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

[KillerLeft]

I’ll respectfully disagree.  This team would be under the LT (an important factor for future spending).  Yes, we need the things you mention (though I think OMax supplies the defensive wing part in pretty short order).  Yes, Bojan is older.  But he’s better and most importantly he’s on a very friendly contract.  Moving off of McGee and Hardaway’s guaranteed money would be big.

There is a here and now element to team building and there is an element that looks at the next few opportunities to make moves and tries to set us up well for those.  If you can get the better player AND set your payroll up better for future flexibility, that is a HUGE win.  Our second unit needs some playmaking and Bojan would provide that from a position other than the one Hardy plays.

Looked at another way, If I said before the summer that we got Lively, OMax, Holmes, Grant W. Bogdanovic, Seth and Exum for #10, THJ, Reggie, McGee and a 2030 pick swap.  Would you have signed up?  I’m celebrating what we have (or would have).  We will never arrive at a place where the roster feels done.

The luxury tax angle is interesting, and Bojan would replace hardaway’s scoring. On the other hand, one of the more encouraging things for me is that the team seems to be drifting back towards valuing shooting/spacing. I don’t buy that Curry can totally replicate Hardaway’s impact on the geometry when he’s really got it going (even when he doesn’t).

It’s a better deal than I thought at glance though now that you’ve explained it like this.