Irving is apparently trying to convince Lebron to force his way to Dallas. I hadn't actually thought of that, but that would be interesting.
Assuming Lebron (and the Lakers) were ok with that, what type of trade would be reasonable.
Would either team do something like this?
Lebron for Hardaway, Bullock, 10
Lakers obviously get worse in the near term, but pick up a top 10 pick for development in their rebuild.
I assume they'd then look to move on from Davis (something like Simons, Sharpe, and 3 would make sense).
They then bring back Reaves, Vanderbilt, Hachimura, and add Simons, Sharpe, 3, and 10. Not a contender but at least a decent foundation and they'd have a fair amount of cap space unless they significantly overpaid their free agents.
The Blazers would add Davis to Lillard and give Lillard a real shot. The Mavs would be incredibly fascinating with Kyrie, Luka, and Lebron. I have no idea if they'd be any good, but they sure would be fascinating.
My perception is that the Blazers view Sharpe as nearly untouchable. The kid just turned 20, an athletic wonder, and absolutely lit it up in the last month of the season when he had a chance to log consistent, real minutes. Look at his performances:
February -- 47.7% overall shooting, 37.2% from three, 9.3 PPG in 22.8 minutes
March -- 47.9% overall shooting, 42.5% from three, 13.8 PPG in 26.6 minutes
April -- 45.3% overall shooting, 28.1% from three (with three more attempts), 22.8 PPG in 32.3 minutes -- note, this is only four games
He's no guaranteed superstar, but his ceiling is about as high as it gets. I think that's part of the reason you see Simons shopped so liberally. Sharpe is a non-starter even for a guy like Davis unless it's basically straight up...Simons, Sharpe, and the #3 is a total robbery.
Maybe the case, but if they aren't going to go for it with Lillard, then they should trade him. Even assuming that is an overpay, I think the Blazers would be one of the few teams out West you could expect to make a real run at the title. If they bring back their other main free agents, they'd be:
Lillard, Davis, Nurkic, Grant, Reddish, Thybulle, Little, Knox, Johnson, Winslow, Eubanks
That team would be an excellent team (with a few vets and young guys to round out the bench), right there with the best teams in the sport. Now if they could acquire Davis and keep one of Simons, Sharpe or 3, they'd be even better, but I'm not sure why the Lakers would do that, as I think they could get more elsewhere (though it may be more future assets instead of right now assets i.e. a bunch of future 1st's).
