>For a team tanking and/or wanting a hard rebuild, that
>gigantic expiring Russ contract means considerable financial
>flexibility once it expires (in about 40/50 games at that
>point).

... is that two of the more obvious candidates for a trade, Indiana and San Antonio, have more than enough cap space going into next season already. So while I'm sure they'd be fine adding more, they're not going to come over their tradeable assets solely for the allure of financial flexibility, since they already have so much of it. They'll absolutely want picks. And ones with minimal protections.

>I think there will be takers for that expiring deal, but the
>question is whether you have to give up both picks for it,
>which Lakers have thus far refused to do (and have publicly
>stated that they would only do it if they were getting a
>championship difference maker).

Yeah, I think if they tried to see if Indiana would take two firsts with, like, top 5 protection, it'd be worth it for Hield and Turner, personally. I think they'd be big difference makers. I know others disagree, but I'm very high on the upside that adding them would provide, both in terms of talent and fit.

I'm also someone who simply doesn't value Lakers first round picks as much as others might. I know they're tradeable assets... but the Lakers have had five Top 7 picks in the last 40 years (and they basically all came during that very down run middle of last decade). They've only had ten *Top 20* picks in the last 40 years. And I'm including, btw, the picks that technically were the Lakers that were traded before the draft. Historically, odds are just very, very high that a Lakers draft pick is going to come after the 20th pick. So of course teams like the Pacers and Spurs are going to be far more likely to ask for both.

They'd obviously prefer unprotected, because they believe that post-Bron-and-AD era could have speed bumps and they'd like to roll the dice... but odds are just so high that the Lakers will rebuild instantly in that era with new top-tier talent and thus only one pick won't have a lot of value. Like, Jakob Poeltl is worth more than a pick in the twenties. So is Hield, so is Turner... so, honestly, might be McDermott. So teams will either ask for no protection or for multiple picks.

And I get on the surface that that is a scary thing, no question... but it's also the Lakers, end of the day. Even at your lowest, you're one malcontent star away from being back in title contention at any given moment.

>Patience will run thin at warp-speed if Russ is the same Russ
>from last year. He has to go through a Melo like
>metamorphosis and be a solid role player at this stage of his
>career, or this actually could be his last year in the league.
> Joking (kinda) - as I'm sure he could get a MLE somewhere,
>but his late-stage career dilemma reminds of Iverson, who just
>simply could not adapt his game late-stage when he was no
>longer elite.

I actually wouldn't be surprised at all if this was Russ's last year in the league. Melo was out of the league until he convinced people he could play a role... but Melo still has that mid-range, jump-shooting game that's translatable in a role. I don't know what Russ does in a role that translates to wins unless he fully commits to being an off-the-bench burner who also actually tries on defense. Because you can never play Russ off ball. I know that was the concern about Melo too... but it's *such* a bigger concern about Russ, lol.

>Yea I'm kind of high on Beverly for *this* team, because they
>desperately need some on-ball attack defenders and competent
>3-and-D's - and Bev is exactly that.
>
>I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Nunn/Dennis, Bev, Bron
>& AD all on the floor at the same time late-game.

I think, with their current roster, their best closing lineup is Bev, Reaves, Bron, AD, and whichever other guard is shooting best. Nunn is the likely candidate, though he's been such a bad defender as an NBA player that I'd be a *little* concerned about what that would mean in a closing lineup.

I'm a huge believer in the Bev fit with this squad. Easily their best signing of the offseason.