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Western Notes: Tomic, Towns, Lakers

By | at June 17, 2015 8:46 pm

Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic has inked a three year extension with FC Barcelona, Liga Endesa has announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Tomic’s deal runs through June of 2018, and it’s unclear if the arrangement contains an NBA out clause. According to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link), Tomic used the threat of leaving Barcelona for the NBA as leverage to secure a more lucrative contract overseas.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Potential No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns has a meeting scheduled with the Timberwolves this Friday, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear if this meeting will just be an interview, or if Towns intends to work out for the team as well, Charania adds.
  • Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers noted that if the team was to purchase a pick in this year’s NBA Draft, it would likely be a second-rounder so that the team could avoid having to sign the player to a guaranteed contract, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
  • Manhattan forward Emmy Andujar has a workout scheduled with the Rockets, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (on Twitter).
  • The Lakers will attempt to bring back Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor for second looks prior to next week’s NBA Draft, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register tweets.
  • Texas big man Myles Turner has an individual workout scheduled with the Suns today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (via Twitter). In Hoops Rumors’ latest mock draft, Phoenix is tabbed to select Turner with the No. 13 overall pick.
  • Now that the franchise has secured the NBA Championship, the Warriors have numerous roster decisions that need to be made, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. The odds of the current roster remaining intact are slim because of the team’s challenging salary cap situation, Taylor notes. This sentiment is shared by pending restricted free agent Draymond Green, who said back in March, “This is a special group, a special bond, so let’s make the best of it, because this team will probably never be together again. That’s just the nature of this business. One addition, one subtraction, and the team isn’t together no more. So take advantage of it while you’ve got it because I’m sure this team will never be together again.”
0 comments 2015 NBA Draft Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves Phoenix Suns Utah Jazz

Eastern Notes: Williams, Knicks, Celtics

By | at June 17, 2015 5:50 pm

There have been reports that the Knicks intend to trade down in the NBA Draft if Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell are off the board when New York is set to pick at No. 4 overall. As for what team president Phil Jackson is seeking in return for the fourth pick, in his weekly chat Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) relays that the Knicks want a young veteran player and a pick in the 8 to 14 range. One player who New York has been linked to in that draft range is fast-rising playmaker Cameron Payne of Murray State, who would fill a glaring need for the franchise at the point guard spot.

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

  • Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams is expected to receive strong interest from teams that include the Kings, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, providing a clear competition for the Raptors to retain his services, Shams Charania of RealGM writes. Williams is expected to seek a three-year deal in the range of $27MM or four years for $35MM, Charania adds.
  • The Celtics held workouts today for Kevon Looney (UCLA), Brandon Ashley (Arizona), JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova), and Maurice NDour (Ohio), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).
  • The Wizards will hold workouts on Thursday for Justin Anderson (Virginia), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Aaron White (Iowa), Derek Cooke Jr. (Wyoming), and Maxie Esho (UMass), Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
  • Working out for the Cavaliers today were Josh Richardson (Tennessee) and Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops notes (on Twitter).
  • The Hornets are hoping that newly acquired Spencer Hawes can help replace the outside shooting the team lost when Josh McRoberts signed with the Heat last offseason, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “In the offseason you try to make your team fit better together, and I think that’s what this trade does. Our defense is more than good enough to win and our offense isn’t,” Clifford said. “If you look more specifically into the numbers [the flaw] is our [long] range shooting. What Spencer will do is improve our range shooting and he’s also a very good passer.”
0 comments 2015 NBA Draft Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Charlotte Hornets Cleveland Cavaliers Los Angeles Lakers New York Knicks Sacramento Kings Toronto Raptors Washington Wizards

