While the Lakers have not been active in signing any outside free agents, they have made a decision to turn one of their own players loose onto the open market.
Lakers announce they have waived Tarik Black.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) July 1, 2017
Black was scheduled to make $6.7 million next season, but the entire amount was non-guaranteed if he was waived before July 4th. This amount now drops off the Lakers’ cap, leaving them with roughly $18.7 million in cap space now.
One way to look at this is that the Lakers could be in the mix for a mid to high priced free agent and they needed this salary space to pursue him. The team has reportedly had conversations with several free agents (Andre Iguodala, Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore), though I’m guessing none of them would require the type of contract this move opens up.
Instead, then, my guess is that waiving Black now is really the culmination of several factors. First, Black is not likely to play many minutes next season. Brook Lopez is the team’s starting C and Ivica Zubac is a young player the team is high on and will want to give minutes to as the primary backup. Add to them the team liking to go small with either Julius Randle or Larry Nance Jr. sliding up to C and you can see how Black would have been squeezed for minutes and maybe out of the rotation entirely.
Second — and related — if Black isn’t going to play the Lakers are better served to do this move now in order to allow Black time to get into conversations with other teams where he can maximize his exposure on the market. Waiting until July 4th to make this move would not have been operating in good faith with the player and there’s no one who understands this better than Lakers’ GM Rob Pelinka who worked for two decades as an agent.
Third, waiving Black at all is reflective of the team not being able to trade him. The structure of Black’s non-guaranteed year and the fact that it did not trigger until after free agency began (most non-guaranteed triggers happen before the new league year begins on July 1st) tells me that the team always viewed him as a possible trade chip. The team could have aggregated Black’s salary into a larger deal looking to save money in a deal, sending him away only to ultimately be waived by the team that acquired him. By outright releasing him now, the front office clearly could not leverage Black’s non-guaranteed money in this way.
As for Black the player, I will miss him both on and off the court. Black is a pure hustle player who gets after it defensively, hits the glass hard, and finishes around the rim with force. He plays hard every minute he’s on the floor and was starting to flash some improvement in his game — especially at the foul line where he hit 75% of his FT’s after shooting 55% and 44% in his first two seasons.
Off the court, Black has always been mature beyond his years bringing a steadiness and serving as a sounding board for smart and nuanced takes on a variety of subject matters. I always viewed him as a great locker room guy and teammate, someone who could lead by example, but also by imparting words of wisdom to his peers by speaking up with a timeliness that would reflect an impetus for his teammates to take him seriously. Many of these qualities are reflected in a goodbye post he put up on social media:
I wish Black nothing but the best in his next opportunity. I think he can be a nice rotation big man for most any team in the league and I think he’ll show that wherever he catches on next.
drrayeye says
Thanks for the explanation, Darius,
Others have seen this as a sign that Robinson would be brought back at a much lower cost,
but . . . .
This was depressing. I’m too dumb for the finer points in team construction and cap space management, but, IMO, the Lakers really need to show future stars a commitment to core values to rise back to championship level. We could learn from San Antonio.
I thought they did that last year by signing–and occasionally playing–MWP. I wished that Tarik would be occupying that “MWP” slot this year.
Ray
Anonymous says
Are the Lakers for sure out of the Gordon Hayward sweepstakes? Love to add Hayward this summer and PG next off season. If we have $18 mill now in space we’re only about 10 mill off of having a max slot. Can’t we dump Brewer and make an offer?
Visions of Hayward at SF, George at SG and Ingram at PF (gain strength young man) with Ball and Zubac rounding out the next Lakers championship starting five.
sam says
i loved tarik black as a person but made no sense to bring him back at the price tag — he is a class guy but it is a business
no minutes availabe or he is taking minutes from guys we need to figure out like zubac or randle/nance at 4/5 and even kuzma
Alexander says
Tariq may have been retained if Julius had gone to IND. Getting Thomas at #42 sealed the deal.
He was a wonderful player for us and I wish him success wherever he plays next.
FredP says
This is a solid analysis. Cutting Black may make more sense for his career but it throws mud at the idea that high character players are more important to the Lakers than ones with talent. He showed enough last season to be able to find a job once the major free agents settle down.
dxmanners says
This is a mistake. Guys with this character and effort don’t grow on trees. There could have been a way to make it work. Sad.
Artemis says
Love Tarik Black but the Lakers have a much greater need in the back-court, not to mention with Lopez, Zubac getting most of the minutes at C and Randle, Nance using the rest when Luke goes small ball, it would have been like the Byron era.
