Lakers: Serious Question. How will you fix the Laker mess?

[ElNono]

Assuming Howard re signs a max, any contract they take back will cost them at least 4x that salary in tax.

I know the Lakers are rich, but they aren't that rich. They're going to have to dump his salary for expirings and very cheap players/picks.

You can't do that. You have to match salaries (max difference is 20% IIRC). Lakers are paying lux tax on those nearly $20 mill whether Pau is there or some other players are there for him.

[Richie]

You can't do that. You have to match salaries (max difference is 20% IIRC). Lakers are paying lux tax on those nearly $20 mill whether Pau is there or some other players are there for him.

Exactly, but next year the tax goes from $1:$1 (salary:tax) to possibly over $1:$4. That means if Gasol stays or they still have his salary on the books next year, they could be paying over $80m in tax on top of his $20m salary just to keep him.

Over $90m in salary the tax is $3.75 for the first $5m then increases by 0.50 every $5m after that. If Howard re signs then the Lakers salary will be around $90m without Gasol. With him, his contract puts their salary to around the $110m mark which is an additional $80m+ in tax.

This year the Lakers have a $100m salary and pay an additional $30m in tax (the lux threshold is $70m). Next year, $100m in salary will cost them over $85m in tax, and $110m in salary over $135m in tax.

If they dump him for expiring contracts this year, they will still have the tax hit this year of around $30m because the salaries will have to match, but will save over $100m next year.

[Seventyniner]

You can't do that. You have to match salaries (max difference is 20% IIRC). Lakers are paying lux tax on those nearly $20 mill whether Pau is there or some other players are there for him.

They could dump him on a team with cap space. Pau will be an expiring contract next season so a team with tons of cap space that whiffs on everybody might take him. Cleveland might do it because it would preserve their 2014 cap space for LeBron.

Of course, the Cavs could put the squeeze on and demand Jordan Hill too. It would be kind of funny to see the Lakers play the part of the desparate party.

[024]

DHO needs better spacing and that means the lakers need an infusion of 3 pt shooters. howard keeps getting stripped on the rare moments he gets the ball in the post. that is because the opposing team aren't worried about pau, metta, or kobe making a 3 pointer so they can easily double off their man. the only player on the lakers that can reliably hit a 3 is steve nash.

their second problem is the luxury tax. that means the lakers need to start getting rid of the dead weight. if they want to keep howard, they have to trade gasol for some 3 point shooters and expiring contracts. something like a package of stephen jackson and matt bonner + maybe another 3 pt shooter from a third team.

[ElNono]

Exactly, but next year the tax goes from $1:$1 (salary:tax) to possibly over $1:$4. That means if Gasol stays or they still have his salary on the books next year, they could be paying over $80m in tax on top of his $20m salary just to keep him.

Over $90m in salary the tax is $3.75 for the first $5m then increases by 0.50 every $5m after that. If Howard re signs then the Lakers salary will be around $90m without Gasol. With him, his contract puts their salary to around the $110m mark which is an additional $80m+ in tax.

This year the Lakers have a $100m salary and pay an additional $30m in tax (the lux threshold is $70m). Next year, $100m in salary will cost them over $85m in tax, and $110m in salary over $135m in tax.

If they dump him for expiring contracts this year, they will still have the tax hit this year of around $30m because the salaries will have to match, but will save over $100m next year.

They could dump him on a team with cap space. Pau will be an expiring contract next season so a team with tons of cap space that whiffs on everybody might take him. Cleveland might do it because it would preserve their 2014 cap space for LeBron.

Of course, the Cavs could put the squeeze on and demand Jordan Hill too. It would be kind of funny to see the Lakers play the part of the desparate party.

To me, Gasol is the guy with the most value to trade for actual pieces instead of expirings. If you want to trade for expirings and shred the same amount of salary (or more), you trade Nash/Metta/Blake, who are set to make almost $22 mill combined next season.

[pad300]

First, acknowledge that this season is a bust. Therefore, start preparing for the future. This means that Kobe doesn't get a voice in decisions from now on. He is not the future. Accept that there is going to be pain for a year or 3. Acknowledge that there is no point in paying lux tax for a ty team.

Then
Quietly talk to the Nets about trading them Dwight for Lopez. If you can get say
Dwight + Hill + Ebanks for Lopez+Wallace
Do that at the deadline. Amnesty Kobe before the lux tax calculation. That pair of moves get you out of the lux tax this year.

