Part I

If we trade Rasheed's $6.3 mil. then add the $6.5 mil. Pierce will free up once he signs his new $15/yr. contract, we then have $12.8 mil. available. 

Add the MLE & we should get atleast 2 decent yet inexpensive big men who can score some points [unlike Perk] & bother LA's biggies or Dwight Howard.  The choices are Shaq, Brad Miller, Jermaine O. 

Another imperative is to get 1 or 2 pure scorer/penetrator who can create their own shot (inshort, has some athleticism ala T-Mac) because we're now seeing Ray & Pierce having more struggles due to their age.  

And even if Paul & Ray are still worth their salary, we surely need another effective slasher/scorer during the times these 2 are struggling offensively.  

Hence, we shouldn't get JJ Reddick because we need some height & athleticism being a defensive oriented team that we are.  

T-Mac then fits the bill better than single-dimensional JJ who will cost more but is undersized & slow to guard the more dynamic SG's of the NBA.  (Though JJ can really shoot & pass, give him props for that!  Still, we need someone better.)  

If we have T-Mac & maybe AI (if he still can slash & penetrate or atleast be 40% of the player he used to be offensively), then there's no way Pierce, Ray, T-mac, & AI will get cold or struggle all at the same time at a crucial game like how it was on Game 7.

David Lee won't be a good pick-up for us because he will already eat up +$10 mil. just by himself - & it will be a long term contract unlike with the aforementioned veteran big men who we can sign for only 2-3 years to continue our championship run.  

Can we get Shaq & Miller for $8 mil., T-Mac for the MLE, AI for $1-1.5 mil., & another deadly 3-point shooter to spread the floor for $1-1.5 mil.  (Does Eddie House ring a bell?) 

If all the aforementioned veteran big men & scorers still has some games left in them, then we really can "beat LA" in 2011, 2012, &  2013 since they will basically have the same team due to their long term contracts.

But if we can trade Perk & BBD ($8.5 mil. all-together) even for "nobodies" just to have that $8.5 mil. available, then we'll have $21.5 mil. available including Sheed & Pierce's money.  

After all, Perk & BBD will be free agents after this year & for sure, they will ask for a pay raise which we may not afford.  Hence, why not move them now even though it will be such an unpopular & painful move?

Part II: 

Can we then get into the LeBron sweepstakes with $21.5 mil. available?

LBJ may go for us for a mere $21.5 mil. (for 2011 only) because we offer GUARANTEED championship!  Then we re-negotiate with him next year for a higher salary.  A 1 year salary might be appealing to him since it's not binding, it's only 1 year! 

Once he taste championship & put that ring in his finger, he'll surely want more & hence, we'll have a greater chance of re-signing him for a longer & higher contract.

Inshort, we're not really in a "terrible bind" to prevent us from going after LBJ, as most people think.  We just need to be creative, THINK BIG like how the Lakers always does, then make some painful & unpopular moves which LA has no problem doing.