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

can we wait for Robert Williams to get here???

 

He ain’t the answer. As a bench player, sure, but we can’t trust his health.
It may be a trio, like others suggested earlier of Ayton/Hayes/Williams or Ayton/Hayes/Robinson.

 

If that was true we wouldn't have won 53 games in the Western Conference. We did that missing Lebron, Austin and Luka at times. That's proof of a decent roster IMO. When it comes to OKC.Yes...They beat us 3 times. Luka missed 1 game and got injured in the last game. Lebron missed 1 of the 3. We don't know what happens, with Luka, Bron and AR healthy.

Who are these athletic guys, that you think are realisticly in reach? When you stack up these UFA available this summer...which ones are you picking over Lebron, Rui, Luke, Ayton or Smart?

 

Mr Burns "excellent" gif.

If we built nothing, then everyone apart from OKC, Spurs and NYK also didn't build anything. Which I know you know is a silly way to look at improvement that sits on a continuum line and not on two seperate extremes.

We were a 60+ win team for 3/4 of the season. That's not nothing - we have our top 3, we just need to slot everyone else in better.

1 - Luka
2 - Reaves
3 - Lebron
4 -
5 -
6 - Smart
7 -
8 - Rui
9 - Kennard
10 - Hayes
11 - Jake
12 - Adou
13 - Carr
14 - Bronny

Tell me honestly that we aren't a contender with 4, 5 and 7 being slotted properly.

That's an opinion, not a fact. A starting center like Claxton, Gafford, Stewart or Ware and a 3&D wing like Thybulle, Herb or Spencer Jones and we're right there.

Not necessarily, Reaves could continue to just be really good and threaten to leave again without the max, but we tore down everything else around him and Luka and we have been a play in seed.

I'm not sure what you're arguing here? We're in agreement, if we tear it down, it's a 2-3 year mini rebuild to get back to this point only to hope we can get someone to push us over the edge.

Before the Knicks won they had:

• KAT who was a terrible defender
• Brunson who is worse defensively than AR
• Bridges who had regressed offensively and was losing minutes
• OG who is a two way beast but can't create
• Hart who they were going to trade/dump
• Robinson who can't hit free throws and is always injured
• Shamet that was a camp invite

Now they have two way players across the team. There run is as likely as Ayton buying in defensively for a playoffs run, Reaves and Luka going flame thrower, Lebron playing better than OG on both sides when is slotted as #3, Rui defending well at the backup big spot while hitting 45% of threes, Kennard doing a Shamet shooting wise, Smart performing like one of the better defenders in the playoffs and the other two pieces we add becoming significant additions.

We could just as easily be a winner if we're healthy and our shooting is over 40% as a team for a full playoffs.

Are you saying we should wait to see if our second rounder and late first develop to help Luka and Reaves? If that's our strategy... I mean, my god, we'd be more pitiful than our worst detractors could imagine.

Chicago and Brooklyn both have cap space, they would take on Vando/Knecht for Claxton if we gave them draft picks. We just didn't offer that.

We should of finished 3rd in the West which is effectively 5th in the whole NBA. Once again, that's close.

I would argue if your plan is to either go for RFAs - and if you get none while the best FA's left in the NBA are your own and they leave - you should be fired. Secondly, if you're banking on our draft picks developing after tearing things down - then you should also be fired.

 

If you do that, and you can't convert a RFA or two. You'll lose Smart, Rui and Kennard to a contender. At that point you can offer Lebron 50m to stay I suppose, but you won't be competing next year and so much for the 26 off season.

 

Can somebody elaborate for me. What’s up with all these guys going back to College? Clipper guy back to Auburn and now final four MVP back to Michigan. I thought once your name is in the draft you have to stay?

 

Unintended consequences of allowing college players to earn money. These young guys are probably earning more staying in college an extra year. They've been drafted, so their rights belong to the team that drafted them. Think of it as a European pick that stays an extra year overseas and then comes on over.

 

An impromptu trip to Disney this week kept me away from the events in real time, outside of ones that hit the notification bar, and ended up in me ending each night this week doing a quick twitter and B/R scroll before calling it a night.

So I'll run through my first impressions on this week's biggest activity and then I'll play catchup from where i left off Monday evening and can jump in on the rumor stuff after I see what's being/been discussed.

-Giannis: Congrats Riley! You missed on KD, Dame, Beal, Kyrie, Spider, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few BUT you finally got your next headliner. I'm thrilled this s*** show is finally over and as we saw, the rest of the league could get back to regular scheduled programming. I am grateful we were not in the mix, but that A) shows a miscalculation on Rob's part (I'm working on a whole rant for his thread that I'll get to) and B) sucks that there was not peripheral action we could get in on. Not only did Giannis stay East but also this managed to possibly f*** up Boston's roster in the process, depending on the return they end up getting for Brown. Now Miami gets to try to field a competitive roster full of vet mins. They got a lot of work to do because they're not better than Boston (again we'll see what get for Brown) or NY and if Hali is back to form, I have Indy over them too.

Minny: bold swing by Minny. The ANT whispers have started (Rob, DON'T EVEN TRY SELLING THAT PLAN!) so they go get him a starting PG that he's been asking the FO for, but they sent out the wrong big. ANT hates Gobert and Naz was loved by everyone. This probably helps Minny in the regular season, but in the playoffs I think they get murdered by pivoting to a much smaller team without Naz and Randle. I don't think it works out and could accelerate the ANT march when it fails to make them a better playoff team. They had to try something though to show ANT they're trying something.

Big Men are Moving

Rob?...

