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

gs is the only team in the bidding with a bunch of picks (some of which could be really good, post-curry, which is not that far off, imo). butler is from chicago and went to marquette, so i'm guessing there'd be some comfort/interest there. plus, he expires next year, and the team is likely to be bad no matter what.

i think the minny and ny packages are much tougher sells for me, each requiring those teams to get third teams to help them out. i outlined a couple minny deals above, but i don't love either of them for milwaukee.

gs and miami are the ones that make the most sense to me.

 

Not everything is media hype. GS makes sense as a suitor here. They're good enough to compete immediately if they get Giannis, desperate enough to trade a lot for him, can trade picks far out that should be good because their stars are old, and are in a market where Giannis would probably like to be. Not many teams check all of those boxes. Giannis is close enough to his extension decision (October) that he can put his thumb on the scales a bit here. It doesn't matter if teams like OKC or Houston, or even someone like Toronto, can trade more than the Warriors if Giannis makes it clear he's not re-signing there.

If I were Giannis, I'd personally try to make Miami happen. Stay out East where the path is easier and realize that you'll always be #2 to Steph on that GS team, even if you're now the better player.

 

Minnesota could be interesting for us, I’d try to send a first for McDaniels, he’s kind of the perfect wing for now and the future. Gabe, Kleber and Knecht salaries match McDaniels and a Minimum.

Reaves / Smart
McDaniels / LaRavia
Luka / Vando
Lebron / Rui
Ayton / Hayes

It’s amazing how much better our team looks with just a single extra starting level quality player. If we could shake out two, we’d be contenders IMO.

 

0% chance McDaniels is available for one first. He's arguable the very best 3&D player in the league and is still developing offensively.

 

yeah, bridges netted 4 firsts. mcdaniels can get close to that, imo.

 

Don't give up on a season when a few improvements can give you a shot - get KCP at least. Give it a go.
Lot of guys dropping like flies

 

Hunter, Sharpe, and Highsmith is a good haul if we're only dumping dead weight expirings and DK. No Rui and no picks should be going out for those guys.

A center has to be going out of we're bringing in Sharpe. I can't see us playing Ayton, Jax and Sharpe.

 

DeAndre Hunter has been awful with the Cavs - the ESPN net points thinks he's been either the worst Hawk or Cav for the past 5 years. he looks like he should be good but damn do the numbers hate him.
Cardio Gabe to Fit Bit Hunter

 

If you get him and a borderline starting C for unplayable expirings, I think that's a win. I don't get the (alleged) high interest in Hunter, he's my least favorite of the most recent list of wings we're looking at. BUT he's a worth being a top 7/8 rotation level player on a playoff team, if you get that for dumpster trash...that's an upgrade. He could shoot (this year is weird), he would be considered athletic on this roster, and he can get down hill more than 90% of the roster. My biggest concern with him is health. I also think his defense has become a bit overrated. Tools are there though.

Also if the Cavs are a team interested in DK...that's a big plus. List of teams interested in him might not even fill up a tandem bike.

 

I think the idea with Hunter is that best case things click better for him here than they have in Cleveland and he’s basically a more mobile Rui, which we could really use. Worst case is he’s another large expiring we can dangle in trades over the summer/before next year’s deadline. He’s basically a Rui replacement on a 1 year deal - doesn’t kill our flexibility.

 

Reaves would resign cause he gets a full max. From a buisness perspective. If I’m Austin Reaves and I get a Jaylon Brown type of deal. I’ll play on Mars.

I’m not trying to trade Austin Reaves but money is money in terms of The quote Andrew Bynum the famous quote they have banks in every city.

the most appealing deal is Golden State because of the 4 first round picks and Golden State would look like us with Kobe Bryant Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. After that you own that franchise.

and you get Jonathan Kaminga untapped potentially honestly I’m not comparing him. But a baby Gianiss. In terms of athleticism and his ability to score at the rim. He’s only 23 years old Gianiss is 31 years old.

Pud is 23 another young kid. And Jimmy Butler is an expiring contract.

that Minnesota s*** is b*******. Jaden Mcdaniles is nowhere as good as Austin Reaves. If that’s the price deal with us. And he can lace em up with Luka.

Miami I don’t see Herro that appealing.

and New York what to offer.

 

hunter doesn't kill flexibility, but he hurts it. you have to REALLY believe he'd be better here than he has been in his other two stops, because he just hasn't been the guy people hoped/expected he'd be at all.

if cleveland wants off that 19 million or so (and for us to lose that much in space), i think i want something else from them.

if there was a way to make it a three cornered deal where cleveland sent a vet min and some seconds to sac and we got hunter and ellis, i'm more interested.

 

I hate it - Hunter doesn't guard anyone different from Laravia and Rui in terms of matchups. OTOH the team has a hole; they still don't have a defacto dude to put on guys who are too quick for Marcus and Laravia - i.e. Mitchell, and I can't believe I'm saying this after all these Denver beat downs we still haven't found a Murray 1v1 defender. Really prefer a guy like KCP or Ellis who you can put on these type guys.

(part of it is none of these are great long-term pieces, Sharpe is a backup c but Lakers already found one in Hayes, Rui is a significantly better player than Hunter even with his flaws)

 

Rui and Hunter are pretty similar players when you look at shooting percentages and advanced stats. Hunter’s three point shooting is way down this year, but that looks like an anomaly as he was 39% and 40% the last two years on higher volume than Rui.

 

I'm wondering if Lakers are just looking at trading for expiring tradable contracts next season. The reason I say that is because players like Kuminga and Sharpe are bad fits. Kuminga feels a need for athleticism, but is a bad shooter, bad defender, and needs the ball. Sharpe is an elite rebounding big and good passing big, but he is not a lob threat. Need lob threats only at center, to maximize Luka. We already see how a center that tries to be "too cute", like Ayton has an adverse affect on the Lakers offense. We don't need a hocky assist guy in the post that can't dunk.

 

yeah I’m also thinking that if they know Giannis isn’t happening, now they’re pivoting to making incremental improvements that are expiring contracts that wouldn’t be that hard to trade again over the summer or before next year’s deadline.

 

I'd rather have another solid rebounder/scorer at 5, than worry about him being a lob threat.

 

If we are poking around Brooklyn, the players to get are Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney. Claxton for the obvious rim defender/lob threat reasons but I also really like Clowney as a younger version of DFS who can become a really good 3 and D wing defender solution for the long term

 

as the captain of "team patience" i'd kinda hate this. the only way that accumulating expiring '27s makes sense to me is if lebron is coming back next year, and we're just going to run whatever this is back again. it's not working now, and it won't work with lebron a year older.

i'd rather at least try to sign FAs we like in the summer first, then rent space if we fail. renting space ahead of time seems like punting too soon to me.

all that said, i could see sharpe and kuminga as guys the FO thinks might be as good or better than what we'd get with space. i'd have to trust their read on the market, i suppose. but i'd like to try to get grimes or watson + ellis using that 40+ million in space if possible.