Just 43 games into Roy Hibbert’s California tenure, the Los Angeles Lakers may already be planning its abrupt end.
Hibbert has always been considered a one-year stopgap. His contract comes off the books after this season, and the Lakers are going to be flush with cap space over the summer. He was supposed help bridge the competitive gap between Kobe Bryant’s swang song and the team’s attempt at another free-agency coup.
But, per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (h/t Hoops Rumors ), the Lakers and Hibbert are ready to move on from each other as soon as possible:
Roy Hibbert waived some of his trade kicker to land in LA… I was told Lakers trying to find him a playoff team. https://t.co/f0ulO2TqJB
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) January 18, 2016
Good luck with that, Lakers.
Seriously, assuming it’s true, good luck.
Hibbert’s cap hit for trades is nearly $15.6 million, and he’s posting the lowest player efficiency rating of his career, according to Basketball-Reference. No team is going to take on that much coin for a declining rim protector who doesn’t really do much else anymore. And if there is a suitor for Hibbert, it’s most likely one that expects the Lakers to absorb unwanted long-term salary in return—which, knowing the Lakers’ perpetual free-agency aspirations, is something they just won’t do.
It’s more likely that Hibbert finishes the year in purple and gold and moves on as a free agent—unless he’s willing to accept a demonstrative paycut and back up whomever the Lakers bring in next.
