2024-25 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

I wonder if this just ends in an overpay for Kessler. Which if there is a guy that we overpay for I’m okay with it being him. He solves 80%-90% of our center problems. Can rebound, defend, and semi lob threat?

 

this is why i don't like the "center or bust" mentality in the offseason. i get that it's an area of need, but if everyone is going to hold you over a barrel, just do something else. wait for a better opportunity. someone's season will blow up. will there be another luka type deal in the middle of next year that all of our picks and expirings could be put to better use for--perhaps a player that nobody thinks is available right now?

that said, i'm not sure capela can't be had at tpmle. i'd have to look at teams that want a center and who have money. the hawks supposedly don't want him back, so i guess they could S&T him, but the receiving team is hard-capped at the first apron in that case. we'll see what the market is for centers in FA.

 

Speaking of doing something else - if Portland flips Jrue, do we want him? Even with a slight offensive decline last year, his defense was good, which is what we need at POA. His DWS was the same or higher than 4 of the past 6 years, and his DBPM was the 2nd highest ever. All he would have to do is focus on defense, making a few 3's, and tertiary playmaking.

Jrue/Reaves/Luka/LeBron/RimDefender is a solid championship contender. The BBIQ, passing, and playmaking on the team would be absurd. Yes, he just turned 35, but for the next 2 years at 35 & 36, he should still be very good. Then in 2 years when LeBron retires, Jrue either comes off the books, or has a PO and should be tradeable as an expiring.

Now, Portland probably wouldn't trade with us or would demand a outrageous price, so it probably wouldn't happen even if we wanted it to - but in the hypothetical where they would make a reasonable trade with us, what is the most you would give up to get Jrue?

 

i'm actually not interested. would have killed to get him when boston did, but there's a reason he was basically salary dumped, imo. his defense is still quite good but dropping, and his offense is actually what's gotten much more meh over time. factor in the age, and man...that's dangerous. it's a lot to pay in the short term for his production, and you have to figure those last two years of the deal could be very ugly. is that what you want for luka's prime?

so would i give up gabe/kleber/vando/? sure. i might add knecht if portland sent something else back. but they're not doing that, and so i'm not.

 

At age 35 & 36, Jrue's defense should still be solid, I would think. The reason I'm interested is that it matches the 2 years LeBron is on the team and declining, which are going to be part of Luka's prime anyway. You can't re-tool in a big way until LeBron retires anyway. Then when he does in 2 years, Jrue is off the books and you don't have to pay him, or he picks up his PO and is an expiring that you can trade.

Anyway, since you've also been talking about trying to get either Ayton or Robert Williams, then my question becomes, what is the most you would give up for Jrue + one of them? They also have Thybulle if that helps the trade construction, and who we could also use as a defender more than Portland needs him. Theoretically they're all tradeable, as none of them are part of Portland's future core of Scoot, Sharpe, Camara, Avdija, Clingan.

 

how many 35 year old guards have been good defenders, do you think?

yeah, i guess i keep thinking there's a chance this is lebron's last year, and we could theoretically have very clean books next offseason (obviously depending upon how the summer plays out). if i knew lebron wasn't opting in and instead had another PO two years out, i'd be warmer to this one.

the problem is that when you start expanding, now we're giving up players we like/use.

jj only wanted to play five guys in the playoffs, so moving any of them better be for a serious upgrade or 2 guys jj will play coming back for the 1 going out.

anyway, i've had portland on my list for months, but i've always thought it was probably a waste of mental energy, as we never deal with them.

if we're going to trade for an aging defensive guard, coincidentally, washington (whom we've worked with more than once in the rob era) has smart, whom they would probably sell pretty cheap, imo.

 

Ayton makes 35mil, if not mistaken. We gotta send Rui, Gabe and Knecht. We're left with Kleber and Milton for any other trade. It's not worthy imo

I think Capela only signs for that if we are not making another center move and he signs a low contract with the expectation of being the starter and playing heavy minutes

It's enticing. He's exactly what we need paired with Luka. But he's not able to pick up fast guards as he used to. He has the ideal contract for us to use in a big trade after Bron walks for nothing

 

Regarding Holiday: 2 years ago, in a nanosecond. But not at his age, not at his price, and most importantly here... not at Portland’s price for him.