Draft Rumors: Towns, Okafor, Lakers, Hezonja

By | at June 17, 2015 2:03 pm

The gap between Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke center Jahlil Okafor has widened over the past few months to the point that it seems like a foregone conclusion that Towns will go No. 1 overall, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress writes amid his latest mock draft. That doesn’t mean it’s set in stone just yet, of course, but it does further the notion of Towns as the front-runner for the top pick, one that took hold during the NCAA Tournament. Givony also has Emmanuel Mudiay falling to the Nuggets at No. 7. Chad Ford of ESPN.com suggests in a chat with readers that the Nuggets would like to trade up in search of Mudiay at an earlier pick but have found little traction with the Kings, who hold the No. 6 pick, and others in trade talk involving Ty Lawson. Here’s more with the draft just one week and one day away:
  • The Lakers are worried that finding a quality big man via free agency or trade will be tougher than finding a guard who can score, as Ford reports in his new mock draft, citing it as an edge for Okafor as the team mulls what to do with the No. 2 pick. It appears that the Lakers are debating Okafor and Ohio State combo guard D’Angelo Russell if the Wolves pick Towns, Ford writes.
  • The stock of Arizona small forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is rising, making him a sleeper lottery pick, Ford hears, writing in the same mock draft. Multiple sources told Ford that they believe Oregon shooting guard Joseph Young has a promise from a team picking late in the first round.
  • Agent Arn Tellem is negotiating with Barcelona of Spain to reduce the buyout clause in top-10 prospect Mario Hezonja‘s contract, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The buyout is the equivalent of $2.27MM as it stands, well north of the $625K cap that NBA teams can shell out without it coming out of the player’s salary. Tellem is set to become an executive in the Pistons organization, and Detroit picks eighth.
3 comments 2015 NBA Draft Denver Nuggets Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings

Eastern Rumors: Lou Williams, Boozer, LeBron

By | at June 17, 2015 10:16 am

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald expects Lou Williams to reach out to the Heat, among others, in free agency this summer. Still, the Heat are unlikely to have the cap space to afford the reigning Sixth Man of the Year unless two among Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic and Luol Deng leave the team this summer, Jackson notes. Otherwise, Miami would be limited to either the $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception or the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level. Neither would probably be enough to land the Wallace Prather client who’s likely seeking a significant raise on his $5.45MM salary with the Raptors from this past season. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Someone close to Carlos Boozer told Jackson that he wouldn’t be surprised if the power forward signed with the Heat this summer, though Jackson asserts, as he writes in the same piece, that it would almost certainly be a minimum-salary deal if he were to go to Miami.
  • LeBron James has taken a detached, passive-aggressive stance to expressing his views on the moves his teams make during offseasons in which he’s been a free agent in the past, but the Cavs want him to give direct input this summer, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com details. James is likely to opt out and sign another two-year deal with a player option on year two, Windhorst writes, seconding what Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group wrote was a widespread expectation during the season, preferring leverage for himself over comfort for the team.
  • The Knicks would love to acquire an extra pick, whether in the first round or the second, a source told Marc Berman of the New York Post.
  • Thanasis Antetokounmpo, whom the Knicks drafted 51st overall last year, would consider signing overseas instead of again playing in the D-League, as his did this past season, if the Knicks don’t sign him to their NBA roster this offseason, agent Tim Lotsos tells Berman for the same piece.
1 comment 2015 NBA Draft Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New York Knicks Toronto Raptors

Western Notes: Aldridge, Porzingis, Gordon

By | at June 16, 2015 8:46 pm

The Lakers worked out Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays. Porzingis takes issue with scouts labeling him a finesse player or discounting him as another potential European bust, the Yahoo! scribe adds. “I don’t like being labeled soft,” Porzingis told Wojnarowski. “I’m very hungry. I love the game. I’ve got to prove to coaches and GMs that I’m not soft just because I’m from Europe. They need to see that I’m not just some skinny white guy, that I’m going to be there fighting. They’ll need to see that I’m a worker who’s going to play hard, and play tough. There are guys who have had incredible NBA careers – like Dirk Nowitzki and the Gasols [Pau and Marc] – and there are guys who haven’t. They’ll say, this guy is a bust. He’ll be Nikoloz Tskitishvili, this Georgian guy. Andrea Bargnani, Darko Milicic … That’s why I am talking, because I want the fear to go away with me. I want people to get to know me. I don’t want to be the mystery man from Europe.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Despite the reports relaying that Eric Gordon is likely to exercise his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans for next season, the 26-year-old guard has scoured the NBA market for a potential long-term deal outside of New Orleans, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. According to league sources, Gordon has been seeking four or five year contract possibilities with other teams, Charania notes.
  • The Lakers are a “distant third” in the running to lure LaMarcus Aldridge away from Portland, behind the Mavs, who are the favorites, and the Spurs, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says in a video report. Bucher cites Aldridge’s strong relationship with former Blazers interim head coach Kaleb Canales, now a Mavs assistant, as reason to think Dallas holds appeal for the power forward, though Bucher speculates that Aldridge will ultimately chooses to re-sign with the Blazers.
  • The Jazz held pre-draft workouts today for J.J. Avila (Colorado State), Michael Frazier (Florida), Damarcus Harrison (Clemson), Youssou Ndoye (St. Bonaventure), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), and Travis Trice (Michigan State), the team announced (on Twitter).
  • The Clippers will bring in Damontre Harris (South Carolina) and Michale Kyser (Louisiana Tech) as part of a group workout on Wednesday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

