FanPost

Okafor & Russell Pipedream

This scenario is pretty much HEAVILY contingent on 3 factors:

1) The Kings/Boogie Cousins relationship is not fixable, even if they were to fire Karl, aka he pretty much forces his way to LA.

2) The Lakers do not sign Marc Gasol, or it is apparent to the organization that they don't have a shot at him.

3) The Kings are not in love with D'angelo Russell, would rather have future firsts.

***Disclaimer, I think all of these scenarios are fairly realistic, Boogie could blow up at any second, according to reports Gasol is not meeting with any other teams other than the Grizzlies, the third factor is the kicker.

BLOCKBUSTER:

Kings get: Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, our Lakers 2016 1st (Top 3 Protected), & our OKC 2016 1st (Top 15 Protected).

Lakers get: Boogie Cousins

Sixers get: D'angelo Russell

***Sixers could also use their cap space flexibility to take a bad contract off the Kings and/or Lakers books , or throw in 2nd rounders as sweeteners, or add in a player not named Noel, Embiid, Okafor & hopefully Covington.

People may say this deal is unrealistic however, if the Kings backs are against the walls, it could almost be counterproductive to even have Boogie on the team at that point, q the maturity issues. Plus, not that it's really Boogie's fault per se, the Kings have not won more than 29 games in the 5 years he's been in the league. Add this to the fact that the Kings are a terribly run organization, I think this can pass as a plausible scenario.

An argument could be made that the Sixers would have to throw in the 2016 Heat 1st (Top 10 Protected) instead of the OKC 1st. So the question is, what would be too much to give up for Russell?

In my opinion, I think this is a deal where Hinkie can really shine. He hasn't been shy about acquiring assets or maintaining an abundance of cap space for optimal flexibility and optionality. All it takes is the perfect opportunity like this one, taking advantage of a situation where the motives of two teams could already be set in stone (Kings getting rid of Boogie, and the Lakers acquiring Boogie at almost all costs) and using it to our advantage. The Sixers just help sweeten the pot with the future 1st's that Lakers just do not have.

Hinkie did say that this draft was a 3 player draft, imagine if he managed to pluck 2 out of the 3. We'd be looking at a core of Noel, Embiid, Okafor & Russell, and ample amount of cap space. Maybe we are not as far away from relevancy as we think...

Who says no?

A user-created LB joint. The Liberty Ballers staff does not contribute to FanPosts.