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

probably. i'd say reaves is probably as good as current kyrie and a little behind brunson (though they interestingly have similar strengths and weaknesses).

the mavs team that went to the finals was good enough to win it. they ran into a great team firing on all cylinders while they kind of limped into that series.

we've seen the formula for a successful luka-led team; we just need to replicate it. i think it's possible, just might not happen this year.

 

I'd try to get both Monk and Ellis. Think those two fix a lot of the issues are having. They need a microwave athletic bench scorer and a POA defender to throw at guys kike Shai and Murray

 

I don't think, there is any poa defender in the league, that can lock down, or really affect, a SGA ,Luka, Steph Curry, Ant, Haliburton, Tatum, or Brunson etc. It's more about those guys being off, on a particular night, than anything else.

So.. I still don't consider that our biggest need. I like Monk, because he can attack the paint and score. That's more important than another POA. We need another quality big, or big wing more IMO.

I would take Ellis because he's cheap, and if we can't get Vucevic, Monk provides value in another fashion. It's more than one way, to skin a cat.

Back to this POA stuff, name the guy that is locking down, anybody I listed above. The rules favor the offensive guys today.

 

brunson can be bothered, i think, but the general point is true. but we don't even have anyone beyond smart who makes you hesitate for a second to iso your perimeter player. in other words, any team on any night has a proven way to manufacture a good shot against us right now. i think this is why perimeter speed and defense is our biggest need right now: because we don't have any, and our long-term team building will require it. the mavs took off in part because djj (a very keon ellis-ish player in certain regards) could do exactly the things they didn't have anyone for.

and POA is just short for a quick perimeter defender, imo. not a stopper. we just need some speed out there. our best three players just aren't that quick nor fast. you can't win with a speed disadvantage at every spot in the modern nba.

anyway, right now we need help everywhere, as we're 17th in offensive rating and 21st in defensive rating. i tend to think lebron coming back and not missing luka or reaves for 1/3 of our games will take care of the offense almost by itself. i'm less confident that our defense is likely to be impacted by these things.

 

Caruso lol.

I'm not disagreeing with your first point - your conclusion is off though IMO. Great offensive players are always going to score the point is to make it hard for them. SGA won Finals MVP last year but man Nembhard went at him and the Pacers a talented team with no real generational player at the level of a guy like Luka and Lebron was a hallibutron achilles injury away from taking that series. Magic Johnson f***ing roasted jordan in the NBA finals and you didn't see this on the Last Dance but PJax had to switch Pippen on to Magic. Magic was still Magic but Pippen made his life more difficult.

Right now the Lakers don't have that athletic POA defender like Nembhard- I actually like Smart at this stage in his career as more of a wing defender, LaRavia is a solid wing defender but I wouldn't call either athletic

 

It's not about "shutting down" guys like SGA or Curry or Brunson or whatever. It's about having a POA defender that is good enough so that you don't have to compromise the structural integrity of your defense to stop those guys. If Shai is running a high P&R with Chet, you need to have a good POA defender that can navigate that initial screen, recover, and get some sort of contest on a Shai midrange jumper or floater. Shai may very well make a bunch of those and have 35 points on good efficiency. But the competence of the POA defender prevented you from having to help off wing and corner shooters. You don't want to be in a position where the POA defender just dies on the initial screen, so the corner and wing helps have to come over to prevent a completely uncontested shot from Shai, thereby giving up wide open shots to good spot-up shooters. Same principles apply in isolation - you need someone that can kind of stay in front of him and contest a drive to the rim, rather than getting blown by and forcing defensive rotation.

The best example is Kawhi in the 2014 Finals IMO. LeBron averaged 28, 8 and 4 on great efficiency. But the 4 was huge. Those Heat teams were predicated on LeBron being able to create an initial advantage with 5-out spacing and forcing the defense into rotation. Wade could cut or attack rotating defenses and they had three other good spot-up shooters. Kawhi was able to limit LeBron's ability to create an initial advantage. LeBron still scored on him a bunch, but guys like Allen, Battier, Lewis, Chalmers, etc. never got those good looks from three generated by defenses rotating to LeBron.

