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

What I would hate to see is someone come in from our competitors and play us like fools. Think about Mr. Rambis, he came in and made some claims, and he was quietly checked out by the mods, proved he was legit and then everyone appreciated his input. It could be the same way here but coming in on any forum anywhere and making claims like that is going to create controversy. You have to be willing to back it up, the sooner the better. I have personally seen Cookie suggest more than once that perhaps he should show her who he was and he seemed to just ignore her. Even now, he choses to cozy up to Slick, instead of proving himself to her, or one of the other mods. All he needed to do, after the first time this reared it's head was to pull a mod aside and show him/her who he was and none of this would have ever really happened.

 

I think once people know they are legit, they are respectful. What people don't want is to feel like they are being played.

 

That's sad, he was a great player.

 

I personally never believed anything Kurt Rambis said, but then again, I'm biased with that username. IYKYK

But on any other front, if the spelling and grammar/sentence structure or lack thereof don't seem to match the level of professional ability or "connections" being thrown around, I would think it's natural to be skeptical. Nothing wrong with asking for proof. That should not be offensive if it's requested privately.

Some people think of excessive name dropping as clout chasing while others feel it's just sharing their life experience. What you've heard on this board is clout matters little to most fans, but being a respectful contributing member of the community is always appreciated.

Thanks to our new members with and without massive connections. We love you all and your contributions. Insider stuff is so much fun, but it's responsible to verify the source regardless of who is dishing it. One of the reasons I was so stuck on Club Lakers prior to here was there was literally news dropped on here prior to it hitting ESPN, newspapers, or the airwaves. As a fan, there is nothing cooler than feeling like you are getting an inside scoop before something happens.

Thanks @Kobeluka99 for your input and understanding legitimate skepticism. Others have come before that were not always who they seemed to be (Won't mention any names ahem), so our community has reasons to be skeptical.

 

Real shame Seattle can't celebrate him. He was a key part of that Sonics title team

 

Was thinking KCP, too. Could probably fit in a top 8-9 man rotation in the PO's. I just don't think Sac trades with us, but stranger things have happened. I do think Memphis is open to trading KCP. Will the Lakers be willing to eat an extra year? IDK.

 

memphis probably doesn't trade with us either is my guess.

my only hope on sac is that ellis has some power in terms of his destination heading into FA. we could offer him big minutes and potentially a starting role, so his agent would be wise to push for a move to us (or another contender with a hole that suits his strengths--athletic POA defender who can hit threes).

but yeah, we should probably look east. josh green has played with luka before and has the theoretical skillset we need, but just hasn't ever put it together (and gets hurt a lot). plus he's got another year on his deal. they'd have to sweeten it a bit for me to bite.

not a whole lot out there is exciting me at the moment. i really wonder if we're just going to keep a spot open for the buyout market and hope a thybulle type shakes loose.

 

I think we could get Ellis if we are willing to also absorb Monk. I think SAC would trade Monk + Ellis for Rui + Knecht + 2031 1st.

 

i'd pull the trigger. ellis is my top realistic FA target next summer, and i'd rather just be able to use bird rights to keep him than to have to manage another moving piece. might lead to a hot dog stand situation with ayton...would have to look more closely at the numbers.

 

I really like Ellis but wouldn't do this one as we'd all of a sudden be down to three wings I actually trust (Luka, LeBron and Jake) and pretty guard heavy (Reaves/Smart/Ellis/Monk/Gabe).

I went on Basketball Reference to look at all contracts for the 2025-2026 season to find some targets in the $20-ish million range (Gabe/Kleber expirings, plus maybe Dalton). I thought for sure I'd find at least a couple of names I hadn't thought of, but I couldn't come up with any new ones (other than the Wiggins/Brooks/KCP etc. that folks have already brought up).

