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

I like the Bird/Shaq Comp. But they were not historically excessively high usage like Luka and Giannis. Both woud have to buy in to have the ball less. Not having Reaves helps make this easier to do, but they would have to figure it out. Maybe closer to how Wade had to adjust to having the ball less when the Heat got Lebron. But, usage aside, I like the player comparisons.

 

How do you say that when Lebron and Austin both avg 15 shots a game playing with Luka? Giannis avgs around 18 as the main guy. This is a different type of offense that we run.

 

Well when you look at the stats, it does show that. But you have to look up how many shots each gets when all three of them play together. Unfortunately not a lot of data on that. But Giannis could still get his 18 shots, and Luka would be able to help him a lot, if he's willing to not have the ball in his hands as much, and rim runs, etc. And Giannis could help Luka too. Luka woukd get even more open shots.

 

I think those two would figure it out. I know JJ would love it..he can keep his simple a** offense intact. Luka you go one on one for a quarter, then Giannis it's your turn in the next quarter. Brilliant

 

The emergence of Lebron in the off-role, and resurgence of Smart as an elite 3 and D player has made a trade for Giannis more attractive from a Lakers stand point imo, because:

• The previous Giannis builds that I made were when Smart seemed like he was semi-washed, and when Lebron seemed on the way out. I viewed Smart as a backup 20-25 minute guard who likely opted in, and I assumed there was no way Lebron would want to stick around. So that's essentially 1 more player deep in the rotation, with Lebron in there.
• Also, Reaves lower cap hold makes it even more possible.
• Smart likely opting out and Lebron vet min helps opens up enough cap room to absorb Giannis and Turner, while sending out Vando, Knecht, Reaves, and the picks. Don't have to send them 9 players or something weird like that.

 

Bingo..that's a legit title favorite..not just a title contender.

 

Yeah previously, in my Giannis scensrios, the team was gutted way too much. But now, I'm dead set on NOT trading Thiero, Lebron accepted the off ball role and he might actually be back, Smart is not washed. Just that alone is like 3 players added to a depleted roster. Roster doesn't get so gutted after all. Not saying Giannis is the be all end all, but might as well do due diligence.

 

I think if you do Giannis, you break it into 2 trades:

Trade 1: Portis (14.5m) for Vando & Knecht (combined: 16.6m)

Trade 2: Giannis (58.4m) for Reaves S&T (42m) + 3 firsts + 2 swaps + 2 seconds (Milwaukee controls our picks for the next 5 years)

This stops us from having issues in executing the sign and trade. We can probably end up with:

Luka (46m) / Smart (7.1m) / Bronny (2.3m)
Ellis (16m) / Kennard (8m) / Bufkin (2.5m)
Lebron (3.6m) / Jake (6m)
Giannis (58.4m) / Portis (14.5m) / Adou (2.1m)
Ayton (8.1m) / Hayes (8m) / Kleber (3m)

That’s 185.6 million, about 23.4m below the first apron. After the trade we'd have 16m in cap space, and I'd offer that to Ellis, we could increase that to 18.5m by cutting Bufkin.

Since we're so far under the apron, we'd have access to the full MLE that we could use to give Kennard the room exception and Smart a small bump in wage. We'd then be able to resign Smart with early bird rights the following season.

All in all, it's a pretty great team, Ellis, Luka, Lebron can all shoot in the starting unit, Portis, Kennard can shoot from the bench. Smart, Ellis, Giannis, Jake, Hayes are all good defenders. We also fix our rebounding issues with Giannis and Portis, alongside Ayton, Hayes, Luka and Lebron. I like it honestly.

EDIT: If Ayton opts out, I go for Turner instead of Portis, we get another 3&D player in the starting unit to space the floor. We'd then need to figure out the backup PF spot with a vet minimum. That would maybe balance the starting unit more.

 

Also for everyone saying Giannis and Luka wouldn't work, Dame and Giannis were scoring 1.25 points per possession on the PNR which was the 3rd best action in the whole NBA. I think with Luka we can recreate that pick and roll. The funny part is Giannis never really committed to setting screens. If you could get buy in from him and Lebron, imagine running horns with the two of them and Luka as the ball handler, then Ellis and Turner on the wings shooting. Thanks for coming.

 

I just don't get the let's go for Giannis crowd. We should build around Luka surrounding him with guys in their prime or near it who are as not-injury-prone as possible. Giannis, with all his talent, is the opposite of that. No thank you. The last few years of AD + Bron were all wasted in large part due to various kinds injuries (as satated numerous timnes by some who are now advocating for Giannis), I personally don't want to increase the risk of that happening in the Luka era as well. What is the probability both Luka and Giannis are healthy come PO time? 10%?

 

Giannis has only missed one playoffs. 2024 he sat out the first rd series due to a calf stain. This is the first time Luka is in danger of missing a playoffs series. Reaves was hurt in the first rd series last season and won't make this one. What's the difference? Besides caliber of the players?

Conversationaly..Giannis has played in more regular season games than Luka, since Luka came into the league.

