Yeah, I don't think a fully guaranteed deal is going to happen for him no matter where he goes. But I think he could get a pretty sizable signing bonus. A deal that "looks like" 5 years/$200M but is really something like a $50M signing bonus, minimal salary that's guaranteed (around $5M) year 1, 2nd year guaranteed around $25M salary, 3rd year partially guaranteed around $20M with around $30M total salary if he is rostered by X day in the league year, and then years 4 and 5 having no guarantees.
That would allow Lamar to say he got "$100M in total guarantees". First year would be around a $15M cap hit, second year would be around $35M, third year around $40M. If you wanted to go another direction after 3 years then you could move on with $20M of dead money on the fourth year due to signing bonus acceleration, which wouldn't be too wild by the year 2026. If things REALLY did not work out, you could theoretically back out after the second year, but you'd have $30M in signing bonus acceleration - you'd also need to move him before his partially guaranteed salary vests. If he stays for years 4 and 5 then it's just a matter of paying higher salaries ($40M in 2026 and $50M in 2027). I can imagine Lamar being open to a deal he could call "5 years $200M with $100M in guarantees and an AAV of $40M."
Obviously this is a lot of money, but Mac is going to cost just as much or more in 2 years. It's basically just biting that bullet a little early for a guy you think might be better in this hypothetical but it also costs you a high pick.
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