0 comments 2015 NBA Draft Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers New Orleans Pelicans Portland Trail Blazers San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz

Jimmy Butler To Pursue Short-Term Deal

By | at June 16, 2015 5:15 pm

Talented Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler intends to pursue shorter-term offer sheets this summer, resisting the Bulls’ initial plans to offer him a five-year, maximum contract, league sources have informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 25-year-old can become a restricted free agent this summer provided Chicago tenders him a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683, which it will almost assuredly do. With the NBA’s salary cap set to dramatically rise beginning with the 2016/17 campaign, Butler has become far less interested in locking himself into the five-year, $90MM-plus deal the Bulls are expected to present him on July 1st, Wojnarowski adds.

Despite the Bulls being able to match any offer sheet that Butler was to ink, Butler’s agents, Happy Walters and Steve McCaskill of Relativity Media, could seek a short-term offer sheet that includes a trade kicker that could potentially scare Chicago off, Wojnarowski adds. A shorter deal would also allow Butler to become an unrestricted free agent as early as the summer of 2017, the Yahoo! scribe notes. If the Bulls make Butler a five-year offer for the max with no option clauses, the shortest offer sheet another team could give him would be for three seasons, and none of those three seasons could be an option year. If the Bulls don’t make Butler a max offer like that, offer sheets from other teams can be as short as two years, though neither of those two years can be an option.

Butler has been spending time in Los Angeles this offseason, and according to league sources, the swingman’s interest in signing an offer sheet with the Lakers, if offered, has increased, Wojnarowski relays. The player has preliminary plans to pursue meetings with a number of teams once the free agent signing period begins in July, and several of these potential suitors have told Wojnarowski that they are under the impression that a short-term, max money offer is the best way to try and lure Butler this offseason. This includes the Bulls, who if they remain adamant about wanting to lock up Butler to a long-term contract, will risk the player signing an offer sheet with another franchise, the Yahoo! scribe notes.

The 25-year- old Butler is fresh off of his best NBA season, earning honors as the NBA’s Most Improved Player. Butler averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 38.7 minutes per night. His career averages are 11.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and two assists.

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And-Ones: Lockout, Gentry, Pointer

By | at June 16, 2015 10:00 am

Commissioner Adam Silver signaled Sunday night that he doesn’t anticipate a lockout taking place in 2017, when the league and the union can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, as Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com details. Players association executive director Michele Roberts said last week that the sides will begin negotiations this summer toward a new labor deal.
“I think we have a very fair deal right now,” Silver said. “I think the deal is designed to pay players a percentage of revenue so it self-adjusts as revenue goes up. And when the new television deal kicks in in 2016/17, the players are going to be averaging over $8MM a year. I think, again, it’s a fair deal. If there’s things they want to talk about, of course we’ll talk about them. But I’m not overly concerned. I think we’ve got a great thing going right now. I think both sides recognize that.”
Here’s more from around the league:
  • Warriors GM Bob Myers admits that if there hadn’t been such a lengthy break before the start of the NBA Finals, the team might not have allowed Alvin Gentry to have the second interview with the Pelicans that led New Orleans to hire him as head coach, as Myers tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com.
  • The Lakers, Wizards and Sixers are the upcoming teams on the predraft workout docket for St. John’s small forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, reveals Josh Newman of SNY.tv.
  • St. Bonaventure center Youssou Ndoye, if drafted, is willing to sign overseas and become a draft-and-stash prospect if an NBA team so desires, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Ndoye faces long odds to hear his name called on draft night, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him. He worked out for the Clippers on Monday and is set to do so for the Jazz today after showing off for the Knicks last week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Charania adds the Sixers, Mavericks, Heat, Spurs and Wizards to the list of teams working him out, which includes previously reported auditions with the Nets and Grizzlies.
  • Shooting guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who took the unconventional route of playing collegiately in the Philippines rather than the U.S., will work out for the Mavericks, Hawks and Celtics in addition to previously reported workouts with the Nets and Jazz, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details.
0 comments 2015 NBA Draft 2017 Labor Negotiations Atlanta Hawks Boston Celtics Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New Orleans Pelicans New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz Washington Wizards

