05-27-2023, 10:49 AM
(05-26-2023, 05:18 PM)omahen Wrote: I was thinking about a scenario if Kyrie wants to leave. I think the smarter move would be to go with minimum salary back…So, I would take just 2029 and Vandy (might be a pipedream to get both) and Lakers send Russel and whatever salary they need to to a third team.
Let’s just stop right here and play this out and see if we like it. You are describing LA operating over the cap using a third team to generate the outgoing salary needed to match KI AND (important) retain their hold on Rui and others. So, that is worth LA paying something for. I don’t think Vandy + 2029 is unreasonable. There isn’t a big TPE for Dallas (might be for LA), but there is cap room (maybe $30mm depending on other decisions).
Right now you have the following if you assume a Bertans S/W
_______. _____. McGee
Vandy. Maxi. Morris
THJ. Reggie. Lawson
Green. Hardy. Holiday
Luka. ______. Wright
I’m going to pencil in Powell for some or all of the Room MLE, so that doesn’t reduce cap space. We can get to an extra $5mm of space if we move on from Reggie. How do we spend $30-$35mm?
We may know pretty quickly what the KI thing is going to be if we wake up Wednesday morning after the draft and we held onto #10. I’m putting Wallace in this spot. It could obviously be Lively or a wing. If Vandy is the PF, the C needs to be an outside shooter. Naz Reid is free, so I’ll go there for something north of $12mm. Reggie is gone and I need another wing to rotate with Green and THJ. Give me Grant Williams for $16mm. Maybe we still have Reggie, maybe we don’t depending on what things cost.
Keeping this in it simplest from, the below is what we have. We do have 2027 and LA’s 2029 to trade. We certainly could have traded down and created additional space. Maybe Powell is a minimum (I’m taking the over) and we use the Room MLE on a PG (Carter?). Clearly other ways to work around this. But, is getting a shot at these FA’s an acceptable outcome if Kyrie wants to go?
Naz. Powell. McGee
Vandy. Maxi. Morris
G. Will. THJ. Lawson
Green. Hardy. Holiday
Luka. Wallace. Wright
Recall also that if you can live with this for a year, you have 25/27/LA 2029 and expiring THJ and expiring McGee to throw at a team for a star.