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

It’s a partial tear.

 

A strain is a partial tear. A tear is a rupture. They usually use the following terminology for severity:

Strain - Levels 1 & 2
Tear - Level 2 & 3
Rupture - Level 3

I’ve never had a level 3. Level 2 sucks enough, and once you’ve had it you’re always susceptible to more.

 

this isn't 2018. 41 year old lebron isn't carrying the team on his back and none of those other guys can be trusted to step up for an entire series

 

Come on you know what Austin did when Luka was out. He’s gotta have the ball in his hands and running the team. Hes due 240 million dollars. Look what Jaylin Brown did. If Austin wants to be in that tier he’s going to have to carry this team.

Ayton has proven he can have good playoff series. And we’re gonna need more from Lebron. Hachimura is going to have to be aggressive.

let’s see where we’re at after round 1.

I’m not promising anything but let Austin be Jalen Brunson.

we’re gonna run the plays. And let’s hope we can get Luka back for round 2. You know he’ll be chomping to get back.

 

I get some AD vibes here..I'm sorry. That being said, we need to go into the offseason, and get stronger, deeper, more athletic. Luka will be back next season, and I expect him to be hungry. There are a lot of different ways we can go, in order to build the team. I haven't settled on any particular path just yet, I would like to see Austin get a reasonable contract, but not necessarily a max, and personally I wouldn't mind Lebron back for his last run, again...at a reasonable salary. We'll see how it plays out.

This season is most likely over in the 1st rd, but I'm hoping to be shocked on that prediction.

Go Lakers!!

 

Playoff basketball is completely different, and Austin has shown nothing in the playoffs so far.

I'll be surprised if he can average 20/5 in the first round, considering last year he looked like a deer in headlights against Minny.

 

Want to bet?

 

That's not happening. Reaves has some sort of back injury too right now, remember?

Respectfully... You do realize that Giannis has worse health issues than Luka, right?

The problem is JJ needs to learn to not be over-reliant on his stars by overusing them in each game and give them more opportunities to rest- and in addition, for the team's health advisors to be more cognizant of this issue moving forward too. Granted, this is in turn informed by JJ not feeling particularly comfortable with the Lakers' extended roster off the bench and reflects on issues that Rob Pelinka has made over the past several years with his decisions on who to draft, sign and trade for.

The solution isn't getting Giannis. It's fixing the bench and the wider roster as a whole with more competent and two-way minded role players, so that JJ doesn't over-exert Luka, Austin or LeBron (if he comes back) over the course of the entire season next year.

Just look at OKC- Why do you think SGA gets to sit out for the entire 4th quarter most nights this season? It's because Sam Presti built such an incredibly deep team from top to bottom that once the starters have made a significant enough lead to where victory is all but ensured in the first half or three quarters, the coach can trust the bench players more than enough to bring the game home in the closing quarter and let SGA and co. get their beauty rest.

That doesn't mean having the stars sit out on whole games willy nilly, but in the Lakers' case, it does mean cutting down their minutes played per game by at least 5 minutes a night... or in total, around 410 minutes of in-game rest for the whole regular season. It's those kinds of margins-minded decisions that help inform a team's well being in the long run.

 

spurs and okc got to tank to get their rosters full. we don't have that option. we can try to get a couple good players this summer, but we do need the coach to use more of the roster more effectively, too.

 

I’m all for pursuing Giannis in a vacuum, I just don’t think it’s even worth discussing because he’s never going to come out and say he wants to be here and only here. Which is probably what it would take for us to get him. He’s still trying to not be the bad guy, which is making everything worse.

 

Correct. Obviously the Lakers can't follow the same roadmap as the Spurs or OKC at this point- but they can look to them as reference points moving forward. The same goes for another team whose circumstances are probably closer and more achievable for the Lakers; namely the Boston C Bags.

The C Bags had every reason imaginable to go out there this season and just tank. It's what everyone expected them to do, given their circumstances! Tatum was going to be out for at least most of the season, Brad Stevens had just broken up several of the key pieces that had helped win them the '24 Championship over last summer in order to get back under the Second Apron and the 2026 NBA Draft class was already looking to be insanely formidable and loaded, so why not tank and maximize your chances to draft a top lottery player to add next to Tatum and Brown for the future?

Instead the C Bags regrouped. Brad Stevens and the front office drafted well in the late First Round last year in selecting Hugo Gonzalez with their 28th pick and flipped their champion-winning players into younger, cheaper players who are also really freaking good at what they do. IIRC Stevens even managed to get some extra draft capital out of his trade wizardry last summer.

And without their superstar player on the court for the overwhelming majority of the year, the C Bags still got the 2nd seed secured and are now positioned as the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference this year in the playoffs.

The Lakers can't just tank and wait several years the way OKC or San Antonio did, but they can absolutely try to start following the roadmaps Brad Stevens and the C Bags have displayed in a) hitting home runs with late First Round picks and Second Round picks for players that can develop and contribute in reliable supporting roles relatively quickly, b) be savvier with trades and FA signings. The free cap space we're getting this year will ideally help a lot in laying a lot of groundwork out for the team in rebuilding around Luka and AR, but we can't just hedge our bets on that one instance.

