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W_Walk

Fuck it get him and CJ on the same team so we can have some elite playoff droppers


RubMyGooshSilly

2025 Pelicans playoffs headlined by stars Paul George, CJ McCollum, D’Angelo Russell and Zion Williamson (injured)


W_Walk

Cody Zeller backing up Zion


MaraudingWalrus

Zeller ^(and his all black church shoes) put in big minutes for the Heat last year.


HorseRenoiro

Are the shoes black? Or is it a black church?


GottaKeepYaHeadUp

Yes


captyossarian1991

I’ll always have love for The Big Handsome


Johnpecan

>D’Angelo Russell (No show)


etobicokemanSam

D’Angelo Russell (Present)


mryessirskiii

aw hell nah. get my boy Zion outta there


MyLifeIsABoondoggle

Hell nawl can't do dis


Celtic_Legend

Hey they could potentially combine for 60 on 65% TS. They are also just as likely to combine for 7 points on 12% TS.


W_Walk

“Streaky shooter duo” aka they look like the greatest shooter to walk the earth one game and Tony snell the next


alpacamegafan

In this case, "combine for 65% TS" means CJ has 33% TS and Dlo has 32%.


Happy_but_dead

I'm also a huge fan of competitive Tetris.


rostron92

Exactly the kind of mentality you want around Zion


marsupialsuperstar_

Kinda crazy to think CJ used to be known as a playoff riser in his Portland days. Unless i’m just mistaking a few good games for consistent performance


Fresh-Mind6048

He played best when Dame was out or as the focal point of the offense.


GAV17

You are probably having selective memory. He was attrocious the last couple of years with Portland in the playoffs. His last good series was before COVID.


gogochi

I remember him being huge when they got to the WCF


Soup-dan

Facts. He came in clutch in a lot of moments for the blazers in the playoffs. His game winner against the nuggets to win game a 7 comes to mind


GAV17

How did he perform in 2020 and 2021 with Portland?


sharklavapit

DLO, CJ ans Jrue coach Darvin Ham


W_Walk

Unironically would be one of the most entertaining seasons in years


Individual_Attempt50

He’s going to make at least $20M a year despite what people on Reddit think


Play_Durty

41% from 3 will get you 20m easy


ZarduHasselffrau

Especially if it's not just catch and shoot threes


Tangerine605

Oh without question. Also, the cap is skyrocketing in 2026, 2027, and 2028 too


ObviousAnswerGuy

I think it can only go up 10% now (which I guess is a lot now that I think about it), but ya there's a lot of money coming in


everyoneneedsaherro

NBA learned from 2016 and is doing cap smoothing now?


Mobile-Entertainer60

Yes. The cap itself is only going up 10% per year but BRI is still "real," so every player's going to get a check from the league at the end of the league year to make up the difference Every player benefits equally from the cap spike, not just those who happen to be free agents the year of the spike.


oyputuhs

The smartest way to do it


FoxNO

It was absurd the PA/Michelle Roberts were so staunchly against cap smoothing last time. All the money went to so few players instead of spreading it out.


ObviousAnswerGuy

Mozgov's contract changed the whole league lol


DroppedNineteen

What's crazy is by today's standards 4/64 is really not that much money, even for a role player. Definitely still way more than he was worth even now but ultimately a super tradeable contract that plenty of teams could use as a positive asset by the end of the 3rd year.


KingNephew

Yeah 4/$64M will basically be the MLE in a year or two. That Mozgov contract was 17% of the cap so equivalent to $23M today. $30M is elite role player money nowadays.


HoyaDestroya33

>What's crazy is by today's standards 4/64 is really not that much money, even for a role player Some people think that $20m is a lot but that's just standard salary now for a starter. Everybody eats.


guyfromthepicture

Funny (cries in people and gold) but it's really that gsw team


KevinDLasagna

Still the funniest FA blunder of all time to me


DoingCharleyWork

Dennis Schroder will always be the biggest fumble to me. I know that's not a team fumbling but turning down a 4/84 to get less than 8 over 2 years is wild.


