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

I’m relatively high on the Kuminga idea, but yeah I do feel a lot of similarities with how this has all played out to the Christian Wood saga.

 

Feel like I can say I wasn’t on board with wood from the get go, and I don’t think it’s the same. Wood was more like the pf/c version of cam thomas, imo.

But im not going to pitch a fit if we don’t get Kuminga. I get why, from both sides. I just don’t feel comfortable with the roster as is.

 

Weird that our plan was to leave 2 starter spots open. Grimes is passable as a starter, but the rest are bench players. We really need one of Kuminga, PJ, or Johnson/Watson.

 

on the bright side, the clips are hurt by having to hold onto kawhi and not being able to make any more moves with that trade being held up

 

What was this Wood " controversy " we are talking about? That guy signed a vet minimum contract. He ended up having a bum knee.

 

Wow good to be back. Really puts into perspective all that others do to keep this site running so thank you for that.

I think Kaminga has a skillset that we covet. And we need it. A pure scorer. A guy when Luka dribbles and drives can come off the corner for alley oops with Walker on the other side. It’s just basketball sense. There will be ample opportunity for him to score on the lob getting one on one iso. And at 3. He will average at least 17 points. In terms of what teams look for we know Kaninga can score. Where he’ll get his max if he proves he can play consistent championship defense at a championship level. We need a scoring 4 that can stretch the floor. He fits that.

Kuzma can score but not consistently. One night he’ll have 29 points and look like the best player in the league and then the other night he’ll have 3 points. He can play defense. His off court social media has been concerning.

Im not opposed to Thiero. Thiero can do the job that Kaminga can do. He just can’t do it at the level as Kaminga but based on what I saw Thiero doing with guys who are going to be working at Foot locker I’m pretty sure Thiero can do that with Luka an MVP candidate. His athleticism is off the charts. As a shooter he has to keep working at it. Because he gets a max contract if that shot becomes consistent. The athleticsm is incredible with the defensive potential once the handle is developed that’s a player that is sought after and he’s ours. Same with Kaminga when Luka dribbles the lob on Thieros side with Kessler for the lob on the other. The most important thing for Thiero is that corner 3 shot. If he can make that we are a championship team. But based on what I saw at summer league he looks like a hard worker. He’s just gotta stick with it.

Theres a reason Rob and Mark and company aren’t going crazy because they must be seeing something out of Thiero and are confident in him. Young development. It’s important. It’s important with LeBron leaving we stay committed to this youth movement.

Kamingas 23.

Cam Johnson ughhh last time I checked he was black but if he’s not maybe we can get some clarification on Austin Reaves blackness. All jokes aside Denver would never trade him to us. Dudes 30 which isn’t bad. But not that young.

Luka my guy. I’ve been calling for leadership. The minicamp in Slovania. Genius. Let’s see who comes. I’d love to see all our guys there. Really would show how committed we are to bonding. I’ll expect to see Walker there and Austin. It would be good to have a minicamp before training camp. It’s officially Luka’s team and I’m here for it.

Jalen Smith is nice not as a starting power forward and I get the Luka effect at that point just start Thiero.

Knect I’m not just gonna ship him to ship him unless I get a known quality need coming back I can get.

Gurantee Dalton will go to Miami or OKC and average 19 and be the next McClain just hitting 3’s and having us saying he never did that here or we never gave him a shot. So supposedly he’s supposed to be at the mini camp maybe Luka can get to him. I’m all for making it work.

go Lakers we got the versatility and flexibility we need. Cam Carr and Thiero just give us that balance.


We aren’t overly pursuing Kaminga. And if it was LeBron why hasn’t he been signed yet???? Cleveland Cleveland??? Are they being used as a bargaining negotiation? If you want a guy you sign him. You saw how fast we moved on Kessler. That was a personal Luka request. Seems like Kaminga is going to have to build his value back up. Why not a better team then the Lakers.

 

Investigation might extend into 2027??? Yikes??? How do they keep a trade on ice like that?? What do you do both teams?? Both players know they are supposed to be traded for each other. I mean houses leases.

 

Restricted free agency is the franchise tag of the NBA.

 

how did KCP get all that hair. lol!!!! He must have that good LeBron help. I hope the contract isn’t the only extension he’s getting.

 

I’ve kind of flipped on my Kuminga thinking the last 24 hours. I actually want him now, we won’t win a championship with Kuzma, and I don’t think PJ gets us there either. They probably make us the clear third best team in the west.

But, Kuminga at his very best, does make us a contender. He is a pseudo second option that can defend 3’s and 4’s and rebounds. If he can defend the best wing and score 20 efficiently, we can contend with the rest of the team.

 

Looney AND Kuz on top of that? Don't test me God...

 

Kuz looked liked klay thompson in the summer league

 

but then you wouldn't be able to see his jazzy costumes!!

 

I think I know what you mean. He is a high upside swing. Lakers just need to keep the risk as low as possible, which is part of this whole process. I'm very high on Thiero, and I view Kuminga as sort of Thiero fast forwarded one or two years. A more nba ready Thiero if you will. That's why I think that the Lakers would prefer optionally with Kumingas contract. It would be better to have Kuminga act as sort of a placeholder for one more year of Thiero development, and at the same time we could end up with the MLE and BAE. The nature of a sign and trade essentially gives the team control of getting out if the contract after year one and two, so Kuminga is sort of stuck. He likely wants more money in the event that the Lakers opt out of it after the first year.

Thiero and Kuminga are similar players. Both elite athletes who's jumpers are not their greatest attribute, but Kuminga is much farther along on the latter. With that being said, Thiero is the superior defender, and has elite defender upside imo.

So, Kuminga would effectively be providing the same vertical spacing energy as Thiero, but with a better jumper and less defensive chops and less motor. I don't think Thiero is that for off from being a 32% 3 pt shooter like Kuminga, it's his only real flawl and it's a similar flawl to Kumimga. I think Thiero will be ready in one year, so I do support the intersection in Kuminga as a stop gap.

Although I view Kuminga as our highest upside swing that we have available, I still wouldn't mind other stop gap options. Even with a mediocre player like Kuzma, he does still provide benefits, and not jist the player, the mechanism of the trade indirectly provides benefits.

Kuzma is essentially a little bit better shooter than Kuminga, due to higher volume. He is also still a decent enough of an athlete to catch some lobs. Kuzma is the inferior defender though, always has been over rated there. Kuninga could playe poa, well Kuzma is exclusively wing defense.

I'm terms of benefits besides Kuzma the player, Lakers opening a roster spot, having Sims included are both beneficial. Amd of course, Vando is addition by subtraction, and you ensure the BAE for next season.

Lobs are obviously a significant part of Luka's game, so you want to try to get as many lob-threats in there as possoble. You know there is a decent chance that Kessler misses about 15-25 games, so it would be nice to replace those 30 minutes of lob-threat for those games. That tracks with rumored interest in players such as Kuminga, Gafford, Richards, and Matkovic. Morevover, it would be nice just to generally have a lob-threat in there at all times, and multiple if possible.