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

As currently constructed we’re a good but not elite team. Just off the back of Luka, Reaves and Lebron we’ll be a nightly threat and you mix in some good role players and we’re a tough team.

I’d argue that only OKC is clearly elite. Houston is really good on both sides of the floor, but I do wonder what happens in the playoffs when they’re forced to create in the half court. Denver fixed their depth issues and have an elite offense, but they are also average defensively. SAS aren’t there yet age wise and health will be an issue.

To get into that higher bracket and be a threat to win the title we need a better balance. With the playoffs in mind:

POA D / Smart
Reaves / LaRavia
Luka / Wing Defender
Lebron / Rui
Ayton / Hayes

Upgrading our perimeter D with a POA and a Wing defender that can both his 3’s would really solidify what we’re trying to do.

To make that happen, we have the salaries of Gabe, Knecht, Vando and Kleber which works out to about 40m.

In the meantime, I’d give more playing time to Nick and Adou. One can be an offensive spark and the other can be a solid defender.

 

we can take monk off their hands for salary relief as well. Lakers need someone other than the big 3 who can score in bunches - especially days like last night where the bench outside of Smart couldn't do squat



This is one of my dream realistic scenarios which as been discussed before - 10 man rotation - Hayes, Laravia, Smart, Monk, Ellis. Increase the athleticism and get a mix of defense and offense from the guard spots

 

I like Monk better than Ellis..I'm sorry but I've been trying to see the root, of all this Ellis hype, it hasn't materialized for me yet. Evidently Sacramento isn't convinced either.

Malik can get buckets in a hurry for you tho, that's a valuable skill. From his one year with us, he seemed to give effort on D, especially 1on1, but he seemed to get caught, watching the ball a lot, off the ball. I wouldn't cry about us pulling that trade though.

 

On another note, Gabe was up and down all last season too, but he was solid in the playoffs IMO.

 

I was a big fan of Monk when he was here, and was sad to see him leave for not a lot of money, but paying him close to 20M and trading assets for him, I'm totally out. We can get bench scorers for a lot cheaper than that. Lonnie Walker had a similar output for us and is playing in Israel.

 

sac has come out yet again claiming they don't want to move ellis. i think it's bluster because they've killed his trade value, and he's a UFA this summer. he's the same guy he was a few months ago, when he was unavailable.

monk is very available for a reason, imo. i like him, but how much better than nick smith is he right now? better, but 10X better?

anyway, i'm totally down for the trade suggested above, as i have been for a while. i just don't think it's happening.

i'd keep my eye on expiring guys who can do what we want (e.g., thybulle). we're not going to give up assets AND add salary going forward unless it's an absolute no-brainer.

in the interim, i'll keep banging the "play the young guys" drum. the inexperienced spurs guards just ran circles around our wily veterans.

 

Hey man.. I was floating Thybulle and Williams as trade candidates earlier this season. The injury questions loom large for both of those guys though.

 

I like how is he legimatly a good shooter. Not some defensive project with a broken shot that he kind of fixed. He's been a good shooter since his last season at Alabamba. Hes been around a 40% 3 pt shooter on about 2 makes or so per 36 ever since. He's an excellent defender, but he's not a switchable as someone like Herb, but he is very good and has a 6-9 wing span. Also is quick and athletic. And 70% of his shots are from behind the arc, which is all we need. Very minimal middies.

 

Let’s not get guys who will be “dead” anyway I don’t want to jinx it but it looks like we don’t have a dead guy this season

 

You gotta get guys you can get. I’ve been doing a lot of looking at some of the players.

1. Malik Monk. Having a s*** year. His shot looks off. He can hit it. But those shots he was making with regularity he’s not making this season. He turns the ball over at a high clip. 5 tonight. Over passes. Takes plays off. Isn’t aggressive like he used to be protest playing. When I say that just like Zach Lavine. A protest player who is a player who plays trying to get traded. You can say they all hate Christie so we have that working for us. He’s been horrible. 18 tonight 0 the last game. Before 20 and 25 so go figure.

Sacramento will never trade with us. What’s the point.

2. Keon Ellis why would they trade him to us. He’s not offering much on offense. Great defender. And the one player in Sacramento who’s playing with fire.

I would trade 2028 1st round pick unprotected and Dalton Knect. Dont think they would want it though.

3. go to Washington get a young player wing that isn’t playing as much offer a 2nd round pick get Cam Whittmore

up it to unprotected 1st round draft picks and 2nd round draft picks. Dalton Knect Gabe Vincent. And go get Keshawn George. Yall don’t know about him. But he really offers everything we ask for. I’d give a ransom for him. Do some looking at his games. He’s young athletic wing. Can handle and shoot.

The French Bilal don’t know if they would move him.

We don’t need offense we need defense.

maybe Kispert can come back and help us.

But you gotta trade with teams you have good relationships with. Washington Hachimura trade.

