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

yep once you pay that much to one player it make it hard to build out the team. Then if you win its also hard to keep the players. Also if that player gets injured your toast. So for me that much money to one player now hurts if that the way they are going to do it. That why i totally understood Dallas issue with Luka.

My belief is some of the middle class teams were always good. Thing is nba favored the big market teams. So i think that was more the nba wanting to feature certain teams in the playoffs and get a little help. example Xmas games and opening night they go for those teams. Playoffs were no different.

I dont think the NBA is trying to protect owners i think this is the nba including the owners trying to slow down the amount of money the avg player makes. Pretty much trying to reverse what they agreed on in the last bargain agreement.

 

If they just let teams have a salary cap and then just a free for all in terms of contract sizes, I believe we would see different kinds of team makeups. At 210m, one team maybe pay 3 guys 60m each and then 30m on vet minimums to fill the rest out of the roster out. Another team may decide to pay Wemby 100m and then fill the rest of the team out at 100m. And the last may decide to give a good scorer 40m and then spread 150m between 8 guys and have the bench as vet mins.

It would make things more interesting to see which philosophies can win.

 

exactly. but owners won't go for it because they're too tempted to brad beal it. all the maxes, including mle, tpmle, bae, artificially set markets. they ironically fear the real free market. but it would better for fans and the game. everybody gets the same allotment. within that, allocate as you will.

this would require other changes that i also endorse (player options on rookie scale contracts, etc.).

 

the next bargain agreement we could see another lock out. The stars should not have anything to fight about as they get a significant amount of the pie.

 

Franchise valuations are up, and the aprons are depressing total payroll, so I’m not sure owners would want a lockout.

I think this years’s FA cycle could have middle class nba players rankled, though. Lots of squeeze downward for those guys recently.

 

Its good for owners. Its the players that may not like the pressure of having to take pay cuts.

 

We’ve already seen agents coming out and complaining about it. I think we’ll head for a lock out - not sure exactly what the next steps are, but maybe some easing of the taxes and or apron changes in terms of teams being able to execute things like trades etc

 

strike, not lockout. but yes, the system is working against the players a bit by creating the hardcaps.

and i actually think the aprons made some sense, as the luxury tax was doing absolutely nothing against the ballmers and lacobs of the league. there needed to be some ramifications that were beyond financial to enforce the spirit of the tax system.

but so many players took these short deals at low value this summer, and contracts like pj washington's--which everyone thought was totally reasonable a year ago--just aren't being signed. another cycle of that, and the players union will want to act.

again, to me, just getting rid of the max altogether and re-thinking rookie contracts can go a long way here. and maybe just getting rid of the first apron and moving all sanctions to the second could solve some stuff, too. so just one apron that carries all the restrictions that cover both now.

 

https://lakersdaily.com/lakers-get-disrespected-as-2026-27-win-total-line-emerges/

 

The betting markets pull toward the middle and I believe have undersold us recently.

I think we win more than 46 games unless we have catastrophic injuries.

 

I think thats why they put Lakers at 45 46 wins which is no a whole different from last season. I dont think it happens again but if both Luka and Austin goes down there is not Lebron to keep winning. So that could be the differnce of a few less wins

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ion-investigation-steve-ballmer-kawhi-leonard

The NBA has found no evidence showing LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard in order to circumvent the salary cap, according to three people with knowledge of discussions between the two sides in recent days.

 

Sweeping it under the rug

 

lmao. forget the slap on the wrist, there won't be any punishment whatsoever

cheating is legal

 

"Haven't found any evidence" isn't the same thing as clearing him of any wrongdoing. This shouldn't really be surprising after the leaks that the NBA is trying to agree on a penalty that Ballmer will accept. There was never going to be a piece of paper signed by Ballmer telling Aspiration to pay Kawhi. This was also going to be the league inferring a violation from circumstantial evidence and then having to decide how far they're willing to take this, because in the absence of direct evidence its not clear whether league's penalty would be upheld by the arbitrator or the appeals panel. Same reason why the overwhelming majority of lawsuits settle.

 

Not guilty. I wonder does that trade happen now with Kawhi? And does the rest of the nba buisness happen now. Trade with Peyton Watson? Jonathan Kuminga? Us. Now is Kawhi suspended? What about the other deal? We were talking suspension and fine now Ballmer might get an apology or a statement that he did nothing wrong. Unbelievable. Hilarious. Silver never really publicly said Ballmer did anything wrong and wait for the evidence. I know Ballmer is happy and will definitely be celebrating with a toilet.