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

If Lebron leaves you still got cap space still. Would take some balls to make this move as this could work spectacularly or flame out hard. You get a ton of shooting, athletic team which is going to get burnt on defense. Lavine in that Rui would be terrifying for teams to try to guard. He's got a lot of faults as your primary engine but that shooting and athleticism as the outlet guy for Luka would be a nightmare to try to scheme against



I think this is pretty fair - lose cap space. Gain a legit defender and lot more shooting/offense. Not a lot of size and you can't play Ellis/Monk together so this is more of solidfy your options type of move.

 

Man, Austin/LaVine/Luka/LeBron/Ayton would be pretty insane offensively. Would have to be the 2021 Nets formula of be the clear #1 offense in the league and try to be like 20th on defense but get key stops.

The Ellis thing sounds like anyone who is willing to give up a first for him gets him, hence why we’ve apparently tried to split the one tradeable first into multiple firsts.

 

hard pass on hunter and ellis

 

eh, luka beat them by himself in the playoffs. refs swallow a whistle, and i take luka over SGA, despite their respective reputations.

kings are sort of incomprehensibly stupid. so mad they hate us and are in our division. they're the sucker at the table. every time.

lotto-protected swap as compromise? i've explained why i think that for us, ellis's FA status and cap hold is uniquely valuable. it's why i haven't understood cleveland's interest and wondered if cleveland's interest was really ours in exchange for eating hunter for rui.

yeah, i found that to be weird. just ride out the year with a decent center rotation unless someone bowls us over with an offer.

 

Luka beat the JV version of them with no Caruso, no Hartenstein, no Mitchell, lesser versions of JDub and Chet. They’re a lot better than they were then and I think the Nuggets and Spurs are better than that version of OKC too. I agree Luka is better than Shai though.

 

I think if we take Monk on, we can get Ellis for a swap. But is Monk worthwhile losing the cap space?

Is there any situation where we get Hunter and Ellis for Gabe, Kleber, Knecht and a first?

 

If you follow any of my posts, you would realize that I’m a defense first fan. That’s why I want LeBron gone, for us to replace Ayton with a better defender AND add two wings who can increase our defensive intensity.
You probably missed Luka and Irving going to the Finals as well.
Austin is a better defender than Kyrie.

 

i suppose. i'm not as gaga about okc as others, and i don't think this demonstrates the initial point that luka/reaves/nicely fitting supporting cast can't possibly contend. the proof of concept is quite established, imo.

indiana was going to beat that okc team last year before halliburton got hurt, and don't try to tell me that a) everyone saw indy coming and b) you can't build a team that good around luka/reaves.

this is what i think we've been trying to do. i don't think cleveland actually has interest in ellis. it's our interest. they have interest in getting off hunter's money next year without looking like they're punting. getting rui does that for them, but why would we do that? unless you're providing some draft capital, of course...which could be used to send to sac with knecht for ellis, allowing sac to save themselves from dealing with the dreaded lakers.

i don't think it's happening, but it's the only way i can make sense of all the rumors. again, just can't see why cleveland would be so hell-bent on getting ellis for themselves. they'd have to shed other salary to keep him in the offseason.

also, and to repeat--the kings have been trying to GET OFF salary, not add it, which is what hunter would do.

 

Keeping Rui while adding Hunter and Ellis would move the needle. Not sure how much, but it would.

Ellis / Smart
Reaves / LaRavia
Luka / Hunter
Lebron / Rui
Ayton / Hayes

 

Damn it!

Wonder what's our pivot

Kings continue to be stupid. Took on a contract that isn't expiring. No picks coming their way for Ellis. Couldn't get off existing bad money. Overpaid for someone you should be buying low on.


Kings just saved Cavs $50m

AND got the worse return for their favor.

 

schroder traded again lol

wtf are the kings doing?

 

Welp, there goes Ellis. Not completely giving up hope of signing him in the summer though.

 

In a vacuum, I don’t hate Hunter for the Kings. I kind of like the Murray/Hunter forward tandem, with Murray quicker and able to guard on the perimeter while Hunter is bigger and playing the low-man role he’s more suited for. Still don’t understand the general direction though.

 

The Kings have to be the dumbest f***ing team in the league. You pick up a worse player with a worse contract - jesus

 

Cause they don't have one.

There's a popular reoccurring Big Brother game that usually pops up every season of the show, called Bowlerina. It's where the houseguests must spin around 15 times while holding on to an overhead bar in order to lower a barrier for 15 seconds, during which they try to bowl over four pins. If the gate closes before all pins are knocked down, they must spin again.

That's how these dumb f***s GM and settle on a direction

 

Yeah I don't really know what the Kings are trying to do here. Their roster construction is just weird lol:

Sabonis/Raynauld
Murray/Hunter
DeRozen
Lavine/Monk
Westbrook/Devin Carter?


What is this? lol

 

just the kings being the kings

 

Wow! Hahaha, the kings man.

imagine sending out a young talent and a 2nd to get out a bad contract you signed in the summer.

Edit: the Cavs now have Mitchell, Garland, Merrill, Strus, Tyson, Schroeder and Lonzo all vying for minutes. Where does Ellis fit in? Weird trade…

 

What are the Cavs going to do with Ellis and Schroder? Garland might be on the move? We offer Gabe or Kleber for Lonzo?