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

Even if your best players stay healthy, stacking deep postseason run after deep postseason run starts to take a toll on you. I expect to see some attrition with OKC next year, they've now been the 1 seed and won at least 57 games the last three seasons. We already saw some of it in the middle of the season this year. Even if your team isn't old, you can only go to the well so many times to win a crucial playoff game. At some point, you'll try to do it again and realize there's nothing left. That's kind of what happened to the 2011 team in the Mavs series.

 

OKC is deep, though. They blow teams out badly. They're not going through the same wear & tear as other teams. They have like 7 guys on their roster who were highly picked 1st round picks getting paid rookie salaries and all can contribute. Topic is a player with good potential to be a starting PG in the league and is 6'6. Coming off cancer but he'll be contributing on that team soon.
And then you consider that they have a ton of first round picks they can continue using to draft cheaper high quality talent or trade them away for players on better contracts.

You even have a guy like Thomas Sorber who was supposed to be their future center after Hartenstein's contract ran up but he was dealt with a season ending injury. They are littered with young talent who can contribute big time.

This doesn't even account for Chet still not being fully developed as a player. He was 2nd in DPOY after Wemby. I think this team, barring injuries, can compete for the next 5 years. All those years of rebuilding and fleecing teams by trading their star talent such as PG, Russ, KD, Harden, etc., really paid off for them and now it's coming to fruition.

 

I think many people just conveniently forget that Austin would have to agree to go to a tanking Milwaukee team. Seriously doubt he’s on board for that and why would Milwaukee want a guy that’s getting older who you also have to pay.

 

or that if his agent gets wind we're trying to s&t him, he might just go find his own deal somewhere. some team could create room by dumping salary to chicago or bkn and just sign him outright.

 

It's as much a mental thing as it is physical. The Nuggets had them down 2-1 and trailing in the 4th quarter of Game 4 last year, but they dug out of it. Then they had to win a Game 7 in that series. Indiana had them down 2-1 in the Finals and were up 7 going into the 4th quarter of Game 4, but they dug out of it. This year to win it they'll probably need to go through an extremely tough series against the Spurs. Eventually, you're not able to just flip the switch in those big spots anymore.

We saw it with the 03 team. Tied 2-2 and nearly came back and won Game 5 in San Antonio. Sucks but no problem, they'll take care of business in Game 6 and force the Game 7. Just like they did in 02 against the Kings. Got blown out of the building instead. Tried to go to the well one more time but just didn't have it.

As deep as they are, they're extremely reliant on Shai. He's the one consistent advantage creator they have now that JDub is injured/had a weird year with his wrist stuff. You saw it in the playoffs last year in those Nuggets and Pacers series, their offense can get a little clunky if their opponent has real athletes on the perimeter and/or can control pace and make it a slow, halfcourt game. The best teams can force Hartenstein off the court because it gums up their offense too much, and then it turns into spamming Shai/Chet pick and pops or Shai beating his guy in isolation every player. It's really hard to do that game after game, series after series for years. If they win again this year, I'm somewhat confident that it will be their last title with this group. I think it's just too hard to keep doing this.

 

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby has been diagnosed with right hamstring strain and will be day to day, sources tell ESPN. Anunoby is the Knicks second-leading scorer this postseason at 21.4 points per game. He is listed questionable for Game 3 on Friday against Philadelphia.

 

didn't dean wade get one, too? hamstring strains are the new calf strains.

 

I remember i pulled my hamstring when I was young. It took over 2 months at least to heal. Annoying injury.

 

LAKERS OPERATE OVER THE CAP PLAN

DRAFT DAY
(1) Draft Henri Vassaar with #26.
(2) Trade Vassaar + Knecht + 2033 2nd to the Pelicans for Yves Missi

FREE AGENCY
(1) Sign Smart with 15M (Full MLE)
(2) Sign Lebron for 25 million (bird)
(3) Sign Rui for 16 million (bird)
(4) Sign Kennard for 13.2 million (non-bird)
(5) Sign Hayes for 8 million (bird)
(6) Sign Thybulle for vet minimum
(7) Sign Clarkson for vet minimum
(8) Sign and Trade Reaves to Orlando (starting at 30 million ascending) for Suggs (starts at 32.4 million descending)

Total Payroll: $198,854,357 million

Still under the 1st apron by $10,563,643 million

PLAYMAKERS: LUKA (36), SMART (12), CLARKSON
POINT OF ATTACK: SUGGS (30), SMART (18), THYBULLE
LASERS: RUI (36),KENNARD (12), BRONNY
MONSTER WINGS: LEBRON (32), THIERO (16), LARAVIA, VANDO
LOB THREAT BIGS: MISSI (26), HAYES (18), THIERO (4), AYTON

• Ideally, Smart would take non-bird, and we sign an Ellis, but more likely he wont.
• Ideally, we trade all of our trash for better players, but in this build we are unable to find suckers.

 

I think you have to acquire actual players with a skillset.

Kyrie Irving is a superstar. Honestly I don’t think he’s on cooper flags timeline. Last time Luka beat OKC he had Kyrie.

to beat OKC you need legit shot makers playmakers Kevin Durant fits that mold.

I bought up Gianiss cause that’s a guy who I think we win the matchup against Holmgren if we have him. That’s my opinion.

you won’t be able to acquire Jokic this off season so you have to look at the next tier.

and yes Jaylon Brown would be perfect for Luka 3-D doesn’t need the ball.

there are going to be some hard decisions about Austin Reaves this off season. I’m glad we have Mark Walter making them and not Jeanie Buss. Because he will make a smart detailed analytic basketball decision.

 

the best route may be keeping him for another season due to cap hold rules for next year, and then shopping him around at the end of the season if it's not working out.

with that said if he gets the max or close, trading him will be difficult.

 

absolute worst case, you just get role players back. not sure if that isn't better than durant at this point (phx sure as hell thinks so).

i also think that people are going crazy about 5m per difference in salary. who cares. it's the tpmle, which has been netting jack squat anyway. the problem is when there's a gulf like westbrook, where it's a max for a vet min player. reaves isn't that and won't be that. not close. it's really not difficult at all. people are being crazy.

 

Yo, Rob, for real, bro, go get me my man crush Scottie Barnes to pair w/Luka. Make me a happy man for the next 5 years, please.

 

lol, if you want barnes, this is where i'd say just pursue giannis, who's a bigger more proven barnes. i realize that sounds antithetical to my pro-reaves arguments, but i'd say nobody is suggesting trading reaves for a bigger, better version that is in his early 30s (not late).

 

I agree with this.

 

Toronto might try to flip Ingram and Barrett, for Giannis. Barnes and Giannis would be a sick combo.

 

I think the Bucks need to trade with Portland - for their sake. They need to bottom out and need their picks back.

 

We don't want Giannis in the West; it's tough enough out here as it is.