Duan Ran: The Lakers are unwilling to give out young people in any transaction and do not want the veteran to have a contract of more than two years.

Commentator Duan Ranfa Bo talked about the Lakers' offseason operations to this day.

The original text is as follows:

​​The Lakers signed Ayton as part of the middle class special case to complete the strengthening of the center position. ESPN has news that he is the only player in the free market who may become a starting center. So - the media and fans temporarily ranked the Lakers' possible starting lineup next season. Luca, LeBron, Hachimura, Reeves, Ayton.

Interestingly, when he saw this five-person group, a well-known media person immediately raised a problem. Who is the one with a defensive label among them? LeBron, who was 41 years old at the time, Hachimura, who was full of enthusiasm, or Ayton, who was in a normal mood?

Friends probably discovered it - I added an attribution to the name of each player. During the 2018 draft, some media urged the Suns to choose Luca. The result is that Phoenix insisted on getting Ayton who went to college in Arizona. So the latter was called the top scorer of that year.

At that time, I was entrusted by a friend and paid attention to him from the perspective of a fan for a while. I know how many advantages he has, and I am also aware of this guy’s flaws. The A side of the coin - he has a solid center size and height, excellent mid-range shooting ability, and a solid and effective finish at the basket. Excellent defensive rebounds, a certain enthusiasm for offensive rebounds, and outstanding in assisting defense and protecting the basket. The B-side of the coin - one-on-one defense is insufficiently aggressive and the willingness to deal with the position is unclear. Technical advantages require positive emotions to be presented.

Aiton's contract lasts for two years and is worth $16.6 million. This means the team used the remaining middle class special case for him. Before getting Ayton, the Lakers signed Laravia. In a sense - Smith = Ayton + Laravia = The Lakers' complete middle-class choice. A little more rotation depth is a reasonable option when it is destined to split.

At this time point, the Lakers got Ayton, and their impact on the future is very subtle. I personally think this is another story line outside their lineup. Luca is the future of the Lakers, and LeBron is getting closer to retirement. This shows that the Lakers are currently pursuing efficient team building. Use the most reasonable bargaining chips to complete the most solid work. This is quite in line with the style of new boss Walter.

Reeves has not renewed his contract yet, and Luca has not made a complete decision. Introduce Ayton, sign Laravia, and keep Knector in the trading options as much as possible. This may be a bit exaggerated, but - from this series of dynamics of the Lakers, we can see a little bit of the right direction. This team has always tried to pursue overall youth.

For the media and fans, today's Lakers are actually a team with distinct asset allocation characteristics. Such a team does not value short-term returns, but long-term rational returns. It’s just that I got Ayton, why does this sound more and more like investment? The reason is actually very simple.

When the Warriors won the championship in 2017, general manager Bob Myers said in an interview that in the current NBA, no matter what the team's goals are, it is a game about salary allocation. There is only one championship every year. The champion team almost certainly has great value contracts, cost-effective signing and even rookie bonuses. There are 16 teams in the playoffs. Stable and reasonable configuration, relatively complete lineup selection, at least one core that can support the team.

If we carefully observe the current structure of the Lakers, it is easy to find two characteristics - they are unwilling to give out young people in any transaction. They don't want any veteran to have a contract of more than two years. In view of this, the outside world has unlimited speculation about the 2027 plan. Ayton came to Los Angeles, and the Lakers solved the center problem that Volkswagen is most concerned about.

ESPN said - They are finding a short-term substitute for Ayton. The Lakers have regained the basic configuration and the possibility of supplementing the young wing side by the way. Everything is moving towards a positive future. ​​​​