The NBA has entered a long offseason, and in the past season, with the Celtics winning the championship + Timberwolves, Mavericks, Pacers and other young teams entering the division finals, and the traditional giant teams, the Clippers + Lakers + Suns in the West, and the Heat + Bucks + 76ers in the East are all in one round, confirming the change of the NBA era. The new generation is rising to the top quickly, James will be 40 years old next season, and the dominance of people like Durant and Curry is also declining. The Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals by the Nuggets 4-0 last year, and were swept by the Nuggets 4-1 in the first round this season.
Let's start with Brownie. The American media listed a set of data, Bronny was selected by the Lakers with the 55th pick in the second round this year, Bronny's college data averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, and Ellis, the captain of the Bronny college team, averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the last season, but unfortunately failed, and finally could only sign an Ex-10 contract with the Kings for the summer league (the same as Choi Yong-hee signing the Trail Blazers). Obviously some people were born in Rome, but I would say that the NBA second-round pick is not that important, the cost is low, and no team is counting on a second-round pick. But for the Lakers, this is the key to keeping James, and this is the first historic moment in the NBA to achieve a father-son pair to compete on the same court! And, including the Raptors, Clippers, Timberwolves and Suns, all want to pick Bronny.
That's why Rich Paul called or texted some teams to inform them that if other teams forcibly took Bronny, Bronny would rather play overseas. And Brownie was able to return to the game after experiencing cardiac arrest + surgery, which was originally very inspiring. The Lakers want to keep James and continue to rely on the strong commercial market value of Los Angeles to realize, before the Los Angeles media analysis, the Lakers want to make up for it, James may have to take a salary cut, but Pelinka immediately clarified that the Lakers are willing to fulfill any conditions for James, in addition to the 3-year $164 million super cap salary, there is also a trade veto. Of course, from Lao Zhan's point of view, there is no doubt about the super maximum salary, as long as he does not retire, he is the flag of the alliance and the first person. But the problem is that the Lakers can't move!
Let's start with a few small things. First, the Hawks sent Murray to the Pelicans in exchange for Nance Jr. + Daniels + two first-round picks. The Lakers' offer is not much different from the Pelicans, the biggest difference is that the Lakers' first-round pick is only available for 29 years + 31 years, and the Pelicans are 25 years + 27 years, and the Pelicans are more cost-effective for the rebuilding Hawks. But the key that led the Hawks to finally send Murray to the Pelicans was that the Lakers were always reluctant to take out Reaves! Second, because Russell got less feedback from the free market, he finally decided to exercise a player option worth $18.69 million to stay with the Lakers, and at the same time, Wood (3.04 million) and Hayes ($2.46 million) also executed the player option, plus the Lakers draft signed Kneckert (3.7 million) and Bronny (1.1 million), which is almost full!
In addition, James officially gave up the 51.4 million player option and is expected to sign a three-year, $164 million maximum salary with the Lakers. According to calculations, the Lakers' total salary next season has reached $185 million (assuming James signs a three-year salary cap), and if Christie is retained, it will definitely exceed the second luxury tax line of $189.6 million! Once you exceed the second luxury tax line, you can't pack multiple player contracts in one trade, you can't buy draft picks with cash, you can't give away cash in a trade, you can't even use the mini midrange, you can only use a veteran base salary, and you can't get a trade exception for signing trades! In addition to the salary of the Zhan Mei combination next season, which is close to $95 million, Russell's $18.69 million + Hachimura's $17 million + Vincent's $11 million + Vanderbilt's $10.71 million are all without market transactions!
Only Reaves, the Lakers are reluctant to sell. Missing Irving, missing Murray, just because Reaves was identified as the Lakers' future hope. What does that mean? James will be 40 years old next season, Davis will also be 32 years old, and the entire team framework around him is still the lineup that has been eliminated by the Nuggets in the past two years, not to mention that he can't beat the Nuggets, like several dark horse teams that have risen this season, whether it is the Thunder or the Timberwolves, including the Mavericks who reached the finals, the depth of the lineup, including the core competitiveness, is much better than the Lakers. In the words of columnist Reed, if the Lakers are still a combination of this lineup, there is a high probability that they will not even be able to play in the play-offs next season, and the Rockets and Grizzlies, two younger teams, are also more competitive than the Lakers.
The Lakers chose James' podcast partner Redick as the Lakers coach; chose Brownie to help Lao Zhan realize the historical moment of father and son competing together; James has no hesitation to ask for a super maximum salary, but this is from a commercial point of view, the Lakers meet all the conditions of James, but the championship cannot be satisfied. However, from another point of view, James himself occupies 50 million salary space, the defensive end has declined significantly, and he can't play the No. 3 position, plus the Lakers lack the third scoring point, and the Lakers are not as big as the Clippers and Warriors, so it's really time to say goodbye to the championship.