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

PG-LUKA
SG-REAVES
SF-ELLIS
PF-JAMES
C-KESSLER

PG-LUKA
SG-REAVES
SF-WATSON
PF-JAMES
C-AYTON

The Kessler option looks like a good option. Gives us the best possible starting 5.

 

But even just getting into position for #13 alone is solid. Hopefully Mara would still be on the board there. OKC has too many roster spots and salaries, so even though they don't want to help us, they may be tempted to trade #13 for our 2031 1st and 2032 swap.

 

yeah, it's worth monitoring. i see the idea of kessler/jjj, but it might make more sense to spend a bit less on the frontcourt by using filipowski as the starting center and flipping kessler for more perimeter help. now, if they get dybantsa (which has clearly been the long-term plan), things kind of fall into place in several ways.

 

If Utah ends up with Dybansta, does it help or hurt our chances of getting Kessler?

 

good question.

you have to figure their core right now is kessler/jjj/bailey/george. i think they like filipowski, still haven't given up on williams, and may have some interest in developing collier. but they made the jjj trade to stop tanking, presumably next year. if they can't draft peterson or dybantsa, i wonder if they look to move their pick (perhaps along with kessler) for a win-now perimeter player.

so, now that i think about it...i don't love our shot at kessler almost regardless of outcome. utah can afford to overpay in the short-term, and it makes more sense to use kessler to get a player than to get future picks. now, i'm certain they'd have a ton of interest in kessler for reaves, but i don't.

 

I was thinking if Utah or Brooklyn gets Wilson, we might have a shot at Kessler or Claxton. Although I'm not a huge fan of Claxton. But something like Vando + Ayton + Knecht + 2031 1st for Claxton is consolatory. I like that. Get rid of players that the Lakers are not really in love with.

 

On Draft Day, first thing I try to do is move up for Mara. If Chicago doesn't get him at #9, I try to trade for that OKC #12. If hes there at #12, we could offer 2031 1st and 2032 swap. This is risky, i supoose its like the Derek Queen trade a little bit. But the 2031 1st is 5 years from now. I would take the risk. We also keep the #24.This way, we lock in a rim-protecting big.

 

I will say, I'd love to get Mara or Kessler. Not a fan of Clax at all and I don't think he's worth pursuing at all. I'm still in the camp of targeting Mo Krivas in the draft and developing him in-house personally.

That said, Jason Timpf just did a podcast interview with Brian Windhorst about the NBA in general and talked a great deal about the Lakers. And without getting into any personal thoughts on either JT or Windhorst themselves, the last few minutes of their talk on the Lakers is something I've been preaching about on this forum for awhile now and I think they both do a great job of framing the issue of the Lakers' roster building issues over the years and the necessity of nailing the margins moves for the roster beyond just the star names at the starting lineup.



To put it bluntly, Windhorst notes that the last rookie that the Lakers drafted themselves and then later gave a contract extension to was Andrew Bynum. And to his credit, Windhorst does acknowledge that the Lakers have won multiple championships in the time since then, but as he and JT note- it's not an approach that the Lakers can afford to continue to rely on moving forward in this new CBA era with the Second Apron being designed to remove flexibility and essentially punish NBA teams that try to basically buy their way into winning rings by outpaying for superstars.

 

Reports I have read say GS will offer Porzingis a 1+1 between 18-24mil.So 2year and 3rd year team option at 20min would probably get him although there were fit issues with Luka in Dallas

 

Just to follow up on this post a wee bit, obviously I personally don't think the Lakers can afford to just do what OKC and San Antonio did and go into total tank mode for half a decade or longer in order to acquire more lottery players. Luka and AR widen the team's championship contending window a fair bit, but they still need to remain competitive and try to get to a championship winning level roster over the next couple of seasons, so free agency and trades will still be important for us too. But the template we have to follow moving forward is Boston.

IMO? Every single summer from here on out, no matter what, the Lakers need to be buying into the second round and drafting players that Bennett and their new draft scouts see long term potential in and developing them. Try and draft most of the remaining First Round picks that the team still owns, rather than move them on Draft Night for some sort of package. The Lakers need to build a Dodgers-type farming system, where we are churning out just as many winning players in house as we are signing FAs and making trades with other teams. It'll take time and it could very easily be something that Luka and AR won't be in their primes long enough to see the full rewards of themselves, but it's the key for the Lakers being championship contenders for the long haul on a regular basis again.

