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

Our two biggest needs:

1) Two Rim-running, lob-catching bigs: Preferably at least one of them could switch.
2) Point of attack defender: Preferably one who could shoot. Since we have Reaves, ball handling would not be a priority for this player.

• These "specific" roles are more valuable to this Lakers squad, based on our current roster. We have Luka, so it's paramount to have players that optimize Luka. This is where "lob catching" comes in. We also have a coach that likes to switch, so this is where being "switchy" comes in for our bigs.
• Since Luka is our small forward defender, and AR is our shooting guard defender, it is a no-brainer that the point guard defender is good at defense. Additionally, since Luka and AR are both on-ball shot creators, it is also preferable for said point guard defender to be able to catch-and shoot. It also decreases the need for this player to be a ballhandler.
• Since our two biggest needs are "nichy", we should be able to get a decent deal on them, although other teams will still be trying to squeeze us, since they know this. But really, how valuable is a Nic Claxton to a team like Brooklyn, and how valuable is an under-rated point-of-attack defender to some random team with no defensive identity?
• We might be able to find a bargain on an undersized catch and shoot "tweener" defensive type poa defender. Whether that be on a draft pick, reclamation project, or just overlooked type of player. How about a Marcus Sasser type player? Podzimski? McBride? Agbaji? Moody?

 

Trade 1: Rui + Knecht + remove protection on 2027 1st to Utah for Collins

Trade 2: 2031 1st + #55 to OKC for #15, #24, #40.

Draft #15 Clayton Jr, #24 Niedenhauser, #44 Sion James

Trade 3: Trade cash to WAS for #40 and draft Kalnenbrenner

Trade 4: Trade Vincent + Milton + 2030 swap to Charlotte for Green

Free Agency: D'Anthony Melton with 5.7 TPMLE, Paul with veterans minimum

PG: Melton, Paul, Goodwin
SG: Reaves, Clayton Jr,
SF: Doncic, Green, Sion
PF: James, DFS, Vanderbilt
C: Collins, Niedenhauser, Kalkenbrenner

 

I’d rather have Rui and Knecht than just Collins let alone more draft compensation.



Well at least you’ve gotten off Reaves for anybody and everybody.

 

Collins is a switchy 5 that could catch lobs. As a bonus, he could shoot and rebound.

 

Anybody could go for the right value coming back; it takes quality to get quality. We build EVERYTHING around Luka.

Do you know who knows this best? The new owners coming in...

 

Catching up after a week away…

-Screamin’ A is a clown over playing solitaire during a finals game and then lying about when during the game it was. To be the highest paid person on ESPN who speaks about hoops…playing a game people played when they ran out of minutes on their monthly hours on dial-up…wild.


-Adams new deal: good for him. Playoffs shot his value out of our range, unfortunately. He wisely took the money and ran. I fear this set the price range for bigs like Capela until the game of musical chairs ends and players run out of seats.

-Bane trade: instant reaction was that’s A LOT, but those picks aren’t really worth much. He’s a great fit with Orlando – two way, shooter, can handle a bit as a secondary ballhandler. Plus if he’s looking for extra cash, he can moonlight as one of the T-Rex dinos at Universal with those arms. Not sure what Memphis is doing. They had to move one of them at least, but I don’t know what direction they’re going in. Didn’t think that was going to be the first shoe to drop. Orlando still has to get better at PG, they do not have a table setter worth a damn.

-KD. What a s*** show. Minny and Tor have both made really good offers. But he only wants to go to Texas or Miami, it seems. He wanted to go to NY or BOS at the deadline and that didn’t work. Minny was told at the deadline he was good with coming there, but apparently Suns didn’t check with him before telling them that and that’s why they thought they had better odds of getting him than they currently do. With KD turning teams away, both SA and HOU are offering pennies on the dollar. There was strong momentum of him moving last weekend until he didn’t and now it seems Miami is the lead horse going into this weekend.

Ware might be the one who gets this over the finish line.
We’ll see where that goes by Monday. If they want him gone by the draft, timeline is getting tight. Also: don’t get the Minny thing. Has to be weather related. Naz, Randle, KD, ANT plus PG by committee (Conley is OLD) is a competitive West team. He and ANT have a good relationship…better than what he has with the star of any of the other teams mentioned. I guess he and Bam are cool, but not to the degree he is with Ant.

And we’ve got some toxicity in Phoenix.

KD called b*******, but Boogie retorted that his source is one of the Suns players and the fighting didn’t involve KD. They got to break this s*** show up, yesterday.

