03-30-2021, 10:41 PM
(03-30-2021, 10:24 PM)F Gump Wrote: Is he considered special here because he's on another team, or it's the Lakers who he plays for? If he was languishing on the market, I can see why you'd want to take a shot, but that's not what we're looking at. To me it makes no sense.
The Lakers draft very well. Teams who are great at evaluating talent tried to get him at the TDL. He's young and on a championship team so getting the minutes (and before someone points it out, injuries have helped him get more than he'd probably get otherwise) he's getting during his second season means there is probably something there.
Going after him makes perfect sense:
-He's younger than a lot of draft picks, will come with playoff/championship experience and has great upside.
-He's a realistic target for this front office who have wasted tens of millions of dollars on the likes of Parson, Barnes, and Wright after failing to have meaningful conversations with the players they covet in free agency.
-He's not going to require a ton of shots and can contribute on both sides of the floor.
-If the Lakers match an offer sheet, they'll most likely defer biggest chunk of the money to the end of his contract which would ham-fist their cap room 3 and 4 years from now. Who doesn't like screwing with the Lakers and probably LeBron?