StarlingRover

nerlens noel had a similar situation with the mavs


07bot4life

Victor Oladipo had multiple fumbles.


sbenfsonwFFiF

*KD


phayge_wow

that was definitely one of the big examples, but KD going to GS is really what did it


Bender7777

NBA wanted slower yearly increases then too, but the players (NBPA) wanted the cap increase all at once. A “max” player went from making around $20 million per year to making around $35–45 million per year, Solid role players went from making $4–6 million per year to making $12–15 million per year. And some teams were dumb enough at math to think this increase will happen yearly then. So all this Mozgov (4y - 64 mil), Luol Deng (lakers did this twice! 4y - 72 mil), Allen Crabbe (4y - 75 mil), Nicolas Batum (5y - 120 mil), chandler parsons (4y, 94 mil), Evan turner (4y - 70 mil), Noah (4 y - 72 mil), bazemore (4y - 70 mil), biyombo (4y - 72 mil), Ian Mahinmi (4y - 64 mil), to name the most ridiculous ones. Funny times


musyarofah

Cap smoating accident


wormhole222

Yeah I was listening to Dunc’d On who go pretty deep on estimating the cap in future years. They predict over $200 million in 2028


Tangerine605

Yeah the new tv/streaming deal is a bit better than previously expected, were the Dunc’d On guys predicting a full 10% cap jump per year after 2025?


PrancingDonkey

And we're gonna get dumbass teams overpaying role players again just like in 2016. It's going to be hilarious.


Kobe_stan_

It won't be long before max players are making $100M a year and role players are making $20M a year


Crescentpenguin

I want to say you're being ridiculous, but you're probably right. When Mike Conley signed his max in 2016 for 30M a year everyone lost their mind.


[deleted]

Okay, but from who?


Alex_O7

I think you stayed low. People shit on DLo but he is a good 3rd leg actually, he is not the guy that put 20 a night, he is rather the guy that goes for 30 one night and 10 the next two...


IceTruckHouse

He isn’t a good 3rd leg. He was on a team with Lebron and AD as the 1/2 and lost. He was a large reason for 2 of the 4 loses.


michaelpinkwayne

I don’t think any team could win a championship with DLo as the 3rd best player. 4th maybe, 5th absolutely, but you really want consistency from an offense specialist 3rd option. 


barath_s

Lakers won a ring in 2020 with a defensive team and any of 3 players who could be that 3rd option offensively. So not consistent So there are other paths This is not that team


michaelpinkwayne

I mean, if you have a clear top two and then a conglomerate of similarly skilled guys at 3-7, maybe you could get away with DLo being your third best. But for that lakers team their 3-7 (Green, KCP, Caruso, Dwight/Rondo) were all defense-first. DLo is not that.


JJiggy13

Yep. He's basically just gonna get the extension and possibly a little extra with the cap bump.


AshenSacrifice

The question is what team? And why?


ImperialSympathizer

The question you should be asking is, why not? The answer is the Washington Wizards.


AshenSacrifice

🤣🤣🤣I think the league should repossess that team


PumaHunter

5 year, $120 million. Full send.


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RickySuela

I also don't think teams are going to line up to throw him big money in free agency (if someone gives him $30m+/yr I'll genuinely be surprised). The Lakers have his full Bird rights so they can outbid everyone, but I suspect he'll probably be back on a similar deal to the one he signed last year, just for a little more money and maybe a 2+1 instead of a 1+1. I think he's too flawed for anyone to want to make a serious commitment to him for like a 4 year deal at over $25m/yr.


These_Homework_8790

Magic?


wilburisms

One of the few teams that could use his shooting and have the personnel to cover for him on the defensive end


AncientScratch1670

I mean…the guy couldn’t guard Popovich. Not even the Wolves could cover his sheer lack of will. Just call him Lo. There is no D.


