2025-26 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

Good for him. Glad to see him getting some of his money back.

 

I'm so f***ing confused.

The Kings must be r*******.

Why would you pay Schroder $15 million per year coming off one of his worst seasons? The guy is worth $5 million max...

My guess is Lakers are signing Ayton. They're letting way too many centers get moved around without any rumors of them being interested. Only reason to do that is if you had a good inkling that you *might* get Ayton.

My biggest worry is Ayton's lack of competitiveness. He just seems like he wants to come late, play ball to collect the $, and then forget about basketball. Would LeBron + being on a team with his fellow draft member combined with seeing he can make a 9 figure contract if he plays well enough to get him to change?

He's 6'11 at age 26 with a 7'6 wingspan.

Was watching a few highlights of his. Decent mid-range so he can help space it for the stars to attack the paint and pretty good at catching lobs. 100% would love this move. Still a chance for Ayton to be an 20/10 kinda guy. His career trajectory reminds me a lot of Andrew Wiggins.

 

20+ Years of this “Saving for Summer 20XX to sign Free-Agent [Insert Name]” just for [Insert Name] to sign extension the Summer before or team to Trade him to someone else, gets really old.

Phoenix, Houston, Milwaukee, and Denver can do little things like this and be fine, we can’t. “Lakers need a Center……” [insert Travolta Pulp Fiction gif here] as ALL THE CENTERS conveniently go somewhere else.

I don’t need BIG splashes, but I want to feel like time and people and resources aren’t being wasted by the team. Right now they feel like they are being wasted. Can the team change things this off-season still, yeah. Just seems too quiet and too disinterested. That worries me.

also, could the deadline or things change things, also yes. Just feel like now is the time to strike and season stuff is the time to correct. Give teams training camp to build and learn.

 

I just want one off-season where if we say we are going to do (A), it happens. “We are going to get a Center!” I want us to get Centers quickly. Instead we say “We’re going for a Center.” And then they all disappear to every other team. So then we say “Well, we’ll wait for 2027.”

it just feels like in 2026, Giannis will be traded to Miami or Houston or Dallas or Memphis and sign an extension, and then we’ll be like “Okay so 2028 will be good.”

I feel like this waiting WASTED Kobe’s Prime and then we’ll still never got anything worthwhile till LeBron and now we are wasting the last of those years to plan for Luka and nobody comes and we waste Luka’s Prime to get a big name because we are the Lakers.

I want a FO like other teams that don’t announce the plan just so other teams can screw them.

 

Maybe...we weren't really that interested, into signing any of the centers, that have moved?

Ayton is in the bag, Kessler and Claxton are still out there. We get Ayton without giving up anything. Stay tuned...

 

I mean...we haven't failed to sign Ayton yet. Then I think it'd be more reasonable to have some panic?

I do agree that if Rob thinks saving for 2027 free agency is a smart move, well I'm fairly certain he won't be here. The reality of the new NBA is that you need assets and then trade for stars. The last real free agent to leave was Kawhi Leonard.

 

Yeah if we end up getting our guy, we get our guy. Doesn't really matter if it happens quickly or not. We have limited salary options, so having this take a day or 2 doesn't mean other targets are flying off the board.

Going into the offseason, the expectation was we would sign a backup center and have to trade for a starter - requiring significantly more assets. Now we're in position to get a starting C with the only casualty being DFS. I'll continue to preach patience until Ayton is off the board.

 

That's an indictment on Giannis, though.

Why would he think him and Turner would win a title?

That's a first round exit. Turner is a 4th option on a contending team.

Bucks are screwed. Giannis is never winning another title on that team and I believe he knows that as well.

 

He is definitely a lot like Wiggins: all the physical gifts in the world but lazy and not a lot of fire.
(weird he gets mad when he takes out of games as he so often seems to not want to bring it on the court)

That being said he wasn't really bust just like Wiggins wasn't really a bust - productive career and would have been maybe better off being the 5th pick rather than the 1st pick.

I mean he's worth the risk and the fit is good for both player and team here. Ayton gets a chance to play next 3 top notch creators in a contract year and the Lakers get a guy who when his head on straight was a legit top 10 center or better in the league without giving up any assets. Turn an area of weakness into strength

 

is there a vegas market for how many times schroder will be traded on this contract? why do teams keep paying him? i mean, sacramento, of course.

i hope we've made calls on ellis and carter, in that order.

re: ayton, tbh, i would have traded for him, so if we do pick him up for partial MLE, the me of a few days ago would be quite happy, not depressed.

 

Even with DFS, completely understandable why the Lakers chose not to give him the longer term deal that he was probably looking for.

Lakers want a clean 2027 slate and if their goal is to make a run for Jokic or Giannis for 2027, then you can't hamper yourself.

If Lakers can snag Ayton and a few 3/D guys, move Vando and Gabe, I'm optimistic for the season.

 

yeah, that’s true.

it’s been a while since I really followed an Off-Season this heavily, in a long time. I think I stopped because of stuff like this. I know we can’t get all the big names and do all the flashy moves, but I think the fandom in me wants an equal chance, and it never seems to happen. So then I get like this and it sucks being this annoyed over nothing.

 

If by the end of the day we've agreed to deals with Ayton and Melton, I'll be happy. Then we can negotiate trades involving the expirings, Dalton and the 2031 pick from a position of relative strength. It takes a little while to hammer out the details of these contracts, especially since I don't think Ayton anticipated being bought out so this may all be coming together in a 48 hour period. And I think getting the Ayton contract done is the hold-up on Melton.

 

I was told that Valanchunas is washed up

 

Yeah and even a few days ago once the writing was on the wall about DFS leaving, I think a lot of us were resigned to the idea of using the full MLE on Ayton. So even if it takes a few days of anxiety for the fanbase due to the inactivity, if we end up with Ayton AND Laravia (with Laravia giving us more flexibility to trade our other pieces) and still have the BAE? All things considered that would be solid. Still would need to make a good trade or two to really feel comfortable about contending, but that would be a good start to the offseason.

 

I’m trying not to revert back to LakerPeenu in the ClubLakers days, but I guess today he decided to come out.

My Bad.

 

doesn't ayton have to pass through waivers?

maybe we'll get a "intends to sign with the lakers" tweet later, but that's about it