The Lakers were the 3 seed in the West last season. They lost DFS, Markieff Morris, Jordan Goodwin, and Shake Milton.
They added Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart and Adou Thiero.
I think thatโs easily a trade I make. The Lakers got better.
"I'm hearing that [LeBron's] likely coming back [to the Lakers]. ... Kevin Love could likely be joining the Lakers too."
@MarcJSpears gives some insight on what could be next for LeBron ๐
I thought ARs number would be around 35-40MM which I think is his range but it sounds like heโs going to try and force the Lakers hand. Canโt lose him over 5-ish MM dollars esp when his cap hit is only 20MM and he wonโt have to sign until all other deals are agreed to
Per Dan Woike of The Athletic, the Lakers see the 2026 free agency class as "weak" and trades are now the real path to building around Luka.
๐ธ Restricted FA options (Kessler, Duren, Williams, Eason, Watson) considered a "poor Plan A" โ current teams expected to match
๐ธ Lakers can be aggressive in trades up until June 30
๐ธ LeBron's Bird rights = the Lakers can operate as an over-the-cap team
๐ธ Their own FA's (LeBron, Reaves, Rui, Kennard, Ayton, Smart, Hayes) are among the BEST on the market
Pelinka's playbook: keep the core, trade for the upgrade. Forget free agency.
https://t.co/dQQozp8t2c
Pelinka loves running it back. Heโs proven he has no clue how to build a roster. Heโs proven wasted multiple years of James/AD and now heโs headed towards year 2 of wasting a prime Luka. New ownership should have made a GM change
"I think the focus right now is making a deal with the Lakers. Right now he's allowed to negotiate with the Lakers and I believe they are negotiating, I believe they're going back and forth," - @WindhorstESPN on LeBron's future.
@SamQuinnCBS The Spurs are in the finals already and those guys will continue to improve. No way Iโm bringing in James which will disrupt all that. Yes, James is still very good but the Spurs donโt need someone disrupting what they have going.
Who knows how truthful this is but this honestly would not be surprising. This is how Pelinka operates. Heโll sign a 6โ5 guard with that money too and youโll be happy with it
The Lakers are interested in running last yearโs team back, while just targeting a $20M/year player this offseason to help Luka and LeBron, per @SeanDeveney.
Bleacher Report's @EricPincus says it's time for the Lakers to move on from LeBron James and fully commit to building around Luka Doncic.
"It's a bold move for the Lakers. Saying goodbye to James would be difficult, but it's the right time for the franchise to reset and focus on the Donฤiฤ era."
https://t.co/88keaHbK8y
#LakeShow
Windhorst on The Pat McAfee show today:
- believes the Lakers and LeBron get a deal done that respects his stature and gives the front office a chance to improve the roster
- gives the Lakers and LeBron continued partnership a 51% probabilty
There have been 7 different franchises to win the title over a 7-season span for the first time in NBA history. Either the Spurs or Knicks will make this 8 franchises over the last 8 seasons. The NBA has not seen a repeat champion since the Warriors in 2017-18. @StatsWilliams with the ๐คฏ
I had planned for years to go to the World Cup but was denied multiple chances to purchase tickets from FIFAs site and now the cost has doubled/tripled what I saw back in December. Iโm just not paying those prices esp when I factor in flight/hotel. FIFA deserves this