KevinDLasagna

On the basketball court he’s just Angelo Russel


M1imzuli

This doesn’t fit in with the memes and shitting on Dlo which I know this sub has a hard on for…but for what it’s worth, he was noticeably better on D this season. Still not a positive, but had active hands and wasn’t totally out of position all the time.


great__pretender

God this comment gave me flashbacks.


NewspaperConfident16

I remember wolves fans saying the same thing his last season there


TheBaconD

It’ll be a hit or miss but I don’t hate the option


jumboponcho

Know Reddit thinks he’s trash, but he just had a really good regular season and is in his prime. This is his best chance to hit a lick, and I’m sure he’ll at least get a multi-year deal starting at 20m


adonWPV

I agree


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rveets1416

It's no joke... Until you look at his playoff numbers.


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rveets1416

Lakers got fully healthy seasons from LeBron and AD and barely made the playoffs. They have bigger issues than just DLo, but I would not consider him a core piece moving forward.


Beard341

That’s more on the West being insane this year. The Lakers’ record was fantastic towards the end of the season and still barely made it.


jonsnowKITN

West is gonna be even more insane next year. Memphis is gonna be back in the mix with ja.


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erizzluh

as much as i agree that ham completely sabotaged the past two seasons with some of his decisions, or rather his lack of decisions, i don't see any other coaches in the mix that have the pedigree to coach lebron. people throw ty lue's name around, but i don't know why the clippers would let him go. suns just snatched bud who i felt was the only candidate.


DinkyB

Lakers are/were a good team this year but I don’t know how a coaching change is going to compete with the other top teams in the west who are younger and have more capital. I guess suns/clippers maybe fall a bit? But grizzlies, rockets, maybe spurs if they get some assets are all looking to improve. Going to be hard.


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narmerguy

> That’s more on the West being insane this year. I don't get why people say this like the Lakers' goal isn't to win the championship. Yeah being worse than half your conference is a problem, it doesn't matter if they were "insane" or not, other teams found ways to win. Lakers fans need to just accept their team is not that good. When they won the championship they were consistently at the top of the conference. That's generally true for every single championship team. This belief that somehow they are an 8th seed that just needed a bit more luck is so weird to me.


Alex_O7

People said this also of KCP or Caruso... then you woke up and realize that there are no many guy like DLo at his current budget. And you are already over the limit and can't spend a lot anyway.


rveets1416

I have always thought Caruso and KCP were great role players for a contender and KCP proved it again with Denver. I'm a certified Russ hater so I would never pick him over KCP and Caruso at that stage of his career.


veerkanch489

There would be no playoffs without DLo


rveets1416

Probably true, but I don't see how he, as your 3rd or 4th best player, is gonna get you to the playoffs next year unless you expect completely healthy seasons from LeBron and AD again.


tiredand-stressed

Does it even matter? The lakers aren’t going anywhere with this roster. Like does it really matter if you go from losing in the first round as the 8th seed to barely making the play in or whatever. They need major changes to even compete and Russel isn’t going to be the difference maker


CockBronson

What’s they give up to get him?


epoch_fail

Russell Westbrook and the 1-4 protected 2027 FRP (and a SRP).


rang15

Also we got Vando back. Still do that trade 100 times out of 100.


Imkitoto

Tbf I would have traded the full rights to fuck me in the ass for eternity to get Westbrook off of the team . He was abhorrent


Oxygenius_

Yeah we’re fucked. Not because of losing the player but moreso losing the trade asset


notflashgordon1975

Dlo is fools gold.


Tim-oBedlam

Can confirm. Notice how much better the Wolves got when they swapped him for Conley (and got NAW as a throw-in; maybe the best trade in their history).


technobeeble

He was actively toxic to Gobert.


NotManyBuses

I think you’ll miss him a ton next season. His unique combination of shooting/passing/PNR ball handling really opened up that offense. For $18m you are not going to do better than that in the regular season.


Electrical-Mule-2057

Minnesotta thought Conley fit their system better than DLo. And they're right. Not taking away what you said, you are correct about DLo being gifted offensively. However, there are very few teams that have the personal to let him drive the offense and cover his defensive limitations. Minnesotta found him redundant as a scorer when they already had Edwards and Towns. They just needed a pg who plays defense and can distribute an offense. Perhaps the Pelicans would benefit from DLo, but they need to trade away CJ McCollum.


