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

This is noteworthy. With Sexton officially signed using the room exception, we now are essentially locked into the pathway where any other roster addition is going to have to be via trade or veteran's minimum. The pathway of stretching someone's contract (or trading to dump salary) in order to clear more cap room to make another signing is now impossible. It was already starting to look that way, but now it's pretty much locked in.

I was going to try to do the math on if stretching Vando could have cleared enough cap room to make a viable RFA offer for Spencer Jones but now that's out the window

Wouldn't be surprised if we see Austin officially ink his new deal soon now too

 

Stretch could also be done to get under the 1st apron if needed, but also unlikely. The stretch is not really preferable anyway, but a good tool to use if necessary. I wonder if this means the Lakers are confident they could trade Vando? Maybe they already have a deal in place?

 

Looney probably soon too.

 

Spencer Jones insurance. The easiest way for us to get Jones was via a RFA offer where we traded Dalton into cap space and made the offer.

It allowed the Nuggets to not take any money back because they’d in cap trouble.

I believe signing Sexton and Reaves closes the door on Jones unfortunately.

 

Reported info from Stein and Fischer:

- ⁠Lakers doesn’t seem very aggressive trying to trade Vanderbilt’s contract
- Lakers have 1 open spot left and may start the season that way (as in their summer is done)
- ⁠Re: Kuminga, supposedly has other options to pivot to, which includes not ruling out a return to Atlanta
Re: PJ Washington, despite being made available by Dallas (along with Gafford and Klay) Lakers do not like his 4-year contract

Understandable about Kuminga, but disappointing about reports that we don’t want PJ even though he is available. If we stand pat, that would be disappointing because we have real holes in the team as of now:

Luka / Sexton / Bronny
Reaves / Carr / Hardy
Grimes / Adou / Knecht
Jake / Vando
Kessler / Mamu / Looney

 

Yeah the starting 4 spot, for me, is the difference between this offseason being overall a little disappointing and it being good. Like it swings a C+ to a B+/A-. Which is think is perfectly rational, given that we're talking about having a starting caliber forward and not having one.

If it's true that we're just not interested in PJ, that is mind-boggling to me. I thought the whole point of optionality for this summer was finding long-term pieces. A long-term wing pieces that pretty obviously fits well is potentially available, but we're not interested because his contract is too long? That makes no sense to me.

I am going to lose it if I have to start another season with a handful of folks clamoring for Vando to play more yet again because our wings are so bad.

 

Maybe a little hopeful, but perhaps Dalton and a second is still enough for Jones. If you start him at $8M maybe that’s high enough that the luxury tax savings of instead converting that to Knecht’s $4M and a second rounder makes sense for Denver.

Or a three team trade that dumps Knecht elsewhere. I’m pretty sure that’s still possible right? A three team trade that also involves a sign-and-trade component to it?