Lakers trying to move Mo Wagner to clear cap room for another Max Contract
According to ESPN, the Lakers are looking to move everyone except Kuzma and Lebron in order to make room for one more Max Contract. Would love to see Mo end up on a contender where he could get some good minutes.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27005071/sources-lakers-hustling-create-max-salary-slot
Wouldn't mind him on the Sixers. Would be a solid stretch guy coming off the bench.
Tell me, just who is this Max Contract guy the Lakers want?
Kawhi, KD, Jimmy Butler, prob Chris Paul.
Add Kyrie to that list.
Chris Paul isn't happening. He's not a free agent and the Lakers couldn't put together a trade package.
Rockets want to kick his ass to the curb and would likely therefore accept a loaf of bread; but at this point, the Lakers don't even have a loaf of bread. Besides, even the Lakers would hesitate to add a player that old and washed up on a max.
Also, the Rockets aren't likely to be going into full re-build, so they're not going to be too eager to hook up the new leading contender in the West with a culminating piece.
I dont understand NBA contracts well enough, but I'm betting Houston would give CP3 away, basically for free, if it meant freeing up the cap space. The next three seasons, he's earning something line 38, 40 and 40m. The Rockets' owner is rumored to be expressing regret over the contract, and Harden and CP3 aren't jiving. IMO, Houston would view that as addition by subtraction.
The problem is they have to balance salaries in order for the trade to work so CP3's contract is nearly unmovable.
Max Contract is a wing out of Seton Hall. Classic one-and-done. Solid from three, decent handles, lockdown defender.
He has a brother LT Contract who's a small forward at Florida A&M. Talented, but he's set up to be more of a role player.
Thanks BW. The other responders above had no clue. Heard a loud whoosh as the joke went over their heads.
I think he's the cousin to Max Power...
Sounds good to me. Get our man out of that mismanaged organization.
Right? I mean who would really want to play for a team with 2 top 5 players and a history of winning NBA Championships?
AD is not top 5, why do people keep saying that? Who of LeBron, KD, Steph, Giannis and Kawhi would you take AD over?
Lebron
You would really rather have AD than LeBron right now?
Yes. LeBron is past his prime years, at least going by comparable career trajectories. He has had injuries recently, a lot of miles on his body, and he is kind of a jerk. The Lakers had a tough time finding people who wanted to play with him. Now it looks like their roster is going to be LeBron, AD, Kuzma and a bunch of 2nd round picks and UFAs. There are 240 minutes available in an NBA game. Assuming they don’t ride their big 3 into the ground, who is going to play those 120-140 MPG?
I don't think LeBron is any more of a jerk than anyone else. His bigger problem is that as he's slowed down (and let's be honest, "slowed down" LeBron is still really good), he's had to scale by the offense to best accommodate his skillset, which isn't necessarily conducive to other guys developing. But the Lakers team he stepped into wasn't particularly good, and while Ball is a good defender and Ingram is, I guess, a volume shooter neither are above replacement-level.
It will all come down to whether or not the Lakers can get another star-ish player. If they do, you can piece together a 7/8-man rotation out of veteran minimum guys, 2nd-rounders, and the like. It's not pretty, but especially if you don't really care about your seeding (which I assume wouldn't be a major issue for a LeBron-led team), you can rest guys in a West that isn't as top-heavy as before and get to the playoffs with a solid club.
He's a top-8 player, and I'd take him now over both KD and Steph considering the fact KD is out for a year with an ACL tear and Steph is 31, missed a fair number of games these past two years with injuries, and doesn't give you much on the defensive end.
Objectively, there is simply no way that Giannis is a top 5 player IMO. If we're talking superstar status, then we have to account for a player's effectiveness when real officiating is utilized and the competition level. Giannis is simply not capable of scoring against a set, half-court defense in the playoffs. He has severe limitations in that regard. His numbers are absurd, but to be candid the Eastern Conference doesn't have a ton of depth and he's beating up on teams that are horrid for 20 games a year. Giannis isn't a true #1 option and not a tier 1 player. Likely top 10ish, but certainly not top 5 IMO.
I’m from a different era...isn’t AD - Adrian Dantley a little old. Was he still playing in Europe and they’re bringing him back?
Bring back the Bad Boys
Adrian Dantley wasn't a top 5 player.
That's what I thought the first six times I read "AD."
He sure thought he was.
I'm from a different era...isn't AD - Anno Domini, the year of our Lord?
I’m still lost...who is AD then?
Signed,
<|8-0
As many here have probably read before, Dantley is now a crossing guard and rec league referee out here in the Maryland suburbs of DC. He is notoriously tight with his money and has said he does it for the health insurance. He reffed one of my son's rec league games this past winter. He is still ripped and looks about 35.
Curry
Right now? KD dude won't play basketball for at least a year. AD is top 6 at worst.
Steph is Top 10, not Top 5. Before injuries this year...KD, Leonard, Giannis, Lebron and Davis.
Um, he has the third highest PER of all-time, behind only Jordan and LeBron
How many 3’s did he hit in the 4th quarter of game 6 of the NBA Finals? He is a great player and a Top 10 player right now...but don’t be silly.
I'd take AD over Steph.
Giannis and lebron
Key word "play".
Lakers arent playing him enough minutes to develop. He needs to get out of there
Look at the adjective, "play"!
Ten or fifteen years ago this would have been my reaction, too.
I mean honestly besides Levert and Hardaway Jr coudnt you make the argument all beilein players were "mismanaged?" Maybe just maybe what JB did as a coach in college doesn't translate for the players in the NBA
I think this is a very poor take. Belien’s players seemed to overachieve. I don’t think it’s the other way around.
At least one NBA scout agrees with the above:
"I don’t like drafting Michigan players because I think John Beilein takes average players and makes them look terrific. His guys get drafted high but don’t do much in our league."
This was over at The Athletic talking about the upcoming draft. That quote was specifically in the section about Iggy. Link is here.
He's like the opposite of Tom Izzo! In many, many ways...
Why do so many people on this board have to say "that's a bad take" when they disagree with something? Just because you disagree does not mean someone's opinion is bad. Also, I agree with JT ;-)
That is a terrible take.
Unfortunately, it’s mismanaged by another one of our men.
Too bad the Pelicans didn't work it out for him to be here. The Crescent City would love Mo!
Moving Mo! Say it ain’t so! That would be a major blow! There is no way he should go! Pelinka, don’t stoop so low!
If he stays would you stub your big toe? How about eat some crow? Would you eat it fast or slow? All for the sake of the Lakers keeping Moe?
That would blow.