[zaga_fan]

I know the serious discussions on this NBA forum are few and far in between...
but I'll see what I can come up with anyway.

Lakers only have Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Robert Sacre, Kendall Marshall and Nick Young on the books for this season.

Nick Young and Kendall Marshall aren't guarantees - Nick Young will likely pick up his option to extend and I think the Lakers have to keep Marshall because he is pretty good and makes less than $1Mil

Kobe's contract will be $25Mil against the cap next year.

That being said...
Lakers have the #7 pick in the draft and no head coach at the moment.

What do they (seriously) do?

[RunItUpTheGut]

As the US soccer coach said, its ridiculous that the Lakers are paying Kobe that much. Hes done and there paying because of the name, which doesn't win games.

If I were the Lakers, id start looking to rebuild now, and if the means trading Kobe for a Kevin Love and a first round draft pick, id do it. The rest will fall into place. The Celtics might suck right now, but there making the moves to be really good in 5 years.

[Stardust]

There is somebody in this draft that they can build around with the 7th pick. If, and it's a BIG if, they can secure a solid Free Agent - NOT MELO - they can start to make head way. But it's going to take getting rid of Kobe's contract before we see them make a big splash with a Free Agent again.

As for a coach, I'm a little befuddled with what they are waiting for. Did everyone turn them down??? I expect it to be Kurt Rambis, but that is not the splash they need. I see the Lakers going into the same kind of drought as the Knicks have been in for years.

[zaga_fan]

Kobe is $25Mil, Steve Nash is $10Mil, Sacre/Young/Marshall are about $3Mil combined.

So there's $38Mil right off the bat.

Nash can't be moved - no one will pay him $10Mil to sit and he isn't going to retire.
They have already used their amnesty clause so they can waive him if needed and spread the cap hit over the next three years. If they do that, they would be sitting on four players and ~$31Mil in salary.

Luxury tax cap is set to be around $77Mil and since the Lakers are "repeat offenders" they will be subject to a higher tax rate if they go over.
LA has always paid the penalty but with the higher tax rate... I don't see them going over $82Mil.

So...
They basically (if they waive Nash) have $50Mil to build a team around Kobe and these other pieces.

I honestly think Sacre/Marshall/Young are all going to be solid role players and this last year where they were thrusted into big minutes will help them on down the line.

[zaga_fan]

There is somebody in this draft that they can build around with the 7th pick. If, and it's a BIG if, they can secure a solid Free Agent - NOT MELO - they can start to make head way. But it's going to take getting rid of Kobe's contract before we see them make a big splash with a Free Agent again.

As for a coach, I'm a little befuddled with what they are waiting for. Did everyone turn them down??? I expect it to be Kurt Rambis, but that is not the splash they need. I see the Lakers going into the same kind of drought as the Knicks have been in for years.

First bolded - I don't think there's a chance that the seventh pick stays with the Lakers until draft day. LA typically builds with trades and free agency, and that draft pick is their ONLY piece to trade with other than some cheap role players that IMO they would be best served to keep.

Second bolded - I think they are waiting for free agency to open up and use the vacancy as a bargaining chip.

I know it sounds stupid...
but I've actually read where they are looking to tell FAs that they will have a say in who the head coach will be.

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
I think they always traded away there early draft picks because they had solid teams and knew they could do more damage getting away from it.
Now, Kobe sucks, and they have no others. I think they keep there pick.

[zaga_fan]

Lakers have always built teams with free agency and trades.
The only player they have drafted in recent memory to have any type of success on the court with them is Andrew Bynum.

Even Kobe was not technically a draft pick...

The idea of the 76ers sending Thaddeus Young and the 10th pick for the Lakers #7 pick has been shopped around - if that got inked today or tomorrow.

I would see the Lakers shipping off both of them and maybe one of their low-cost role players for a player or two, then lure a free agent or two in - and try to see where that gets them.


Although they have a steep road ahead of them, LA doesn't want to build, they want to buy.

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
We should start a thread on how each member would build there team. I think it would be fun. You could pick any team in the league and tell what youd do as long as you stayed under the cap. It would interesting to see who would build what team, even if you don't like that team, if enough people would do it to make it interesting.

