What other GMs? A lot of people say a lot of things. But I heard a lot of Wizard fans upset and the trade, and a lot of fans from other teams asking why they didn't do a deal like that? Think of it being like packaging #14 and a couple of picks in the 20s for a #1. You do that every time.
but again, that leaves the Lakers 600K below the 2nd apron with 12 players. They would still have to sign 2 more. Bronny is one and there would have to be a 14th player. They would be bumped 2M over the 2nd apron and have all the restrictions that come with that...for Grant, after giving up two first's. I think we may be overrating Laker desperation around here Kuzma is more than 6M cheaper and I seriously doubt the Wizards would be demanding two firsts for him. They might initially ask for 2, but I'd bet they'd drop their ask
2 picks seems really steep for the Lakers. But, Joe's posturing isn't to Rob, it's to Sam Presti and Daryl Morey. He wants to make sure that if another team swoops in, they throw Portland at least two first round picks. Something both of those other teams have.
Sure GM's might - but I don't think Cronin or the Blazers are on any of their radars. We're an irrelevant minor league team to all of them.
Kuzma is also that much worse of a player. He’s a lousy shooter. I wouldn’t even give a pick for him.
Who are the Lakers' other options outside JG? Cam Johnson Doria Finney Smith Kyle Kuzma Are we (blazers) so scared to go into the season with Jerami that we don't try to make the lakers overpay now? Is Lebron ok with running it back? No Do they have better options outside JG? Probably not. If we wanna settle for one first for JG, we can do that Dec to Feb. Risk: We will have slightly more Ws - bad Avdija and Camara growth is delayed by half a season - bad Reward: One extra first Is the juice worth the squeeze?
It's actually not that easy of a question to answer when you pile up all of those risks. I would really like to move on with the rebuild. I think one pick for Jerami would be gifting the Lakers with a better shot at the title without them paying for it. Again if we could get a third team involved that would take one or even two of the Lakers players for another first and/or get the Lakers to throw in a very slightly protected (top 4 at most) or unprotected swap then it would be worth it. I hope Joe isn't just spamming them with "Your 2029 and 2031 first round picks without any protections or you can try your hand without Jerami." I hope Joe is being creative and looking at all of the ways to get this deal done that gets us a good return, makes the Lakers pay but also helps them feel like they're not giving up so much that they won't do the deal. This nuanced shit is what I get a feeling that Joe isn't great at. Just fucking trade Jerami, get an unrestricted FRP and something else either by flipping a player to a third team or a swap or a lotto protected second FRP. Then as Highkin said, move on to moving Ant.
Duncd on podcast assuming the pick swap in the DeRozen deal is a second rounder. That makes much more sense. Insane if the Kings gave up an unprotected first round swap. Haven't seen it confirmed as first or second round anywhere though.
Warriors trying to float Wiggins for Markkanen rumors. Jazz supposedly want to make it a 3-way and get draft picks.
I concocted a beauty with my subpar GM'ing skills: Wiggins to Brooklyn Ben Simmons injuries to Utah Markkanen to GSW how does it work? The Dubs blossom out and send scrubs and picks and cash to Danny Ainge and the Brooklyn whatever rebuilders. Utah fans will cheer for anybody, and Nets fans can get continue their denial fighting whether Wiggins is better then what Ben Simmons was supposed to be.
Utah wants picks and Brooklyn isn’t giving up picks to move off Simmons at this point. Maybe a few years ago.
Nets get Wiggins !! and a pick and a scrub. It's going to be an epic trade. Cash cash cash considerations everywhere. Maybe even Gary Payton's Toradol stash
GSW have all their picks so certainly could give Utah enough. Not sure they'd be a contender after this move though. Perhaps Wiggins contract with money next year is less desirable to Utah than Simmons expiring. In that case no picks would need to move to include Brooklyn.
Here's a player I really wish we'd sign: Isaiah Mobley https://www.nba.com/watch/video/isaiah-mobley-named-summer-league-championship-game-mvp He plays a position of weakness for us (not that we've really got a position of strength, but...)