-Collins. I’ve liked him/felt bad for him since he was stuck in spin cycle of trade rumors with the Hawks…so basically year 2 of his career. Then he got to Utah and they were very unserious about winning. I think he’s a damn good buy low (talent wise) option. Preference is to expand it to include Kessler and have it be a one stop shop, then spend the TPMLE on the best wing you can find. I think he can have a similar explosion next to Luka that Gafford had. Stat wise Collins is better at nearly everything. I also think his next contract will be more team friendly whereas Gafford is looking for his starting center money and hasn’t shown the ability to hold up to the MPG that Collins has. To pivot to the Collins vs. Rui discussion – different skill set. It’s close, but on a Luka team Collins is a better fit. Better scorer, better rebounder, more athletic, better at playing above the rim at the basket and is a lob threat. But for some of the trade packages being thrown out there by non-Lakers fans, we have to get more out of the deal.

Didn’t see the repeated mention that we’re still interested in Kessler, might’ve scrolled too fast but


This was before the Collins stuff. Those two reports + the PG stuff…3 team’er anyone?


-Kings looking for a PG is f***ing hilarious

 

Kings should just be absorbed by other Cali teams

 

I call CAP

if the Lakers get John Collins borderline NBA champion. Championship. He’s got Chris Webber to him.

he’s an all star with Luka 25-10 book it. Make this trade yesterday.


Lock him up to a contract extension.

 

It’s a joke the Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton and Dearen Fox. Don’t add that they didn’t draft Luka. And this team essentially had three of the best point guards in the league.

also this is the same team that trades Dearen Fox but doesn’t get Stephen Castle back. What a joke.

 

yeah, i'm not doing showtime's trade unless kessler is involved:

rui/kleber/knecht/2031 top-4 protected and a top-10 protected swap for collins and kessler.

 

I’m definitely down for this trade as we’d still have Gabe and vando plus the tpmle at our disposal.

I think I read somewhere that Collins played at the 3 about 40% of the time last year. In the highlights he seemed more like a 3-4 to me more than a 4-5.

 

i think collins can play any frontcourt position on offense, but on defense he probably should be a 4/5 back line type. he can switch out and defensive rebound, which can make him a smallball 5. i wouldn't want to start him at the 5, though.

he was a post in college, iirc. kinda like rui, but maybe even moreso.

 

Collins would be fine as the starting 5. But, at the very least, he would be an upgrade over the likes of DFS/Vando/Rui as back up small ball 5.

 

Listened to Part I of Duncan’s annual mock offseason pod. Not much Lakers’ talk, other than being brought up as a possible candidate to trade for Derrick White and then dismissed because we probably don’t have the assets to trade for him and trade for a center without trading Reaves. Which I agree with.

It seems like a lot of the “insiders” think Minnesota will ultimately be the KD destination. Randle makes sense for the Suns if they’re trying to stay competitive. Minnesota may be willing to extend KD at a higher number than Houston or the Spurs, in which case KD likely backs off his not wanting to play there. It seems like DiVincenzo is probably going out in that trade, I wonder if we’d be able to poach him with Gabe’s salary + swaps or seconds. He’s not a guy I’m willing to send out the 2031 1st for.

 

That's a little ambitious imo. The actual trade would probably fall somewhere between your trade and my trade. I usually tilt my trades a little in the other team’s favor. Not because I think that’s what it’ll cost, but because I’d rather be pleasantly surprised than stuck overestimating the market like half of you lol.

 

if we moved rui and knecht and removed protections on a pick for collins, i'd think we overpaid substantially.

 

Fair enough. How about Rui + Vando + Knecht + 2027 protection removed + 2031 1st (unprotected) for Collins + #21. Way more balanced.

 

nah, the 2031 1st could be a good one. luka will be 32, and while i actually believe it's likely he's still all-nba at that age, you can't risk that for the 21st pick in the draft right now. too high a price to basically just get off vando--who's pretty valuable to us in the regular season and is paid appropriately for such a role.

maybe the bigger issue is still: we need to add rotation players, not make lateral/small upgrade moves to the existing ones. our problem in the playoffs was that our coach only trusted 5-6 guys. we need that number to at least 7-8.

if a rotation player goes out, i either want a star coming back or two rotation players coming back. if that can't happen, just keep the powder dry for the deadline.

 

Update, in the full version they have us trading for Kessler. Mark Williams package + additional swap(s) I think. Once can only hope!