Memphis what is over there GG Jackson is so young. He came in the league. Young. Was one of the youngest in the league. Was actually the youngest in the league. I would look at a trade for him. He’s kind of fell out the rotation. But he’s a big young wing who can score 3 an D about 6,8” with a big wingspan.

maybe throw Knect back and the 2028 unprotected 1st round pick. Now I’m not saying just trade to trade. We will be using these players. I expect GG to be a Trevor Ariza type or a Ron Artest type.

Chicago. What’s going on with Patrick Williams and Ayo they’ll want picks back.

Indiana has Aaron Neismith. So you just gotta see what you can get out there.

Portland POA Jrue Holiday when he gets back from his calf injury even though I think that’s just more them not playing him.

we’d have to give up a lot Vincent and Knect and A 1st round pick.

so a few deals to look at.

Brooklyn Noah Clownley.

 

So GG is a trade I would go for.

GG is “6,9”

actually.

This is the trade I would make. He’s 20 that’s young that’s long length. He can shoot it.

Yall just don’t know alot about him cause he’s not in the rotation now. And fell out of the rotation. Ja don’t like this coach either. The players ain’t playing with joy.

I think as a rookie GG got 44 in a game. He can shoot it.

I’d get this guy cheap. And load up his minutes 25-30 play him with Luka and Reaves.

I’d trade a second round pick. If it came to it. The 2028 1st round pick unprotected. Or a 1st round pick see what they want.

I’d be willing to part with Knect. Cause I think we’ll get his offense to. GG can score it.

they like Knect in Indiana also I think.

But GG you can play him at 4 or 3 kind of where Rui was with Washington a few years ago. But he’s more explosive than Rui. An athlete. He can explode here.

Like Trevor did. Like Ron did when he got to Indiana. Just hear me out. He doesn’t need the ball.

 

He’s not durable

 

I still say Washington is the best place to get an athletic wing at a bargain price. My only fear now is whether JJ will play whoever we trade for if he isn’t established in the league. He’s got two wings in Vando and Thiero that he won’t play already on the roster.

 

We need to play them both and develop them vs let them rot on the bench. Reinforcements may not be coming.

 

i think we've all been floating it for two years, tbh.

if it's at the expense of gabe/kleber, i'm not really concerned. if they're dead, we get the same production we were getting before. i just think if we had to add knecht to it, we should get a 2nd back.

but yeah, portland and sac probably don't want to trade with us for whatever reason.

nets/wizards/bulls are all teams that i think might work with us. there's a zero percent chance we can get george or clowney, as kobenluka suggested (also suggesting none of us know about them--we do, as do their gms...).

the only guy on bkn that might help is z. williams, but i wouldn't give up much at all there. like...gabe and the right to swap 2nds or something.

everyone on washington that i'd want (coulibaly, george, carrington) are all not available for what we'd offer. whitmore's probably gettable but i'm not sure he does anything we need.

bulls would love to get off pat williams, but they'd have to take vando for me to consider. this works:



coby white may not be a great fit, though. i'm not seeing a whole lot i love out there...

 

Whites a bench player. Scorer. Can’t guard s***. Williams can be the perimeter defender.

go get GG Jackson in Memphis.

 

We could use 2-3 athletic perimeter defenders who could at least shoot decently. Basically replace Rui, Gabe, and Knecht.

PG: Athletic 3D shooter / Athletic 3D shooter
SG: Reaves / Athletic 3D shooter
SF: Luke / LaRavia
PF: James / Thiero
C: Ayton / Hayes

 

jackson's been a bad defender (coby white's also bad but grades out better, consistently), not sure what use we have for him right now, tbh.

williams can be defend but has been absolutely useless on offense. that said, i'd like to see him play off luka/lebron/reaves. i think he can at least catch and finish better than vando.

a bulls trade without dosunmu (or at least dalen terry) doesn't give us the perimeter defender i want, though. i've had my eye on terry for a long time. his shooting is bad, but he can defend, imo. bulls would probably give him up. could be goodwin replacement (he was also a bad three point shooter until he played with us).

yeah, i just think it may have to happen in the offseason. if you think post-lebron, rui can slot in where lebron is now, and we can use the money to sign an ellis type to start at pg and probably have enough for one more 3d bench player.

we only have 108m in committed salaries this summer. that's about 58m in room. you can fit ayton at 20 (which only eats up 12 of that because his 8 factors into that number), ellis at 18, and either lebron at 25 per (or rui at 20) and still have the room exception with enough space left for reaves's likely max and hayes's slight salary bump to stay under the first apron.

ellis/kris dunn (room exception:not sure if clips keep him)
reaves/nick smith
luka/laravia
rui or lebron/thiero/vando
ayton/hayes

obviously, i'd like to make this happen via trade sooner and so that there's not any cap gymnastics required in the summer, but we'll see what the market bears.

and we're not that bad. we're all mad about the SA game, but they have the same record as us, and they have an even better record without wemby than they do with him in basically the same number of games. maybe...they're just good and we had a bad night.

 

I wouldn't say "mad". The roster just can't be taken seriously until changes are made, IMO.

I have a wild idea to fix the POA long-term in a big way, but it won't happen; although, I wish it would.