Lakers' offseason operations exposed! Negotiations have been made for the three major center strikers, and the mini middle class target is one of the two

On June 18, Beijing time, according to Lakers reporter Anthony Irwin, sources close to the team reiterated that the Lakers' internal plan was to get the starting center through a trade. They have already negotiated with other teams for Claxton, Robert Williams, Walker Kessler and more. Then, ideally, sign his bench with a 5.7 million mini-mid-range – Brook Lopez and Capela are the two names most often associated with the Lakers. It's a solid plan that is thought they might be able to execute.

Irvin also said that this task becomes nearly impossible when the rest of the league knows that a team has to do something. Sources close to the Lakers and the league say trade talks didn't go as the Lakers had hoped, as teams once again tried to directly benefit from the Lakers' mistakes and mishandling of assets at the center position over the past few years.

Recent history has made this lesson all the clearer.

After Butler messed up the game so much that the Miami Heat suspended him, the rewards he received were far from what he was worth. Fox was traded to the Spurs after asking to be traded, mostly in exchange for a long-term unfavorable contract and a couple of middling draft picks, as the situation he was in had deteriorated. Regardless of where Durant ends up being traded by the Suns, the team that gets him will likely not have much effort.

Here's the point: When other NBA executives know that a team is under intense pressure and must act quickly, they try to capitalize on the situation, and almost always succeed to varying degrees.

What's maddening about the Lakers' frustration in the center market is that they should have learned from their recent experiences in the trade market, as the market knows exactly what they have to do.

"The worst you can put yourself in is to let everybody know your desperation while you negotiate," a former executive said of the dilemma, "and the whole league knows that the Lakers not only need a starting center, but they probably need a backup, and they need to bring in players that Luka is willing to play alongside them." They can basically only hope that one of the other teams will also reach their current level of desperation so that the negotiations can take place on an equal footing. ”