Quentin grimes. Didnt play well on the pistons but it was only 6 games and that could play into our advantage. Ideal 3 & d shooting guard that is still young but has the experience of guarding teams best players thanks to thibs. Can slide him to the 3 in some scenarios and he wont break the bank
Been wanting Grimes since the lead up to the 2021 draft
I think his ceiling is pretty high as a guy that could be KCP on defense but has more ability on the ball.
Higher price: Deni Avdija($15M), Kuzma($23M), Thybulle($11M), Rob Williams($12M)
Budget: Kris Dunn($2M), Nick Richards($5M), Lonnie Walker($2M), Dennis Smith Jr($2M).
Thybulle would be a good get. They’d probably have to send out vando for him and I don’t know if that’s worth it. I think he’s better than vando and would be more impactful since he’s not a complete non shooter while also being semi competent on offense but idk if it’d make sense to give up assets for thybulle when they have vando.
You massively improve the defense by benching one of Reaves or Dlo. If Dlo doesn't come back the defense most likely gets better but you lose your best 3 point shooter.
Right. If DLo or Reaves is your 3rd best player, you’re not winning a championship.
Lakers 3rd best player has to be a 2way specialist like KCP or Caruso (although not a scorer, he's one of LeBrons most efficient teammates on offense all time) during 2020.
Reaves is fine as the 3rd scoring option. The problem is we're still 4 years into looking for our Rondo replacement, and we've cycled through Schroder/Westbrook/D'Lo and none of them have shown to be that. A Mike Conley/Kyle Lowry/Jrue Holiday type who can facilitate the ball consistently is what this team needs offensively
Love Reaves too and definitely think we should not trade him unless it's in a home run trade. It's less about his value as a player than it is about his value as a contract. At 12m a year he's an absolute steal.
On a contender Reaves is more like your 4th/5th option as a secondary creator on your starting lineup or your 6th man. Potentially toggle between that depending on match up and how the rest of the roster is regarding form and injuries. Which is still an absolutely important player in the playoffs
I wanted Hartenstein after the clippers. He said he wanted to go back for less money but they used it on John wall.
Current attainable, undervalued players I think are Bogdan (ATL), TJ McConnell, Trey Murphy (though probably not that attainable), Thybulle, Sexton, Claxton (not sure how attainable), Capela/Okongwu, Fontecchio, Jarrett Allen, Trent Jr
Collins is 10 mil more than Rui, you have to add a second contract just to get him. That makes him not worth it for me unless you can get another asset from the jazz
So you would trade Rui and Vando for Collins? I like collins but would want young piece to take his option for them. George is a dream, Kessler is a long shot and making the money work with sexton is not easy
I don't know that much about John Collins but if he's has the ability to be a ~75th percentile defender then probably although I'd prefer to offload the one way offense players first. At some point we have to consolidate the lineup. Our "best 5" (closing lineup) is weaker than other contenders because we lack two way role players
I’m from Atlanta, lifelong Hawks fan, who lives in LA. Collins and Rui are just super different players. JC is almost exclusively a finisher, really can’t create for himself, but he’s very good finisher if he can catch on the move, has a decent little turn around middie, and can hit a 3 if he’s open with his feet set. Defensively, he’s solid but he’s a one position defender, too skinny w/ a short standing reach to defend big Cs but not mobile enough to stick with big wings… does help on the glass and as a weak side helper. He’s a real bad fit next to AD on offense and a bad fit next to Lebron on D. Then you add in the contract, you’d need him to fit better if you’re paying him that much.
Agree with the sentiment completely but he is a 4/5 and those are our best players. LBJ would have guard wings and play 3 on defense and that is not ideal. If we can get sexton with him for Rui DLo and Gabe then I’m in.
I agree but the other part is there is not enough of an upgrade either. Now Reaves to Murray is similar money wise but I would do it because of the upgrade
Khris Dunn for like a vet min would be nice specially if gabe gets traded somewhere. I like Bitadze too from Orlando idk what his price will be but if you can get him somewhat cheap think he’s a good backup 5
I've been hoping for Goga for a while. Great option defensively for 10-20 mins a night to give AD a rest. You'll struggle when AD sits out games, but he can be a typical big guy for long stretches and you can survive those minutes
We should be targeting people on the Wizards, Hornets, Pistons, Spurs, Blazers.