Pacific Notes: Cook, Lakers, Clippers, Lee

By | at June 15, 2015 10:42 pm

Reports have indicated that the Lakers have their sights set on Jahlil Okafor with the second pick in the draft, but Quinn Cook, Okafor’s teammate at Duke, is hoping LA might have some interest in nabbing him later in the night, as Janis Carr of the Orange County Register passes along. Cook described himself as the “biggest Lakers fan you could ever think of,” and while he isn’t a sure thing to get drafted (he’s listed as this year’s 55th best prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress), the Lakers’ decision to work Cook out means there’s at least a chance LA has some interest in wheeling for a late second round selection to swoop him up. While we wait to see if an Okafor-Cook reunion might be in the works, here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • Along with Cook, the Lakers also worked out Branden Dawson, Treveon Graham, Vincent Hunter, Travis Trice, and Aaron White, the team announced on Twitter. Anyone LA might be thinking of taking from this group would likely come late in the second round.
  • The decision that the Clippers made to deal away Spencer Hawes to the Hornets increases the likelihood that the team retains big man Glen Davis, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times surmises in a tweet.
  • The Warriors never considered trading David Lee at the trade deadline this year, as Golden State owner Joe Lacob tells Sam Amick of USA Today, adding that the front office believed he could help the team win a championship. The decision appears to be a wise one as the Warriors are one win away from taking home the NBA title.
  • Lee acknowledged to Amick in the same piece that he understands there’s a chance he might get moved this summer for the right price. “But I also know that whether it’s here [in Golden State] or somewhere else next year, that I’m going to have a great year, given the opportunity.” Lee said. “I have confidence in myself. It’s not like I played bad and lost my job. I got injured, and things have worked out the way they have, and I’m excited for the future. And most importantly, I hope we can get this done.”
0 comments 2015 NBA Draft Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/15/15

By | at June 15, 2015 4:00 pm

Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ll be posting a topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, and we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day.

Of course, there will be differing opinions from time to time. While we absolutely encourage lively discussion and debate, we do expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So, please refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults or attacks, as well as the other taboo types of discourse laid out in our site’s commenting policy.  Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Hoops Rumors.  Just put in your name, email address, and comment and submit it; there is no need to become a registered user.

Now that the preamble is out of the way, we can now get to the day’s topic: What should the Lakers do with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft?

Should L.A. try to deal the pick for an established star? If so, which players would be worthy of the franchise passing on a potential young superstar in the draft? If not, then whom should the team target with the pick? Should the Lakers go with a big man such as Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns, or add a playmaker like D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay? Maybe you think the franchise should gamble on the upside of Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis? We had our say when we looked at the offseason ahead for the Lakers today. Now, the floor is yours. Take to the comments section below and weigh in with your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

27 comments Community Shootaround Hoops Rumors Originals Los Angeles Lakers

Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Lakers

By | at June 15, 2015 2:44 pm

Guaranteed Contracts

Non-Guaranteed Contracts

Options

Restricted Free Agents/Cap Holds

  • Vander Blue ($1,147,276) — $1,147,276 qualifying offer4

Unrestricted Free Agents/Cap Holds

Draft Picks

  • 1st Round (2nd overall)
  • 1st Round (27th overall)
  • 2nd Round (34th overall)