 

I get the takes. Ima just say it. Gianiss is a top 5 player in this league. The Lakers have always won with stars superstars. Magic Kareem West Chamberlin Kobe Shaq LeBron AD

remember before Anthony Davis feel off we got his superstar prime years with LeBron.

we didn’t keep the core or DLo Ball Ingram Randle and Zubac. And Clarkson.

that’s how the Lakers move. I don’t know if Mark Walters stare away from that. But he did raise ticket prices.

I think he will try to get Gianiss. Especially if the season ends frustratingly. I saw how they did with Ohtani.

So you look at Luka Gianiss that fits Luka’s timeline with a superstar running mate.

Gianiss is different he can play defense court to court protect them rim and perimeter. Can coming down he’s unstoppable. He just helps Luka you can’t get up on him.


The pick and roll with Luka would be special. They just don’t want to have to tax Luka’s body.

to me Luka has 3 years of max prime the body and the prime. Acquiring Gianiss maximizes that. It just does.

Love Austin and I’m sure he’ll sign the extension. But Gianiss changes the team.

You have to win with two superstars we have 1 I’m not sure what Lebron does.

But Lebron Luka and Gianiss. Gianiss can play an AD role and we can win.

Thiero young players. Well draft another good young player.

I get the plan of Eason and Johnson or Watson and Mitchell. But what does it look like????

I think we want to win one championship and get it done. That’s my thought.

 

LeBron isn’t signing for the minimum.That would be dumb on his part

 

Why? He's already billionaire about to retire next season. His critics will say that he cheated his way to a title though. I don't think he'd even consider the minimum in order to play with Reaves and Luka. Giannis tho? I think he'd actually do it. He's still a superior player to Austin but not Giannis.

 

So give Lebron 20m instead of Ellis. Start Smart instead, get a vet min guard.

If we wanted to, we can make it work.

 

I wouldn’t lean too heavily on Giannis’ past playoff availability when projecting the next few years. Yes, Giannis has only fully missed one playoff series so far, which on the surface suggests strong reliability. But that’s largely driven by his earlier career, when he was younger and not yet dealing with recurring lower-body issues. The more relevant signal is recent: he’s now had repeated calf/soft-tissue problems, and those are exactly the types of injuries that tend to linger and resurface, especially under playoff intensity.

Historically, players with his size and explosive playstyle don’t gradually decline in availability—they often hit a point where injuries become more frequent and less predictable. Once that shift starts, past durability becomes a weaker predictor.

IMO, trading for Giannis is a huge risk and may equal wasting further years of Luka's prime. Do not want.

That's not even taking into consideration the drama queen aspect of his personality, which may or may not mesh well with Luka. Will he be able to swallow his pride and take a backseat? I'm not so sure about that, and he certainly would HAVE to for this pairing to work.

 

Luka and Austin have both been banged up, going into the playoffs in the last two seasons, and they are in thier twenties. I just wonder if this season is an outlier for Giannis. He's actually played in more games, than Luka over the previous 4 seasons too. But I get the sentiment, you'd like for at least one of your top two guys, to be a bit of an Ironman.

 

Well...considering how this Flippers situation pans out, Lebron might get a brand new 50M endorsement deal or something.

 

Rob would be an idiot to do this. Austin has more leverage than Rob does. If I'm Austin and Rob does this, I just go public saying I want to be a Laker and I'll even take a discount, but Rob is screwing me and Lakers fans and gonna hurt the team by getting nothing. I'm not going to Milwaukee, I'll take a big offer from Chicago or close enough from someone else who makes room, or even sign a year somewhere and get a long term contract the following year from someone not trying to screw me and the team. Again, I want to be a Laker, but I will not accept Rob's screwjob, which means if I have to walk and leave the team with nothing, I will.

Does Austin have the capability to do that? Maybe not, but his agent does. I bet public pressure would turn quickly against Rob, and that Rob would fold or get fired. Rob has almost no leverage here, Austin has a ton. Austin is gonna get a huge contract here, even at less than max, and it would be a blunder of enormous magnitude not to do so.

Totally disagree even aside from homegrown bias. Giannis is 31, declining, and having his worst season out of the past 8+ years. Austin is 27, still improving, having his best year ever, and has been even better than this season's #"s show, when he's been the 2nd option or better.

If we were talking a 1 year deal in isolation, then it might be different, but over a 4-5 year contract and potentially more, the answer is easily Austin and it's not close.

 

Please Austin Reaves is in way comparable to Giannis. Stop that noise.

What if Luka pushed for Giannis? What is Austin supposed to do then, say f*** that I STILL want to stay a Laker?

I have a hard time thinking that Luka would prefer Austin over Giannis...friendships have limits in professional sports my man.

And I'm still confused by this Giannis is declining stuff, that gets thrown around here so much, that it's almost become some kind of fact.

The guy was 1st Team All NBA last season, and 3rd in the MVP voting. Now he's declining because he was injured? When you look at his numbers...where is this great decline evident? His numbers improved across the board in his last 3 seasons before this campaign!

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/antetgi01.html