Lakers Rumors: Three different super teams the Lakers can construct
By Jason Reed
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade. 2. player. 20. . Banana Boat Crew
There it is, the infamous Banana Boat Crew. The friendships of Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade has been no secret to the rest of the NBA. We already saw two of the four team up in Miami, and could see Paul and Anthony teaming up in Houston. However, there is a possibility that the four could team up in Los Angeles.
Let’s face it, these guys may no longer be in their prime, but with all four together they would instantly be the favorites to win the NBA Championship. The Lakers may be setting their future up for failure, however, the great part about these four is they could acquire them while maintaining their young core; it’s the perfect win-win.
Wade and Paul will be free agents next season no matter what, so that step is out of the way. James has a player option after this season in Cleveland, with all signs pointing to his departure.
How would you feel if the Banana Boat Crew (Anthony, James, Paul, Wade) all took pay cuts to join the Lakers?
— LA Sports Hub (@LA_SportsHub) July 28, 2017
The tricky one is Anthony. As you may know, Anthony is owed a lot of money over the next two seasons. However, Anthony does hold an early termination option on his contract, meaning that if the cards are on the table to join his buddies he could easily take a pay cut for his ring.
If the Lakers can get rid of Luol Deng and Clarkson for expiring deals, to make space, they would have just under $70 million in cap space. Wade, being the worst, can take a $10 million salary while the other three take around $20 million.
Granted, this is assuming that the four would be willing to take a pay cut to play together and win a championship. It seems rare in today’s NBA to take a pay cut, but Kevin Durant did it, so they may need to as well.