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原標題：Lakers’ offseason hinges on their decision at point guard. So, what
        can they do?
        (湖人的休賽季取決於他們在控球後衛位置方面作出的結論。因此，他們會怎樣
         做？)

來源：付費媒體

作者：Jovan Buha


原文＋翻譯：

For the fourth consecutive summer, the Lakers are looking for a solution at
point guard.

這已是湖人隊連續第四個夏天，正在尋找著對於控球後衛的解決方案。

Since its 2020 championship, when then-35-year-old LeBron James and
then-33-year-old Rajon Rondo excelled as the Lakers’ lead ballhandlers, Los
Angeles has used a revolving door of point guards. James’ advanced age and
mounting injuries, as well as an internal acknowledgment that he should play
off the ball more, have created a need for more supplementary ballhandling,
playmaking and shot creation within Los Angeles’ offense. It’s why the
Lakers have been enamored with the possibility of adding elite scoring guards
like Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving through the years.



They have taken some big swings to fill this hole. The Lakers traded Danny
Green and a 2020 first-round pick for Dennis Schroder before the 2020-21
season. They flipped Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell
and a 2021 first-round pick to Washington in exchange for Russell Westbrook
in a five-team mega-deal in the ensuing summer. They, of course, moved
Westbrook for D’Angelo Russell (among others) in a three-team trade at the
2023 trade deadline, to mixed results. Russell, Schröder (twice) and even
Westbrook had productive moments, but none have provided exactly what the
Lakers have sought since the title run.



The Lakers are at a crossroads once again this summer. Russell and Schroder
are unrestricted free agents, opening up the possibility that one or both aren
’t back and the Lakers must again cycle through new options at point guard.
After priority No. 1 (re-signing free agent Austin Reaves) and No. 2
(re-signing restricted free agent Rui Hachimura), the Lakers’ next priority
is addressing their point guard uncertainty.



With the key spots in their rotation largely settled if they retain Reaves
and Hachimura, the Lakers’ offseason swings on their decision at point
guard. They have various options, from running it back (re-signing Russell
and Schroder) to chasing an expensive upgrade via free agency or trade
(Irving, Fred VanVleet, Trae Young), or splitting the difference (signing the
potentially available Chris Paul in addition to retaining Russell and/or Sch-
roder).



The Lakers’ needs at point guard will be determined in part by how they fill
out the rest of their roster, but one of the constant requirements has been a
player who can competently run the offense when James is off the floor,
develop strong pick-and-roll chemistry with Anthony Davis, fare well off the
ball as a catch-and-shoot threat and cutter and at least hold his own in the
team’s defensive scheme. Russell, Schroder and Westbrook each checked
several of those boxes, but none checked all of them.



The most likely path forward is re-signing Russell and Schroder (possibly
with their taxpayer midlevel exception, worth a projected $6.5 million), as
The Athletic previously reported.

按照《運動家》早前的報導，最有可能的作法莫過於重新簽下 D'Lo 和德軟（可能用到納
稅中產階級特例，價值預計是六百五十萬美元）。

Russell’s stock has never been lower after a disappointing Western
Conference finals showing against the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
He was significantly better in the first two rounds but still did not quite
perform well enough to be the third option on a title-contending team — the
level at which the Lakers will be paying him to play if he’s retained.
Russell is certainly a useful player who is good on more nights than not. But
a player making at least $20 million per season shouldn’t be played off the
floor in high-stakes playoff games.



Given Russell’s inconsistent playoff performance and the lack of league-wide
interest in him, the Lakers should have the upper-hand in contract
negotiations. One framework the Lakers have discussed internally, according
to multiple team sources not authorized to speak publicly, is signing Russell
to a front-loaded two-year deal – either with an option in the second year
or a straight two-year contract – that both gives him the salary he wants
and keeps him on the same timeline as James (player option in 2024) and Davis
(has an early termination option in 2024 and is eligible for a contract
extension in August).



Even though the three-team deadline deal was more about getting rid of
Westbrook than the players acquired, the Lakers don’t want to lose Russell
in free agency for nothing. Their preference is to find a superior player by
either sign-and-trading Russell elsewhere in July or, more likely at this
point, re-signing him and then potentially trading him later in the season
for a better player or fit.



There may not be many realistic and attractive alternatives to re-signing
Russell. It’s unclear what, if anything, he would net them on the
sign-and-trade front. The theoretical alternatives range from unrealistic
(Irving, VanVleet) to even more unrealistic (Young, Lillard).



Acquiring Irving or VanVleet would almost certainly require a sign-and-trade,
which would hard cap the Lakers at $169.0 million. The Lakers can create
roughly $30million  to $35 million in cap space, but it would cost them
multiple rotation players, likely including Hachimura. Even then, Irving and
VanVleet may want more than the $35 million the Lakers can offer – Irving’s
maximum contract would start at about $47 million and VanVleet’s max begins
at $40.2 million. Young and Lillard have been discussed internally but appear
nothing more than a pipe dream given the current asking prices for stars on
the trade market.



That leaves Paul as the most realistic potential upgrade at point guard. If
Paul is waived or stretched by the Suns, the Lakers would have a strong
interest in signing him, according to multiple team sources not authorized to
speak publicly.

這使得CP3 成為控球後衛群中，最現實的潛在升級。據多個未獲授權公開發言的球隊消息
人士透露，如果CP3 被太陽隊裁走，湖人隊對於簽下他將有強烈的興趣。

The Athletic reported the Suns were working with Paul through a number of
options for next season, including a trade or a release. He is slated to make
$30.8 million next season, but only $15.8 million of that is guaranteed if he
is waived before June 28.



