Lakers OFF-SEASON IS A WRAP

[licensed to ball]

we get Towns, sign Danny green and Middleton, resign Ed, and have a healthy Kobe (I know, it's not much anymore...)next year...

You really think that's only a 35 win season P?

 

[pmatic]

we get Towns, sign Danny green and Middleton, resign Ed, and have a healthy Kobe (I know, it's not much anymore...)next year...

You really think that's only a 35 win season P?

There's not enough money to spend on those three guys (Green, Middleton and Boss). Cap space should be around $22M once they decline Hill's option. That's enough for one max guy and Boss or Boss, one tier two free agent and a decent spare.

Another guy that could be on the market this summer is Luol Deng. The Lakers have had interest in him since the Kobe trade demand days. He doesn't help three years down the road, but he's still a quality player. Sign him for a year at like $13-15M. He was only slated to make $10.1M with the Heat this upcoming season. I don't think the Heat would match a substantial offer either, looking at their cap for the foreseeable future.

 

[CP1708]

Mike BresnahanVerified account
‏@Mike_Bresnahan
Laker fans rejoice: Salary cap will go from approx. $67 million next season to about $90 million for 2016-17, NBA Commish Adam Silver said.

 

[MVP]

Bruh... back up the brinks truck to KD's door.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

How do we compare with respect to salary cap space to other teams?

 

[ognikehead85]

 

[CP1708]

How do we compare with respect to salary cap space to other teams?

Everyone will have space. Everyone.

But not every team has the cash flow/deep pockets that we do.

 

[MVP]

We'll have to wait to see what they do this summer in FA but assuming they pick up Julius's option and we have Towns/Okafor, Bummy P is the only guaranteed deal at 5.4 mil. I don't think we're over 35 mil by next summer considering we have only 22 to spend this summer.

 

[essential1]

$22.4mil in cap space if no Hill / Davis. Can open up almost $2mil more in cap space by trading up from 27 & 34. And cutting Sacre & Brown.

With cap at $89mil, take what we spend in 2015, and add 5%, we end up with $43.5mil in cap space.. A KD max would be $26.7mil

View media item 1567101

You factor in what we'd likely have to pay to keep Clarkson & Black in RFA.. We won't have any cap space in 2017. But in 2016, we could give a 30% max, and 3/4 of the way to a 25% max and then re-sign Clarkson & Black.

 

[VinMillerHearn58]

Was going through youtube, I remember this game vividly. That 4th quarter

 

[pmatic]

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/6/5/8717141/la-lakers-ed-davis-nba-free-agent

Pls come back.



Towns, Randle, Boss would be a great front court rotation with a Kelly or Black cameo here and there.

 

[fun guy]

Towns grabbing lunch with Randle in beverly hills. We'll see how he reacts when he interviews in minny haha

 

[mr j 858]

Our future front court brah's:

 

[essential1]

Tobias Harris Would Complete Rapid Rebuild of Los Angeles Lakers Frontcourt
By Alec Nathan , Featured Columnist Jun 2, 2015

The Los Angeles Lakers need an upgrade at small forward, and luring restricted free agent Tobias Harris to Hollywood could be the perfect way to solidify what's soon to be one of the NBA's most promising young frontcourts.

After pegging Julius Randle as their power forward of the future with the seventh pick in last year's draft, the Lakers will have a chance to anoint either Duke center Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns as the franchise's mainstay in the middle.

Assuming the team travels down one of those paths in the draft, the Purple and Gold will have a gaping hole at small forward. While Nick Young played 70 percent of his minutes at the 3 before suffering a small fracture in his left kneecap last season, he's better suited as a microwave scorer off the bench. And beyond Young, the Lakers don't have many other options on the wing. Wesley Johnson is about to become an unrestricted free agent, leaving Ryan Kelly as the de facto place-filler at small forward.

That's where Harris comes in.

The Lakers are entering this summer with a shade over $35 million in guarantees on their books. Now, that number can climb as high as $49.8 million should LA exercise Jordan Hill's $9 million team option and bring back players with smaller team options.

But either way, the team will have enough flexibility to add an impact player in free agency.

"Currently, the Lakers can afford to make some moves in free agency, but nothing major outside of signing one max player," LakersNation.com's Ryan Ward wrote.

The 22-year-old Harris—who just wrapped up his fourth pro season—fits the bill. That is, if the Orlando Magic aren't interested in retaining his services.

"There's a lot of things you have to look at in any type of free agency, but what I think what everybody's beginning to forget is that [I'll be] a restricted free agent," Harris said in April, according to the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins. "So whatever happens, it's in the organization's hands to make a call."

Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler explained the ins and outs of Harris' status as a restricted free agent:

There have been a number of teams linked to Harris including the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and even Atlanta Hawks. The Magic have the means to match anything offered to Harris in free agency. Given where the salary cap is headed, the Magic have to spend money and pretty soon they may have a hard time reaching the salary floor given where they are at in guaranteed money. The belief is that the Magic would match almost anything under $13 million a season, the question is will Harris get an offer sheet worth more than that number in July and will the Magic budge off their price range?

So one way or another, Harris is going to receive a serious raise.

Not only is he seasoned for a 22-year-old, but the swingman displayed tremendous growth as a scorer last year. During his second full season in Orlando, Harris averaged a career-high 17.1 points on 14 shots per game over the course of 68 appearances (63 starts).

