Rivers may be replaced with two Kings double guns. Do the Lakers dare to gamble?

I just talked about Rivers' data, status and future yesterday. Today I suddenly found that the media broke out that the Lakers wanted to exchange Rivers for Keegan Murray and Keean Ellis of the Kings. It can be seen that the Lakers management is still actively looking for reinforcement plans and dealing with Rivers' non-renewal actions.

Reeves is quite critical. I want to use "panacea" to describe him, which is quite appropriate.

If you only look at his data, you will only be in the early 20s and have about 6 assists, which is not particularly explosive. But all the work he does is what Luca needs the most! When Luca gets the ball, she often attracts two or three people to double-team. At this time, Reeves' role is reflected. He can always find an open position to catch the ball, either shoot a steadily three-pointer or make the next move immediately. Every time he takes a three-pointer, I feel that it is very stable. If the opponent's defense line shrinks, he can cut in and stir up again. To put it bluntly, he is the "lubricant" that makes Luka play more comfortable and makes the entire offense smoother.

Now the problem is: this "lubricant" is so popular that other teams can see it and remember it in their hearts.

Reeves himself also had an idea. The Lakers once offered to renew his contract in advance for about 90 million in four years to lock him up, but he refused. The meaning was obvious: I wanted to try the waters in the free market next summer and try a bigger contract, preferably at 30 million. Now, his contract (with two years left, less than 14 million a year) has become particularly attractive in the trading market - easy to use and inexpensive, and has a high cost performance!

The Lakers can't go the same path, waiting for a renewal of 30 million yuan. It is not impossible if there is a more suitable trading plan. The most exciting solution may be to talk to the king.

What if Keegan Murray (the young forward who can shoot threes and has a height and wingspan) and Kean Ellis (the defender who specializes in defense) are going to exchange for Reeves? This combination sounds quite good to the Lakers.

First of all, there is no problem with salary being basically balanced (the salary of the two people is about the same as Reeves).

makes up for the Lakers' shortcomings: Murray can provide the Lakers' urgently needed forward height, rebounds and stable three-pointers; Ellis can help Smart share the pressure to mark the opponent's arrow characters, making the outside defense more layered.

But the difficulty is: the king also values these two young people very much. They may not really want to let go, or the price will be very high. So this plan looks beautiful, but it is hard to say whether it can come true. In addition, the Lakers' interesting team's attributes have always been there, so we can only drool.

If you don't trade with the Kings, will the Lakers have other plans? I looked at it and there were indeed some alternatives, but they all felt that they were almost interesting, or the risks were not small:

For example, traded with the Cavaliers and the Clippers, Hunter and Bogdan: Hunter defended well and also had three-pointers; Bogdan's shooting was really accurate! But, Hunter's hidden danger of injury has always been unreliable. Bogdan's contract is not small (37 million in two years). If the Lakers get it, they have to consider both salary pressure and injury risk.

Look at the Thunder and the Bulls, Caruso and Patrick Williams: Who doesn't like Caruso's defense? He is a former Lakers player again, and his relationship is there. Paway's talent is really good and his physical fitness is great. The problem is that Caruso is also prone to injury and three-pointers are unstable; Pavey's performance is too big and not stable enough. The upper limit may be good, but the uncertainty is also quite high.

So this matter is actually quite tangled:

If you keep Reeves: the benefits are obvious, he and Luca have already had a tacit understanding of each other, and this offensive system runs quite smoothly. Keeping him is to seek stability, maintain your current competitiveness, and bet on this core lineup to make a move.

If it can really be exchanged for Murray and Ellis (or a similar level of forward upgrade): that is definitely aimed at solving the team's most fundamental shortcomings - height, rebounds, and front defense depth. This is a "structural upgrade", with great potential, but also high risks. If the newcomer doesn't work well with Luca and James, or Murray can't achieve the expected results in the Lakers system, then the offensive fluency may be gone. Who will make up for the role of Reeves' "lubricant"?

This is a multiple-choice question in front of the Lakers:

If you pay more attention to the smoothness and tacit understanding of the current offense (Liu Reeves), or would you rather bet and completely strengthen the weakest forward and defense (trade exchanges, such as Murray)? It depends on which direction the Lakers think can help them go further in the fiercely competitive West.

I personally think that Rivers is used as a system stabilizer, and leave it until December to see the overall record and injury situation before making a decision. Seek a word of stability.

So, if it were you, what would you choose?