Jeff Green takes a big bite out of the Lakers' cap space this offseason
Once Kyrie Irving signed his full, five year max Bird Rights contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and all the other players the Los Angeles Lakers felt were worth big money deals signed elsewhere (though prized free agent Kawhi Leonard is still deciding who to sign with), the team shifted from targeting high profile youth in free agency to acquiring assets in the trade market, despite their own limited dealable assets on hand. They made one such deal just moments ago, shipping out their own 2018 2nd round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for 28 year old forward Jeff Green, 23 year old wing Andre Roberson, and the real prize in the deal for the Purple and Gold, 23 year old forward Perry Jones III. It's a trade that takes away almost $12.5 million of their current $46 million and change cap space, and clearly signals the change in their priorities.
Jeff Green brings with him a scoring knack unlike any other player the Lakers have had since Kobe Bryant's departure, but has yet to break 40% on the season. That said, he shot a respectable 47.9% from inside last year, is a capable defender, and could become a worthy player should someone develop him into a post attacking game and elevate his efficiency. However, if Carlos Boozer is any indication, Isiah Thomas and the rest of the coaching staff will focus their training efforts elsewhere, leaving Green's $9.2 million expiring contract as his biggest immediate value, unless another team decides to trade for him once the restrictions lift, and mold the player just starting his prime into the terrific point producing force he's capable of becoming. He currently projects as a bench player, most likely to see minutes as backup to one of the teammates moving west with him.
Andre Roberson is pleased at the possibility of more playing time
Although an afterthought in OKC's rotation, appearing in just 25 games and averaging a mere 6.4 minutes in those showings, Andre Roberson can expect to see a much larger role with Los Angeles, pending other possible trades and free agency pickups. A complete non-entity on the offensive end, averaging just a single FGA a game and shooting awfully at it, he shows potential as a passable defender, as evidenced by his 88.9% drive stop rate, though his unsightly 1.3 PA/SF suggests that he got burned by 3 point specialists. Still, with nothing to lose, his new team will give him minutes at SG, presumably as the backup to Leonard, should Kawhi sign the offer sheet and the Raptors decline to match. He's also a body that will be under contract for next season to add a touch more stability to a roster that has seen constant flux due to the preference for the last two Laker regimes of signing players to one year deals to preserve the cap until the time to make free agent splashes hits.
Perry Jones III (L) gets to wear a new pretty shade of yellow
The crown jewel in the deal from the Lakers' perspective is without question Perry Jones III. Although some question whether the 6'11, 234 lb third year player has much room left to grow, and his 47.6% drive stop rate is as unsightly as one might expect from such a big body at the 3, the front office is thrilled by his 40% and 42.5% shooting from 3 point range the last two seasons (albeit on small sample size). The plan is to convert him into a mix of post scoring (52.2% inside) and 3 point shooting, replacing the 3 point gunning lost by the trade that sent Doug "McBuckets" McDermott to the Orlando Magic for Nikola Jokic. Jones will immediately become the Lakers' starting SF, and with RFA rights now belonging to Los Angeles, he should be a fixture in the rotation for the next several years.
"We see Perry as having some room to still grow in terms of his defense, scoring, discipline, IQ, and defensive rebounding," GM Jestor confirmed. "Admittedly we're not talking a ton of upside here, but it's enough that we see him as a valuable piece of our young core - one that we see possibly becoming the zonebreaker we lost with Doug, and with much better defense and rebounding ability, which Perry already is far superior in. Plus, one simply can not teach 6'11, and everyone knows how much we love our tall players." Indeed, Jones' drive stop rate is not only light years ahead of McDermott's 25.4%, but his 0.92 PA/SF significantly trumps the latter's 1.03 PA/SF.
Not to be missed in the bigger details - the trade also bumps the number of contracted Lakers from 5 to 8, saving a lot of time and energy in bringing in players to meet the minimum roster requirements, and allowing the team to further dial in on (most likely) one year deals to make up numbers, or role players to lock up for multiple years on attractive deals, similar to what they did with Jordan Farmar last summer.
"Now we just have to see what Kawhi decides. Hopefully the addition of another young piece will make us a little more attractive," Jestor said. "Plus, next summer, we'll still have tons of cap space for the moment. Not only are we not going to splash out large contracts, but we have Jeff's $9.2 million and David West's $12.6 million coming off the books. That's $21.8 million extra alone, in addition to whatever room we have left after we finish our offseason."
