Four years ago, when the Los Angeles Lakers were winning their second NBA championship in as many years behind the big bodied, long armed and incredible skill of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (oh, and that Kobe guy), would it have ever crossed your mind to see the two Laker bigs as the centerpiece of a midseason trade?
For each other?
Well, after three consecutive early exits from the postseason, Phil Jackson’s retirement, the death of Jerry Buss and ill-fated injuries to Kobe Bryant, this is where we stand on the final day of 2013: a Bynum-for-Gasol swap that would be nothing more than a dollar saving attempt and a reluctant plunge into the lottery for a flailing Lakers franchise.
We have seen the rumor mill spin furiously for Bynum and Gasol in the past, so hearing their names in trade rumors is nothing new. More often than not, they have not switched teams.
But ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who reported on these trade discussions early this morning, should not be taken lightly in this regard. He is a former Cavaliers beat writer for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, and is incredibly plugged into the Cavs organization and the NBA in general. Here are some tidbits from Windhorst:
No deal is believed to be imminent, but both sides are mulling it ahead of a Jan. 7 deadline when the second half of Bynum’s $12.25 million salary would be guaranteed. The Cavs suspended Bynum for one game this weekend for conduct detrimental to the team and have excused him indefinitely from all activities, including games.
By trading Gasol in a package for Bynum and then waiving Bynum, the injury-ravaged Lakers could save more than $20 million in salary and luxury taxes, which could help them maintain financial flexibility heading into the next few summers. A Gasol-Bynum trade would have to include at least one other player to make the deal work under league rules, and perhaps other assets from Cleveland.
As previously stated, the goal here for LA would be to save some serious cash, but more importantly, take a step in the right direction in executing their long term plan (if they have one, that is). Dumping Gasol would not only save them money now, but as Ken Berger of CBS Sports states, would assure them the first of two years they would need to stay under the luxury tax to avoid the leagues most devastating penalty. Berger says:
Not to mention the fact that skipping a season in the tax wouldn’t by itself spare them repeater rates in 2015-16 — the second year of Bryant’s extension. The repeater rates are in effect for any team that pays the tax in four out of five seasons starting with the 2011-12 season — meaning if the Lakers really are scared of the big bad wolf, they would have to take two years off from paying tax over a five-year period.
Berger believes a commitment to this strategy would require a change in LA’s “competitive and financial” DNA.
Agreed.
But with a higher correlation of landing in the lottery and coming out of it with a star as we’ve seen in quite some time, the Lakers may need to consider accepting the gift that has been placed right in front of them.
At 13-18, the Lakers are five games out of the final playoff spot in the West, not to mention that they would have to leapfrog four other teams in their way.
Kobe is out and Gasol is showing significant signs of decline. They have a better chance of landing a superstar in the draft rather than free agency in 2014. And they can save enough money, avoid the luxury tax, and put together an appealing situation for another loaded free agency class in 2015 — a class that includes two former UCLA stars, Russell Westrbook and Kevin Love.
In a season going nowhere fast, the future is all on the table for the Lakers.
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