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

when we were hoping for smart, melton, or gpII, i openly wondered if goodwin would be better than all three this year. we'll see...

and yes, ellis is exactly the guy we need; just not sure he's currently available.

 

This defense just isn’t going to be good at all

 

this has been my concern. i just don't see how we defend people effectively. we'll have to outscore them, and we can do that...but that's not how the best teams win.

 

We are going to need to replace LeBron with two good players who can play both sides of the ball.
This offense oriented team as currently constructed is going to struggle against the good teams this season.

 

How long will it take the lakers to build a decent roster? Anything past the first 5 starters is terrible. Inconsistent players mean we are not sure which team will turn up every game.

Iam jaded watching players brick wide open shots. I really hope we don't waste Luka's talents and years

 

Gabe is replacing LeBron in starting 5.

Vincent said the coaching staff informed him about the lineup change Friday morning. If the staff was uncertain about the choice, Vincent helped his cause in the Lakers' preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday when he scored 18 points in the first four minutes, going 5-for-5 from 3.

 

Yeah I became a lot less excited about adding Smart when we realized it was going to be at the cost of waiving Goodwin. Goodwin is nothing spectacular but he's a high-effort, solid 9th/10th man that really helps you get through the slog of the regular season.

 

Well, statistically he is the best option in terms of combination of POA defense, and three-point shooting. His career DBPM is -0.1, STL% is 1.8, and his career three-point % is 33.7% on 2.6/7.3 per 36 minutes. Last season, he played all 72 games, and hit 35.3% of this threes on 2.6/7.3 per 36 minutes. Furthermore, 73.36% of his FGA last season were from behind the arc, and 87% of this threes were assisted. He seems to have continued his strong play this preseason, so he has basically earned the spot. My concern is, since we Luka and Reaves are below average defenders, and Gabe is on the small side, who do you put on the Anthony Edwards, SGAs, KD's, Cades, Bookers, Hardens,Flaggs of the world? Maybe Gabe could take them, I don't know. I suppose you could bring in Vando for a match up like that, but it would be nice to have someone that could do that and shoot.

 

Ellis looked very good. He would get so many open looks on the Lakers. The guy is buried on the bench over there. That Clifford kid looks like the real deal at shooting guard, and then they have LaVine at small forward.

 

Lakers Waive RJ Davis, Augustas Marčiulionis, Anton Watson & Nate Williams
The Lakers have 14 guaranteed players under contract and their three two-way spots are occupied by Christian Koloko, Chris Mañon and Nick Smith Jr., so there weren’t really any spots up for grabs in training camp and the preseason.

 

All headed to South Bay Lakers I would imagine.

 

If Lonzo can stay healthy I think he helps Cleveland get out of the east. Come playoffs:

Garland (36) / Lonzo (12)
Mitchell (36) / Lonzo (12)
Hunter (24) / Struss (24)
Mobley (36) / Hunter (12)
Allen (36) / Nance (12)

They also have Sam Merril, Thomas Bryant and Dean Wade for the regular season. That’s a tough team and real completion to the Knicks.

A healthy Lonzo is kind of the ideal player next to Reaves and Luka. He can defend 1-3 and is great at the POA. He shoots over 40% and moves the ball beautifully. If he could stay healthy, I’d take him over Ellis just because he would be cheaper. I actually think the Pelicans are about to sell low on Herb Jones and the Kings are doing the same with Ellis.

 

cleveland burned me last year, and i'm dubious about them now. the main issue is garland can't stay on the floor. between him and lonzo, that's dicey.

they do have a good regular season formula, though, and the east is weak again.

i'm not sure what the utility of "healthy lonzo" is, tbh. he's never been healthy for any significant stretch, and there's no reason to believe it will suddenly change.

and i think the kings are going to trade ellis for less than his value, but they won't deal him to us, which sucks. we just need to make sure his agent knows we have interest and money next summer.

the pels are dumb, so who knows what they'll do. they won't sell low on jones, imo--they'll use him as part of a package for a star that fits poorly on their team or something.

 

Who knows man, Rui's shooting looked really sharp last night. SAC has a glut of guards and could use another front court player that could shoot. I wouldn't really want to absorb Monk though.

 

The east is weak, Boston is out, Indiana is out, I think Giannis gets traded this year. So it leaves the Knicks and Cavs for who come out of it.

Agree with you on the kings and pels. I just think both made odd decisions with their contract renewals, Ellis becomes an UFA, while Herb signed a 21m contract. I mean I'd offer the Pels Rui, Dalton and our first plus swaps for Herb, see what happens. If not, I then look towards the Monk & Ellis trade.

 

It's a shame Lonzo got injured and hasn't really been able to recover fully.

He went from being one of the worst shooting guards in the league to shooting 43% from three taking 7 shots per game.

And he was also one of the best perimeter defenders in the game as well.

I love his game. Good on/off ball, great rebounder, great passer, and defender. Reminds me a lot of Jrue Holiday.

 

Teams are just better when he is playing.