Lakers Can't Afford to Blow Their Cap Space on a Single Max Player Like Jimmy Butler | ONE AND DUNN
By Sam Dunn
It's hard to say no to the shiny object-- especially if his name is Jimmy (NOT James!) and wants to come and wear your commensurately shiny purple and gold jersey.
But, before Rob Pelinka and the Lakers go hog wild and throw all their available $32 million in cap space on a four-year max deal for Jimmy Butler, they should take a chill pill and realize one simple fact: at the moment, their roster is utterly depleted following the Anthony Davis trade. They just don't have enough bodies. And with that in mind, they must break up their cap room and use it to sign multiple players that can provide them not just vital depth, but a better chance to win actual basketball games.
Lakers Interested In Danny Green, Terrence Ross, Seth Curry If They Break Up Space https://t.co/mknXiFSnHS
— RealGM (@RealGM) June 27, 2019
LeBron and the Lake Show struggled mightily last season due to their utter lack of 3-point shooting. Kyle Kuzma, bandied about as the perfect up-and-coming stretch four, was the NBA's single worst shooter from deep in 2018-19 not named Russell Westbrook. The likelihood that a hot-handed perimeter operator like Kawhi Leonard or Kyrie Irving is coming to the Lakers is modest at best, and Jimmy Butler? The catch-and-shoot game just isn't his thing.
To keep Frank Vogel from drowning in his first season as head coach, the Lakers need to focus on filling out their roster by doing three things:
1) Signing a floor-stretching big man like Brook Lopez or Dewayne Dedmon
2) Grabbing an available 3-and-D wing like Danny Green or JJ Redick
3) Topping things off by keeping Reggie Bullock on at his $4 million cap hold (that's a steal of a price based on what he provides)
Now if the Lakers do NOT max out someone at $32 mil - they can keep some of their players, including the Bullock cap hold. The teams in FA aren't the deciders, it's the players. The goal is to be in position for a yes and to be ready to pivot on a no https://t.co/bjS8coJkNA
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) June 27, 2019
Does a Dedmon-Green-Bullock triumvirate (plus the awful, cursed specter of JR Smith!!!) sound as sexy as Kawhi Leonard? D'Angelo Russell? Klay Thompson? No, it doesn't. But the Lakers' weaknesses were brutally obvious last season, and splitting up this $32 million sum to help flesh out a roster that was suddenly a half-empty glass after so many bodies left town to complete the Anthony Davis trade, they'll be keeping their margin for error from being dangerously narrow in 2019-20.
La La Land is known for glitz and glamour. But this time, the typically fail-tastic Laker front office must play it smart instead of going for the biggest headlines.