At this point, regardless of what you hear behind the scenes, I don’t think anybody knows what Deron is doing. Unless Brooklyn makes a big trade (DH or otherwise), he probably won’t stay there. And if he leaves, there are only a few big market contenders where he could go.

Knicks (via trade), Lakers (via trade), or Dallas as an FA. Of course Dallas is an option, he is from there, Cuban has built a great franchise and Dirk would be there would a couple prime years left.

But what of his supposed “no longevity in Dallas” comment? Could be false, BUT would be easy to see why he would say that. It would be him, Dirk, Marion, minimum guys and maybe a little space for one more decent player. That probably won’t get them by OKC, and Dirk (just like Kobe) has a short window left. Then what?

It’s easy to see why LA could be attractive if he forced a 3-way trade. Kobe and Bynum would be there. Decent role players and perhaps Lamar or someone for the mini-mid level. Trade exception if needed. Great city. Historic franchise. Commitment to winning 100% of the time. He would contend instantly, his fame/endorsements would increase, and he’d be the face of the franchise as Kobe faded away. He also loves Cali and has lived there in off seasons before. There are a ton of reasons…the only negatives are “being in Kobe’s shadow” and perhaps the Mike Brown/Jim Buss combo, but hey, no franchise is perfect from top to bottom.

These are all just facts, of course, he may be swayed emotionally or for other reasons — maybe his Mom is begging him to come from Dallas. But the facts show why he has publicly said LA is one of the teams he’d be open to playing with.

Also, if he were to come to the Lakers, I think there’s a side benefit in not screwing the Nets over, who gave up a lot to get him. He could help them get some assets back in a 3-way trade for him. If Brooklyn could get a high quality player(s) from Houston, Memphis or Atlanta versus losing him for nothing, I believe they would.

And even if they were determined to just open the cap space…Deron could sign and trade with Houston, where we get him and Hou gets Gasol. Yes, I checked with Larry Coon – it’s possible within the rules of the CBA. So it doesn’t even depend on Brooklyn being willing to trade him, or be involved in a 3-way deal if they don’t want Gasol.

I apologize for calling you a Laker hater, but all this reasoning is much more trustworthy than rumors or extrapolations from Mark Medina — who can’t even get simple quotes right!

I don’t publish everything I hear. Let’s say I stand by D-Will not coming to LA.

Your original comment (when you talked about clearing cap space and “signing” Williams) implied you were talking about signing Williams as a free agent, which is impossible.

Hence my point: Williams can only had in a sign and trade, so the Nets most definitely do have a say. And reports are that the Nets would rather let Williams walk than take on Pau’s contract.

Per Wikipedia
Teams above the cap (or teams below the cap but would end up more than $100,000 over the cap following a trade) cannot acquire more than 125% plus $100,000 of the salary they trade away. Under the 2011 CBA, teams that remain below the cap even after the trade can acquire the lesser of 150% plus $100,000, or 100% plus $5 million, of the salary they trade away.[6] There is no lower limit—teams may divest themselves of as much salary as they wish in a trade.

From what I read, as long as D-Will salary is less then 125% of Gasol’s all is good.

I could read up on it more, but its too complex of a read. In the end, the Lakers are not going to care if it costs them $20 million extra to compete. Gate receipts still overtook players salaries, even last year.

You don’t just trade Pau for nothing. Salaries have to match unless you’re trading him to a team with cap space (and then a traded player exception is created). I don’t see many teams with $20 million in cap space just itching to take on Pau’s contract.

Secondly, even if the Lakers amnestied Pau (won’t happen) and simply wiped his contract from the books – they’re so far over the cap that they STILL wouldn’t have room to sign Williams.

Thus, the only way for the Lakers to get Williams is a sign-and-trade. Hence Williams saying “the only way for the Lakers to get me is a sign-and-trade.”

Kobe won’t be an issue, his contract is up in two years, and it will be Bynum’s and D-Will’s team.

And with Brooklyn lacking assets to trade for Howard, and Dallas floundering, gutted, and bleak in terms of their future — if you can’t see why or how Deron could come to LA, you shouldn’t be in this business.

Get used to years of mediicrity. it happens to ALL teams. This team having it happen will be much sweeter though.
Freaking arrogant fans.

1) Deron ONLY stays in Brooklyn if Dwight comes. But Brooklyn didn’t lucky in the draft, they don’t have the assets now. So he’s likely leaving…

2) He could go to Dallas, but he’s rumored to have said “there’s no longevity there.” Why? Because Dirk is 35, they’re losing their other guys (including Terry), and they’d at best have space for a $9-10 mill guy if they sign Deron and amnesty Haywood. Is Dirk, Deron and a bunch of scrubs a championship nucleus? NO.

3) It would be easy for him to go to LA. He just has to say “Hey GM Billy King, I only want to sign with LA. I know you don’t want Pau, but figure out a 3-way deal where you get young assets back for Pau. Better than losing me for nothing, right?” Of course it is, and then King works out a deal with Houston or Atlanta or Memphis where they take Pau and Brooklyn takes players they want.

Now, in terms of being in Kobe’s shadow — don’t be ridiculous. Deron would come to LA and make them instant contenders, he knows that. Also, the Lakers have lost 2 straight years so he’d get a ton of the credit for a title run if it happened, hardly being in Kobe’s shadow. Plus, a nucleus of Kobe/Bynum/Metta(not bad when healthy) + Hill/Sessions/Etc totally trumps whatever Dallas has or will get. And when Kobe is done soon, Deron becomes the face of a historic franchise. Not to mention the fact that Deron being in LA could even tempt Dwight to change his mind about the Lakers…and it’s known Orlando was interested in a Dwight for Bynum deal late last year.

So sorry Kurt, your post is just senseless Laker hate. There’s a waaaaaaaay better chance of Deron coming to LA than you’d care to admit. Deron could very well be on his way to LakerLand.

They would get a lot more for Bynum, and save $ by not having to give him a max contract after this year, so I would trade him to a desperate team. I know he is prob the best offensive big man in the game, but is injury prone and has heart/attitude issues.

Also, I would prob get a new coach. Brown isnt horrible, but they need someone who can maximize their roster if they want to compete with OKC