Lakers market, the trade is brilliant: so you can easily win another title

An Eastern Conference general manager is convinced the Lakers will end up taking Chris Paul to put him alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis chasing the repeat. Organizing an exchange with the Oklahoma City Thunder however will not be easy, thanks to the high salary of CP3: this is how an exchange would work according to NBC Sports.The Los Angeles Lakers have won the 2019-20 title with merit and will return to the starting line of next season still as favorites to repeat. But if there is one flaw that emerged from the Orlando games it is the lack of a third high-level player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, always having to look for a different interpreter as the team's third violin. This is why the yellow-violet on the market could go in search of a third star, sacrificing their depth to have more star power by taking some offensive responsibility off the shoulders of James and AD. One of the biggest names on the market is certainly Chris Paul: the 35-year-old veteran seems to have already said goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder after an over-expected year and would like to use the last few years of his career to win an NBA title he has always missed. And what better place to do it than in Los Angeles? "CP3 would love the chance to return to L.A., it would be a dream for him," an unnamed Eastern Conference general manager told Bleacher Report. "I know for a fact that LeBron trusts him blindly, and together they would work great." Leading the Lakers' decision would also be a Western Conference which should be even more competitive next year: “It seems like a risk, but sometimes you have to be ambitious to take a step forward. The Warriors will be better, the Clippers probably too, the Nuggets won't get any worse. It went well in Orlando, but will it be the same in a normal regular season without the bubble? I don't know if that will happen, but taking a third scorer and point guard of Paul's level is a choice that you shouldn't even think about. ”If from a technical-tactical point of view there is little doubt that a point guard of CP3 level would work well together with James and AD, the more difficult it is to find a square from the point of view of the exchange to organize. The NBC Sports website thought so, starting from the fact that Paul has a $ 85.5 million contract over the next two years, with the second year with an option in his favor that he will certainly exercise. In order to close a trade, then, the Lakers would have to "go out" at least $ 33 million by adding more than one contract and sacrificing some of their rotation. Certainly the 15.3 million due to Danny Green should return, but also the 5 million of Avery Bradley, the 4.2 of JaVale McGee, the 3.5 of Kyle Kuzma, the 3 of Quinn Cook and at least one between Alex Caruso (2.75 million) and the choice number 28 in the Draft (1.9 million). However, there are other important issues to be resolved: Bradley and McGee should exercise their player option for next year before they are traded, and both will be convinced to do so; Cook should be guaranteed the whole contract to make it exchangeable at that price (only 1 million is guaranteed) and the salary of choice number 28 can count in an exchange only 30 days after signing the contract. Another possibility is that the Lakers will enter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the trade with a sign-and-trade, although KCP would very unlikely agree to go to OKC and therefore would need a third team to make everything work - making the trade even more complicated.