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

Bailey can't be traded if he's not playing in Utah.He just would lose like 10 millions

 

I can’t stomach anymore Ayton talk around here.
If he’s our big Center acquisition, Rob needs to be fired immediately.

 

For a number of reasons ... heart and motor included, with big contract want from him coming up at end of season and too many assets having to go out to match salary UNLESS we can do it with the expiring salaries not including Rui and limited draft capital.

 

You can trade for Ayton with Gabe, Vando and Kleber as a package. They could throw in something and we could include Knecht so there’s no first that has to be exchanged.

But that’s all our expirings gone. You’d hold the first for the future and hope to sign something useful with the TPMLE.

I still think NAW would be an excellent addition if we could open up the full MLE. That adds another impact rotational player at the POA position.

 

Ayton for 35 millions f*** hell no,if he would be bought out and put on waiver, welcome.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report predicted that the the Lakers will sign Capela to a taxpayer mid-level exception, which should be worth around $5.6 million.

“Capela, 31, has probably aged out of his stay in Atlanta. Onyeka Okongwu and others will fill that spot, leaving the veteran rebounder and shot-blocker to find a new home,” Pincus wrote. “He should expect a decrease in pay, but he may be one of the top available bigs on the market.

“He’s not much of a scorer, and his efficiency at the rim has dropped from 65.3 percent from the field in 2022-23 to 55.9 percent. Still, he might provide a team with double-double production as a 24-minute starter, sharing minutes on a playoff-capable team.”
It's too bad that FA becomes gambling

 

in a vacuum, if someone told you you could spend 35 million on either ayton or gabe/kleber/vando, which would you choose? because we're spending that much on the latter as it stands. and all of ayton's 35 million expire this year, whereas vando's deal has two more after this one.

 

He expires this year, no one’s going to buy him out.

What would we rather production wise (don’t take salary into it):

Ayton: 15/10 with a block
Lopez: 13/5 with 2 blocks
Capela: 10/10 with 1.5 blocks
Claxton: 10/8 with 1.5 blocks

I’m not sure who the other options are technically.

Lopez is the best defender but he is so slow now, we’d have to totally change our defensive playbook. So I don’t think we do that.

I’m not sure Claxton is that good to warrant our last first.

If Ayton costs some expirings, I’d be open to it.

Otherwise Capela is our best bet.

 

Any package of players that don’t include anyone named Ayton. I have more faith in Koloko and Jemison becoming productive than the Big Uninthused becoming a net positive for the Lakers.

 

Lopez and Len LoL

 

i can tell a lot of you have never watched ayton play

 

I watched him in the finals
Deandre Ayton has averaged 14.7 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 6 games in the NBA Finals in his career
Is it good or bad ?

 

the talent is there, but his problem is mental. when he's dialed in, he's solid but most of the time he's not and the result is an incredibly soft traffic cone who is a terrible rim protector

 

But it's still better than small ball that Lakers played in playoffs

 

Ayton for a year is not worth giving up assets for, in my opinion. If they can talk him into signing a team-friendly multi-year deal, then that's a different story.

If not, get Capela instead. I also think Knecht could be worth a lot more a year from now.

 

I don’t care much for Ayton’s game, but if you can do it without giving up Rui, Dalton, and the 1st, I can talk myself into it.

Would have to be Gabe, Kleber, Vando, and Shake. Probably have to add a pick swap and maybe our 2032 2nd (I think we can use that now?) for them to take on Vando. His contract isn’t bad if he stays healthy, but it’s a perceived negative value in trades. Portland chops one big expiring into a couple to mix into later trades.

 

it's complicated by the 4 for 1 nature of the deal that we'd prefer, though.

i really don't think ayton is happening. i just argue that something like this makes sense for us. worst case, he's a huge expiring. best case, he solves our center problem long-term.

 

true, but i still wouldn't give up any notable assets to acquire him. not like the blazers would trade with us anyways, and especially not if all the lakers are giving up are the likes of vincent, kleber, vanderbilt, and 2nd rounders

 

Another round of reporting from Fischer



Spurs targeting Kornet and Yabusele

BroLo Watch

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Portis likely staying

Several teams looking at pgs

 

The thing for us is that most centers are better than what we had last season. I don’t love Ayton but if you get him for low it might be worth it since he’s expiring.