obvious ... right?
One source close to the process cautioned this week that the Lakers, until they can move farther away from the second luxury tax apron, can't even make a run at Trent ... no matter how available he appears to be. The Lakers, remember, are only marginally distanced from the second apron after LeBron James signed a new two-year deal that was less than $3 million shy of the $104 million maximum he could have received.
The Lakers are known to be exploring pathways to shed some additional salary via trades to create sufficient wiggle room needed under the second apron to make use of their $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. Yet even those kinds of moves likely require some form of second-round draft capital attached and taking in a player via sign-and-trade, as a first apron team, is not permitted under the league's new rules.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of only three teams at this point of the offseason, along with Boston and Cleveland, that have brought in no players from other teams via free agency or trade this offseason (H/T to my pal Keith Smith for that tidbit.)
All that adds up to make Trent-to-the-Lakers just too obvious ... right?
One source close to the process cautioned this week that the Lakers, until they can move farther away from the second luxury tax apron, can't even make a run at Trent ... no matter how available he appears to be. The Lakers, remember, are only marginally distanced from the second apron after LeBron James signed a new two-year deal that was less than $3 million shy of the $104 million maximum he could have received.
The Lakers are known to be exploring pathways to shed some additional salary via trades to create sufficient wiggle room needed under the second apron to make use of their $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. Yet even those kinds of moves likely require some form of second-round draft capital attached and taking in a player via sign-and-trade, as a first apron team, is not permitted under the league's new rules.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.