Cap Outlook

  • Guaranteed Salary: $35,075,659
  • Non-Guaranteed Salary: $3,516,525
  • Options: $10,100,602
  • Cap Holds: $43,886,673
  • Total: $92,579,459

It’s virtually impossible to win 16 championships in a 62-year span, as the Lakers did, without some measure of luck. It seemed as though fortune had turned on the purple-and-gold in the years since their 2010 title, but when the Lakers emerged from last month’s lottery with the No. 2 overall pick, it was perhaps a signal that the dark cloud over the team, epitomized by the franchise-worst record of this past season, was finally breaking up. It wasn’t the best-case scenario of winning the No. 1 overall pick, but with the Lakers reportedly having zeroed in on Jahlil Okafor and with Karl-Anthony Towns apparently having grown on Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders, the Lakers might end up with their first choice, anyway. Certainly, it was far from the worst possible outcome, which involved the Lakers tumbling out of the top five and forfeiting their pick to the Sixers, a looming consequence of the ill-fated Steve Nash sign-and-trade. The Lakers still have to give up a first-round pick because of that trade, but given this year’s high pick and their chance to sign marquee free agents this summer, the pick they ultimately give up may well be outside the top 10, if not the lottery entirely.

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Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

A healthy return for Kobe Bryant would certainly help the Lakers to that sort of outcome. He was inefficient last season, but had precious little talent around him, and coach Byron Scott has promised to play him fewer minutes this time around to help keep him fresh and avoid injury. Okafor would likely be able to alleviate some of the scoring burden, as his well-developed low-post presence, a rarity in the NBA, never mind among draft prospects, would give the Lakers an unusual weapon and draw the attention of defenses away from Bryant and other offensive threats.

The Lakers didn’t really have a true center this past season, aside from Robert Sacre, and that no doubt contributed to the failure of a defense that was the league’s second least-efficient, per NBA.com. However, Okafor would be a long shot to help the Lakers in that regard, since his defense also leaves much to be desired. Towns is a better defender, though he lacks Okafor’s polish, and, in any case, rookies often struggle with NBA defenses no matter their reputations entering the league. The Lakers, with little hope of vaulting into title contention even with the resources and high pick in front of them, would be wise not to worry nearly as much about how their pick will fit with the 2015/16 roster as they do about how he’d fit for 2016/17 and beyond.

Others have greater upside than Okafor does, including point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and power forward Kristaps Porzingis, neither of whom played in college. That lends a sense of mystery to them, and while each seems capable of becoming a transcendent star, they both could well turn out to be busts. Mudiay is a versatile defender capable of making spectacular plays on offense that would no doubt endear him to Lakers fans still pining for “Showtime,” but his outside shot is a question mark, a red flag for any perimeter player nowadays. Porzingis can shoot and excel in transition, too, but he lacks strength and isn’t a strong rebounder, as his ESPN and DraftExpress profiles explain.

The Lakers can also trade the pick, though GM Mitch Kupchak has made that outcome seem like a longshot. Trades are unlikely to play a key role for the Lakers this summer, outside of the team’s apparent plan to explore deals involving Nick Young. Instead, the focus come July will be on nabbing the sort of marquee free agent the Lakers have missed out on the last two summers. Reports have linked the team to a litany of players mentioned in our most recent Free Agent Power Rankings. LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Greg Monroe and Goran Dragic have all reportedly been targets at one point or another this past season and likely will be again, at least to some degree, next month. Still, those names elicit doubt. Some have said the Lakers aren’t a viable option for the nonetheless difficult to predict Aldridge, who seems to favor Dallas for now. Gasol offers few hints but clearly loves Memphis, and the funk in which his brother seemed to spend his last few seasons with the Lakers probably isn’t the best advertisement within the Gasol family. Love keeps saying he’ll be back in Cleveland. Monroe’s link to the Lakers is probably the most tenuous, as the Lakers reportedly inquired with the Pistons about trading for him but haven’t emerged as a free agent suitor for the big man. Dragic apparently viewed the Lakers as a “perfect fit” at the trade deadline, but a stream of reports since then has made it seem as though he has no intention of leaving Miami.