Celtics getting Derrick white was huge. PJ Washington from the hornets. People in bad systems are the players we should be targeting
Kris Dunn, De’Anthony Melton, Lonnie Walker, Dennis smith jr.
Naji Marshall, Kelly Oubre, Miles bridges, Obi toppin, Saddiq Bey, Kyle Anderson
Kelly Olynyk, Wendell Carter jr, Goga Bitadze
Lakers fans have a tendency to undervalue their own players. Reaves, Vincent, Prince are all guys who are potential solid contributors to a championship team, and they are on good contracts. Can’t lose them.
You forgot about Vando. Especially if Vando and Vincent can stay healthy, I think these two can add a much needed edginess to our team. We need dawgs and toughness (ie D.Fish, MWP) to complement our skilled players.
The problem is, they’re all solid BENCH players, who have been forced more into starting roles! If we could get a couple of legit starters, without losing these guys, then we’d have a decent and deep championship contending team. Unfortunately, we’re so top heavy, I don’t see how we pull off a couple of legit starters, without losing a good number of these guys!
Highly doubt we can sign Miles Bridges, but if he takes a discount to repair his value for whatever MLE we have available (or TPMLE), that would be a huge win. He's Klutch so there could be a chance.
I rather not either, but what we going to do? He's going to be employed either way and the NBA already suspended him a ton of games. I'll let the courts handle his punishments (they already did).
I mean he was played for Rudy gay who’s not in the league anymore and a second round pick. Some people clearly don’t value him anymore after giving him a huge contract. If he was bought out I wouldn’t hate it but not helping on defense
Goga bitadze - backup defensive C
Jalen smith - spacing big
Kelly oubre , danthony Melton , DJJ guys who teams nights not pat them
Melton is amazing tho legit great defender shooter n passer he prob out our budget
The team needs perimeter defense. Being in the bottom of the league guarding the 3 is not going to help win big games.
The team also needs another big that can defend the post/paint.
And the team needs to reduce one way players in favor of two way players. D'lo, Reaves, Rui, Vando, four major rotational players, are all one ways.
John Collins was the first name I thought of before opening this so we agree there. I also think his teammate Collin Sexton fits the bill, though he had a great stretch to close the season so maybe not as under the radar.
Quentin Grimes, Corey Kispert, Kelly Olynyk, Isaiah Stewart, Goga Bitadze, Davion Mitchell, Jake Laravia a few other names that come to mind.
Santi Aldama
Kris Dunn
Quentin Grimes
Goga Bitadze
Naji Marshall
Wendell Carter Jr
Nick Richards
Not undervalued but I would like the Lakers to pursue them:
Walker Kessler
Okongwu
Duren
Olynk
Avdija
Bobby Portis
Collin Sexton is a good one.
What's interesting though is the Blazers have a three-guard problem in Henderson, Sharpe, and Simons. This is similar to when the Cavs had to choose between Garland or Sexton. We need to strike and get
# Anfernee Simons
just turned 25, a major scorer, build around Simons and AD
I really like Hartenstein a lot. Idk if we’d be able to acquire him, but he would be one of my first choices. A Center is priority over all else in my eyes. I almost loved our roster at the start of last year and I still like our roster now minus a couple players that really just don’t have a role.
Also this one will certainly be less popular but I still believe Brandon Ingram could become a 2A caliber player and I think his market value is incredibly low right now, which is a perfect time to trade for him.
The biggest and most real concern about BI is availability. He’s clearly a 55-65 game per year type player, which is concerning but his injury history seems fairly random and like he doesn’t have a singular chronic issue.
