2022-23 Lakers Thread

Last year's thread went for 2442 posts and 123 pages, as we watched our hopes of getting a top-10 pick materialize. The 2021-22 Lakers' experiment with Russell Westbrook was every bit the massive failure that we hoped it would be (and, honestly, that all the analytics expected it to be).

Now the Lakers face a new challenge. Since we have pick-swap rights in the 2023 draft, can the Lakers again deliver us a top-10 draft pick?

They are contractually bound to pay Westbrook another $47 million, unless they somehow find a way to trade him. Of course, it's the $47 million that makes a trade almost impossible, and new coach Darvin Ham was specifically hired to make the LeBron/Davis/Westbrook chemistry work. But, of course, it's not out of the question that they could try to use their 2027 and/or 2029 picks to move Westbrook.

Another problem for the Lakers is that LeBron/Davis/Westbrook will together make $130 million, meaning that the Lakers will be over the cap and in the tax. Even if they somehow find a taker for Westbrook and his $47 million, they would have to take $40 million back in that trade, so they would still end up above the tax line, as they also have THT's $10.2 million and Kendrick Nunn's $5.2 million on the books.

Those five players are the only ones currently under contract for this upcoming season. The Lakers have team options on Stanley Johnson, Austin Reaves, and Wenyen Gabriel, but the following are all unrestricted free agents:

Carmelo Anthony
D.J. Augustin
Kent Bazemore
Avery Bradley
Jared Dudley
Wayne Ellington
Dwight Howard
Malik Monk
Dion Waiters
Kostas Antetokounmpo

How many of those guys want to come back again and play for a minimum salary on a bottom-feeding team and deal with all the drama?

Malik Monk almost certainly does not. He was a true bright spot for the Lakers last season and is due for a significant payday, but the most the Lakers can offer him is the taxpayer exception of $6.4 million, which is likely less than Monk can get elsewhere.

So, filling out a roster is going to be difficult -- and do the Lakers even want another year of old guys like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard?

A new chapter starts tonight. The Lakers do have about $4.4 million in trade exceptions that they could use to try to pick up a 2nd-round pick, and/or to try to dump THT. It will be interesting to see what moves they try to make.

The overall outlook for Lakers fans:

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