Plenty more impact free agents exist beyond the top 10, but none is the sort of superstar who can take over the mantle from Bryant when he retires. Rajon Rondo seemed like that sort of player not too long ago, but his ill-fated tenure in Dallas showed that he’s not in that echelon anymore. The Lakers have seemed destined to sign Rondo, a favorite of Bryant’s, though they’ve cooled on him and Bryant’s wishes aren’t necessarily the Lakers’ command, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding detailed. No team is planning a max offer for the point guard, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote in late April, so the Lakers may well end up with him at a reasonable price by default.

It might be mutually beneficial for both sides to consider a one-year deal. The torn ACL Rondo suffered in January 2013 clearly has had a long-term negative effect on his game, but his stock probably isn’t going to get much lower than it is now, after an apparent mutual parting of ways between him and the Mavericks midway through a playoff series. A one-year contract with the Lakers would give Rondo the opportunity to further the idea that his time in Dallas was simply the product of a poor fit and not a harbinger of sharply declining skill. It would lend the Lakers the chance to gamble on a talented player, improve in the short term, and retain flexibility for the free agency bonanza of 2016, when the salary cap is projected to take a skyward leap.

It would be wise for the Lakers to pursue short-term deals with others, too, with this summer’s marquee free agents seemingly difficult to lure. The opportunity to hit free agency again in 2016 as the cap goes up will surely be attractive to many players on the market, and the Lakers are in position to take advantage of this. Restricted free agents present a conundrum, since offer sheets have to be for two seasons, exclusive of any option years, and for three seasons if the incumbent team offers a maximum-salary deal. Still, a two-year offer sheet for Brandon Knight or Tobias Harris would allow those players to cash in come 2017, when preliminary projections show the cap taking another colossal leap, from $89MM to $108MM, and give the Lakers the chance at flexibility just as the cap heads into nine-figure territory. Speculation has linked Southern California native and former UCLA standout Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, and his contract is is set to expire in that same summer of 2017.

Still, such dreams are far in the distance. The Lakers must also decide on several of their own players with options and non-guaranteed contracts this summer, not to mention a half dozen soon-to-be free agents. Clarkson isn’t going anywhere on a minimum-salary deal that looks like a bargain after his successful rookie season, and the Lakers are reportedly likely to keep Sacre and guarantee his minimum salary. However, Jordan Hill‘s $9MM team option seems too pricey, particularly with Julius Randle returning to health and specter of a big man coming in via the No. 2 overall pick. The Lakers and Ed Davis, who intends to opt out, appear to have mutual interest in a new deal, and while the Lakers surely have their limits with him, he’s another big man who looms as a threat to squeeze out Hill.

A busy summer is ahead for the Lakers, and while fortune may again be on their side, they’d truly have to luck out to vault back into contention in a single summer. It’s nonetheless a reasonable goal for the Lakers to at least compete for a playoff berth. Winning is seemingly the most attractive quality a team can have in the eyes of top-flight free agents these days, but the Lakers probably don’t have to win quite as much as other franchises do to have an equal amount of cachet on the market. Making the playoffs in the brutal Western Conference would be a tall order for the Lakers if they don’t sign a top-10 free agent this summer, but even falling a few games short would represent tangible progress. The Lakers have seen their winning percentage drop with each successive season the past four years, so stopping that free fall should be a priority. Thanks to the bouncing lottery balls, the Lakers are in a strong position to bounce back.

Cap Footnotes

1 — Sacre’s salary would become fully guaranteed if he remains under contract through June 30th, as is reportedly likely to happen.
2 — The cap hold for Hill would be $13,500,000 if the team turns down its option on him.
3 — The cap hold for Davis would be $947,276 if he opts out, as he intends to do.
4 — The cap hold for Blue would be $947,276 if the team elects not to tender a qualifying offer.
5 — Boozer’s cap hold will be the lesser of $25.2MM and the league’s maximum salary for a player with 10 or more years of experience. It’ll almost certainly be the latter, since the max is estimated to come in at only slightly more than $22MM. So, the estimated max is listed above.

The Basketball Insiders Salary Pages were used in the creation of this post.

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