No one overvalues an asset quite like Portland. Everyone they trade you can easily argue they should've moved on from at least one year prior and for a more realistic evaluation.

 

unless they're dealing with boston...

also, it maybe appears portland is interested in keeping him?

anyway, this blazers blog hates the move.

 

What nobody mentions much is that we are still in need of another perimeter defender. It’s ironic that the two things we gave up in the Luka trade in Max and AD are the two things we still need.

 

Rui has turned into playoff rotation player on a good contract. He's a solid asset and the Lakers should treat it him like that. You lose him you have to replace a rotational forward who can't rebound but will be a threat on offense and play hard on D

I hope the Lakers just don't give him away for dudes like Porzingis who barely plays, had some weird illness that no one understands, and was great in a platoon of other really good centers.

 

Idk, but here are some, and Jrue is in this mold, I think. Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Mike Conley.

Probably true. But the thought of getting Jrue, Williams, and Thybulle is too good to ignore. Those 3 make $57.2. Rui, Vincent, Kleber, and Vando make $52.3, which should work. How much more would we need to give up? [if Portland were reasonable] Knecht or the 2031 1st? Allegedly, Portland wanted a 1st for Simons, couldn't get it, and pivoted to Jrue, to either mentor and get them to the playoffs, or flip for a 1st. So if you add the 2031 1st to the above deal, maybe they actually do it?

If you could do that and sign Capela like you've mentioned, then you have Jrue/Reaves/Luka/LeBron/Williams, with Thybulle/Goodwin/Knecht/DFS/Capela off the bench. That looks fantastic to me for 2 years, and then you can have clean books after that to re-tool around Luka and Reaves.

 

Jrue and Thybulle solve this.

 

A lob threat big who could also protect the rim helps in multiple ways:

1. It helps optimize Luka and keeps him happy.
2. It helps cover for the defensive mishaps of the perimeter defense.

So in theory, obtaining a rim-protecting big helps reduce the need for a perimeter defender. With that said, we should still try are best to get at least one perimeter defender. Possible scenarios:

Draft night

• Trade Gabe + Kleiber + Knecht + 31 1st to BKN for Claxton + #26
• Draft Drake Powell with #26 (best on-ball defender in the draft, great athlete, though only 19 years old and a bit skinny). 6-6 190.
• Trade Rui + Milton + Goodwin to ORL for KCP + #25.
• Draft Walter Clayton with #25 (one of best athletes in the draft/pure shooter/solid defender, 23 years old)
• Trade 5 million cash to WAS for #40. Draft Kalkbrenner (7-1 260 lb big, 9-6 demanding reach, semi-lob threat)

Free Agency

• Sign Lopez for 5.7 tp mle
• Sign CP3 for vets minimum
• Sign other players for remaining roster spots

PG: KCP/CP3/BRONNY
SG: REAVES/CLAYTON/POWELL
SF: DONCIC/DFS
PF: JAMES/VANDERBILT
C:CLAXTON/LOPEZ/KALKBRENNER

 

I'm ready to just wait and see what happens. At this point, we've talked through every conceivable option at center ad nauseam. We should start getting some actual answers relatively soon.

 

Getting old guys with waning production and large contracts has been shown to cause problems.

 

Yeah the NBA draft is going to tell us who's going to be available in the trade market. I saw ESPN mocking that Duke Center to the Nets.

 

Yeah, exactly. If Brooklyn takes Malouak, then Lakers need to jump on getting Claxton. Same with Utah and Kessler. Since BKN is rebuilding, it makes sense for them to go with Malouak over Claxton. They are going to want expiring's and future draft picks. We could offer them Vincent + Kleiber + Milton (expirings) + 2032 1st + 2031 swap + 2032 2nd. This deal would need to be finalized on July 6th.

 

yeah, that was part of my point. panko's examples were good ones, though--cp3, lowry, and conley are all guys who bring things like holiday and did so even after holiday's age. plus holiday's just a good guy on and off the court, so if the cost weren't too high, he's a risk i could get on board with. but i think the cost will be too high for us.

 

When the cost is that high, if they don't work out at a relative cost level, then your team is hampered and you are unable to build out other needs. At those prices these guys NEED to work out every time. Under todays cap rules, it is way too much of a risk to take on high salaried older guys whose skill sets' are declining. I know he COULD be a great addition, but if he continues to decline, welcom Russ 2.0.