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The opportunity to acquire Kawhi Leonard this summer is ruled out for the Los Angeles Lakers, unless there's an impressive change in plans after Leonard was sent to the Toronto Raptors earlier during the week.
So what about the Lakers' hopes of adding a second star player to join the recently signed LeBron James?
The Lakers 2018-2019 Alignment Is Now Finished
When the Lakers Officially Finished JaVale McGee and Lance Stephenson's Offers Last Week, They Exhausted Their Salary Space, Leaving 4.49 Million Mid-level dollars as the only way to add a free agent who earns more than a minimum wage. Most of these contracts were for one year and $ 3.5 million for Michael Beasley, which was announced on Friday. The signing of Beasley gives the Lakers a list of 15 players with guaranteed contract for 2018-2019.
The Lakers already have 14 players with a contract for 2018-2018 and have begun to complete their roster for the training camp with the signing of Joel Berry and Jeffrey Carroll as unselected free agents . Add the bidirectional contract for Alex Caruso and the Lakers have three remaining places on their list of 20 players
It remains to be seen if the group of free agents who added the Lakers with offers of a year including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Rajon Rondo, in addition to Beasley, McGee and Stephenson, can live up to the general office's vision of putting game makers and advocates around LeBron. The approach of the team to the addition of perimeter depth will surely give Luke Walton intriguing alignment options
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espn.com/app "[19659009] With McGee as the only center of training experience, which also includes first-round selection Moritz Wagner and reserve Ivica Zubac, Walton should have many opportunities to try smaller and harder alignments with James in the center. A Lakers leader told Eric Pincus of the Bleacher Report that the coaching staff was "eager to see" what he called his "death version" of the Golden State Warriors, with LeBron in the middle flanked by the last draft picks – Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart as bases and Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma as cornices
The success or failure of these units could determine how much the Lakers give priority by adding a traditional pivot to their core. in the future. In the short term, the list of Lakers is flawed enough that it is unlikely that they will challenge the Warriors and the Houston Rockets for the supremacy of the Western Conference. Given the depth of the conference, the Lakers did not even get a spot in the playoffs, although it would probably take James a long absence for the Lakers to finish the lottery.
However, all that the Lakers have done since James was signed, follow that they are looking more for what they can do in 2019-2020 and beyond instead of trying to get all the possible winnings this season. Therefore, one-year contracts for veterans to preserve salary space and multi-year agreements with unsecured seasons for second-round picks Isaac Bonga and Svi Mykhailiuk, potential players for the future Lakers teams
Where will they be? Lakers in the summer of 2019?
Depending on where the pay limit comes in and where your first round pick falls, the Lakers are currently projecting a $ 24 million payroll capacity next summer. Remember, however, that the total still includes Luol Deng. In one of the biggest surprises of the summer, the Lakers kept Deng instead of changing it because they failed to convince another free player (for example, Paul George) to join James in Los Angeles.
The Lakers will give Deng next summer, his salary will be on the books for only two years instead of three, and in a slightly lower amount ($ 6.2 million). So stretching Deng would give the Lakers up to $ 36 million in the space provided, more than enough to sign a player with seven to nine years of experience up to a maximum contract.
Because Deng will have a salary season left, it is possible that the Lakers can eliminate books completely through an exchange without having to give up several first round selections. For example, if the Lakers could convince a team to take Deng with their first-round pick in 2019, that would bring them a salary cap of $ 43 million.
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With this kind of money, the Lakers could sign Leonard or another free agent with seven or nine years of experience, a group that also includes Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker. Then they would still have $ 11 million more or less in the expected salary space, perhaps enough to convince Caldwell-Pope or Rondo to stay in a one-year deal. By that time, the Lakers could regain more money in a long – term deal in the summer of 2020 using bird rights. (Moving to Deng would also allow the Lakers to make a maximum bid to a player with more than 10 years of experience, with Kevin Durant as a potential target there.)
Ideally, the Lakers would see Ball or Ingram become a third star that has been the necessary part of the championship formula in recent years. In fact, it is likely that recent Lakers projects produce solid players in the worst case to Hart (MVP in the Las Vegas Summer League 2018) and Kuzma (first All-Rockie team).
The Lakers have an agreement for Kawhi?
Assuming Leonard reports and passes the physical exams in Toronto, it is still conceivable that the Lakers could acquire him this season via an exchange. After all, an obstacle – the refusal of the San Antonio Spurs to change Leonard to an opponent of the Western Conference, and specifically the Lakers – no longer exists. However, a second change from Leonard remains a distant possibility.
Of course, the Raptors will try to convince Leonard to win with them this season. Therefore, it is realistic for Toronto to try to change Leonard only if the team does not work so well and Kawhi remains healthy enough to contribute this year. Otherwise, there is not much sense for the Lakers or anyone else to offer him much, since the only advantage he's offering is the opportunity of To give Leonard an 8% increase when he signs up with them again instead of 5% increase that can be obtained by signing up with a new team.
If such an opportunity materializes in any way, the Lakers should weigh the benefit of adding Leonard this season and increase their chances of re-signing it against the cost of giving up young talent and the project chooses in an agreement. If the Lakers are convinced that they can sign Leonard as a free agent and do not think they can compete with the Warriors this year, it is better to wait until next summer and try to add Leonard at his current core without giving up anything.
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