13/14, you start around a core of
Nash
Wallace (as the SG)
MWP
Clark/Jamison
Gasol/Lopez

You have a ton of expirings at the deadline Gasol, MWP, Duhon, Blake.... Try and use them well (although, if I thought Gasol would take a reduced role & salary, I would be tempted to keep him. I suspect that he'd be quite good value at @21-24 $M/3 years). Try and use the famous draw effect of the LAL to get good young FA's.

[Ashy Larry]

How do you fix this mess????

You can't. As long as Bryant is shooting 32% while eating first and the defense continues to suck ass, won't change. It's a damn shame when the only bright spot has been MWP early and Earl Clark currently.

[ElNono]

How do you fix this mess????

You can't. As long as Bryant is shooting 32% while eating first and the defense continues to suck ass, won't change. It's a damn shame when the only bright spot has been MWP early and Earl Clark currently.

You might not entirely fix it, but you gotta break some eggs to make an omelette... what Mike D is saying right now is, let's move Gasol to the bench and keep playing, eventually we'll get better and win... but that obviously ignores a lot of what's going on in the team (Dwight limited touches, D non-existent, old team trying to run, no bench, etc etc etc)

[Richie]

To me, Gasol is the guy with the most value to trade for actual pieces instead of expirings. If you want to trade for expirings and shred the same amount of salary (or more), you trade Nash/Metta/Blake, who are set to make almost $22 mill combined next season.

Who's gonna take Metta and Blakes contracts? The Grizz just had to give up a future 1st to get rid of $4m, what do the Lakers have to get teams to take Metta and Blake?

As for Nash, he'd get offers but he's actually one of the best value players the Lakers have and if they give up him who is going to get the ball to Dwight and Pau? Kobe gonna be the primary ball hander again? They absolutely can't trade Nash IMO, and I don't know who would want MWP and Steve Blake

[ElNono]

Who's gonna take Metta and Blakes contracts? The Grizz just had to give up a future 1st to get rid of $4m, what do the Lakers have to get teams to take Metta and Blake?

Who would trade Kwame Brown and Critterton for Pau Gasol?
Who would trade Bynum with a completely destroyed knee for Dwight Howard?
Who would trade Kapono and Luke Walton for an expiring, young Ramon Sessions?

you get the gist...

[Jt.ONE]

in all honestly, MDA has been a huge gotbust.

i admit at first i had thoughts that it might work, but MDA has been way too adamant about certain things and not adapting clean enough to his new situation.
i believe at the bulls game yesterday, he had a subtle line of "we need to run more" in his half-time interview with craig sager. seriously?

[StrengthAndHonor]

Asked about his defensive adjustment against the Bulls MDA screaming on the top of his lungs said "Lets go! Lets go! Lets go!"

[StrengthAndHonor]

But the problem of tax is still there. If they trade Howard for pieces and get non expiring contracts back, they will still need to trade Pau or be left with the monster tax bill. .

Oh yeah no doubt. The Lakers will be imposed with the luxury tax, Dwight or no Dwight. They know this and thats why they have everything expiring after 2014 with the exception of Nash and Blake. The heavy weights (Gasol, Bryant, MWP) will all expire at the same year.


Gasol is a goner after this year anyway. I have reasons to believe that even if Dwight leaves, Lakers will move Gasol in the off season.



Here's the thing. The Lakers must decide if they want to win with Kobe or with Dwight. They can't do both. Obviously, they want to keep Dwight but they need to show Howard they're willing to make drastic changes RIGHT NOW, even if its at the expense of Kobe's legacy. Currently, the way they're constructed simply points out to fit Kobe's timeline and this is why Howard is so upset. He's being used as a pawn to give Kobe a grand and successful exit.

[Ashy Larry]

Because Pau has a contract that can bring some good pieces. Pau is also a guy that you can tell has a bruised ego. Right now he's 3rd in 'star pecking order' in LA, and he's the kind of guy that wants to be number 1 or number 2...

He's also not all mentally and physically there...

moreso a number 2 .... when he was the second fiddle, the Lakers won two les. But I think what really hurt them was two things: (1) the offense. We knew Pau would be in the post or at the elbows for a free throw line J or he would work his way into the post and (2) Lamar Odom. When they started with Bynum, Pau usually stayed high post and occasionally get on the box. Once Odom came in and when they ran the offense inside-out, he received touches. Now? Dude is like an astronaut in space when he's at the three point line.