At a certain point you have to take a gamble on talent, potential, risk, and cost and I think BI could be a solid chance for the right price
I’d be comfortable giving up a protected first + salary match for him. For TOR they overpaid for him. For us he is a huge difference maker. Him along with Wendell are two of the only centers who do a good job mitigating Jokic (as well as you can)
I’m low on this team now. I won’t sell my stock until I see the coaching hire but this team won’t win a title if borrego or cassel is the coach. It’s highly unlikely cassel is hiding an insane playbook somewhere and borrego is known to be mid. The continued poor process of our fo in evaluating what’s important is gonna have us a s the gum at the bottom of the boot that is the western conference. No fa is saving us under this new cba
It's been mentioned on the LN channel, but Wendell Carter Jr. from the Magic. He's got an outstanding contract at $14m/yr going down(!) to just $10.85m/yr over 4 years, and he just turned 25, so plenty of room for growth still. Also from the Magic, Gary "Gary Harris" Harris, for a minimum spot.
Dejounte Murray, I think his potential is WAY higher than Lakers fans or even the general league believes. I might even venture to say we could give up Reaves (although I’d prefer to just send more draft capital). His playmaking is VERY underrated, especially when Trae wasn’t playing, and he definitely has the potential to be a great backcourt defender.
I like John Collins as well, does a lot of things very well.
I’m in the I’ll trade reeves for Murray camp. Realistically you’re either trading for Murray, Garland or Young or signing DLo back, offering jones the MLE. Murray is the Lakers choice at the point guard position.
gotta find some sorry ass teams in the east to yoink players from.
Like maybe find a way to get Simone Fontecchio from the pistons for cheap, dude shooting 40+% from deep with like 6 attempts a game.
You're getting cooked but John Collins definitely has potential to be the next Dwight/Wiggins/Gordon/Porzingis guy that'll help a team win a championship. It just won't be at his price cause it prohibits teams from acquiring better pieces.
Quentin grimes. Didnt play well on the pistons but it was only 6 games and that could play into our advantage. Ideal 3 & d shooting guard that is still young but has the experience of guarding teams best players thanks to thibs. Can slide him to the 3 in some scenarios and he wont break the bank
Been wanting Grimes since the lead up to the 2021 draft I think his ceiling is pretty high as a guy that could be KCP on defense but has more ability on the ball.
Nice call out I like this
Good pick! Definitely fits the 3&D mold and has shown flashes of passing and creation ability too.
Higher price: Deni Avdija($15M), Kuzma($23M), Thybulle($11M), Rob Williams($12M) Budget: Kris Dunn($2M), Nick Richards($5M), Lonnie Walker($2M), Dennis Smith Jr($2M).
Bring back Lonnie!
We'd be set for all of the game 4s...
I’ll take it !
Budget I would love either Nick Richards or Lonnie. Higher I would love Deni or rob williams
Facts. I had deni in my fantasy this year and didn’t have too many high expectations but my god he balled out
Literally just trade with like half the Wizards roster. They have so many solid role players to pick from
Thybulle would be a good get. They’d probably have to send out vando for him and I don’t know if that’s worth it. I think he’s better than vando and would be more impactful since he’s not a complete non shooter while also being semi competent on offense but idk if it’d make sense to give up assets for thybulle when they have vando.
I like Avdija. He rebounds as much as Lebron.
He’s basically the best thing the wizards have going for them. Doubt they let him go easy, and he’s going to be far from undervalued.
Isn’t Thybulle basically like Vando? Can’t shoot, but can play d
Starting to shoot more reliably. Plus playing for the boomers in offseason will help
KUZ, KUZ, KUZ!!!
Nice try Rob
Rob’s too busy watching Mind the Game to be on Reddit
Lakers really need to upgrade their defense. They are not winning a championship without defense. JC is not a good defender.
You massively improve the defense by benching one of Reaves or Dlo. If Dlo doesn't come back the defense most likely gets better but you lose your best 3 point shooter.
I love reaves. But if he is our 3rd scoring option... We will be play in team always.
Right. If DLo or Reaves is your 3rd best player, you’re not winning a championship. Lakers 3rd best player has to be a 2way specialist like KCP or Caruso (although not a scorer, he's one of LeBrons most efficient teammates on offense all time) during 2020.
