2024-25 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

Listening to Irwin's pod today...

Lakers not interested in LaVine and haven't talked in 6 months. Bulls aren't giving up a first for him and want value in return.



Has anything Chicago's done in the past 6 months shown they're a team who's good enough to understand their team or the value of their players?

Just a reminder if you're not following along



EDIT: later in the pod, said he doesn't think Grant happens. Cronin is stubborn, brought up them moving Dame to MIL cause MIA wouldn't meet their terms.

 

feeling like another russ situation where we're all bummed to start the season and at the deadline people cave and we end up with better deals.

not trading two 1sts for grant is just good business.

hard time believing the chicago line, though--there was no refutation of their offer to attach a first for wiggins/cp3, right? now, they might laker tax us (so forget it), but they can't really believe they're getting value back.

wonder if klutch might convince lavine to slow-walk his injury recovery and drive his value down further. their interest is in his next contract, not this one.

 

I think everyone will do better mentally if they just expect no moves until the deadline.

 

Well, if what Irwin says is accurate about LaVine, I'm good w/that.

I'm becoming more intrigued with adding Kuzma.

What do you guys think about adding an FRP (just 1) for Kuz?

I love his contract. He played most of his minutes at the 4 this year, but I think he is still twitchy enough to play the 3. Decent rebounder, good playmaker, I like his in between game (floater), he is a good athlete.

I've been thinking about him more often lately.

 

I don't like the Kuz fit. I don't think he is twitchy enough for the 3 and he is not even a good three point shooter, so what's the point?

 

He's 28. Can move laterally pretty well, can create his own shot, gives us some size, and the three point shot is passable. Think he gives us more versatility. Do agree the fit may be wonky.

The cleaner fit may be Cam Johnson, but I'm not giving up a first. Grant is more of a 4, too; although, his shooting numbers are much better, but I don't want to give up 2 firsts. Kind of at a stalemate here.

I think Kuz works.

 

“I've been thinking about him more often lately.‘

It’s his clothes …. right? I used to think he was a fool with his fashions but now I find myself buying the same things.

 

Can he play center? If so, those attributes you mentioned along with the 33% 3 pt shooting are passable for a center. If he could back up 4/5, then yeah. But as a 3/4, no.

 

in a vacuum, he's worth a first. But they want two firsts.

I'm much more willing to figure out a middie ground on picks for Grant than I am Kuz.

Also who are you trading? Rui is our most attractive trade asset this summer and I don't think either parties are interested in a reunion.


So it has to be DLO, JHS, and Wood (or other min).

That clears us just over $2m which isn't enough to allow us to do anything with the roster space unless you dump another min elsewhere. Then you might be able to use the TPMLE but it'll be tight.

 

Wendell Carter Jr and Kuzma together would be really nice additions. Add size across the frontcourt for two guys who are not liabilities on either side of the court.

Biggest problem to solve in the playoffs is having guys who you can trust on both ends of the courts - don't have to be stars or playmakers just can't be played off the floor by matchup hunting or lack of gravity

 

There was some skepticism if Lebron would truly take a paycut for someone like Valanciunas, so I’m a bit surprised to see Lebron publicly name Jonas as someone he would have wanted

Really curious how that played out. Did we not even reach out to Jonas because we were so focused on Klay, so he quickly jumped on the first deal he got his way? I would hope that we reached out and explained that we could potentially outbid the Wizards but just needed a day to see how the other options shook out.

 

what good is reaching out when Jonas already agreed to his deal?

 

The bolded works. Plus, we get rid of a Russell in the process.

 

Gotcha. I'd do seconds, but Washington probably wouldn't.

 

I’m saying that if he was the most realistically available target, we should have reached out to make our interest clear and start discussions with him BEFORE he agreed to the Washington deal

It seems plausible that nobody from the Lakers even reached out to Valanciunas because we saw him as a distant consolation prize behind Klay, and assumed he’d still be available later if we struck out on Klay. That would have been a mistake.

 

Yeah, lebron kinda admits to tampering…

anyway, to get Jonas at 9 per, we’d have had to dump dlo’s full salary AND have lebron take a 5-6 million pay cut I think.

just wasn’t happening.

pels weren’t going to s&t.

 

I wouldn’t give them more than a couple of seconds for Kuz. He’s not a perfect fit and I wouldn’t give a single first unless that player is.