Question is, can you move Gasol not even knowing if Howard is coming back???

[spurraider21]

Deal dwight for Brook Lopez + contract fillers
Play out 1 more season
Let Kobe and Pau expire after next season
Start over

[ElNono]

moreso a number 2 .... when he was the second fiddle, the Lakers won two les. But I think what really hurt them was two things: (1) the offense. We knew Pau would be in the post or at the elbows for a free throw line J or he would work his way into the post and (2) Lamar Odom. When they started with Bynum, Pau usually stayed high post and occasionally get on the box. Once Odom came in and when they ran the offense inside-out, he received touches. Now? Dude is like an astronaut in space when he's at the three point line.

Question is, can you move Gasol not even knowing if Howard is coming back???

If Dwight leaves, you have to blow it up anyways. After tossing Pau under the bus and basically blaming this entire season on him, they're going to turn around and tell him "hmm... Dwight left, can you be our star franchise center?"... I don't think it works like that, tbh...

[Latarian Milton]

a few consistent shooters would surely help better the situation imho, and the _'antoni also needs to drop his fun-and-gun strategy and revert to their old style which won them 2 les in a row. they were a scary team when they could rain 3's night in and night out but they're now bricking everything from downtown. can't believe the lakers and mavs were NBA champs just 2-3 years ago and they're now both about to miss the playoffs

[Stalin]

a few consistent shooters would surely help better the situation imho, and the _'antoni also needs to drop his fun-and-gun strategy and revert to their old style which won them 2 les in a row. they were a scary team when they could rain 3's night in and night out but they're now bricking everything from downtown. can't believe the lakers and mavs were NBA champs just 2-3 years ago and they're now both about to miss the playoffs

mavs fluke championship not such a surprise, but the lakers, somewhat shocking

[Riddler]

Dwight bringing a stat sheet around the locker room.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Heat are next tbh. I bet Miami implodes next season. Contenders have this 3 year window and then boom! Implosion. You guys have 2 great seasons on the book, which means this year is your last hurrah.

[Riddler]

Heat are next tbh. I bet Miami implodes next season. Contenders have this 3 year window and then boom! Implosion. You guys have 2 great seasons on the book, which means this year is your last hurrah.

Nope. LeBron actually makes his teammates better.

[Latarian Milton]

lakers at least made the 2nd round twice after their last championship win. it's more like the lakers slide down the ramp while the mavs jump off the board and fall onto the ground face down tbh

[LakeShow]

in all honestly, MDA has been a huge gotbust.

i admit at first i had thoughts that it might work, but MDA has been way too adamant about certain things and not adapting clean enough to his new situation.
i believe at the bulls game yesterday, he had a subtle line of "we need to run more" in his half-time interview with craig sager. seriously?

This! The Lakers have no iden y, you dont know who's going to play game to game. He has no clue on how to run a half court game, which is the only game this lakers team should play with this lineup. We can blame Kobe for shooting too much, Nash for being a little pussy, Gasol for being a big pussy and Dwight Howard for not playing 48 minutes but they have a coach that obviously doesnt know what he's doing. We need to run more???? WTF, take that to phoenix, this is LA, we're used to either winning a le or competing for one here.

The Lakers organization has to make a decision. Change the Roster to suit MDA's style of coaching or keep them intact and fire him. I'm for the latter. Let Bernie finish out the season, the lakers played hard and with energy for him. They play with none for MDA.

[maverick1948]

A few suggestions for "fixing" the Lakers. Nothing is really going to help them "win now". As for the salary cap, Gasol is going to cost them a ton of money if he remains with the team. The Lakers can trade him if they can find a partner to move him. Not many teams are going to give much more than expiring contracts and bench players. No one is going to give a star for Pau's contract. If Howard resigns, the solution is obvious for the Lakers. Amnesty Gasol. His salary is off the books even tho they have to pay him the difference of his contract and what he signs for elsewhere. He will likely get about 7 mil a year for 2 or 3 yrs. So it will cost the Lakers about 12 mil but NO luxury tax on his contract. Several teams have the cap space available next season to sign Gasol for around 7 Mil or so. Then you go out and get 3 or 4 minimum vets to fill out the bench. It will take Kobe reducing his bloated contract like Timmy did or forget trying to repair the Lakers.