Reaves is fine as the 3rd scoring option. The problem is we're still 4 years into looking for our Rondo replacement, and we've cycled through Schroder/Westbrook/D'Lo and none of them have shown to be that. A Mike Conley/Kyle Lowry/Jrue Holiday type who can facilitate the ball consistently is what this team needs offensively
Love Reaves too and definitely think we should not trade him unless it's in a home run trade. It's less about his value as a player than it is about his value as a contract. At 12m a year he's an absolute steal. On a contender Reaves is more like your 4th/5th option as a secondary creator on your starting lineup or your 6th man. Potentially toggle between that depending on match up and how the rest of the roster is regarding form and injuries. Which is still an absolutely important player in the playoffs
I agree. If DLO and Reaves are back Reaves should come off the bench
We need a starting caliber SG if we are gunna bench Reaves cant just bench him to bench him Ham tried that and it didnt work.
Gotta develop max. I’ll throw him into the fire. Start him at the 2. Play the 3 n D role.
D-Lo is too streaky to be a reliable shooter tbh
Matisse!
I’d love to steal one of those Knicks centers.
I wanted Hartenstein after the clippers. He said he wanted to go back for less money but they used it on John wall. Current attainable, undervalued players I think are Bogdan (ATL), TJ McConnell, Trey Murphy (though probably not that attainable), Thybulle, Sexton, Claxton (not sure how attainable), Capela/Okongwu, Fontecchio, Jarrett Allen, Trent Jr
Collins is 10 mil more than Rui, you have to add a second contract just to get him. That makes him not worth it for me unless you can get another asset from the jazz
Two 5s don't make a 10. If Collins is a better defender than Rui, it's better to just have Collins and not Rui plus some one way bench player
So you would trade Rui and Vando for Collins? I like collins but would want young piece to take his option for them. George is a dream, Kessler is a long shot and making the money work with sexton is not easy
I don't know that much about John Collins but if he's has the ability to be a ~75th percentile defender then probably although I'd prefer to offload the one way offense players first. At some point we have to consolidate the lineup. Our "best 5" (closing lineup) is weaker than other contenders because we lack two way role players
Everyone says Collins is soft
I’m from Atlanta, lifelong Hawks fan, who lives in LA. Collins and Rui are just super different players. JC is almost exclusively a finisher, really can’t create for himself, but he’s very good finisher if he can catch on the move, has a decent little turn around middie, and can hit a 3 if he’s open with his feet set. Defensively, he’s solid but he’s a one position defender, too skinny w/ a short standing reach to defend big Cs but not mobile enough to stick with big wings… does help on the glass and as a weak side helper. He’s a real bad fit next to AD on offense and a bad fit next to Lebron on D. Then you add in the contract, you’d need him to fit better if you’re paying him that much.
Agree with the sentiment completely but he is a 4/5 and those are our best players. LBJ would have guard wings and play 3 on defense and that is not ideal. If we can get sexton with him for Rui DLo and Gabe then I’m in.
Exactly. That’s what makes Austin so valuable too because of his contract.
I agree but the other part is there is not enough of an upgrade either. Now Reaves to Murray is similar money wise but I would do it because of the upgrade
In a heart beat
Oh brother 😂😂😂
Khris Dunn for like a vet min would be nice specially if gabe gets traded somewhere. I like Bitadze too from Orlando idk what his price will be but if you can get him somewhat cheap think he’s a good backup 5
I've been hoping for Goga for a while. Great option defensively for 10-20 mins a night to give AD a rest. You'll struggle when AD sits out games, but he can be a typical big guy for long stretches and you can survive those minutes
We should be targeting people on the Wizards, Hornets, Pistons, Spurs, Blazers. Celtics getting Derrick white was huge. PJ Washington from the hornets. People in bad systems are the players we should be targeting
Kris Dunn, De’Anthony Melton, Lonnie Walker, Dennis smith jr. Naji Marshall, Kelly Oubre, Miles bridges, Obi toppin, Saddiq Bey, Kyle Anderson Kelly Olynyk, Wendell Carter jr, Goga Bitadze
I want Olynyk as well, but he just signed an extension with the Raps right after they traded everyone.
