The annual salary of 10 million is released, and now the whole league is rushing to ask for it, and the Lakers are repentant, the most failed deal

The NBA regular season is currently in the final phase, and teams are gradually preparing for the playoffs. As the defending champions, the Nuggets will gradually gain momentum after entering the playoffs. It looks like the Nuggets are still the strongest force in the West. Their overall squad structure is outstanding. There's a great pitcher, there's a top-notch interior lineman, there's a tough defender. It looks like they still have a clear advantage over most teams after the playoffs.

You must know that the Nuggets lineup was not so strong in previous years, and they were not even the Lakers' opponents in the playoffs at that time. However, after going through reinforcements, the Nuggets have formed a strong lineup. In 2020, the Lakers defeated the Nuggets to win that year's championship. But unexpectedly, the Lakers did not keep their championship team in the offseason, and Pelinka chose to split their championship team. Champion members who have performed well in the playoffs have left one after another, such as Howard, Danny Green, and so on.

That offseason, Pope signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Lakers. But after one season with the Lakers, he was traded to the Wizards the following year as a bargaining chip to trade Willis. Harrell and Kuzma were also sent away.

At that time, Pope's annual salary was only $13 million, and Wei Shao was on a contract with the highest salary. The Lakers had the option to keep him at the time. Because the Lakers were short of pitchers at the time. Judging from Pope's performance now, the annual salary at that time was really an extremely cabbage price. At the moment, Pope is a veritable top 3D player. And if the current Pope chooses not to exercise his player option and jump out of his contract this offseason, most teams across the league will rush to get it. When a player goes to any team, he will immediately improve the team's immediate power.

Pope talked about the Lakers trading him last year, and he thinks the Lakers' choice to trade him did hurt him a bit, especially since they just won the championship. He had thought he himself would be with the Lakers for a long time.

Indeed, the Lakers' choice at the time did puzzle many people, and they should be the only team in NBA history to choose to split the roster after the team won the championship. Pope has now become one of the key players of the Nuggets and helped the Nuggets win the championship last season. The players who left the Lakers one after another played very well, but the Lakers let the team start to decline after the trade, and did not continue the glory of the team in 2020.

So the impact of the offseason management on a team is huge. If the Lakers don't make the playoffs this year or get into the playoffs and then get eliminated prematurely, hopefully Pelinka will be cautious this offseason. The Lakers have squandered championship opportunities from past few seasons. Originally, James had a chance to continue to attack his fifth championship ring.