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

Our season really hinges on if LeBron can get to the playoffs healthy and whether he can survive 4 series’.

We know Luka, Reaves and Rui will most likely be at the same or better their level from last year.

On top of that we need one of LaRavia, Vando, Gabe or Knecht to become a real minutes in the playoffs rotation piece or at least allow us to trade for one. We could also use one of Kleber or Hayes to be able to spell 10-20 mins at backup C if we need it in the playoffs.

The real x-factor to this team is how well does Ayton and Smart do? At their best, they’re legitimate game changers to a level much higher than DFS was last season. If you get the Ayton that made the finals and 80% of DPOY smart, we are close to the best team in the league. Those guys can be that good.

Ayton could be a high level lob threat that averages 18/12 with a block and a steal who can both switch and protect the rim some.

Smart can be extremely disruptive and switch 1-3 while hitting big shots. He’s a pest to play against and comes up with big plays.

You add those two to MVP level Luka, 25/7/7 Lebron with good defence, Reaves from his conference finals playoff form, Rui from last year and one or two of LaRavia, Knecht, Gabe, Vando, Kleber and Hayes playing spot minutes and I like our chance to win the chip this year.

 

I agree that we can improve. I’d do a trade for Brooks or Grimes immediately if I could. I’d cut someone to sign Vucevic or Horford.

The thing is, almost no team is complete. Here’s an example with the past champion: We can attack OKC with our size and play Hartenstein off the floor. Smart, Reaves, Luka, Lebron and Rui gets it done. If Rui had success with Jokic, he’ll do fine boxing out Chet, and with his shooting, Chet will have to leave the paint and that takes away their rim protection. They may put him on Smart and let him shoot, but Smart is good on open 3s. Good enough to punish them. Once Chet is out of the paint, at that point, Dort can only guard one of LeBron or Luka.

Would I like a better POA defender that can hit 3’s - yes I would. But we have Gabe, Vando and Bronny that can all audition for the role. As for the backup C, if Kleber is done and Hayes isn’t good enough, Rui can play 12 mins at backup C no problem.

 

We'll be good, top 4 or 5, until the trade deadline, and then make a move, to firmly move into elite status. Health is always the wildcard.

Lakers in 6.

 

Lakers in 5.

 

Agree with most of your recent posts, but am still thinking about this part. I would like to think so, but why weren't we able to play Gobert off the floor this past playoffs? Instead, Rudy was looking like Wilt out there, and we were all pining for a real C.

If Rui or LeBron really could handle opposing C's, then that death lineup of Smart, Reaves, Luka, Lebron, and Rui could even close some games. But I'm skeptical after this past postseason.

 

Yeah, they only have 9 players and a 2-way under contract right now, lol. They're definitely worse than last year as of now, and it seems pretty up in the air if the Kuminga situation will work out okay for them or not.

Minny got worse. Lost NAW and didn't add anyone. With Ayton, we roll them imo.

 

Lakers in 3!!!

 

Agree. I actually have Denver > OKC now. They went 7, and might have beat them if Aaron Gordon weren't injured. Also, MPJ was *terrible* that series, averaging 7 pts/gm on 32% FG & 25% 3P. Upgrade that to Cam Johnson, improve the bench a lot like you described, and Den > OKC.

 

Except Gobert didn’t look like Wilt…

Game 1: 24 mins - 2 points 6 rebounds
Game 2: 29 mins - 6 points 6 rebounds
Game 3: 25 mins - 1 point 3 rebounds
Game 4: 26 mins - 5 points 10 rebounds
Game 5: 39 mins - 27 points 24 rebounds

Aside from game 5 where he has a fantastic game, he was pretty much a non factor for 4 games. He played a lot better against GSW and OKC than us. Jaden McDaniels and Randle did us in - of course Antman got his, you aren’t going to stop him, but Jaden McDaniels shouldn’t be killing us like that.

To me that just showed we don’t really have the athleticism at SG and SF to deal with these guys. That’s why I’d like a Grimes or Brooks or Herb Jones or (much less so) Wiggins.

 

I was just joking about Gobert's Game 5 looking like Wilt, but I didn't realize his other games were that bad. Should have checked.

With that in mind, do you think that Smart, Reaves, Luka, LeBron, Rui is a legit closing lineup against a lot of teams? I'm not so big on small ball outside of the end of 1st/3rd quarters and beginning of 2nd/4th quarters when the other teams are playing their backup big men, but I could be convinced otherwise I guess.

 

Small ball has been successful for us for pretty well most of the game outside the last 6 minutes of the 4th quarter. I don’t know what to really say about that, other than LeBron has looked gassed in the 4th quarter of playoffs for about 5 years (since the bubble actually).

I think it’s hard to infer much from last year’s playoffs, we don’t really have a large data set. But we lost every 4th quarter in that series badly and all 3 of Lebron, Luka and Reaves went missing. Lebron damn near played every single 4th quarter without a break.

In games 4 and 5 we had really good 3rd quarters but Lebron and Luka ran out of steam in the 4ths. It’s highly unusual. I’d say last year these were our problems:

• not enough rotation pieces
• Luka being a fat slob without his regular conditioning
• Lebron being an old man who can’t play 21-24 mins in a half any longer
• Reaves couldn’t deal with the physicality
• JJ got exposed as a rookie coach

I think we addressed the first point, Luka is addressing the 2nd, JJ should improve and a mix of these 3 points should save Lebron so he has some more gas left in the tank at the end of games.

 

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You got to get to OKC - I think the Lakers perform a lot better if they didn't get matched up with a massive frontcourt that the Wolves thru against checks notes Hayes at the C spot. Can't believe I thought the Lakers could take the Wolves in retrospect.

Also I personally don't think either Indiana or OKC were "great" teams but they were definitely complete teams.

 

I actually think we match up well with OKC because of the size of our playmakers, most of OKC's great defenders can't stop Lebron and Luka.

We are going to match up with Denver better than we did with AD, because AD couldn't create enough to keep up with the Jokic offensive engine and Murray hitting shots. We now have Smart for Murray and we have Luka that's going to force that team to defend us more.

The wolves are still the toughest team for us because we don't have the athleticism at SG/SF to deal with Antman and McDaniels and to a lesser extent Randle. I'd love to address that, but it's unlikely.

 

Good points. What you said made sense, but I went back and looked at the playoff games, and since I did, might as well post the info that confirms what you said. Games 3, 4 & 5 were pretty bad in that regard.


Game 1:
Hayes: -11
Smallball: -11
Small ball outside last 6 min of 4Q: -5
Small ball in last 6 min of 4Q: -6

Game 2:
Hayes: +6
Smallball: +3
Small ball outside last 6 min of 4Q: +3
Small ball in last 6 min of 4Q: +0

Game 3:
Hayes: -13
Smallball: +1
Small ball outside last 6 min of 4Q: +9
Small ball in last 6 min of 4Q: -8

Game 4:
Hayes: +1
Smallball: -4
Small ball outside last 6 min of 4Q: +3
Small ball in last 6 min of 4Q: -7

Game 5:
Hayes: didn't play
Smallball: -7
Small ball outside last 6 min of 4Q: -1
Small ball in last 6 min of 4Q: -6

Total
Hayes: -17
Smallball: -18
Small ball outside last 6 min of 4Q: +9
Small ball in last 6 min of 4Q: -27

 

Thanks for laying that out. I hadn’t done the figures, so it was more of a box score/eye test. To be honest, it’s really eye opening, every game we lost we gave up roughly 8 points in the quarter. If we play them level, that’s the difference between losing 4-1 and being up 3-2 going home.

We’ve lost a lot of close games like this for 3 years in a row. I do think a conditioned Luka solves almost all of these issues, he’s one of the best closers in the game.

Ayton helps tremendously because of the lob threat he gives Luka and how that unlocks Luka’s game. I’d really love one more athletic SF that can dunk like a DJJ that could hit 35% from 3 and just defend 1-3. I think at that point we’d be set.

I do think small ball works for us, it’s jsut been our playmakers losing steam in the 4th. I’m curious to see how effective Smart, Reaves, Luka, LeBron and Rui are. Heck if LaRavia develops into a credible defender this year, he could really help too.

 

The most interesting sophomores to watch for the 2025-26 NBA season

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45862189/most-interesting-sophomores-watch-2025-26-nba-season

 

Where's Knecht?!

 

re: smallball--i have a conspiracy theory (unlikely it's real). the one thing DFS is/was elite at is rim protection as a non-center. i think jj knew this and leaned (too) hard into it.

i also think that effective small ball units that i've liked had very good perimeter defense. the whole reason to switch everything is to cut down on penetration and open threes. this makes back line defense less of a concern (it does not solve the rebounding issue, which is part of how we almost beat the dantoni suns by feeding kwame brown and attacking the offensive boards, lol). we thought we could get away with not having the perimeter defenders by having lebron and DFS (both good back line non-centers), but it was such a free for all to the rim it didn't matter. and DFS isn't a good rebounder, so i'm not even sure the plan would have worked against a team like minny if we did have better perimeter defenders.

so my conspiracy theory is that letting DFS go was, at least in part, saving jj from himself. we lack the athleticism to play defense how he was trying to (ironically, hayes is the center best suited to do it), and now it's even less of an option.

now, i do think we have some smallball combinations that could wreck some second units (luka/smart/vando/lebron/rui?), but i'd like to see us play most of the time with one of ayton/hayes/kleber on the floor. even when we do go small, i'd ditch the switch everything. we want to have two of luka/lebron/reaves on the floor a lot, and i don't like doing that when switching as the plan, as the opposition can just iso hunt at will, negating the value of the switches (gumming up the offense, mostly).

where i disagree with svtzr is in banking on kleber. i still think hayes is a perfectly playable backup center and could eat all the non-smallball minutes that don't go to ayton, and that kleber will never be healthy for long stretches anyway.

we should be able to build a defense that allows the 5 man to spend most of his time near the paint, as many teams do successfully. if a team in the playoffs gobert/zubac's ayton (forces them to play corner to rim on every possession), i think we also have the personnel to counter that specific situation.

 

Completely agree with this. Teams don’t go small just for the sake of going small; they go small to create some sort of advantage that outweighs the detriment of not having a big out there. Our small ball didn’t work in the playoffs because it didn’t actually create an advantage for us. The extra spacing on the floor didn’t really matter because Luka, Austin and LeBron couldn’t consistent collapse the defense and force them to help off of the corner shooters. Part of that was because Luka wasn’t in great physical shape and didn’t have much burst, which I’m not worried about anymore. But part of it was also that Austin had a bad foot and isn’t really a blow by you in isolation type anyway, and LeBron’s more of a bully ball type and Randle is actually a good defensive matchup for him at this stage of his career.

it’s the same thing on defense, going small has to give you some sort of advantage that outweighs the obvious rebounding deficit and lack of rim protection. It worked for the Warriors last decade because they could put Klay, Iggy, Barnes/KD and Draymond out there around Steph - 4 guys that could move on the perimeter but also guard the post competently because they had some size. Same with those Rockets teams that had a bunch of linebacker shaped guys around CP3. We just don’t have the horses on the perimeter to shut off penetration like Abeer said. In the regular season, we got away with it through effort and constant rotation. But when teams actually start game planning against you that dries up.

Both Ayton and Hayes are mobile centers. I’d like to see a base scheme where they’re not in deep drop (because neither are good at that) but instead play closer to the level of the screen. In very specific matchups we can roll out the LeBron or Rui at the 5 look where we think it creates an advantage for us, but it probably only works with teams that aren’t very dynamic off the dribble.