Off Topic Board

This numbers are going to be slightly off, but the salary cap is around $58M and the luxury tax starts at $70M. Right now an owner pays $1 into a pool for every dollar over the tax. Starting in 2013-1014 an owner will pay $1.5 for every dollar in the tax for the first $5M over, $1.75 for $5-10M over and it will continue to go up at $5M increments.

After the Lakers pick up Bynum's option, they will be at $80M before resigning Sessions and Jordan Hill. To sign any FA for more than the mini-mid ($2.5M) without a S&T, the Lakers need to get around $54M. Amnestying Pau only saves the owner money, it doesn't get The Lakers close to being below the salary cap.

The only way for the lakers to get below would be to amnesty Kobe. They could then not pick up Bynums option, keep him or trade him into salary cap space for a pick and do the same thing with Pau.

What about in 2009 and 2011 when the Lakers traded the picks? The Lakers could have gotten besides DeJuan Blair, Danny Green, and Chase Budinger. In 2011 the Lakers could have gotten MarShon Brooks since New Jersey who had the Lakers pick got from Boston for JaJuan Johnson. The Lakers never values their first round picks and that hurt them. The Lakers never develop players and that is bad,

If we ever signed Duncan I would boycott until he retired.

What System does Mike Brown currently run?

Charles Barkley and the other guys on the set were clowning him after their last loss for not even having a system.

But you're right. He needs to first decide on a system, and then find players.

The Lakers will only have a $3M exception to spend and then will have to sign everyone else to veteran minimum. They might be able to work out a S&T for a FA into the trade exception created by LO, but that would mean a team doesn't want to resign that player and it likely happy to get back anything of value for them (a 2nd round pick). Unfortunately, the Lakers traded away one of their few assets (Dallas 1st round pick) to save themselves another million, making it even harder to use the trade exception.

Lakers #1 target should be Nick Young with the full mini-mid - $3M per year for 3 years.

First thing you do is try to find a sucker to take on Kobe Bryant's massive contract.

That is the entire crux of the problem here. His bloated 29 million a year is crushing the Lakers payroll and killing anything they can do to improve this team.

It's a sad fact as an aging super star continues to draw top dollar it prevents the team from improving the players around him. This is been a real problem for several years now and will only get worse the next two years.

It's a new ball game now in the NBA and the Lakers simply can't do again what they once were able to do. San Antonio seems to be a model for tweaking the system as well as it can be played. Then again, you would need some front office smarts that are simply lacking at LA central.

Personally, blow up the team and start from fresh. Otherwise it's going to be a long long declining quality of Laker ball as the years go by. It's going to take judicious free agent acquisitions as well as getting very lucky in the draft. Both of those lately have been non existent.

They have to be loyal to Kobe, but they shouldn't if they can get someone of Deron Williams capability, along with an extra player that's good from a New Jersey. Then they could do the Rockets Pau Gasol trade for Scola, Martin, and the pg, and they're pretty set.

Getting Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, and a point guard from the Houston Rockets does not help the Lakers main issues. The Lakers need to get younger and athletic. Luis Scola is 32 and Kevin Martin is 29. Scola does not rebound and Martin is always injured. If the Lakers got Kyle Lowry he shots very bad for a point guard with a field goal percentage of 40% and Goran Dragic is an okay three point shooter.

Deron Williams has issues such as a bad field goal percentage.

Instead of forcing a trade that would give the Lakers some some bad contracts, I would rather the Lakers keep Kobe, Pau, and Bynum and try to get some free agents to sign for the minimum like Steve Nash, Jason Terry,Chauncey Billups, Michael Redd, Reggie Evans, Nate Robinson, Kenyon Martin, and Tracy McGrady. If the Lakers can get two or three of these guys it improves the team. The Lakers need some three point shooting and some of these players can help. Only if the Lakers can get Kenyon Martin and another power forward would I trade Pau Gasol for Luis Scola. Scola cannot rebound and Gasol can rebound. I think Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum get tired since they play alot and the Lakers need to get some back up players to help them. I would keep Matt Barnes and try to trade Steve Blake. Blake has only two years left and some team would take him. I would rather the Lakers keep this same team for two years and then when Kobe and Pau contract finish they will have alot of salary cap room to build the team.

You could be right -- but he was a stiff in the playoffs last year too, so it was not just one year of poor production.

It was 2 playoff seasons of disappearing.

I think we can get a decent PG for him and that is more important than betting on the chance that Pau can turn it around.

The exact same as he is now. Kobe does not alter his game to take his teammates into account - it's only their job to adapt their game to his, never the other way around.

Funny how things work when the roles r reversed huh?? U say Scola, Martin & either Dragic or Lowry won't help due to their age, injuries & poor shooting yet sending them to NO was a better trade regarding CP??

By the way take those 3 Clippers names off ur list cuz it ain't happening!