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

I don't think Jones would have just sulked and pouted, for being demoted to the bench though.

 

no, but i think he would have taken a guaranteed starting job over a bench spot, even if we had the open roster spot.

 

Probably right, starting games is a big contract kicker.

 

Brown is 6'4 I don't think he's going to be all that useful against teams with size, like Boston, Cleveland, OKC, Denver is talking about chasing Valanciunas. Memphis has size. Dallas has some size. Bruce Brown is kinda redundant with DFS, might as well keep Vanderbilt, Gabe and that FRP. Go get a big that can actually play.

 

Vuc from Chicago; I think he's on an expiring? I have to look. Too lazy to look up contract details. He's slow, can't defend, etc. He's just not good defensively. Either way, I saw a report that we were linked to him, and he's interesting offensively. He could post, play back to the basket, he's an okay shooter. I don't know if he's cooled off since his start to the year, though. He could also operate from the top of the key and you can run offense through him.

I don't know the path salary wise because I'm in a rush and have to leave the house, but what are your thoughts? My second option after Kessler would be Robert Williams, but guess what? He's been out the last two games with an ankle strain. Do we need more of that? Just a thought.

 

Brown and DFS are not the same kind of defender. Brown can handle POA duties and occasionally guard up a position and take on wings. DFS is more of a pure wing defender that slides up to guard bigs. Garland and Mitchell blew by DFS a few times, which is completely understandable because very few 6'7" guys can handle guards of that caliber.

The idea with Brown is to basically bring in a more experienced version of Max. Max has been a revelation for us this year, but you saw at the end of the game last night that he got a little shaky in big moments. He's still so young. We've started using Max more as a roll guy in P&R, which is something Brown does really well. If you have Brown in addition to Max, you have a credible POA defender for 48 minutes and aren't screwed if Max struggles in big games/moments like most 21 year olds do.

 

Rumor has it that Golden State is interested in Vucevic. He's a great fit offensively for AD IMO. He's at 20M now, and has a year left on his contract at 21M. That's Lebron's timeline, but Rob probably has his eyes set on another guard or forward. Probably Murray in a surprise, last minute twist.

 

But he makes more than Max and Rui combined. The best case scenario would be Gabe,Vando and Hayes, plus a pick. I'd pass, giving Rui for him is losing the scoring punch. I'd pass, we'd still need a decent big.

 

Brown is short but plays big. He rebounds and is strong physically.
I think he's quite different from DFS. He's quicker and can take the quicker guards. Handles better the ball too. Just a different player.
They fit well because they don't need the ball in their hands to impact a game. With Bron, AD and AR that's the type of players you need.
Size is not a problem with Bron, AD and DFS. It's a problem when AD is out, but that's 10 minutes a game in the playoffs. And we don't struggle against size, we struggle against quickness and physicality.
Memphis, Dallas, OKC don't have more size than us.

But I do think we need to have Vando healthy to trade Rui. I like a trio of forwards with Bron, DFS and Rui/Vando. Although I admit we shouldn't rely on Vando, at least this year. It's a bonus if he plays

Just think with this new iteration post-DFS trade that Rui loses space and he impacts less this team. I'm willing to explore trades to get either a backup big and/or shot creation

 

This.
Great explanation.

I just love Brown. This type of guys are elite role players. The work they do off-ball is off the charts and he fits that build perfectly. But I'm not sure we have the path to him without sending an FRP, Max or Knecht that I don't want to do

 

I hear you man but at the end of the day, you are talking about giving up 3 players and a draft pick for a guy that avg 9pts 4 rebs and 2.5 dimes. One that has never made an All Defensive Team, and has only played in 3 games this season. I'm out on that idea. If we had another big that could score and rebound, play with AD, and hold down the 5 spot with AD on the bench? I think that's more impactful than another poa defender. Last night and moving forward. I'd take my chances with Vanderbilt, the playoffs are 4 months away.

 

Me too. The toughness, defensive chops and unorthodox skillset on offense (can make open threes, but does really well as a roll guy). I'd gladly send a FRP for him if you could guarantee he was healthy, but Irwin has noted the FO is worried about his knee injury. If he was completely healthy, he'd probably cost more than just one FRP.

 

I really like the Brown addition this offseason but now I'm not so sure. With Max's growth and Brown's salary the move made more sense pre-Dlo trade.

Feel like the Lakers needs are more a big and another playmaker. That being said flipping Gabe for him would be nice to get more size and rebounding but why would the Raptors do that. At the end a Brown/Max/Shake combo around Reaves is better then a Gabe/Max/Shake combo but I only do that if no playmaker or big is available

Edit: I don't think Brown is worth losing Rui when the team now has DFS, Max, and Reddish for defense

 

Brown makes 23M. It's going to cost more than Gabe. I'm sure Toronto would take Max, Rui and Hayes with 2 2nds. But what's the point of doing that? Get him on the MLE this summer, that's a better idea IMO.

 

Bingo!! Championship caliber squad with those ideas.....IMHO.

 

No, no, the package would be Rui and fillers (JHS and Wood work) with no FRP. He's not a stats guy, Caruso stats are putrid but we know how good he is.
But I agree with everything being said in this thread, it's not a dire need and to get it we get weak in other spots. It's more a pipe dream fit rather than a logical and direct path.

The main problem is that we lack assets. Vando's death killed us. We basically traded DLo for another Vando. When we try to address a need, we get a new one from what we are trading away. So it's reasonable to have different perspectives on what to do next. But we are better than last year and that's a good thing

 

Anyone else noticed that AD has been talking about boards and bigs lately after losses? Just putting that in the wind, I don't hear him or Lebron talking about point of attack defenders.

 

This is a good point. We don't have enough assets, and are starting from too far behind, to realistically turn this roster into what the C Bags or the Thunder have; 6+ legit two-way players and a handful of other competent guys. We've got LeBron, AD, Reaves, DFS and then some other pretty good but flawed players. So to put it in the simplest terms, we need to get really, really, really good at something because we don't have the assets to make this team good at everything.

That's why I'm coming around to the position that we need to get Kessler, even if it means sending both picks and removing the restrictions on the pick the Jazz already have. You do that deal and yeah, there will still be holes. Having Austin as the only credible ballhandler outside of LeBron isn't great. Relying on a 21 year old Max as your only POA defender isn't great. But at the very least, with Kessler we'd be able to say we have the biggest, most intimidating front line in the league and are the best in the league at protecting the rim. High level rim protection for 48 minutes a night. From there, you just hope that JJ and LeBron can give us a high enough floor on offense.

 

^ This is the way.