They may be using these older vets to play bully ball against the run-and-gun offense the GSW play. That’s why I think they are swinging to trade for Kawhi. They may not be able to outrun GSW but they may be able to bully them with slow ball.
Well, they weren't going to win the championship this year, anyway. If it were me, I would have used the extra cap space in order to get picks if I couldn't get a star. Take on a big expiring contract or two for some draft compensation in order to decrease someone's luxury tax bill. This is just the wastage of an asset (cap space). I don't see a scenario where these guys help the Lakers win a championship in the next few years.
How do they get Kawhi now though? They just let Randle go. So who's left out of their young core? Lonzo? Pop won't want any part of him and his family. Ingram? A solid young player, but not enough for Kawhi. Kuzma? See Ingram. And if the Lakers give up Ingram AND Kuzma, they're suddenly an old team with minimal depth.
Magic mentioned this was a two year process. This year I think they may be swinging to get Kawhi and they may not care about having a young team anymore. LeBron has always been willing to get his GM to let go of young talent. I can see SAS getting Kuzma/Ingram in a three way trade/S&T and Lonzo being punted to whatever team will take him to make the money work for Kawhi to go to the Lakers. Then next summer when all of these short term contracts end they will probably keep Rondo/Kawhi and dump the rest of them to get their third/fourth star (if they get Boogie somehow they will keep him).
They are trying to raise the average age of the team. Balancing a bunch of 22-year-olds with a bunch of 32-year-olds, and you get a 27-year-old team, right at the prime!
A two-year process? LeBron will be 34 this season. And we ain't talking a young 34 either. I know he's coming off a great year(offensively anyway), but he's now in the same conference as the Warriors and the Rockets. And the Jazz ain't exactly chumps either. I'm stunned that he committed to 4 years with the Lakers when this is what they have to offer.
Well, this will be entertaining to watch. The Lakers are gathering all the crazies. Add Boogie for good measure and let LaVar Ball be the ringmaster. The circus has come to town.
Let’s not pretend that Magic didn’t know LeBron wasn’t going to sign a long term deal when he gave that (paraphrasing) “I will quit if I can’t get two stars by next off season” speech last week. LeBron and him are well aware that with LeBron signing a long term deal they will be in a position to get another star. I hope they fail but I think LeBron/Magic are angling for at least two more good/great years for LeBron then having a team to go after GSW in 2019-20.
One would think there's a better way to spend $9M in cap flexibility than on Rondo. Shouldn't all kind of high level free agents flock to LA to play with LeBron?
