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NBA Executive: Proposed trade brings Lakers $75M star shooter

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Getty Rob Pelinka, General Manager der Lakers

As the NBA offseason progressed, the only changes so far from last year’s Lakers 33-49 disaster have been new coach Darvin Ham and a roleplay overhaul. With all due respect to Thomas Bryant and Juan Toscano-Anderson, the new squad does not inspire fear in the hearts of opponents.

For the Lakers to get back into competition, they need more. One way to do that is to target realistic Second Division stars, particularly those who can fill some of the Lakers’ greatest needs — such as: B. Perimeter Scoring.

Indiana’s Buddy Hield, a long-rumored Lakers target, is an excellent shot, but such a turnstile defensively that even the Kings had a hard time keeping him grounded. Myles Turner, the Pacers’ big man who blocks shots, is similarly excellent on defense but not as much on offense. The Lakers have also considered the Nets’ Kyrie Irving, as well as Hornets forward Gordon Hayward and about a dozen others.

But one place where decent value can be made is Dallas, where the Mavs could try to make some space for the cap and get it from Tim Hardaway Jr. — the son of Hall of Fame point guard Tim Hardaway – would have to remove.

The key for the Mavericks would be for the Lakers to send back players on one-year contracts, preferably people who could still help the team stay competitive in the short term. An NBA source speculated (just speculation, to be clear, no such deal was specifically discussed) that a deal for Hardaway is out there and the Lakers would be a reasonable fit.

“Teams like him. You know what you’re getting. Good defender, mediocre shooter, high basketball IQ, a veteran,” the source said of Hardaway. “The Lakers are looking for upgrades across the board, a veteran like Hardaway, there’s something that could be done there if there was another team involved and a draft pick. It makes sense there.”

Hardaway is signed for 3 years

Hardaway signed a four-year, $75 million extension just last summer, and it’s not a bad deal for the team — a relegated deal going from $19.6 million this year to $17.9 million -dollars next year and $16.2 million in the last year of the contract. 2024-25. That’s probably a longer commitment than the Lakers want to make, but with the team’s short title fight window closing, it’s a risk worth taking.

Hardaway has had a poor season, averaging just 14.2 points on 39.4% shooting and 33.6% 3-point shooting, and it got worse when he suffered a broken foot that ended his 2021-22 season ended in January, limiting him to 42 games. That was an anomaly, however, as Hardaway shot 39.4% from the 3-point line in the last two seasons in Dallas before last year’s fight.

The Lakers could be eyeing him with the Talen Horton-Tucker/Kendrick Nunn package they’re peddling, though they’d have to add Wenyen Gabriel for the numbers to work. Bringing in a rebuild team like Utah could grease the wheels of a Lakers-Mavericks hardaway deal that would go something like this:

Mavericks bekommen: Patrick Beverley (Jazz), Kendrick Nunn (Lakers)

Jazz get: Talen Horton-Tucker (Lakers), Wenyen Gabriel (Lakers), Lakers first-round pick 2027

Lakers pick: Tim Hardaway Jr., 2023 worst first-rounder from Houston, Brooklyn or Philadelphia (jazz)

All sides win in the deal

How does it all come about?

Beverley, previously pursued by Dallas, would end up with the Mavs and Nunn is a talented guard who missed all of last season with a stubborn ankle/knee injury but is worth a fly-by for the Mavericks.

The Jazz are giving up Beverley and parking Horton-Tucker’s salary, which may give Horton-Tucker a chance to play big minutes and increase his own commercial value. They’re getting a potentially extremely valuable pick for 2027 from the Lakers — an upgrade to the pick they would ship.

The Lakers are getting a much-needed wing that can provide offensive pop on the perimeter. Sending the 2027 first-rounder would be too high a price for THJ, so the Lakers would also have the 2023 Pick the Nets sent to Utah for Royce O’Neale. That will likely be Philly’s pick and will fall deep into the 20s, making it far less valuable than the 2027 pick, but it’s still a first-rounder for the Lakers to use as another trading chip.

This is important. A starting five built around Westbrook, Hardaway, James, Davis and most likely Thomas Bryant isn’t bad, but LA would still be looking for another play. And if they bring in a 2023 draft pick, they have some flexibility to find that piece.

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