2026-27 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

Hopefully we can trade into the 2nd round and draft Evans from Duke.

 

Nah man now we need to concentrate on BIGs! Prototypes for what Laka wants. Enough guards and D and offense there.

 

I'm still trying to picture a trade for a high end big, with the contracts we have to offer. Then we have to decipher who Luka, considers high end to boot; It's just hard to see Kessler or Duren being realistic targets.

Gafford immediately comes to mind tho, for familiarity and a reasonable contract. Robinson is in the right price range, but is he a guy Luka asked for too?

It just feels like Rob already has his guy pegged at this point, and that's why we passed on making a move for a big last night.

 

I like the way you think and I think this is accurate. Carr is a nice selection and great value there but still no way you don’t get a big considering what is on the roster. Unless…

 

It’s hard to figure out how Hayes factors into this center equation as well. It’s obvious Luka likes him and it seems like JJ and the front office now like him quite a bit. He’s good enough to be the backup center, but if he’s the backup you need a better starter than Ayton. He’s not good enough to be in a Lively/Gafford-esque timeshare IMO. But I also think the team values him too highly to have him be the 3rd guy. So I think some of these ideas for 3-headed center rotations may be dead on arrival because they value Hayes as at least the clear backup. That leaves you with a clear starter and Hayes as the clear backup construction, ideally with a third guy that’s out of the rotation but can actually play if needed. And really the only guys that fit that criteria are Duren and Kessler, who are long shots. Maaaayyybe Turner if you think last year was a bad situation, but he was trending down in Indiana too. I don’t think Rob Williams is reliable enough to say he’s the clear starter, Hayes is the clear backup. But I also don’t know if you could pull off Williams, Hayes and a third guy that plays regularly.

 

Yeah this is a good angle. I also think drafting a center means Hayes needs to leave. And I don't think we want that so any center that comes is for the starting position

 

I definitely think we have a target in mind. We will know soon enough.

 

So that is QUITE less than the full max?

 

So 47 million a year??? You barely have any competition he’s not a 47 million dollar player.

 

At that number running it back is most likely scenario. Oh well.

 

"Reaves’ max contract would be five years, $239 million if he re-signs with the Los Angeles Lakers. If he signs with another team, the most he could get is four years, $178 million."

So we didn't give him the MAX he could have gotten from us, and just gave him a little more of a MAX that other teams could have signed him for? I say that is a huge win for us. Means more money room for our cap this off-season, right?

 

I guess how much flexibility does this offer/how much room does this allow for other moves is what I want to know before totally judging?

 

holy overpay

guess running it back is the only option now. another disappointing season incoming

 

So glad we didn’t let him walk.

 

So my biggest concern was Reaves getting the max (pressured by Luka forcing the Lakers to retain) and then two years down the line, if Luka+Reaves don't pull off a title or a Finals appearance, the inevitable result is the Lakers will have to start looking to trade one or both of those guys.

This is just a massive overpay for someone who has never made an All-Star team or an All-NBA team. The biggest credential he has gotten was placing 7th in the 6MOTY race.

Don't get me wrong, I love Reaves as a player. But around $35-40 million for season and not $46 million per season. He went from having one of the best contracts in the league to having one of the worst, IMO.

So again, in two years, no rings... we know the drill... time to send out first round picks to package Reaves away. No titles, have to get rid of your picks... Lakers lose on both fronts. Horrible contract even though it was the correct move by the Lakers to retain Reaves.

Now the onus is on Luka + Reaves. Luka wanted Reaves as his running mate so these two have to step up and prove it every night. The days of blaming LeBron are over if LeBron takes a massive discount to return. Between Reaves + Luka, that's $90 million per season.

 

We gave 7 more million in total than the Pistons could have offered. Isn’t his cap hold 20 million? Due to his bird rights, anything over the 20 doesn’t affect our cap, right? I get confused with bird rights.

 

So, most would be happy if we let Austin get stolen away.
Right.
Luka’s pissed.
LeBron leaves since we are a play in team without AR.
That’s the reality.

 

Yes, his cap hold is just over $20 million.
Not an over pay.

 

Not really the point. Yes, Lakers had to retain or they lose his bird rights which is essentially free money in your cap space.

The problem is if you ever need to trade him, good luck doing so without sending over draft compensation. Because no team is going to look at Reaves and think, "I'll gladly pay him $47 million" per year.