Lakers News: Just What Was L.A. Willing To Offer In Possible Spurs Trade?
We already knew that your Los Angeles Lakers apparently tried to trade for a San Antonio Spurs package centered around sharpshooters Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson. We didn't know that trade talks apparently ended at an impasse prior to the start of the season, much like the rumored Indiana Pacers trade, or that opinions apparently differ about how far the L.A. front office was willing to go in a potential San Antonio exchange.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports that the Lakers were actually amenable to tendering a first-round draft pick to the Spurs, though LJ Ellis of SpursTalk had reported that nothing was offered by Los Angeles beyond two second-round selections.
Scotto reports that McDermott's $13.8 million salary and Richardson's $12.2 million contract would arrive on the Lakers roster to help shore up the three-point rate of the NBA's worst-shooting long range club, in exchange for the expiring $47.1 million contract of sixth man Russell Westbrook and some level of future draft pick compensation. Scotto suggests that, contrary to the Ellis report of two second-round picks, talks hit a wall when both sides haggled over protections on said first-round pick. L.A. was unwilling to remove lottery protections from its future first-rounder in the deal.
"Isn't this a pretty minor difference in a deal where the most exciting player in the offing would be leaving the team?" you might ask.
Perhaps.
But it's a fairly important distinction. That is probably the going rate on quality veteran shooters on decent contracts, so holding firm on a pitch of anything less (i.e. the two second-rounders) feels like a negotiating gaffe. It's reassuring that L.A. knows what to offer in a possible deal.
Richardson is connecting on 36.3% of its 4.7 three-point attempts per day, while McDermott is nailing 40.5% of its 4.6 tries from beyond the arc.