 

sorry, but reaves has not once shown he's capable of leading a team. he always folds against stronger, physical teams and that's exactly what playoff basketball is

i mean, i hope he proves me wrong....but i'm not very optimistic

 

Great points. The C Bags played the long game. They took their lumps early on and allowed their young players to go through growing pains and they are reaping the rewards now as the playoffs approach. They are incredibly deep. JJ hasn’t shown the patience to do something like this.

 

we don't have the infrastructure, which is what a bunch of us have been complaining about. it's not just "rob needs to go get talent". it's the system. jj said when he was hired that he wanted to develop players (which is exactly how boston was able to stay afloat after losing their expensive vet role players), but the only developmental player that sees any time is bronny, and that's not even much.

like, do you think baylor scheierman is a more talented player than knecht? no. the coach just plays to his strengths and not beyond them. you think sam hauser or peyton pritchard would have developed into top-8 playoff rotation players in other environments? i don't.

i need to see more commitment to building a system between jj and rob. and if i hear we're chasing giannis...i may just check out entirely.

 

My point exactly, yes. Boston, OKC and San Antonio all are where they are because their internal infrastructures are each nothing short of top class and for Boston specifically, they are great at balancing drafting and developing young talent with roster building via trades and FA signings for more experienced vets who help enable the core of Tatum and Brown to compete each year.

Also, 1000% agreed regarding Giannis.

 

Exactly.

No matter what path they take, be it the path of OKC and San Antonio or the path of Boston, the Lakers are probably going to have to play the long game to some extent in order to find a way to the Promised Land. But considering the team's circumstances and the fanbase's engrained mentality of "Championship or Bust" each and every season, the easy guess is that the Lakers FO need to look very closely at emulating the Boston formula as much as possible as the Dodgersification of the Lakers continues and takes shape in order for us to get a championship contending roster ready in time for Luka and AR to win a championship or two together in the Purple & Gold.

I know I've preached this point a lot, but it is pivotal for the Lakers to get this upcoming offseason right. We've got a pick in the First Round in what is commonly seen as being the best draft class in the NBA in twenty three years. We'll have two additional future First Round picks that we'll be able to utilize for trades. We'll also have a great deal of free cap space to enable us to rework the roster.

Draft a Big. I'd love Aday Mara, but at the rate he's going, I wouldn't be shocked at all if he winds up a lottery pick. So try to target either Morez Johnson Jr. or Motiejus Krivas instead with our own pick. Krivas would probably be more impactful for us overall, but either of them would be homerun acquisitions for us IMO.

I also still like the idea of making a trade with OKC on Draft Night to absorb Lu Dort's contract into our cap space and their #15 pick this year for another prospect in exchange for our '31 First and several of our Pick Swaps too, but who knows if that's realistic or if I'm just deluding myself. Alternatively, I still think we need to be aggressive in pursuing either Peyton Watson or Tari Eason too, whether it's as RFAs or via a S&T.

From there, Free Agency in general. Try and sign either Mitchell Robinson or Robert Williams III for more defensive depth at the 5, target guys like Josh Okogie, Matisse Thybulle or Dean Wade for cheap contracts.

 

You saw what happened in Milwaukee? Ain’t no way he’s going back. Lala land bound.

 

I’m trying to figure out an alternative. I don’t know honestly the Luka thing. He played Euro Ball went hard this season. And I guess like a car the engine went out.

My reasons for Gianiss is a Kobe Shaq thing. I think Luka needs another dominant force to win. He needs someone to take that burden off of him.

I’m trying to figure out why this guy can’t stay healthy. Maybe it’s a plan of reduced back to backs. I’m being serious. Have some games where he gets 15 and Gianiss gets the 25.

Luka has these soft tissue injuries and he taxes his body. His hamstring. His Achilles.

He just needs some help. It was gonna take him getting 50 to win a championship this season.

at this point Gianiss is help. Peyton Watson is. Pipe dream.

Eason LaRavia all those guys are the same. They’re help but are they honest different makers???

I’m not go get star guy. But it’s more about help Luka taxes himself.

 

We traded our developmental guy for Luka Max Christie. So we’re gonna have to draft some more second round guys and really hit on this first round pick. We missed out trading Jaquez for Schefino.

We have two developmental guys Thiero and James.

I have to find alternatives. Now if I was coaching this team. There would be a meeting. And I would inform the team. These last 5 games I’m ramping up Bronny James and Thiero. They’re gonna get legit 25 minute to 30 minute burn. They will be major rotation players. Because I need to know what I got for this playoff run. And we gotta get better defense on the fly.

So I’m leaning on Bronny LaRavia and Thiero off the bench.

and the major brunt of scoring is going to have to come from Smart James Ayton and Reaves.

We can talk about Luka but this is what makes great coaches great. Get the win and win the round. Every game is a 1 game series. Everybody thinks we’re gonna lose.

but maybe this lets us see what we have and give Bufkin some run to.

Gotta stress ball movement.

I’m gonna have a lot of Luke Kennard. Don’t fold in the season. And you play to extend your season.

Reaves is the primary ball handler decision maker. Lebron will help out with that.

and we’re gonna shift more inside game with Ayton at the rim. Well keep Kennard on the floor With them to manage the spacing. And Hachimura. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We just gotta get the job done.

so I’m riding with

Reaves
Kennard
Smart
James
Ayton

Bench James LaRavia Hayes Hachimura and Vanderbilt.