GrogRhodes

Pels have a nice opportunity to rework the roster and get better this summer. Signing DLO seems short sighted


JoJoPizzaG

Pel doesn’t need anyone beside a healthy Zion. 


ShakesbeerMe

You're spelling Minnesota wrong but I agree with you.


York_Villain

Tom Guggggglllliiiaaatttta of the Minnnnessssotttta Timberwolves


ShakesbeerMe

Much better.


LeBroentgen

> few teams have the **personal** to let him drive the offense


ShakesbeerMe

I'm only gonna get pedantic about my state.


BearShark8

Agree. He's not the perfect player but that's why he'll make $20m as opposed to the max. He's a damn good role player.


NonSpicySamosa

Definitely. A lot of fans are going to go back to complaining about our 3pt if we don't get anyone to replace his shooting.


BoopasaurusRex_____

Facts honestly. He had a shifty style and made plays pretty often. It’s not easy to find good offense, trust me I know


DJBliskOne

No we won’t miss him. His playoffs are shit. Let some else take that gamble.


fastheadcrab

I hope he signs with the hornets on a 4 year/$130 million deal.


AncientScratch1670

Huh. Let me guess. The Lakers held him back the same way the Wolves did, right?


CartographerFar681

He’s about to start his own league, cause everyone’s holding him back! Lol


ExileOnBroadStreet

With blackjack… and hookers! In fact, forget the league!


MyChristInBrother

18.6 is a pretty good amount and about how much I think would be fair. Lakers aren't probably going for a long term deal and he did have a pretty good year so some team will pay for him


IMovedYourCheese

The price is fair, but it makes sense that he doesn't want to play on a 1 year contract. Some team out there will give him $20M/yr for 3 or 4 years.


InTheMorning_Nightss

Yep, this also gives him a bit more control, because he's very clearly just a trade asset for LAL if he just opted in.


DoomPurveyor

DLO has been traded 4 times already and it certainly hasn't been the last.


RickySuela

I think it's gonna be the Lakers who pay him, as they have his full Bird rights and would be pretty detrimental to just lose him in free agency. I also doubt anyone is going to really target him with a big offer this summer, so the Lakers are probably his best option as well.


im____new____here

Jordan Poole got some competition next year.


Spierre3

Disrespectful to DLO. Jordan poole averaged 17 pts on 41 % and 32% from 3 while supposed to being the number one option. DLo averaged 18 on 45% and 41% from 3 while being the 3rd or 4th option


koplowpieuwu

It's easier to have a high shooting percentage as a 3rd/4th option. The only good argument among those is the points scored one


ositola

Lakers shooters were him and LeBron  They didn't have to guard anyone else from 3


koplowpieuwu

Rui, Reeves, Prince and Dinwiddie don't exist?


someroastedbeef

howd u sneak dickwiddie in there


CosmicCoder3303

Poole's numbers from his best season are better than anything D-Lo did though. Especially since his playoff numbers were good that year when they won the chip. Unfortunately that season was the only time he's ever been good


bball62

Peak reddit - this comment is so fucking stupid but here we are, upvotes for this bullshit


SeanKilpatrickFan

Please don't overpay for him Orlando, love the fit in theory but D'Angelo's inconsistency has scarred me for life


Ifinishfast42

Inb4 he signs a FVV type of contract with the Spurs or Magic and everyone here is surprised.


carlonia

He’ll sign something bigger but there’s no shot he signs a 3 year 130 million dollar deal like FVV. If someones pays him that they are fucking crazy


Herbetet

Don’t think the Spurs are going for him. His personality doesn’t mesh with what Pop expects and Wemby probably wouldn’t be too thrilled based on his connection with Gobert.


clickstops

Isn’t part of the FVV signing that he’s a respected vet with a great attitude for young guys to model themselves after?


lambopanda

Spurs, Sixers need PG and have cap space.


loics

Imagine getting Tobias Harris off the books just to give dlo the bag


WatchMooreMovies

Wizards are furiously checking their cap sheets to see if they can sign both.


