05-22-2022, 01:07 PM
(05-22-2022, 05:07 AM)F Gump Wrote: The starting problem is that it's not a 20M contract LAL would have to move, but rather RW at 47M. No one is within realistic reach of having that much room, and while LAL or someone else can finagle more room, someone has to have it to give it.
Lakers don't need 47 mil of cap room, which I tried to show in my example. They basically need roughly LaVine max salary (I think roughly 36 mil) to stay under the hard cap apron. Many ways to get there. Perhaps the Butler SnT is a very good example. Same situtation back then. Heat were right at the apron with a bunch of bad contracts. What they did was split Whiteside contract in Leonard and Harkless, than send Harkless and a pick to Clippers and traded Richardson for Butler.
(05-22-2022, 05:07 AM)F Gump Wrote: This idea of ZL to LAL feels like the same sort of nonsense when Trader Daryl in HOU was (reportedly, continually) on the cusp of getting Melo from NY in the same sort of deal. They only needed a 3rd team to be the one to absorb all the bad parts of the deal (in this case, you theorize DET as that sort of sucker), and lo-and-behold no one wanted to be that sucker. Go figure! IMO it would take a ginormous set of assets to entice some team to take RW into cap space, and LAL will decide they'll do better to simply keep RW until they run out the clock on his contract.
I think you are way exaggerating the price of cap space. It didn't take a ginormous set of assets to do a Butler SnT. Miami had no way to get cap space to sign him outright. It also didn't take ginormous set of assets for Chicago to get Ball, even though he was RFA. Unprotected FRP is huge reward for cap space. What alternative can realistically a team like Detroit, San Antonio and OKC have? Are they a destination for top FA (which there aren't many anyway)? There are many teams each year that don't spend their cap space or just sell it for assets. Westbrook is expiring and basically allows the buyer to carry the cap space into next season, where the rebuilding team might be in a position to hunt top FA. Detroit, OKC, San Antonio are not there yet.
As for the Lakers - they have the 2027 and 2029 FRP to trade. If this is a price for LaVine, they will do it without thinking.
Look at the OKC example, created by Hollinger several months ago. Lakers send Westbrook and unprotected first to OKC for Favors and another smaller contract (all before draft). This would create a huge TE for Lakers where they could fit LaVine.
(05-22-2022, 05:07 AM)F Gump Wrote: In contrast, LAL, assuming they are keeping both LBJ and AD, has no way in the world to have max cap room for ZL, and there's really no way for them to to create it.
Even that is not impossible. If they trade WB to OKC, they get to roughly 110 mil of salaries. They create over 30 mil of cap space if they basically dump expiring Favors and THT (still young, not so negative value). So one FRP for Westbrook and one for dumping them.
I am not saying any of that is easy, but it is not impossible. And I think the power of Rich Paul and LeBron shouldn't be neglected. Please note LaVine switched to Rich Paul roughly a year ago. Was it because he doubted his previous agent would be unable to get max cotnract or was it because Rich Paul promised he can make it happen for him to get where he wants?