 

It would probably be dependent on how much less Lebron would be willing to take. If he retires, then it would be no problem. But if he stays, there would roughly only be about 46 million left between Lebron and Ayton to stay under the 2nd apron. This is with Reaves getting approximately 41.5M and Ellis 25M.

 

you don't think we use rui as a "wing" quite a bit? and though he's maligned around here, vando is also a wing. also, the outgoing players in this deal are a guard (whom we play and thus needs to be replaced), a third-string center (who's unlikely to play for a variety of reasons), and a wing (whom we probably can't play for defensive purposes anyway).

theoretical minutes distribution:

ayton (30) hayes (14) rui (4)
lebron (28) rui (18) laravia (2)
luka (34) rui (12) laravia (12)
reaves (32)/monk (16)
ellis (24)/smart (24)

yeah, monk at 16mpg is probably too low. though i do really like that roster.

maybe the best bet is to just move knecht and the pick for ellis? is that enough to get it done? probably not...but knecht is cost-controlled next year and isn't as squeezed out over there.

 

I hear you, its scary to rehash those 3 guard lineups Darvin would use. Smart and Reaves would have to play some minutes at the 3. Smart could hold his own just fine against 3s though. We also have Thierro getting close to returning, and still have Vando who plays minutes (unfortunately). I think the benefits of Ellis, a 3 and D player for 36 minutes, and Monk being a high scoring and explosive bench guard, out weigh the negatives of having to go a little bit smaller for a few minutes.

PG: Ellis (36) Smart (12) Vincent
SG: Reaves (36) Monk (12)
SF: Doncic (36) Smart (6) Monk (6) Thierro
PF: James (32) LaRavia (16) Vando
C: Ayton (34) Hayes (14)

 

I know Ellis has just been a 24 minute player, but maybe he gets more minutes on this Lakers team. I have him at 36.

 

The great thing about Ellis for this team is he solves two problems: perimeter defense and three-point shooting. It's just a risk we have to take that Ellis will maintain production with increased minutes.

 

The post I responded to was Rui + Dalton for Ellis + Monk. If its Gabe and/or Kleber going out instead of Rui, yeah I'm into that. But I don't want to move Rui for a guard, I really like the Luka/LeBron/Jake/Rui forward group. Vando is a wing, but I don't trust him to be anything more than a 15 minutes a night regular season guy that doesn't get off the bench in the playoffs.

 

Yeah, I agree, I don't like the idea of sending Rui out in a trade for Ellis. Not sure I even love the idea of moving Luka to point forward. Has he done that in Dallas? I want to keep our first 8 guys in place. Luka, AR, Lebron, Rui, Smart, Jake, Vando and Hayes. One of those last guys can be traded but only if we are replacing them directly with an upgrade. Past that, I can see sending out any of the other guys for a single piece that is rotational worthy.

Rui is an excellent shooter, it is going to be hard to replace that.

 

not saying i want to dump rui just feels like a trade where both sides balance out a bit

 

Is Ellis a good offensive player, does he have a good outside shot? We have to admit that Rui is an excellent shooter at this point. We are going to need a guy like him to pair with Luka. Luka drives and has 3 options, one to dump to Ayton or Hayes, two to take the shot himself or three pass out to a great shooter. Then you got fairly reliable Rui and AR.

 

Rui provides what Luka is used to from players at the 4 like PJ Washington, Grant Williams, or even DFS in terms of catch and shoot. But those players were also good defenders, especially in the case of DFS and PJ. Rui provides the offensive side only. The closest player we have that is two way there is Jake, who is already on our team. I dont like Vandos offensive game. I dont like him playing too much to be honest. But nonetheless he is a large forward who presumably needs to at least play some minutes, sadly. Then Thiero, though still just a theory so far, jumps out of the gym and has elite defensive potential too. He is also a much better offensive player than Vando already, although still needs to work on his shot. I dont think the cupboard is that bare on big forwards. Has Jake played minutes at SG? Maybe those just go to Ellis or Monk and Jake gets slotted better as a 4.