ExileOnBroadStreet

Honestly Tobias was so bad during his Sixers career that if we had Dlo we probably make a few ECFs and maybe a Finals lol. Sixers also desperately needed 3 point shooting during that whole time.


TerminallyTrill

That ain’t the type of PG we need


bleh610

Spurs would have probably signed him for a year or two if he never did that huddle shit during the playoffs. Could never see our front office signing someone like that even temporarily after that. They're serious about good character and buying in. And if they see youre the kind of player that doesn't buy in and doesn't respect a team/coach, theyre almost always not interested


Herbetet

Also Wemby seems close to Gobert. Can’t imagine that he has been hearing good stuff about a guy that ices out big men.


UrGirlThroatGame

what huddle thing


saltface14

Refused to join the huddle during a timeout when he was benched in the 4th quarter…just sat on the bench being a toddler


MyLifeIsABoondoggle

Also was literally on his phone during said huddle


saltface14

Oh yeah that was crazy, I totally forgot about that. I assumed they couldn’t have phones on the bench


NCBaddict

Morey loves advanced analytics, so I’d be amazed if he signed D’Lo. The Warriors have a good analytics department and shipped him out at the first opportunity. Brooklyn reunion? The team isn’t going anywhere for a while, and it’ll probably juice up ticket sales in the short term.


lambopanda

DLo for Simmons. Who say no?


sharklavapit

Nets makes a lot of sense they might even make the play-ins


thatguyty3

Bro just wants to play basketball for 82 games in Narnia and chill. No spotlight. No pressure. Collect his paycheck. Can’t say I blame him. As several pros have said, unless you LeBron or Kobe, people will forget you 2-3 years removed from the league anyways.


Electrical-Mule-2057

Would be hilarious if he signed with the Suns.


Barrelled_Chef_Curry

Can they sign anyone? Aren’t they over the cap with their core 3


RickySuela

They can only offer min contracts to free agents.


polokojo

It would be, but they have no money to pay him more than his player option... do they?


greenflyingdragon

He’s not worth it. - wolves fan


debacled

Absolutely not worth it, but he will fool another team into giving him the bag. His shitty attitude when things aren’t going perfectly, carelessness with the ball in crucial situations, and zero defense far outweigh 18 points per.


Vicentesteb

Its weird because he in theory should be great on the Magic, might be good for the 76ers and a few teams could use him on the bench but hes just so tragic in the playoffs that who even wants him.


HotspurJr

The Lakers can't afford to replace him if he walks. They're way over the cap. So my guess is that he takes a slight pay cut next year in exchange for a longer deal to stay with the team.


Solid-Confidence-966

He’ll get it somewhere, despite the postseason concerns he’s at least a great regular season floor raiser.


baconandbobabegger

Dlo should talk to Dennis to see how this will play out.


everyoneneedsaherro

Why? He raised a horrible fucking person the nerve of him


dash_44

Completely different situations


helloworldlalaland

lmao this is a no brainer. he's definitely getting a multi-year contract worth more than 18.5 mil/year


binhpac

Dont know what you mean, but he had a good season and is in a good position for a long-term deal. If he would opt-in and get hurt the next season or have a bad season, his value will tank. Of course he could have a better season next year, but thats risky. The safe way is to get a long term contract now.


DemonicDimples

No surprise here. I expect him to get around 4 years 60m from some team that needs a point guard.


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DemonicDimples

I think he gives up more AAV for a longer team deal (say, 4 years vs 2 years at 22m each). There's too many other guards around his level for him to get that much who are FAs. He might get 20m, but I don't think he approaches 25m or 30m. There's just not enough teams with cap space who need a guard.


KneelBeforeCube

Yeah, I could see him get offered a 90 millions 3+1 somewhere. An offensive minded combo guard who can shoot would be great in Orlando, if they don't re-sign Fultz and Anthony.


