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

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I think the Hardaway/Hardy conversation is kind of missing the point.  It's not about if Hardy is as good as Hardaway today from either a bball standpoint or asset value (he's clearly not) but more so is he good enough to make Hardaway an asset we can cash in on via trade without seeing a major drop in overall team production from that position.  With that in mind, it doesn't make sense to pair them together in a trade package.  You either move Hardaway or attach Hardy to Maxi/Holmes, attaching Hardy to Hardaway would put us in a tough spot post trade.  You want to have one of those guys around putting up contested shots because no one else on this roster feels comfortable doing it (looking at you Josh).

The thing that always drove me crazy about the national media narrative around last year's struggles post trade was that it was all focused on acquiring Kyrie and not focused on the fact that we lost DFS and had NOTHING to replace his role with.  It was a team struggling on defense that traded it's best defender and replaced it with....well Luka kind of and and Green at times.  That's when things really became a layup line for the opposition.  Bringing in Grant Williams has helped us a little bit but we still need to find a way to replicate Maxi's defense from the 2022 run whether it be from a healthy Maxi or someone we acquire via trade. 

In the case of this year, if we end up moving Hardaway and cashing in while he's playing pretty well, at least we won't be trying to fit a round peg into a square hole trying to replace his role because Hardy at least looks the part.  His production most likely wouldn't be equal to Hardaway in that hypothetical but at least he wouldn't look out of place.

This is exactly right.  We should choose between the two because we just don't have enough minutes for them both to thrive here  As Hardy's value has likely tanked due to performance and lack of opportunity, THJ is the obvious piece to trade.  I'd be fine with Hardy performing slightly worse than THJ because he has the potential to be a better player eventually.  

I believe trading THJ for another big man is the obvious move here.  Orlando would be a good target as they have three really good centers.  They also really need shooting and another veteran.  That team is adjusting to being really good all of a sudden.  Another vet to go along with Joe Ingles would help that bench.  Wendell Carter Jr. would fit our needs well.  I think THJ and the 2027 first for WCJ would improve both teams.  It would give us a 6'10 270 lb big who rebounds, plays defense and can hit 3s.  You like wingspan? How's 7'5"? Perfect fit.