There are a total of 5 contracts on the Lakers' payroll that are larger than the base salary, namely:
Wei Shao, 44.2 million;
James, 41.2 million;
Thick eyebrows, 35.4 million;
Horton Tucker, 9.5 million;
Nunn, 5 million.
Zhan Mei couldn't move, so only the other three had a point in discussing.
You can look at the case of the Lone Ranger who sent Porzingis away, the Lone Ranger took a second round and finally just completed the garbage contract swap. Wei Shao's contract is one year shorter than Bo Shen's, but the amount is larger, the attendance is much better, and the level is also much lower. You can weigh it yourself, how difficult it is to replace Wei Shao with immediate combat strength before the deadline.
Tucker's contract is a little smaller, because the past year has not shown enough progress, and signed a big contract, resulting in his sales plummeting, compared with last year, it is not the same. At this time, if he wants to fill in the draft, it is really a loss to his grandmother's family. Nunn's contract of this amount is not difficult to deal with, but also because the amount is small, the leverage that can be leveraged with the draft power is too small, and it is meaningless to move him.
Therefore, the Lakers can not be strengthened through the mid-term transaction, and even can not imitate the brave men of the Blazers next door, because the Blazers are saving the draft right while clearing the space, the Lakers can only use the draft right to clear the space (not necessarily able to do it), and at most can only clear out less than 27 million space, this space can not open 25% of the salary cap, help Ayton and Xiaoqiao raise the price. This space is more suitable for taking role players, which is equivalent to returning to the situation in the summer of 2019, after Stud's thick eyebrows, all relying on the free market to reshape the lineup, less Kuzma and Pop than at that time, Zhan Mei is taking a higher proportion of money, and the only progress is that there is no dead space for Deng Yingqiao.
The risk is too great, and the implementation is too difficult.
Therefore, before the trading deadline, the Operation of the Lakers will only have these consequences:
Without giving up this season, turning Westbrook's contract into a temporary battle force that will help the team – it is almost impossible, because westbrook contract will eat up the value added by the draft pick, and cannot exchange for players who are more useful than Westbrook;
Not giving up on this season and turning Tucker's (+Nunn) contract into a help for the team is an instant force – it's possible, but it's a bargain to sell. Tens of millions of salary quotas with draft picks, players who can get can not save the Lakers this season (Kuzma salary of 13 million, Pop 13 million, although premium, but the players will not be crushed their level), after all, the Lakers lost Caruso + Kuzma + Pop + Schroeder + Harrell, and you can only make up one, for the Lakers who are currently only at the play-off level and pursuing a championship, the cup of water is paid;
Give up this season, replace Wei Shao with an expired contract - the draft pick is very expensive, and can not clear out the top salary space, this summer must get a number of high-quality rotation players to barely enough, the risk is too big, and the maturity contract of Wei Shao's level is also exhausting;
Giving up this season, not wanting to send away the draft picks, just want to send away Wei Shao - referring to the Lone Ranger to send away The Wave God, the Lakers may not be able to do it.
You see, all kinds of changes are such a swing, the Lakers dare to move in the trading market to lose blood, can only wait to buy out the market.
The Lakers can't make a difference this season, which is a pity for fans and James, but the situation is not caused by the trade deadline, but the result of hollowing out the rotation trade westbrook at the moment. At this time, the most taboo thing is to make a mistake in order to correct a mistake, and then continue to pay for this mistake. It's like playing a MOBA game, the worst case scenario is that in order to save a teammate, everyone sends one by one in the past - if it is too late to save, the best way is not to save, sending one is always better than sending five, waiting for the next wave of team battles to come back.
Therefore, the Lakers can only endure this season first, and what kind of play it is. If you can replicate the plot of last season's recovery in the second half of Westbrook, it is best to reshape his value. If you can't, it doesn't matter, you'll find a way to do it during the vacation period.
If you're a James fan, it's true that time is not good for James himself. The 37-year-old veteran, no matter how high the level, will increase the difficulty of resisting aging a lot with each passing year:
The good news is that James' hard work, self-discipline and talent have allowed him to demonstrate the possibility of continuing his standards at an advanced age. This season, James' EPM is in the top 5 in the league, and this comparison is an industry-recognized influence data, which is in the same grade as Curry, Embiid, and Alphabet Brother. His three-point combination is the best in his career, the free throw shooting rate is the best in the past 8 seasons, the results of honing and shooting are remarkable, and he benefits from swinging to the No. 5 position, the decline in aggressive data is limited, and the steal rate and block rate are still the best in recent years. James' absolute level of unit time is still in a very high grade, and if he does not suffer a major injury, it is possible to expect him to maintain another season;
The bad news is that due to physical fitness, James has been unable to maintain his form in full form. This season, James' true shooting percentage in the first half was as high as 66.2%, falling to 56.6% in the second half, 56% in the fourth quarter, and only 53% of the key ball within 5 points of the last 5 minutes. It can be said that the more difficult it is, the more depressed it is. The fifth-highest in the league and the Lakers' career-highest playing time of 36.7 minutes per game, together with age, caused James to be weak in the later period.
Ideally, in the 22-23 season, James's peak combat strength will decline slightly, and he can still maintain a high level, but it will only be more difficult to maintain peak combat strength in each game. This trend is also consistent with the Lakers' desire to find someone to share James' ball-holding task, but Schroeder and Westbrook failed to complete the task.
James will continue to decline, but purely from the laker's point of view, the initiative in the future is still in his own hands.