But check this out: Harris also finished as one of six players to average at least 17 points, six rebounds and a steal. Those are admittedly arbitrary cutoff points, but it's still an impressive club to reside in considering the other five members were Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, DeMarcus Cousins and Carmelo Anthony.

What should have potential buyers like the Lakers salivating, though, is how much progress Harris made as a three-point shooter. After launching 2.1 threes per game during the 2013-14 season, he boosted that average tally to 3.5. And with a heavier volume came revelatory results.

View media item 1568914
At season's end, Harris had drilled 36.4 percent of his threes, which represented an 11 percent bump from the year prior. But the real eye-opener came when Harris stepped into analytically-friendly corners.

Literally.

Harris jacked 42.7 percent of his total threes from the corners and hit on a career-best 45.1 percent of them. For context, his second-best knockdown rate from those small surface areas came in 2011-12, when 33.3 percent of those looks fell through the net.

What that says is Harris can be a steady catch-and-shoot threat—one who would be able to play effectively off the more ball-dominant Kobe Bryant. Heck, Harris is just coming off a career year that saw him average the third-most shots on the Magic behind Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo.

In that regard, touches shouldn't be problematic.

However, it's important to remember Harris is still 22 years old, and his game is years away from rounding into pristine form.

"The ball has a tendency to stick once it reaches Harris' hands, ultimately hurting any flow that the Magic's offense may have," Zach Oliver wrote over at the Orlando Pinstriped Post. "While he improved his percentages from both beyond the arc and the field as a whole, his shot selection from time-to-time is questionable."

View media item 1568922
But everything we've seen from Harris thus far, developmentally speaking, is encouraging. At 6'8" and 226 pounds with an improved three-point stroke, Harris can play both forward spots and not function as a liability.

As a matter of fact, Harris posted a higher player efficiency rating (19.1) at power forward than he did at small forward (16.0) last season, according to 82games.com.

The bigger question is if Harris can make similar strides on defense. During the 2014-15 slate, Orlando was 3.8 points worse per 100 defensive possessions with Harris on the floor. The 106.7 defensive rating they recorded during those 2,369 minutes would have equated to the league's fourth-worst overall.

That's a legitimate concern, to be sure, but it shouldn't prevent the Lakers from making a hard run at Harris. Not only does he offer LA a chance to compete during what's widely assumed to be Bryant's final season with the franchise, but at 22 years old, he can offer a sustainable solution on the wing for years to come.

Matched with Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and the big of Los Angeles' choosing, Harris could help propel the Lakers back into postseason contention after matching the longest playoff drought (two years) in franchise history.

Signing him may very well require an aggressive pursuit that prices the Magic out of contention, but these are the Lakers we're talking about. They're not passive about spending, particularly when it comes to the long-term betterment of the franchise.

If they get serious about signing Harris, the franchise could have its frontcourt of the future penciled in—with two of those players under team control on rookie deals and salary-cap swelling on the horizon.

With opportunity for immediate improvement and the promise of future growth, the Lakers—for the first time in years—have a chance to make meaningful splashes throughout the summer.

Now it's time to see if they can seize the opportunity.

The ball stopper, and defense should be a concern of course. But I think with better talent around him, and guys who have some offensive game that doesn't shrink the court, it will give him better looks, and help his shot selection.

The defense, that's an issue, but perhaps spending money in 2015 for a 3 & D guy, and 2016 for a defensive presence in the paint could change what he's looking at. The Magic core players (Oladipo, Payton & Vuc) are not anything to write home about either on defense.


If you look at the front court:
SF: Harris
PF: Randle
C: Towns (Towns makes it that much better, and I wish we'd know if we had Harris first because then 27 & 34 would be out the door for Towns)


We'd have some versatility out there with Harris & Towns who can play the 4.

Allows us to have a trade chip in Tarik Black. I honestly don't see Black here for very long. His RFA status for 2016 is why. With Clarkson a RFA as well. We can't really afford to have to pay Clarkson (we will need to) and pay Black as a quality bench piece when we may want some guys in 2017. Trading Black gives us a cheap commodity (Draft Pick).

Also think about 2016. Say we have a legit shot at Kevin Durant....

SF: KD
PF: Randle
C: Towns


Guess who becomes the perfect 6th man who can eat 30+ minutes at the 3 & 4? Tobias Harris.

 

[comptonprince]

Towns is Dominican right?

 

[MVP]

 
Towns is Dominican right?

Nah he's black.

 

[mr j 858]

Towns is Dominican right?

Yup.

Here he is going up against uni brow:

View media item 1568959

 

[ognikehead85]

 
Towns is Dominican right?

His mom is Dominican and his father is black 

 

[comptonprince]

Yup.

Here he is going up against uni brow:

Lol look like they could be related 

 

[moonman818]

 
Towns is Dominican right?

His mom is Dominican and his father is black 

LOL

 

[MVP]

 
His mom is Dominican and his father is black 

So his mom and father are black?

 

[comptonprince]

 
His mom is Dominican and his father is black 

 

[moonman818]

 


His mom is Dominican and his father is black 

They aren't mutually exclusive



Towns lookin comfortable out here tho

 

[kal-el-8]

Who cares he's really good and could be ours

 

[ognikehead85]

Who cares he's really good and could be ours

this...