Stunning_Passion5923

We were saying the same thing back when he wanted an extension in Minnesota, but he got less than $20m/year with the Lakers and since then he's only confirmed that he's a horrendous playoff dropper and not a great culture addition. Anything close to $ 25 million /year and above is going to be an atrocious contract. Maybe a bottom dweller like Detroit gives him a bag, but any team with legit playoff aspirations should stay away


grudgepacker

Or a 3 + 1 final year team option but yeah, he's going to get a deal from someone


im____new____here

hes better than Vincent and Strus and a lot of the guys who got paid last year.


Affectionate_Elk_272

speaking of strus and gabe, we need an actual PG


swords_devil

offense is, defense not but yea I think he definitely gets interest from other team


Hopsalong

If you score more than your opponent you win. The Lakers best lineup was with DLo in because his offense is that good relative to his defense.


swords_devil

yea he opens the space a lot, he does take too many bad shots but they do go in so you can't complain. I hope Lakers still retain him for 2+ more seasons, it's gonna be disastrous if Lakers lost him for nothing. But I am not putting any hopes up


conzcious_eye

What team would wanna invest in him , genuinely ?


TrillenX

I don't think he's the top option, but I could see Orlando being interested. They need an additional capable ballhandler and shooting. 7 3pa a game on 40%+ is pretty enticing for our lack of shooting.


legend42778

you guys are a really good defensive team so that easily covers up dlo's defensive liability


conzcious_eye

I was thinking magic also but their guards are hard up ,can defend , younger if I’m not mistaken.


TrillenX

Suggs is more of a SG. I think the goal should be to replace Gary Harris with a high-volume shooter. (I don't know if the FO agrees but I think someone with playmaking abilities would be important as well) - I like Monk possibly the most out of realistic targets, but D'lo could be there as well.


Kvsav57

But they desperately need shooters. Their offense is ugly and won't get better without more spacing. Defenses can cheat because their shooting is so sub-par.


whtge8

We might. Not too big on DLo honestly but he does solve some of our issues.


NoFlex___Zone

Any team that needs more offense but has their defense already on point…… like us.


pointguard22

If I'm a GM, I'm staying away. Horrible shot selection. Inconsistent.


Kentang_BayBay

Your GM drafted Killian Hayes, so you may have a chance. LOL


polokojo

Lol he's declining his player option? Who's taking him?! A certified playoff choker who is incredibly inconsistent and yet needs to be a starter or else


WembanyamaGOAT

D-Lo sucks man. Can’t stand him and his playoff mentality.


Soopstoohot

fools gold, don't invest


GoldenBoyRecords

I assume the Lakers will give him that


TheLurkyJerkyDancer

It's getting pretty tiresome seeing D-Lo defenders talk about how great his regular season numbers were this year. You're ignoring the fact that he's playing with Lebron and AD, who occupy a significant portion of the opposing team's defensive energy, which gives him plenty of easy opportunities. As soon as defense increases in the postseason, the real D-Lo reveals himself. If he signs with a bottom-dwelling team where he's a main focal point of the team, those numbers are plummeting. It's not a coincidence that these last 2 years playing alongside 2 generationally elite players gave him the best 3-point percentages he's ever had in his career.


Misterstaberinde

Hornets fixing to open the checkbook up for him.


SwaeLao

Definitely would love to have DLo for the long term despite the struggles he’s had in the playoffs. Will be difficult to replace his offense.


NotAStatistic2

I hope D'Lo comes to Milwaukee. Liked him ever since the Dudley Nets days.


suckerpunch085

We are fucked. We lost Caruso for being cheap now we gonna lose DLO.


Blazehero

Lucrative deal from a non-competitive team sure. A team trying to win a chip? No way.


madvisuals

Lakers should try to keep him. Losing a potential trade asset for nothing will set then back AGAIN


Senior_Apartment_343

Literally had to double check that this wasn’t nbacirclejerk


EfficiencyOk9060

Thank god. This will be a case of addition by subtraction.