Vujacic ready to walk

"Lakers reserve guard Sasha Vujacic, a restricted free agent, is prepared to leave the team and accept an offer from a European team in the next few days if the Lakers don't make him an offer he deems fair, according to a source in the Vujacic camp who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. The source said Vujacic is seeking a multiyear deal from the Lakers averaging about $5 million a year. Vujacic was hoping for a six-year deal, but anticipated it could be a shorter contract."

Nobody wants to make the Lakers better than they are, but for those of us who aren't that high on Gordon, Vujacic seems like a decent replacement. As a 24 year old last year listed at 6'7", he put up an ungodly .605 TS% and showed he isn't afraid to take the big shot. (Not a great defender though, from what I remember.)

The article implies that the Lakers probably won't match any offer over $5 mil per year. 6 years, $30 mil contract seems like a steal for a great complement to Thabo's game.

One possibility is trade Gordon and our exception for Vujacic, Trevor Ariza, and Farmar... making Hinrich and Nocioni easier to unload.

about 1 year ago YaoPau 14 comments 0 recs |

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there's no way

they would trade Ariza in that deal. They got owned in the Finals because they didn’t have a wing defender to stop Pierce. Guess what Ariza does best when he’s healthy?

by fundamentallysound on Jul 25, 2008 10:12 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

also

they wouldn’t deal Farmar either. He’s a good, cheap young PG.

by fundamentallysound on Jul 25, 2008 10:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It does seem like alot

but if you’re the Lakers, and your options are 1) lose Vujacic for nothing, or 2) trade him along with Farmar and Ariza for Gordon, I think you take the second option. To them, it’s Ariza and Farmar for Gordon, which is a no-brainer.

The Lakers lost last year because the Celtics swamped Kobe and nobody else could take over the scoring load. I’d imagine Ben Gordon looks pretty good to them at this point.

by YaoPau on Jul 25, 2008 10:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like Sasha alot

but what would we do with all these players? That’s 3 guys all worthy of minutes at the 1,2,3 to go along with Rose, Kirk, Deng, & Noc (not to mentioned Thabo and Hughes)

And since you mentioned it in the post, Sasha is actually a good defender.

by rb22 on Jul 25, 2008 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sign Deng longterm

Then try to unload Kirk and Noc this season for expiring contracts. I think that the Warriors are still under the cap, meaning we can trade Kirk and Noc for Al Harrington (that makes so much sense for them now that Baron is gone).

PG Rose, Farmar
SG Vujacic, Thabo, Hughes
SF Deng, Ariza
PF Tyrus, Gooden, Harrington
C Noah, Gray

Sit on that team till 2010, let Noah Tyrus Thabo Rose find their games, and try to sign a big name FA in the offseason. It’s a risk, but with so many other great teams out there, we’ve gotta be a bit risky to become an elite team.

by YaoPau on Jul 25, 2008 10:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dumping Kirk and Noc

probably wouldn’t be that easy since the Warriors are also in development mode. Bulls would need to find a team more in win-now mode to pawn off Kirk & Noc. Here’s what the Warriors look like below. That’s 11 guys they’d like to get on the floor and get minutes for with alot of young guys they’d like to develop. Probably too similar to what the Bulls are doing to trade with.

Point – Ellis – Marcus Williams

Wings – Jackson – Maggette – Azubuike – Belinelli

Bigs – Harrington – Beidrins – Brendan Wright- Turiaf – Anthony Randolph

by rb22 on Jul 25, 2008 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Warriors are trying to compete this year

Maybe they aren’t thinking title this year, but you don’t give an injury-prone 28 year old Corey Maggette $10 million a year if you’re in “development mode”. Assuming Biedrins, Ellis, and Wright improved, this team might be just as good as it was at the end of last season. Swap Harrington for Hinrich and Noc, and the Warriors are probably a playoff team.

PG Hinrich, Marcus Williams
SG Ellis, Azubuike
SF Maggette, Nocioni
PF Jackson, Wright, Randolph
C Biedrins, Turiaf

That’s a better starting line than they had last year, and their bench is deeper. I’d take that team over Phoenix, Dallas, and Denver among last year’s playoff teams.

by YaoPau on Jul 25, 2008 11:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better than last year?

I don’t think so at all. I think they’d still be fun to watch, but that’s about it. Baron Davis was alot better there than he got credit for. I don’t think the team above would have a chance to make the playoffs, and I wouldn’t put them anywhere near Phoenix or Dallas.

And you can have players older than 25 and be in development mode. If they’re good in 3 years, Maggette would give them a vet to fit in with the younger guys. A mix of ages is usually best, and it’s not like he’s 35.

by rb22 on Jul 25, 2008 11:56 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs