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

I pray to God Giannis doesn't go to OKC.

OKC has the players and picks to make it happen.

Hartenstein, Joe, and Lu Dortz with 4 first rounders would be too good for Bucks not to take.

Then you basically have Shai, Giannis, Caruso, Jaylen Williams, and Chet.

That's just unbeatable at that point.

 

yeah, i don't think that would get it done, either. if i'm sac i want a young prospect at the 4/5 spot. svtzr's idea that had us taking monk from them and getting ellis could work in theory; i just think sac would take a similar package from another team first.

i'm not entirely sure it's that much of an upgrade on their current team, tbh. i know it sounds crazy, but they have good-fitting parts. shifting chet down to center and losing your most physical perimeter defender isn't nothing. and taking the ball out of SGA's hands doesn't make a ton of sense to me. giannis has said he doesn't like setting screens, right? i mean, yes, obviously having two mvp-level guys is tough to contend with, but i don't think it's as scary as, say, the kd warriors were.

 

They have Sabonis at one of the 4/5, so the other one needs to be able to protect the rim, and maybe shoot a little bit. Taking Monk for Rui would be fine too, but might make payroll tight for 26-27, when Ellis likely gets a new deal starting at around 25 million. But even then, I don't think that's enough for SAC to trade Ellis to us. We could do a three team trade that has Kessler involved, with us getting a 3 and D player. Example:

LAL: Ellis and Monk

SAC: Kessler and Hachimura

UTA: Knecht, 2031 Lakers 1st (unprotected), 2031 lowest of MIN, SAC, or SAS 1st, 2032 Lakers 2nd, 2028 Lakers swap, 2030 Lakers swap, 2027 Lakers 1st (1-4)

SAC might go for that. Their team looks pretty solid after that:

PG: Shroeder
SG: LaVine
SF: DeRozen
PF: Hachimura
C: Kessler
SF/PF: Murrey
PG: Carter
SG: Clifford
C: Eubanks
C: Renauyd
F: McDermott
PF/C: Saric
G: Dennis
G: Davis
PF: Jones

 

Side note, I feel like this idea - pairing a non-rim protecting 5 with a rim-protecting 4 that can shoot - is the conventional wisdom, but I'm not sure it's ever actually born out well. It's part of why I never wanted Vucevic. If you have someone like Vucevic or Sabonis at the 5, even with a rim-protecting 4 the opponent is still going to bring Vucevic/Sabonis into a P&R. If you bring Vucevic/Sabonis up to the level of the ball, it's a pretty easy swing to the release valve and your rim-protecting 4 is now caught between closing out to a corner shooter and defending the rim. If you go with a deep drop and Vucevic/Sabonis just waits at the rim (to defend it poorly), well you still need to bring rim-protecting 4 over to help and he's probably helping off of a shooter in the opposite side corner. The Magic tried this with Ibaka and Vucevic in 2017 and were still a bad defense. I think the way to try and cover up a poor defensive 5 is to surround them with perimeter defenders, like the Rockets are doing with Sengun and the Nuggets are kind of doing with Jokic. I can't think of a good example where a rim-protecting 4 has successfully helped cover for a poor defensive 5.

 

Kessler is the 5 and Sabonis is the 4 in this scenario.

 

i think they're saying it doesn't matter, as the opposing team will just use the slower guy's defender as the screener. denver just builds an entire defense around jokic never having to really leave the paint. and i suppose gordon is something of a shotblocking 4, but they still use jokic as the anchor because he's great at positioning and they don't want him running sideline to rim and back on possessions, etc.

neither kessler nor sabonis is really equipped for the defensive role.

now, i think houston's team last year was a bit of an exception to sk's rule in that jabari smith is kind of a shotblocking 4 that they used to cover for a slow-footed ground-bound 5 in sengun. but again, that's like denver's scheme, which sabonis/kessler can't do.

i'm curious to see what dallas does. both lively and AD are quite mobile for bigs, but will they contest all the way out? i guess cleveland's the model there.

 

I hear you. In any case, what do you think of looping I'm Utah to a multi team deal where the third team gets Kessler? It seems like Indiana would be a good spot for Kessler. I would like to get Nesmith from them, but we probably don't have enough assets to get him. The SAC deal seems more workable because we absorb a long term salary from them. What do you think?

 

I'm starting to feel like we might as well do the Miami trade for Wiggins. If they want Rui + Knecht + 2031 unprotected first, have them ad two 2nd round picks coming our way, and call it a day. Wiggins does fill up 30-34 minutes, so that is 30-34 minutes of 3 and D. Also, I think we need to start looking more at the 2024 Mavs model that was around Luke..