Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[DanSchwartzgan]

I like this other than I think PJ Washington and Grant Williams are a bit redundant, PJ is a 4/5 and Grant is basically a 4 only. I'd probably go with either one of PJ or Grant (I prefer PJ) along with Thybulle instead. Green and Thybulle can compete over the 5th starting spot.

How we can do it: 

Clippers trade some combination of Norm Powell, Morris, and Coffey + whatever for Harden and now need a reliable backup wing as insurance for their always injured stars. Trade Bullock for Zubac. Clippers get their wing and go with the cheaper Plumlee and Mavs get a center.

Hornets decide they don't want to pay PJ after drafting Miller and want a veteran shooter to teach the kids how to play. SnT PJ for Hardaway. PJ gets something like 3/51.

Switch Curry to the MLE and use the rest to throw an offer sheet at Thybulle. Save BAE for next year.

Offseason finished.

Luka/Curry/Exum
Kyrie/Hardy
Thybulle/Green
Washington/Kleber/Prosper
Zubac/Lively/Powell

This would be a fantastic outcome.  One of the beauties of Zubac, PJ and Thybulle is their age. You’d be moving to a group that is just entering their athletic prime and will have filled in the next generation behind them with Hardy, Green, Prosper and Lively.  I don’t know how we could do much better given the resources we have.

I think it is logical for Charlotte to prioritize THJ for two years over PJ for four.

It is hard to know why Portland wouldn’t match an offer for Thybulle that is just under $8mm.  It is just hard to know what their roster is going to be once Lillard is finally traded and where their priorities will lie.

To me, the most difficult to see is the Zubac trade.  Zubac for Reggie isn’t a balanced deal and we haven’t contemplated how we ship out Holmes and McGee in this deal.  Definitely need another outgoing resource here in my mind (which takes us to the Great 2027 Pick Debate of 2023). Personally, I think anything that gets us two of these players rather than three would still be a fantastic outcome.