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

I’m not sure if we will keep him but yeah. This is valid and it’s clear we’re listening to Luka (rightfully so) as they have history.

 

Yahoo columnist Tom Haberstroh, one of the top analytical writers of the past 15 years, pointed out that the C Bags are 36-6 over the past three seasons in games in which Brown doesn't play.

It is the most basic of stats among a swath of more advanced ones that support the C Bags' decision to move on from Brown -- not because Brown isn't a good player, but because he isn't a valuable one at his $57 million salary, especially contrasted, for example, with teammate Payton Pritchard's $7 million salary.

Still, some league insiders remain flummoxed.

"The league is overrun with strategy," an Eastern Conference scout said. "Honestly, I'm not sure how many people who work in the league are actually watching the games."
Yep
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...-los-angeles-lakers-big-money-bigs-salary-cap

 

hardy move only makes sense if at least two more are coming.

one second rounder goes with laravia to atlanta, the other with knecht to team TBD, kuminga here for 17.5, nick richards vet min as backup center. just keep vando for now as insurance for the forward spot.

kessler/richards
kuminga/mamu/vando
luka/thiero
reaves/hardy/carr
grimes/sexton

i know ayton as backup center was a risk due to his ideas of his game not matching the actual product, but we went from having a very strong 48 minutes of center to me being a bit worried about it with this move.

those seconds better bear fruit.

 

There's definitely at least one more.

I'd dump Vando and DK + as many seconds as it takes on the Nets for space (3 2nds=1 first, two of them being Wiz picks might elevate that value a bit). If you can get that done with two seconds, then do a 2nd & a 2nd round swap for Kuminga. They can decide whether it'll take Jake to get it done or if JK is OK taking a salary = the trade exception the Nets trade would create.

Then you to sign a minimum big.

Then you get the best minimum wing you can.

My preference would be to hold on to Jake and Hardy until the deadline and then flip them for something. Call the Clipps in Feb and see what else would be needed to do an expirings swap to get DJJ.

 

do the nets even have enough space for vando? and i'm not sure anyone's eating contracts longer than one year these days.

whatever it is, we need to outmaneuver cleveland, milwaukee, or whomever else is in this chase, because we're now down both backup center and starting forward.

edit: just realized that you could stretch waive dalton (4m/3 years, creates 3 million), hardy (pick up option 12m/5 years, creates another 3 million), and vando (24m/5 years, creates 7 million). that gets you to 13m for kuminga in space--you'd still want atl to s&t into it for bird rights purposes, i believe.

yeah, that option sucks, as you're basically paying the tpmle in dead money for five years.

still think splitting jake and knecht into two different teams (one of them being atl) along with the seconds and getting kuminga at 17 is the way.

keep vando; he's expiring after next year and is fun to have around.

 

Where's this guy ??
Maybe Lakers could bring him back
Drew Timme

 

oh, hadn't seen this posted, either:



i'd take any of them. tbh, all would be as good as ayton in a backup role (mostly because i think ayton would have hated his backup role).

 

Do not want Drummond back just on PTSD from that season with the injuries and all the subsequent silly bit****g that we broke up the better championship team. 2021 was better on paper and started off GREAT until the Big 2 started trading injuries and then it was "stupid FO". Plus Dwight getting too spooked or whatever to wait. The kind of moves being attributed to Mark Walter now by Buzzie Bavasi. He can win a championship but then is driven to get even better and win another immediately.

 

You're damn right all those 3 guys can still play

 

Roster is full, but they've got nearly $25m to spend, depending on order of operations.

So you'd have to give them incentive to drop one of their cheap players or route that guy to ATL instead so they're absorbing less money.

 

Adou is going to play a significant role, hopefully he takes a starting position. We need playing time for Carr as well. I want them both ready by playoff time. Riding the bench won't do it.

 

Great point. Went from Center being a strong position on this team to putting everything on Walker.

 

We went from an area of superior strength at center to incredibly weak with only one big in Kessler. But hey… at least everyone’s favorite guy to hate is gone.

 

he’s a blowhard clown- if anyone takes him seriously, they should get their head checked.

 

I need a real statement from you stating you were wrong about Ayton.
You have been over hyping this dude so much since we first signed him.
He would have pouted like a big baby here coming off the bench since he still thinks of himself as starting material.

 

That's an incredibly odd way to look at it. Aside from Wemby and Gobert (perhaps) we got the best rim protecting, rim running and rebounding center package all in one, in the league .... perfect fit and exactly what Luka wanted and he and AR need. Kessler is worth more to our success than both Ayton and Hayes. And just need to replace Jaxson now. Should not be that hard?

 

Ayton was tough to keep locked it as a starter. I think he’d be even worse as a backup for us especially without Smart around or even LeBron.

 

I realize that some here liked Jaxson because he could finish lobs, but that was his only skill.
He was one of the worst bigs on defense we’ve had in a long while and often would pick up multiple fouls within minutes of each other.
I wish him well, but won’t miss him on my team.

 

Why did we let Hayes go if we knew we wanted to trade Ayton? I thought Ayton was one of the better backup centers in the league and really good insurance for Kessler getting injured. I also thought he could be a good PnR partner off the bench when Reaves and Sexton are running things.

Right now it’s looking like Mamu the heir to the Kleberdom is going to be playing backup 5 for about 20 mins a game and maybe only 8 or so minutes at the backup 4.

Luka (32) / Sexton (16)
Reaves (32) / Sexton (8) / Carr (8)
Grimes (30) / Carr (8) /
Jake (24) / Mamu (8) / Adou (16)
Kessler (28) / Mamu (20)

We could use another backup 5. We could use a starting wing too. Lots left to do.

1. Luka
2. Reaves
3. Walker (whatever, happy to call him a 3)
4.
5.
6. Grimes
7. Mamu
8. Sexton
9.
10. Jake
11. Carr / Vando
12. Adou
13. Knecht / Hardy
14. Bronny

 

Yes but Hayes is probably better than Drummond, Looney or Nick Richards… and the team likes him.