Lakers need to sign a back-up PG and possibly a starting veteran SG that can play minutes as back-up at SF. By waiving Black they increased their cap space and now have 18M instead of 12M to offer free agents.
Rick in Seattle says
Agree that the team (as currently constructed) has greater needs at both guard spots than they have in the front court. That thinking appears to be confirmed with the free agent players that the Lakers FO has reportedly spoken with the first day: Iggy, Rondo, Young and McLemore, all back-court players. I suppose that it’s still possible that a trade could develop that may include a player like Deng or Randle, but right now there are greater needs at the guard positions.
With George now in OKC, its seems quite reasonable that he gets moved again before the February trading deadline. OKC’s GM is no stranger to making deals. Presti got George at a discount price. So, if he can bring back a nice haul from Boston or Cleveland (or some other team), he would be remiss not to do so, in the interests of improving his own team.
The one trade that appears the most likely at the moment is K Love to OKC for George. Some have forgotten that Love was a teammate of Westbrook’s at UCLA–so they have a connection. Love also has a couple years remaining on his current contract, so would be a more stable acquisition.
Many have pointed out that Love is not a great fit along side LeBron. George is a good two-way player and with the ability to play multiple positions, would probably complement LeBron’s style of play much better than Love. I’m sure LeBron is thinking of one more ring for Cleveland. Even with Cleveland capped out the way they are, they are so close, it wont take a lot of tweaking to keep than on top in the East. even if its just for a one-year rental to get LeBron his next ring in Cleveland.
As for Boston, they are alreasy a strong young team. Whether or not they get Hayward, George could be the one piece that puts them over the Cavs in the East. Obviously, Boston has the picks & pieces to do just that, if they so choose.
If I were in Presti’s shoes, I would be thinking about long- term improvements. George is short-term and likely to leave after this season. Therefore, it seems just too logical that Presti would at least make a few inquiries about George–probably after free agency has settled down.
So, I don’t think we have seen the last of the Paul George discussion. Stay tuned….
adamv37 says
Tarik Black is a quality center, good for 15-20 minutes of pure hustle. He’s also a great human being by every story I’ve heard of him and I thought that would be a good reason for the FO to keep him around. I really wanted to see him back for another season but the minutes crunch in the front court and his salary apparently outweighed the contributions he could provide.
Good luck Tarik! We’ll see you soon.
stats says
Class act all the way. I understand the move, but I wish him the very best. The world needs more people like Tariq Black, imo.
Anonymous says
I’m just glad to know that people like TB exist. Good on him. Once a Laker, always a Laker.
Travis Y. says
We are looking at this through a fans’ lense.
We like high character guys who are likable, try hard and do their job.
The reality is that we were a 26-56 team last year, so we need to be willing to change our personnel so we can fit Luke and the front office’s vision (pushing the pace, sharing the ball, shooting 3s, and solid, hard nosed defense).
Tarik only fits one of those categories and was the reason he had to go. The way they drafted proves this theory and I applaud the commitment to a vision and plan.
CraigW. says
Fairwell Tarik!
I hope you can earn minutes with another team. We will cheer you when you are next introduced in Staples.
Travis Y. put it well. Tarik, there are newer, cheaper players who fit Luke’s system better at this time. Should things work out that some of them leave for us to get a max free agent, I wouldn’t mind resigning you in a year. However, I really hope you can find a secure home on another club.
darthgeezr says
Add my name to those that are sad to see the Lakers lose a quality guy, even if it makes business sense.
dxmanners says
I understand it’s a business. He’ll end up on a good team and be a solid bench contributor. Agree, still need a veteran guy for the backcourt, CJ Miles anyone?
Old Timer says
Got to respect the new FO vision. We all pointed out on this board why we liked Black for a measly 6.6m when that cap space has no utility value this year except more profit margin to the family. Black could teach our youth Zu and Bryant some form of toughness coming from a “tried” veteran. The team is not absolutely sure if Brook Lopez could play 82 games based from his history. There is not enough mileage yet for Zu to regard him an up and coming center. IMO, Lakers played “cheapo” in waiving this Vet. There is such thing as over reliance on a system or paradigm dismissing what is reality that can occur in 82 game season? College basketball appears to be rosy and promising but not yet proven and therefore raw when they go against true professionals.
Barath Sundar says
That cap space could be used to have a look at a veteran on a one year plan or another youngster.