[zaga_fan]

Lakers under GM zaga_fan
Eric Bledsoe (FA) $6Mil
Kobe Bryant $25Mil
Gordon Hayward (FA) $6Mil
Zach Randolph (FA) $15Mil
Kevin Love (Three team trade that sends Nash/#7 pick elsewhere) $15Mil
Avery Bradley (FA) $5Mil
Robert Sacre $1Mil
Kendall Marshall $1Mil
Nick Young $1Mil


I would re-sign a few of the scrubs from LA's roster last year to fill out the depth chart... it's sad that it comes to that lol

This is hard to do...
because I think Bledsoe and Hayward can make more money and I think Randolph could definitely get another big contract - but I would convince them that they're the future of the most glamorous team in NBA history.

And as for the trade - I know that few teams would even consider Nash's contract - but remember the Lakers once traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol.

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
Well done

[Stardust]

First bolded - I don't think there's a chance that the seventh pick stays with the Lakers until draft day. LA typically builds with trades and free agency, and that draft pick is their ONLY piece to trade with other than some cheap role players that IMO they would be best served to keep.

Second bolded - I think they are waiting for free agency to open up and use the vacancy as a bargaining chip.

I know it sounds stupid...
but I've actually read where they are looking to tell FAs that they will have a say in who the head coach will be.

The Lakers traded away future draft picks and have not had a first round pick since 2009. That was the thinking of Dr. Jerry!

Dr. Jerry is dead, thus that line of thinking is dead as well! The Lakers no longer have the commodities to trade and this team is desperate for a rising star to build around. Thus, the only way this team does NOT draft 7th, will be due to them trading the first round pick for the next three years to the Cavaliers in order to take Wiggins (unless they are positive that the Cavs take Parker and then they trade three 1sts to Milwaukee).

Add the fact that the Lakers do not have a 2nd round pick, they have no choice but to draft someone that they feel they can build a team around. Jim Bus has already proven that he has no NBA Business intelligence, so putting together a deal that actually works won't happen, thus, the Lakers will be drafting with the 7th pick.

[zaga_fan]

The Lakers traded away future draft picks and have not had a first round pick since 2009. That was the thinking of Dr. Jerry!

Dr. Jerry is dead, thus that line of thinking is dead as well! The Lakers no longer have the commodities to trade and this team is desperate for a rising star to build around. Thus, the only way this team does NOT draft 7th, will be due to them trading the first round pick for the next three years to the Cavaliers in order to take Wiggins (unless they are positive that the Cavs take Parker and then they trade three 1sts to Milwaukee).

Add the fact that the Lakers do not have a 2nd round pick, they have no choice but to draft someone that they feel they can build a team around. Jim Bus has already proven that he has no NBA Business intelligence, so putting together a deal that actually works won't happen, thus, the Lakers will be drafting with the 7th pick.

I think they keep it now...

but until late yesterday there were 2 deals on the table to trade it away.

[ekff]

LOL Laker talk.....

[Stardust]

I think they keep it now...

but until late yesterday there were 2 deals on the table to trade it away.

So, you have retracted your

I don't think there's a chance that the seventh pick stays with the Lakers until draft day. - See more at: http://www.bluegrassrivals.com/forum/new...QbOIo.dpuf

hh:

[zaga_fan]

^ Well when the Lakers had an offer from the 76ers that didn't pick up any steam and the 3 -way deal that would have landed Klay Thompson fell through...

Yes I changed my mind lol

The new Buss is indeed an idiot.
I actually think that if Jeanie Buss was calling the shots that the franchise would be in better hands.
He was at a few Laker games last year with a laptop watching horse races...
the guy isn't Laker material.

[RunItUpTheGut]

ESPN is full of trade rumors and some are very interesting.
I love college basketball, but never been into the NBA much. It never seemed exciting to me, but from a management standpoint, it really intrigues me.
I would love to be in charge of building a team and crunching numbers.

[Stardust]

^ Well when the Lakers had an offer from the 76ers that didn't pick up any steam and the 3 -way deal that would have landed Klay Thompson fell through...

Yes I changed my mind lol

The new Buss is indeed an idiot.
I actually think that if Jeanie Buss was calling the shots that the franchise would be in better hands.
He was at a few Laker games last year with a laptop watching horse races...
the guy isn't Laker material.

If Jeanie Bus was running the Lakers, Phil would still be in LA. If Phil was in LA, they would be getting ready to sign Lebron, Carmello, Duncan, Dirk, Wade, Bosh, Shaq, Bird and Magic......

But, we have Jim, who will sign Joel Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Matt Bonner and Elton Brand.....

[RunItUpTheGut]

^:truestory: