12 Jul 2017 18:50:45
Sign Rondo to the midlevel exception.

Lakers 2017-18 Roster:
Ball - Rondo - Nwaba
KCP - Clarkson - Hart
Ingram - Deng
Randle - Nance Jr - Kuzma
Lopez - Zubac - Bryant

As of right now the Lakers would go into 2018 free agency with 9 players and about $50 to spend (not including Randle's restricted free agency hold).

The Lakers could have enough for 2 max contracts if they trade Clarkson for a draft pick, or pair an asset (Randle) with Deng in a cap clearing trade.

1.) 12 Jul 2017
12 Jul 2017 20:34:08
Right now for 2018 the cap space is at $57.7M if the salary cap is $99M like this year. Hopefully it goes up to at least $102M next off season so the Lakers can sign those 2 allstars without giving up anybody. Right now teams willing to take Deng want Ingram which isn't happening. I say let's not worry about Deng's contract and hope he improves.

Now if the Lakers are over the cap with 2 allstars potentially coming in there will be a tough decision to make. Hate to see Randle walk yet alone for nothing but that might be what happens.

2.) 14 Jul 2017
14 Jul 2017 13:25:50
Ingram, Ball, Nance Jr., Zubac, Kuzma, and Hart's contracts combine for $20,381,422 for the 2018-19 season. Factor in a 2way contract with Bryant and you're looking at $21.5 mil at most for a solid 7 man young core all on rookie contracts. I'd rather have Randle's restricted free agent hold against our cap next year than Clarkson's $12.5 mil, because we can make him an unrestricted free agent to clear his cap hold (what Detroit did to KCP) .

I believe the Lakers can get a future late 1st round pick for Clarkson. Worst case scenario we have to stretch Deng at the end of the year, leaving us with a $7,362,000 mil cap hit over 5 years. That adds up to just under $29 mil, not including Randle's cap hold. With the expected $102 mil salary cap, we'd be looking at $73 mil to spend. A George and Cousins pairing still leaves us with the ability to resign Randle at market value. A starting line up of Ball, Ingram, George, Randle, Cousins with a bench of at least Hart, Nance Jr., Kuzma, and Zubac could be in the Western Conference Finals.

3.) 14 Jul 2017
14 Jul 2017 18:52:23
I am going to start with your thoughts on the stretch provision first. In the 2011 CBA it was 5 years stretch with 1 year remaining on the contract. That doesn't apply to Deng.
In the new 2017 CBA a player must play 2 season with the team which Deng will after this season and the stretch will be over 3 years now. So if Deng is owed $36M over 2 season the Lakers can stretch for 3 making it $12M per the following 3 years.

Clarkson- The Lakers attempted to trade Clarkson for a first outright this year and nobody wanted to take on the contract without giving up salary. It will be worst next year. The problem is a lot of teams want to do the same thing and that is clear cap space. Lakers have a lot of difficult decision to make cause your right they have Randle to worry about then also Brook Lopez. The pairing of George and Cousins is fine but I think Magic Johnson wants the pairing of Paul George with Lebron James instead. With James Lakers will need players around him and that is where we need to see Clarkson in the line up. Lopez might be a better fit for Walton's system than Cousins plus cheaper.

4.) 15 Jul 2017
15 Jul 2017 11:25:55
Thank you for informing me of the new stretch provision change. Even with that cap hit, we would have enough to pay Randle and have 2 max contracts.

As for Clarkson, the bonus with his contract is that it's up the year Anthony Davis is a free agent. If Cousins leaves next summer, everyone will expect him to look elsewhere due to the Pelicans lack of assets and being cap strapped. This free agency and draft had an abundance of guards, which may have saturated his market. The remainder of his contract will look more appealing next year with about $25 mil left over 2 years. If not a late 1st rounder, maybe an early 2nd round pick from a rebuilding team. If we pull off signing LeBron then we would have to convince Lopez to take a huge hometown pay cut. I like his game, but would prefer George and Cousins as it fits positional needs and their young ages allows us to contend for championships as soon as the warriors decline.