 

if we could end up with Watson, Mara, and Lebron with that 48 million. And, then sign Smart with the room exception, it would be a good off-season. Need draft picks to make those trades though. But then again maybe OKC wants to keep its picks and prefer to trade their players.

 

Yeah to me Lauri is clearly the odd man out and Kessler is in their long-term plan. Of Lauri, JJJ and Kessler, the one we know they want to keep is JJJ because they just traded for him. So the question is which one of Lauri and Kessler do you keep. JJJ/Kessler at the 4/5 is pretty clearly a better fit than Lauri/JJJ at the 4/5. I think it's become clear that JJJ can play the 5 for stretches, but is best suited playing next to a bigger center most of his minutes. Like early career AD.

 

yeah, sorry i completely blanked on the markkanen part because i guess i unconsciously had him as outgoing. but that may not be right.

utah said they wanted to play all three right after the trade, and markkanen had some success in cleveland playing sf, so it's not entirely crazy. i just think that with JJJ's max, kessler's likely 25-30 million, and markkanen's near max, that's a LOT of cash wrapped up in the frontcourt. meanwhile keyonte george is up for a big raise, perhaps as soon as this summer (he's extension-eligible, i believe).

anyway, they're a team to watch for a few reasons, i guess. and we have dealt with them a couple times in recent years.

 

Yeah all of that tracks. We have the same owners as the Dodgers, and their front office has been to posted to OKC's. Ellis be able to hire the Tony Benett's, etc. Watson and Missi are examples of very young players that could be traded for, not necessarily drafted.

If they get Dybansta, unless they play him at shooting-guard,he is their small-forward, so Lauri would either have to move to power-forward, the bench, or possibly get traded. If moved to power-forward, it would shift Jackson to center. I wouldn't rule Kessler out for us.

 

Oh I know. Trading the '31 and/or the '33 Firsts this summer isn't something I'm personally against. I'm talking about Firsts like this year's or the 2028 and 2030 Firsts that are already locked out of being used in trades until their Draft Nights due to the Stepian Rule. IMO we should follow the Stepian Rule and the format we're already locked into for the foreseeable future by keeping and using our Firsts every even-numbered year and trade our odd-numbered Firsts, at least until 2033.

 

There will be a few options, but here is one:

DRAFT DAY
Draft the best available player that makes sense going into the future. Don't put too much stock into this position in terms of immediate help.

FREE AGENCY
Talk to Lebron about splitting the 48-million with either Kessler or Watson. Either player might get 32-36 million for the first season (descending), so Lebron would have to authorize a pay cut down to 12-16 million. Once approved by Lebron, proceed to tell Utah or Denver that we are going to offer an offer-sheet. They likely agree to a sign-and-trade. Not sure what they would want. Could be the recently drafted #24 1st, could be a future 1st, players like Knecht might also be involved. If we get Kessler, then we sign Smart with the room-exception and move on from there. If we get Watson, there may not be a sufficient big available with the room-exception. But we could look into it. Maybe, just still sign Smart with the room-exception.

TRADES
If we get Watson, and are not happy with the center rotation of Ayton, Hayes, and maybe a rookie or vet min, we could look to make a consolidation trade. Not sure if the Knicks could afford any more salary, but perhaps Ayton + LaRavia + Knecht + 2033 1st for Mitchell Robinson (Sign-and-Trade). Something like that. Knicks get some expiring trade fodder and some draft capital to use in other trades. Or a similar trade for an Allen, Claxton, or even a Myles Turner.

 

Especially if they get Dybantsa, whom they pretty clearly want because he's a great prospect and has the Utah ties which is really important to them. If you have Kessler and JJJ, as well as both Ace Bailey and AJ Dybantsa on the wing, I don't see any way Markannen is still on that team. Maybe it takes until the deadline to move him, but he's out.

 

You guys realize that Kessler played just FIVE games this season, right?
I still don’t understand the overblown love affair.