We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.
What are your thoughts on the Lakers resigning Julius Randle this summer? He’s played great and I’d hate to lose him for nothing, but he will be costly, eat into cap space (2018 and 2019) and block the path for Kyle Kuzma. — Vijay Cruz, via Twitter
The Lakers’ dream scenario is having enough cap room to sign LeBron James and Paul George. As long as that’s possible, Randle will be expendable if he blocks the way with his cap hold of nearly $12.5MM. Randle will be a restricted free agent this summer, enabling the Lakers to match any offer he receives, and they should have a good idea of their chances to get James, George or any other prominent free agent before having to make that decision. Randle has developed into a reliable scorer and rebounder and he’s only 23, so the Lakers would prefer to keep him, but only if his contract doesn’t interfere with the bigger picture.
Do you think DeAndre Jordan will stay with the Clippers? He is selling his house in L.A. Could he be staying in Los Angeles, but playing for the Lakers? And Dallas, do they have any chance? How about DeMarcus Cousins, do you see any team besides the Pelicans trying to make a deal with him? — Raphael Brandao
All those scenarios you mentioned for Jordan are possible. There’s no guarantee he will top his $24.1MM salary for next season on the open market, so he may opt in and spend another season with the Clippers. He could also opt out and re-sign with the Clippers, enjoying the stability of the only franchise he has played for in a 10-year career. The Lakers may have him third on their list of free agent targets, and the Mavericks need a center badly enough to overlook his change of heart in 2015. However, teams will have more money to spend in 2019 as the big contracts from 2016 start to expire, so don’t be surprised if Jordan either opts in with the Clippers or signs a one-year deal somewhere with a player option. For Cousins, a lot of teams will be lined up if his Achilles injury makes the Pelicans hesitate to offer him a max deal. Even if they have to wait a while for him to be completely healed, teams will gamble on Cousins, who is a franchise-changing player at full strength.
If Stan Van Gundy fails to make the playoffs this year, will he be fired or brought back next season? And do you see the Pistons trying to trade Reggie Jackson during the offseason? — Barron Hudson
The Pistons aren’t having the kind of season ownership hoped for to accompany the move into a new arena. At 28-31, Detroit is two and a half games out of a playoff spot and in danger of falling into 10th place behind the Hornets. Any momentum from the
Blake Griffin trade is gone, as the Pistons have dropped five of their last six games. Van Gundy only has one year left on his contract as coach and president of basketball operations, so the organization won’t hesitate to make a move if things don’t turn around. Van Gundy gambled on Griffin as a way to keep his job, saddling the team with a $141.6MM commitment over the next four years. One way to ease the salary crunch is to move Jackson, who has two seasons and more than $35MM left on his contract. The Pistons looked into trading him before and he will be surely back on the market this summer.
If the Lakers can’t get free agents this summer, they should resign Randle. They are saying Jordan won’t get a max contract so he needs to opt in.