 

Confirmed out for Thursday
November 13, 2025
Williams (rest) will not play Thursday against the Pacers.
Still don't play in back to back
23 games ,already 12 games missed.
but hopefully Knecht can increase his trade value or become part of regular rotation

 

How many NBA records does Wilt Chamberlain hold? Top stats

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ncaa-high-school-basketball-records-top-stats

 

Good points Abeer, Pioneer and sk2408. I understand what the poa does, I remain skeptical on that being our biggest weakness.

I appreciate the responses..hell yeah Pioneer Magic was busting Jordan's a**! Pippen was a better defender than Jordan but the Magic man pulled a hammy too in that series. I still believe that we were coming back for the Bulls assess that next season. The HIV thing was an absolute shocker.

The Heyena got a Finals MVP, for his defense on LeBron. Klay Thompson was a lockdown defender peak Warriors, we had Caruso and KCP, I get it...but again...not sure anyone of that ilk is available to us. Gabe, Smart and Vando works for me. I'd rather get another quality big or big wing that can also rebound and score some. That's my preference, but it's early, you never know what will shake loose by the trade deadline.

 

Hmm looking thru some numbers a guy who may fit well with what the Lakers are looking for is Quickley. He's had good to very good perimeter defensive numbers and is a scoring threat . Kind of stuck in the Toronto morass. In lesser more defined role I think he'd be really good for what the Lakers need.

Awful contract so no real assets to give up but I don't know how to make the numbers work - knect/max/gabe is still 6 million short

 

still think the target should be ellis - gettable, his defensive numbers work, out, right age, can shoot. Thybulle is an underrated target IMO still - when healthy (yeah I know this is lke AD) he's a premier perimeter defender

 

with that length of contract, if toronto doesn't like him, they should take vando.

problem is that they don't have another pg, so it would have to be a three-team deal that got them a pg they liked (or would be an acceptable stopgap).

it's a bit of a risk, though, as it's a long-term contract and i don't love his defensive metrics like you do.

 

ellis is the guy. and i think we're waiting on portland to trade thybulle elsewhere and for him to be bought out. wouldn't surprise me at all.

and in terms of this salary range--when we were talking wiggins in the summer, some of us mentioned barrett. and he's a duffy client, which might matter.

anyway, i'm still imagining smaller deals with an eye toward summer flexibility unless we get bowled over.

ellis is a UFA this summer.

 

Well..how about...Gabe/Maxi and Knecht, for Thybulle and Williams? That's a great trade for us IMO. Injury concerns included, I'd absolutely love that move. That takes us into title favorite category. That would be a perfect mid level move.

 

We've talked about that one before. Makes sense for both teams but Portland just doesn't trade with LAL

 

OKC was able to take away what our best players wanted to do, push us deeper into the shot clock, and we folded like thin paper. We don't have a deep offense yet, and absent our ability to create out of the pick and roll, we were pretty weak sauce on offense. Easy pickings for this OKC team.

 

The only lock down guy close to a lockdown is OG you need athletic freaks who frustrate guys. That’s Jalen Johnson in Atlanta.

What’s hard is we can’t trade Reaves. But Jalen Johnson would be perfect for Luka long athletic doesn’t need the ball. Gives you offense and you can tell him to guard the best guy.

We shouldn’t be having this conversation because we aren’t trading Reaves.

Another guy who is perfect here is Michael Porter jr. Perfect lock down knock down shooter to put in the corner with Luka so he could play his role hear he did with Denver. Doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands.

But once again we aren’t trading Reaves. After Luka nobody will help the Lakers unless we completely gut our team.


Is it Possible to get Zach Lavigne here??? Or is it too much money??? Sacramento might be trying to get off of his contract.

is there like a Gabe Rui Vando Knect for Zach Lavine Ellis???? Or is it not possible???

If we can’t just gotta hope Rui and Thiero are the POA guys cause it’s gonna be hard to find that player through trade.

I was very vocal in the off season that Denver would lose some in that Michael Porter Jr. trade for Cameron Johnson and everybody said how great he is. They’re winning but he’s not playing that great. And Michael Porter Jr. is tearing it up in Brooklyn. That’s gonna come back to bite them in the playoffs.

 

Your favorite player LeBron solves that problem.

 

Doesn't Portland have a new owner now? I know Allen might have had some animosity towards us, but why the new guy?

 

Those two guys handles, are on another level compared to Austin's. That's a big deal IMO.