Interpretation of the Cavaliers owner's refusal to send Mitchell to the Lakers: Not because of hatred for Lao Zhan He once prevented Paul from teaming up with Kobe

From a dozen to five

2024-05-21 13:06Posted in Shandong Sports Creators

After the Cavaliers were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals, rumors spread that the Lakers would chase Donovan Mitchell. But according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert "will never send Mitchell to the Lakers."

Many people may think that Gilbert's reluctance to "assist" the Lakers is due to Gilbert's relationship with LeBron James, but in fact, the real reason is that Gilbert has a natural hatred for a big-market team like the Lakers.

At that time, the leader of the labor negotiations that demanded the weakening of the giants was Gilbert. In the Chris Paul trade case that year, it was Gilbert who wrote to Stern, then president of the league, to block the trade.

Lack of chips, the Lakers' realistic difficulties

The Lakers have been interested in Mitchell for a long time, and on the demand side, they are eager to get Mitchell and let him serve as a core point guard.

The Lakers have more chips to trade this offseason than they did at the trade deadline, but when it comes to the entire trade market, the Lakers don't have much advantage.

The Lakers chose not to send away the first-round pick before the trade deadline this year, so that the number of first-round picks that the Lakers can trade this offseason will increase from one to three (one in 2024 or 2025, 2029 and 2031), and the Lakers have up to five first-round swap rights and five second-round picks to use. According to normal market conditions, the Lakers can at least make an offer for Mitchell and go to the negotiating table first.

However, compared to teams such as the Thunder, Knicks, and Nets, the Lakers do not have enough draft picks. If the Lakers are willing to send Austin Reaves, maybe the Lakers' offer will be more attractive, but I'm afraid the Lakers still want to get Mitchell without sending Reaves.

Gilbert, Mitchell to the Lakers' resistance

The news that Gilbert is reluctant to send Mitchell to the Lakers is not surprising at all, as the owner of the team, he definitely doesn't want his star to run to other teams, not to mention that this team is still the Lakers.

It's no secret that the Cavaliers are small-market teams with minimal allure for big-name stars, and for years Gilbert has been unhappy with the "rich get richer" phenomenon, and he has a natural hostility to big-market teams. Everyone is spending money, and I don't spend less money than you, so why do your big market teams have an advantage?

So, in the 2011 collective bargains, Gilbert was the leader of the protests against the phenomenon of the rich getting richer. After the 2011 collective bargaining agreement was agreed, there was an additional rule that the big-market teams took out more revenue shares, which led to the Lakers and Knicks, who signed sky-high local broadcast contracts, being forced to take out more of their own revenue to small-market teams. In other words, the money the Lakers earn not only has to support themselves, but also has to use it to fund small-market teams. The small market teams all have to thank Gilbert, who took the lead in winning them over.

One of Gilbert's most famous things was to prevent Paul from joining the Lakers. After collective bargaining agreements were reached in 2011, the Lakers reached a trade agreement to get Paul. When Gilbert saw it, he was directly angry. Finally won the policy to resist the big market team, and the Lakers got Paul?

Gilbert sent a letter to Stern, then president of the Alliance, the contents of which were later exposed by the US media, in which he wrote:

"It would be a farce to let the Lakers get Paul in the trade being discussed. The deal should have been voted on by the Hornets' 29 owners (note: the Hornets were in escrow at the time). ”

"Over the next three seasons, the deal will save the Lakers about $20 million in salary and about $21 million in luxury taxes. Originally, the $21 million luxury tax could have been distributed to non-luxury tax teams to increase their revenues. ”

"I can't remember seeing a team that got the best player on the trade market and saved over $40 million in the process. And they don't seem to be giving up any draft picks, which could give them a chance to get Dwight Howard in a follow-up trade. ”

"I just don't understand how we can allow this kind of trading to happen. I know the vast majority of bosses feel the same way as me. ”

As you know, Stern vetoed the deal for basketball reasons, Paul was eventually sent to the Clippers, and the Lakers' wishful thinking of trading for Paul first and then using chips to trade for Howard fell through.

As for the relationship between Gilbert and James, the two sides did tear their faces when James left the Cavaliers for the first time, and Gilbert also published an open letter in the newspaper to curse Old Zhan. But when James returned to the Cavaliers, the two reached a settlement under the lead of agent Rich Paul, and James led the Cavaliers to a championship before leaving the Cavaliers again in 2018, this time Gilbert has nothing but gratitude and blessings to James. The two are still not friends in private, but at least they can get by on the face, at least they are not enemies.

In the future, James may still fall back to his roots, and Gilbert can't target James, he is targeting the Lakers.

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