It can be used to facilitate a salary dump by another team , giving the Lakers a pick or two.
It all depends..
Paul David says
Loved Tarik Black, and he should have been in the line up for at least one more year. He is well respected on and off the court, and I think that is greater than just talent itself. I believe respect begets respect and respect, at all times, yields better result, game-wise and character-wise. Loved to have him fir one more year and impart valuable lessons to the newbies on how to conduct yourself in the hard court and off it. Thank you Tarik Black! “Matarik man ang bundok na aakyatin, kakayanin pa rin sapagkat Diyos ikaw ay pagpapalain”. That is in Filipino (Philippines) which means “However high the mountain you climb, you will succeed because God will bless you!”
Anonymous says
Tarik will be missed but his departure is due to his inability to stretch the floor. Please see the type of players the Lakes have tabbed to play the 4 and 5 positions. I wish him good luck.
81 Witness says
Maybe the Lakers should take a flyer on George Hill. 2 years $20M. Solid defensive PG on the Jazz last year. Could be the Byron Scott to the Lonzo Ball (Magic).
Clay Bertrand says
One of the overlooked downsides perhaps of Tariks being waived is that Darius may need to change his Twitter account pic. Its a great shot of Tarik giving DeMarcus Cousins the, “You Mad Brah???” look during an early season game where Mozzy and Randle were busting him up and the Lakers got a win over the SUCKramento Queens. Boogie was lookin like he might wanna dance and Tarik was right there waitin to REGULATE!!!!!!
In the meantime, the biggest news on the Laker front is Derek Fisher’s Deuce charges SMH. I guess the dust hasn’t settled enough for the Lakers to start sweepin!!!!! Rob wants to use the Dyson but Magic is a DustBuster man!!!!!!
Clay Bertrand says
With Minny putting the Old Thibs Bulls back together with Gibson, Butler, etc. would it be possible to trade Deng for the Sears Store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis????? I’m willing to bet they both have declining years next year but I think Sears has a stronger future than Luol Deng.
R says
“…Sears has a stronger future than Luol Deng.”
Ouch!
Rick in Seattle says
May be worth a shout out to Minny! Lakers could remodel that Sears store into a Howard Johnson’s and have a place to stay when in town, and some income when not. You’re starting to sound like Magic (the businessman), bro…..But, all ideas are welcome, if we’re talking about moving Deng. Maybe we could trade him for the rights to Kwame Brown or Andrew Bynum. .. Ops, forgot, we already did that!
Alexander says
I was holding a real smidget of hope for that one. The Lakers have publicized a 2020 unprotected 1st for a Deng dump. The Wolves could have picked up Deng while counterdumping Pekovic’s expiring salary. Deng’s role would have been backup 4 and lockerroom/system contributor, and that he’d be able to do adequately. Taj is the same idea, much better player. 🙁
DieTryin' says
Tarik is a class act. He brought energy every time he was on the floor but completely understandable why the option was declined. He will catch on with another team and contribute! Wish him the best.
On another note I see that Jodie Meeks signed w/ Washington for $7 million over 2 years. That is a very reasonable price. We NEED shooters…wonder if we were in the hunt for him.
Alan says
I will miss T. Black, but I’m excited about the recent draft. Hopefully there is still a team that can use his game. Next we have Summer League and I’m looking forward to watching the new players compete. There is still the issue of Deng’s contract as I don’t see him getting a lot of minutes? Clarkson and Randle are the subject of every trade rumor, that’s getting old now that Paul George’s fate has been determined.
Vasheed says
Black fit into Luke’s small ball line-ups well so, I find this a little disappointing. Ideally a Luke center would be able to hit threes, run like a PF, and block everything in the paint. UNfortunately Towns isn’t available. I’m curious to see if the Lakers new stretch 5’s are able to stay on the court or will small ball line-ups contine to limit minutes for true bigs like Lopez and Zubac.
Magic should be taking note on Minny. They have settled on which of their young group are keepers, Towns-Wiggins and then cashing out on everyone else to bring in guys who fit the vision of their coach. Helps the president and coach are the same guy I guess. The Lakers need to start making decisions this year as it will only get harder next year before the Lakers youth movement cap situation explodes.
I would note at this point the Lakers dreams of signing 2 max free agents next year rest on moving 2 of the following 3 guys: Preferebaly Deng is one of the guys making 18 million, Clarkson at a bit over 12 million and Randle will be a bit over 12 million as a cap hold but could cost more.