Given that Paul’s next contract would offset the amount he’s guaranteed for
this season, him signing for anything more than the veteran’s minimum doesn’
t really make sense, as it would only hinder his new team. The Lakers could
then sign Paul to a veteran’s minimum contract, retaining access to other
salary-cap exceptions to use on other players to bolster their depth.



Paul is coming off a season in which he averaged 13.9 points per game (on a
55.5 true shooting percentage), 4.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.5 steals. He’
s far from the player he was even a few years ago, but he remains a quality
starter as a plus shooter and passer. His biggest issue, as has been the case
for several years, is durability. He has suffered an injury in three straight
postseasons and six of his nine trips to the playoffs, indicating the Lakers
would likely have to manage his workload throughout the 2023-24 season.



If the Lakers replace Russell with Paul on a minimum contract, they’d be
able to easily retain Reaves and Hachimura and have the option to use their
non-taxpayer midlevel exception (worth approximately $12.5 million annually)
on Schröder, another player, or both. Another option the Lakers have
discussed is signing Paul and retaining Russell to further solidify their
point guard position, according to those team sources. Paul would be the
favorite to start in that scenario.



Head-to-head, Paul vs. Russell was never a conversation until last season,
and Paul still rates out better in virtually every advanced metric. He’s the
better midrange shooter, passer, rebounder and more of a defensive playmaker.
That said, Russell is younger, nearly matched Paul as a midrange shooter this
past season and is the better 3-point shooter both by percentage and volume.
Russell’s 6-foot-10 wingspan also allows him to defend bigger players and
add length to the Lakers’ scheme in a way that the 38-year-old Paul never
could.



Paul’s ability to command an offense would be appealing to a Lakers team
that has lacked that type of traditional floor general. James, of course, has
always played that role, to an extent, but Paul is one of the few players in
the league he would fully trust to help co-pilot the offense. Signing Paul in
this scenario would also be a minimal one-year investment from the Lakers.

CP3 指揮進攻的能力對於缺乏這種傳統地板將軍的湖人隊來說是很有吸引力的。當然，


There are other reasons for a Paul-Lakers reunion. Paul’s family remains in
Los Angeles. Paul and James have a long, storied friendship. They have
envisioned what it would be like to play together over the years. Paul
famously was traded to the Lakers in 2011 before the deal was nixed by former
commissioner David Stern for “basketball reasons.”



If the Lakers sign Paul, let Russell walk and retain Schroder, a Paul-Schroder
backcourt tandem would still allow Paul to play only 24 to 26 minutes per
night in the regular season before ramping up to a larger role in the
playoffs. Paul and Schroder played together in Oklahoma City during the
2019-20 season; Thunder lineups outscored opponents by 15.6 points per 100
possessions in the regular season and 5.3 points per 100 possessions in the
playoffs with the duo on the floor, per NBA.com.



However, Schroder is quietly one of the top point guard options realistically
available this summer and will command deals that could be upwards of the
non-taxpayer mid-level exception (about $12.5 million starting salary). The
Lakers only have non-Bird rights on him, meaning they’d likely need to use
the midlevel exception to meet his market.



The Lakers have other options. They could re-sign Schröder anyway and
promote him to starting point guard, maintaining wing and big-man depth by
keeping Malik Beasley ($16.5 million team option) and Mo Bamba ($10.3 million
non-guaranteed contract) over Russell. They could technically sign all three
of Russell, Paul and Schröder, with Russell and Schröder sliding up to
shooting guard in smaller bench backcourts. They could also hand ballhandling
keys over to Reaves and add a player in the Caldwell-Pope/Danny Green mold
next to him to form a bigger backcourt, but it’s unclear if they’re willing
to do that yet.



Looking at the free-agent market, if the Lakers wanted to use one of their
exceptions, there aren’t many – if any – options that would be a
legitimate upgrade over Schroder, let alone Russell. The Athletic’s John
Hollinger’s free-agency point guard rankings have Russell and Schroder at
No. 3 and No. 6, respectively. Aside from Irving and VanVleet, Miami’s Gabe
Vincent – more of a combo guard than a traditional floor general – is the
only appealing alternative, at least to Schröder.



Most realistically, the Lakers will re-sign Russell and Schröder,
maintaining flexibility for next season with the ability to enhance the
roster with a trade during the season. There’s also the growing possibility
that they can make a move at the 2023 draft, flipping their pick (No. 17),
along with Bamba and/or Beasley for a starting-level upgrade.



The Lakers have craved continuity for years and have a chance to finally
establish some semblance of that by running it back with most of their
current group. That begins with the point guard position, which will
determine who fills in the fifth spot around Davis, James, Hachimura and
Reaves in closing lineups.



Los Angeles has a one-to-two-year championship window with James (38) and
Davis (30). This is perhaps its best shot at addressing arguably the team’s
biggest need and help solve some of the late-game offensive lulls from the
playoffs, most notably in the conference finals.



There are numerous ways the Lakers’ offseason can unfold. But, assuming they
stay true to their intent by retaining Reaves and Hachimura, nothing is more
important for the Lakers than their future at point guard.

湖人隊的休賽季有無數方式可以開展。但是，假設他們忠於自己的計劃、留下 Reaves 和
八村，對湖人來說，沒有什麼比他們在控球後衛上的補強動作來得更重要。


短評：

在痛定思痛後，要再出發可能會是一大考驗呢...

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※ 作者: laptic 2023-06-17 08:24:17
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