 

Dallas and/or New Orleans remain our best trade partners.

PJ & Gafford are the only long term salary on Dallas' books. PJ has 4 years left at an AAV of 22m per year (inc this year), Gafford has 3 years left at about 18m per.

Herb has a long term contract at 20m AAV per year for the next 4 years.

Could we get all 3? We have 2 picks, 3 swaps, salary and Rui + Kennard as S&T guys.

Before you say no, Naz Reid + 1 Pick + 3 Swaps just got Ball.

 

30 teams in the league some you play 4 times some 2. Your going to win many games Lakers were top8 team. Austin and Luka played foul baiting which is a bit different in playoffs so we really dont know when all are healthy. Of those teams Lakers had a 1.7. diff. Lakers posted (roughly 6-13) against the league's top 10 teams. They heavily suffered from poor perimeter defense, offensive rebounding. So i am not saying they were bad but at the same time i cant say they still would not have fallen to more physical athletic teams. The reality we still dont know.

 

One thing to note is that everyone said the Knicks couldn't win with Brunson and KAT because they were the worst defenders at their respective positions. To nobody's surprise, the recipe to succes is to surround them with great defenders like OG, Hart and Bridges. We have Luka, AR, and Smart. Now let's go get a defensive center and wing.

 

So damn tired of this mis-representation from you of their games. They have to be fouled or they’re going to make a legit attempt to score. You lump them in with the flopping and unnatural body movements of SGA and his flopping buddies. Just stop.

 

I’m fouled on literally every play! (Luka)

 

Totally agree.

Surround Luka, Lebron, Reaves & Rui with Smart, Herb or Thybulle or Spencer Jones, PJ Washington or Aaron Gordon, Gafford or Robinson or Timelord and watch us go.

 

Why would you do this and why would the coach's association let him do such a stupid contract structure? That's bad for the league and good for the cheapest owner dominating the negative PR space.




I know the market is bare but if Luka walk into the office and asks for an A list big and you bring in even both of those guys as anything other than backup depth

I'm also hoping it's just Ramona still being on the outs.


I know the center options are very slim and we're entering very scary territory here.

Claxton and Beef Stew just went for cheap.

Ware and Missi are both reportedly not available.

So it's either you drop the max possible for Kessler (I like Buha's S&T idea here better than an offer sheet) or Duren and pray even though both teams are indicating they're going to match OR center by committee route. You go the committee route, you have to land two solid new backups and slot Jax down to third. If you get Robinson and Timelord, that can work but that market for both is going to be very competitive (Boston interested in a Timelord reunion).

iHart, Turner, and Dallas the only other remote options? It's getting thin and expensive out there.





Better be, because that's the bar.


Remember how reports came out that we saw the FA market and decided to pivot to the trade market with our space and flexibility?

https://twitter.com/SamQuinnCBS/status/2070200092624117845?s=20

Path to a successful summer is getting as narrow as narrow gets.

I'm also of the belief that with how the market is shaping up, any noteworthy trades we plan on making we should probably make right now because once FA opens on an already bare market, those trades are going to get more expensive because the leverage of "we'll just go sign x instead" can no longer be a leverage play.

 

Sean Sweeney just took over Orlando. Very good assistant for years.

I'm not familiar with his vision, but that Orlando team needs shooting badly. Is there any possibility they are interested in trading Wendell Carter? Don't think so, but I think we have to try all avenues and explore every scenario.

 

If two is the ask for Herb, I can't imagine what they're currently asking for Murphy? 4 1sts +

With Murphy wanting out, I'm wondering if that accelerates that movement. Cause if they wait until the ask is met, they're going to be waiting a REALLY long time. I don't think they get the ask for either.


Only way I give two first for Herb is if they'll take Vando and give us Bey. They get one for Herb and one for taking on Vando, Bey gives the bench a little depth.






I was hoping Ayo's deal would set the price for Watson, but seems it might be a little higher and then if you're throwing an offer out you have to tack on an additional $5m+

 

Seems like the play is depth.

adding to Ayton Jalen Smith players in that tier. Seems like Walters and company don’t want to use those 1st round picks on second tier players.

Would you trade the 2 first round picks and Knect to Dallas for Gafford??? Why would you do that???

give Cooper Flagg all that? Those 1st round picks are valuable. Players like Ball and Brown are being traded for them. It’s just not logical For those picks

we have to have substantial talent coming back

Nikola Jokic

Jaylon Brown

Kyrie Irving

Those tier of guys. We just can’t do it.

Maybe Houston wants to trade us Kevin Durant. We can’t be reckless.

This roster is a top tier roster. Lebron James is a top 15 player. I’ll go on record saying Lebron James is better right now than Lamelo Ball. Giannis ain’t shooting better than Lebron. OG isn’t better than Lebron.

so what did Miami actually accomplish? What did Minnesota actually accomplish? They’re gonna score 120 but what happens when You can’t stop anybody?? Mcdaniels is good. But who’s guarding Luka?? Who’s guarding Reaves??? Who’s guarding Lebron??? Who’s guarding Ayton???? What happens when you play Gobert off the court??? They close with Naz Reid. He’s a valuable player. They lost alot. Naz Reid does a lot for them.

the sky is not falling down where handling what we need to handle. We added Cam Carr.

Luka is in direct contact with them. We have to be smart.

 

I mentioned Wendell Carter Jr.

 

What crack pipe are they on????? They want two 1st round draft picks for Herbert Jones??? A guy they couldn’t play??? We’re good we got Cam Carr. They can shove it. He’s not worth it. Dalton Knect and a second round pick. Kick rocks.