The draft pick in the Hands of the Lakers goes like this:
In 2022, either for the Pelicans or for the Grizzlies;
In 2023, the Pelicans can be swapped with the Lakers;
In 2024 or 2025, the Pelicans can choose any one year.
This situation determines that the Lakers cannot be messed up from now until the end of 25 years.
But the next 3 seasons will still be much better than it is now. Considering the competitive environment in the West and the attendance rate of the Fat Tigers who have only played 85 games in three seasons, the probability of the Pelicans being much better than the Lakers in the 22-23 season is not high, and the 23-year draft pick is equivalent to retaining more than half. Even if the Lakers do nothing, Westbrook's contract in the summer of 2023 will expire, and the Lakers will basically not sign a high salary with James, and they have a lot of space to pursue a superstar. Who are the superstars who expire this year?
Jokic.
Will Jokic come?
Who knows. Jenny has adultery around her and management operations are constrained, which may reduce the lakers' attractiveness. But the Lakers still have time to turn this thing around, no matter what, this is Los Angeles, this is the Lakers.
Of course, maybe one day in July this year, your mobile phone can pop up the news of "shams: Jokic and nuggets signed a 5-year 245 million early contract renewal contract", then "Jokic + thick eyebrows" has become the most regrettable fantasy in the "intentional" community.
I just mean, things aren't desperate, and even if nothing is done, in the summer of 2023, the Lakers can rebuild the lineup with salary space.
You're not happy that I said that, because the 22-23 season, james' last season with the Lakers, is the focus of attention, and it won't be the summer of 23 years to solve the problem. In order to take advantage of James' final-year contract, the Lakers can't do nothing.
This is true, but there is still good news:
Westbrook's contracts will become easier to handle over time. This season, it's a terrible 2-year garbage contract. This summer, it was a one-year expiry contract, and by next year's trade deadline, it would have been a contract with only 30 games left. Dealing with such contracts would be much less difficult than it is now;
Since the farthest can only use the draft picks in 7 years, and the Lakers' 22-25 year contract is dominated by the Pelicans (Grizzlies), and 25 years of domination leads to 26 years of can not be sent away, so the Lakers can now use the draft picks, only 27 years of first round, and 26 and 28 years of first round exchange rights. But when it comes to the vacation period, the Lakers can still use the first round of 29 years, so that the Lakers have 2 first rounds + 2 first rounds of exchanges, which is a little more than the assets that can be used now.
That is to say, the longer the time, the better the players that Wei Shao + Lakers can exchange for all the draft rights.
So, who can the Lakers exchange for?
It's hard to say. Simmons trade has been buzzing for so long, who would have thought that the 76ers would trade him for Harden?
In addition, the assets sent away by the Lakers are not small in the eyes of different families. The 27-year-old star is out, and the home team will not think that the Lakers' draft pick is worth a lot. But the elderly star left, the home team will be relatively optimistic about the Lakers' draft pick, after all, with the patience and state trend of thick eyebrows, the other star is old, and he is afraid that he will not be able to lead the team (if he was still in the Lakers at that time).
However, judging from the stud case in recent years, when the top stars leave the team, the next family pays not only the draft picks, but also the potential young people. For example, clippers stud George sent SGA, Lakers Stud Ha raised eyebrows to send Ingram, Ball, Hart, and the Nets and 76ers got Harden to send away high-value players including Allen, LeVert, Simmons, and Curry Jr. The only one who did not send away the high-value young man was the Bucks Stud Holliday, when the Bucks gave the Pelicans 3 first round + 2 first round exchanges, but holliday was an expired contract, and the second was that Holliday was not at the level of the previous few after all.
The good news is that because the league is in the ruins after the "stud nuclear war", most teams have no combat power in the trading market, and the draft picks in the bad zone will not participate in this kind of thing, so in the case of the star designated to go to the Lakers, they may have a chance.
The bad news is that Lillard and Bill's side has temporarily stopped, and the swap between Simmons and Harden is over. The Lakers need a little bit of fate to see who will appear in the market.
A deal that could save everything is a chance for the Lakers to flip the tables in the final year of James' contract. But it should be emphasized that if they do not meet a particularly satisfactory candidate, the Lakers cannot force a big deal. The undeniable fact is that James is 37 years old and we can believe that he still has oil in the 22-23 season, but it is also the last year of his contract. If the Stars taken by the Lakers for the second stud are not enough to support an era with thick eyebrows after James, then the Lakers will fall into the cycle, originally there will be space in the summer of 23 years, and after 25 years, they will not owe draft picks, so that the Lakers will support until 2029, think about the tolerance of thick eyebrows...
The Lakers this wave of team building is not a loss, one to win the championship, the second is that James joined as a free agent, and the Lakers Studha in exchange for a relatively young superstar (thick eyebrows are younger than George, Kawaii, Harden), even if they make major operational mistakes, the Lakers still have good prospects for the future.
The premise is that mistakes cannot be made again.
Many people joked that if James returned to the Cavaliers, he would not be able to do so. In fact, it is not without a plan, but at this time, for a variety of reasons, this matter will not be brought up. In the summer of 2018, James came to the Lakers, and this summer is exactly 4 years. James has a 4-year cycle, but the current contract, age and comprehensive consideration outside of basketball should determine that he will not move again. But in the summer of 2022, if the Lakers can't do something, it really can't stand james's peak.
This is a very tangled situation, do you want to jump out of the loop?
It takes a little luck to know the right answer.