West just opted out of a contract that was going to pay him 12.7M this year. So no, he is not going to accept the MLE from anyone.
He'll accept whatever he gets offered and no one is foolish enough to offer him anything anywhere near the 12.7 mil he just turned down. You just don't pay that kind of price for an aging backup PF.
Good news on the Cameron Payne possibility: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some teams feel Indiana is actually higher on Trey Lyles than on Cauley-Stein. Cam Payne also an option, but not as strong as once thought.</p>— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) <a href="https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/613805575839838208">June 24, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Agreed obviously his decision wasnt money based and he is looking to play for a contender, having said that i dont want to sign him for our MLE. Id rather spend that money to resign Smith and Mcdaniels. Dmo and Smith is a PF rotation i would be really happy to have.
Make a Nick Young trade after they already traded Cousins for picks, and Randle. Then watch Love sign there. Then at that point conduct a second trade with LA that has you sending 5.2 million in salary (maybe 6 or 7 if you include Sacre/Black types), for a 19 million dollar a year player???? You know there is a thing called the collective bargaining agreement, and in that agreement there are rules about salary matching for trades. If the Lakers acquire Cousins, and sign Love... that's pretty much it along with Kobe, Clarkson, etc. Other than the MLE, and vet min signings until next Summer when the cap goes up and Kobe comes off the books. That team... while guaranteed to be an entertaining soap opera, is going nowhere in the West.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt anyone offers him more than that. He's at about Brandon Bass level now but is four years older, and I doubt Bass commands more than the MLE. Name-value will get him more $ than Bass, though. As they always say, it just takes one so maybe you're right.
Basketballholic, weren't you a big Cody Zeller fan? <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Y! Sources: Charlotte's shopping Cody Zeller hard for wing players. If Zeller gets moved, Frank Kaminsky will be serious candidate at No. 9.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/613811876661739521">June 24, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Doesn't scare you but is significantly better than what they have now. Plus how much cap space will they have when Kobe retires, the cap sky rockets, and they still have the Love Cousins locked up for multiple years. At least enough for 2 Max wing signings I'd wager.
Yep. He is afraid. he doesn't want to say no and close the door. He is frozen as far as his ability to make a decision. If you can trade his rights for anything I think you do it. If he is having this much trouble deciding I would be worried that he would finally say yes only to wuss out and not come thereby really screwing us up. I have zero trust in Llull at the moment.
Nope. After they decline Jordan Hill, the only contract they have besides Kobe is Young. They would easily have enough for both Love and Cousins.
Maybe a S&T with Brewer? I'd consider it in certain scenarios. It would obviously depend on who we draft, who resigns - namely Smith, if we trade DMo or T-Jones for an upgrade at the point. I think he's a pretty decent player with a lot of potential to grow still so if there's some sort of hole that develops at the PF spot, he's not a terrible option.
Kings would be idiots to trade Cousins. You don't trade away 24 year old superstars, unless its for another top 10 (top 5 really) player.
