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

Deandre Hunter is strange, like he should be way better than he is. He is a good ISO defender on wings and big wings. But then he is bad on small quick guards, fouls alot and loses his guy off ball. Can't get through a screen to save his life - guy is just soft.

Offensively, he has shot the ball well, but his scoring never translates to lots of wins. I dunno what to make of him.

If you got him for a small amount, then yeah? Vando & Jake are about a 200k off making it work with the 7.5m extra you can take back adding NSJ gets it done.

Just someone go and get me Hart g'damnnit.

 

Some of yall young bucks in here don’t remember Rick Fox or Robert Horry or Trevor Ariza don’t ever compare our great team to those dumpster fires.

Hunter was great on Atlanta. And with Trey Young.

 

'According to Brian Windhorst, James and his representatives are waiting for the Lakers to present not only a contract offer, but also a clear vision for the franchise moving forward. And if that offer comes in below the max, James wants an explanation."

 

If these reports are true then Lebron is not reading the room. Lebron was not 100% accepting being 3rd option and felt just doing it for the team. I think Deep down Lebron dont think he should be playing behind Austin and feels insulted. With Paul citing Austin should come off the bench one has to think Paul and Lebron had that conversation. Now comes the contract. Lebron has to be asking why should he take a huge pay cut given how the season ended with him being the lead man and most reliable. For these reasons i think Lakers want to move on and commit to Luka/Austin and build out the team to suit. Look in it seems Like Lebron is trying to be where he is not wanted.

 

Nope. Lebron wants a clear path I’ve said that. Okay Lakers if you guys want me to give money back. What are you guys going to do?

1. get Kristoff Porzingis.
2. Get Michell Robinson
3. Get Robert Williams
4. Get Keon Ellis
5. Get Peyton Watson
6. Get Toni Eason
7. Get Mthius Thybulle

are you bringing back Rui Hachimura
Are you bringing Austin Reaves
Are you bring back Marcus Smart.
Are you brining back Jaxson Hayes.

what’s the vision of the team? What’s the vision of the team moving forward?

Lebron wants to know that. How are we going to win? What’s your off season approach? Who are we signing? And how are we going to do it?

I think at this point this being Lebrons last season he wants a clear path vision to how the Lakers are going to try to win a championship this off season.

 

i think this was all the case last summer when he didn't get the PO, and he and rich flipped out and tried to make noise about it. then we started off really well without him, and the whole thing looked really bad for him. somewhere late in the season, he seemed to fall in line and accept things. then i think the houston series went to his (and most fans', tbh) head, and we're back to some of this.

anyway, we're fully in control this time, and they'll just have to live with it. as others have already said, i don't think this alters our plans at all. rob (and probably his new hires) are going to come to lebron with a bunch of different, concrete plans, all putting him at different salary points depending upon other moves. he'll probably identify which ones he would and wouldn't be comfortable with, and we'll move forward.

now, i can totally imagine rich paul pulling the rug from us, and while we pursue our options, lebron pulls a surprise and signs elsewhere. but i'm also like 100% certain that rob is prepared for that, both as a former agent and as a guy who's dealt with klutch for years.

i'm really not worried about it, tbh. if lebron walks, we'll still have options. if he walks without our help, he's taking a much bigger salary cut than anything we've suggested here and that everyone calls insulting.

 

Yeah this is what makes me more mad about Bron. All this media circus and narratives his camp pushes all the time

But I'm with abeer, I think we have control this year and agree Rob will have alternatives in place, he did it when Kawhi ditched on us weeks after the FA opened and we got Danny Green and a title from it

 

I'm just seeing this article now, from earlier this month. It covers a lot, but one of the things it answers is why the league doesn't address flopping and foul baiting, when it would be so easy to do so, and they already have rules against it - they don't want to, because Adam Silver wants you and me to get mad and be engaged. He says "it's part of the theater of the game" and that people getting mad and chanting "F*** you!" is part of "what fans come there for.”

Basically, Silver wants to use Shai's flopping as rage bait, and it's working. [temporarily] This is a bad decision that is already hurting the league imo and will hurt it even more as more and more people realize that Silver is intentionally WWE'ing the league for "engagement." It is no longer a conspiracy theory, he admits it.

 

I think Porzingis is unlikely to play a full season again. I can't imagine that being a deal maker/breaker for LeBron.
He should take being 3rd happily at this stage of his career. The team was better and he had less wear and tear.
No way is it smart to pay him the max and waste the prime of our other stars. I'm not seeing a lot out there to get excited about that seems reasonable, so I'm glad those guys get paid the big bucks to solve those kinds of issues.

 

yeah, i disagree with his view, and more importantly, he should keep that one to himself.

on the other hand, if the league is a show, we have the greatest showman on our team...

 

I have been coming to the conclusion for a while that the offer is going to be in the 15-16 million range. That is around full MLE money, which is all teams like Golden State will have to offer. Lebron is not going to get a max offer, or anything close to it from any of the teams that he would like to go to, unless they do some serious cap gymnastics. Lakers just have to explain why he is getting that 15-16 mi slot, and make sure they don't insult him by paying other free agents more than him.

For example, if the Lakers present the plan as:

Timelord 15 mil
Robinson 15 mil
Grimes 15 mil
Lebron 15 mil
Smart 9.4 mil room exception

Something like that could be justified. If Lebron declines, Rui would likley take that 15 million slot, so we have a good backup plan at power-forward.

 

let's go Knicks even though I don't like Chalamet

tickets to NYC’s underprivileged youth
Soaring prices have caused strife for many gawking at the unaffordability for New York fans to watch their team attempt to win its first championship since 1973.

To combat this, the MSG family of companies announced Wednesday an initiative through its partner, Garden of Dreams Foundation, to give away 250 free tickets for each of Games 3 and 4 to underprivileged youth throughout New York City.

 

LoL

 

Michael Wilbon says kids around the world will be learning how to FLOP if SGA wins the title this year:

“Winning covers all this stuff. The deodorant that covers all stink, is winning…. If SGA goes back to back, and enters next season as a two time champion and two time MVP, guess what? There will be kids on the playground learning how to flop”

 

Don't suck..intentionally

 

I’ve been saying for a while but the FA offseason just isn’t that strong, I do believe we’ll prioritise bringing back our own guys and operate over the cap.

At best we’ll have the full MLE to give to someone to get a piece and a trade to bring back another player.

Luka (49.5) / Kennard (9) / Bronny (2.3)
Reaves (35) / Smart (6.5) / Vet Min (2.5)
x / Jake (6) / Adou (2.1)
Lebron (28) / Rui (15) / Vet Min (2.5)
x / Hayes (4) / Kleber (2.5)

We can package Vando, Knecht and Ayton to bring up to 32.2m back in a trade. And we’d have the MLE for the other slot. If we could swing a trade for Watson for 28m. That would leave the MLE for a big or you keep Ayton and put Jake in the trade instead.

You could also trade for Suggs if Watson is a pipe dream.

 

I thought we could do simple free agent signings like Grimes and Robinson with around 15 mil each, but I saw some internet speculation that 76rs will likely bring back Grimes, after trading that other guard. And, Knicks probably run it back after making it to finals. Also, Denver prioritizing Watson. So, might have to get creative. Your Suggs idea could be an example of that. I really hope we don't run it back with most of the one dimensional players though.