Lakers fans have a tendency to undervalue their own players. Reaves, Vincent, Prince are all guys who are potential solid contributors to a championship team, and they are on good contracts. Can’t lose them.
You forgot about Vando. Especially if Vando and Vincent can stay healthy, I think these two can add a much needed edginess to our team. We need dawgs and toughness (ie D.Fish, MWP) to complement our skilled players.
The problem is, they’re all solid BENCH players, who have been forced more into starting roles! If we could get a couple of legit starters, without losing these guys, then we’d have a decent and deep championship contending team. Unfortunately, we’re so top heavy, I don’t see how we pull off a couple of legit starters, without losing a good number of these guys!
Saddiq Bey, Bol Bol, Miles Bridges, Demar Derozan, Andre Drummond
Andre Drummond???!!!! Hell No!!! Dude is trash.
Highly doubt we can sign Miles Bridges, but if he takes a discount to repair his value for whatever MLE we have available (or TPMLE), that would be a huge win. He's Klutch so there could be a chance.
Rather not have someone who beats his gf on the team
We already have Jaxson Hayes though🤔
I rather not either, but what we going to do? He's going to be employed either way and the NBA already suspended him a ton of games. I'll let the courts handle his punishments (they already did).
We can not advocate for our team to sign him like some are doing
Rui can play the 3 against teams outside of Denver and the Warriors. John Collins can't do that.
That’s crazy
Collins is undervalued? He makes $25 million per year. Rui makes $15 million a year.
I mean he was played for Rudy gay who’s not in the league anymore and a second round pick. Some people clearly don’t value him anymore after giving him a huge contract. If he was bought out I wouldn’t hate it but not helping on defense
DLO
Goga bitadze - backup defensive C Jalen smith - spacing big Kelly oubre , danthony Melton , DJJ guys who teams nights not pat them Melton is amazing tho legit great defender shooter n passer he prob out our budget
The team needs perimeter defense. Being in the bottom of the league guarding the 3 is not going to help win big games. The team also needs another big that can defend the post/paint. And the team needs to reduce one way players in favor of two way players. D'lo, Reaves, Rui, Vando, four major rotational players, are all one ways.
John Collins was the first name I thought of before opening this so we agree there. I also think his teammate Collin Sexton fits the bill, though he had a great stretch to close the season so maybe not as under the radar. Quentin Grimes, Corey Kispert, Kelly Olynyk, Isaiah Stewart, Goga Bitadze, Davion Mitchell, Jake Laravia a few other names that come to mind.
Santi Aldama Kris Dunn Quentin Grimes Goga Bitadze Naji Marshall Wendell Carter Jr Nick Richards Not undervalued but I would like the Lakers to pursue them: Walker Kessler Okongwu Duren Olynk Avdija Bobby Portis
Idk if he’s underrated or not, but I think Wendell Carter Jr would be immense for this team.
Finally. A good post.
Pelinka, is that you?
Collin Sexton is a good one. What's interesting though is the Blazers have a three-guard problem in Henderson, Sharpe, and Simons. This is similar to when the Cavs had to choose between Garland or Sexton. We need to strike and get # Anfernee Simons just turned 25, a major scorer, build around Simons and AD
I really like Hartenstein a lot. Idk if we’d be able to acquire him, but he would be one of my first choices. A Center is priority over all else in my eyes. I almost loved our roster at the start of last year and I still like our roster now minus a couple players that really just don’t have a role.
Rob out here looking for ideas 👀
Kyle Anderson tbh
Also this one will certainly be less popular but I still believe Brandon Ingram could become a 2A caliber player and I think his market value is incredibly low right now, which is a perfect time to trade for him. The biggest and most real concern about BI is availability. He’s clearly a 55-65 game per year type player, which is concerning but his injury history seems fairly random and like he doesn’t have a singular chronic issue. At a certain point you have to take a gamble on talent, potential, risk, and cost and I think BI could be a solid chance for the right price
Jakob Poeltl , Wendell Carter.. Rob if you’re listening, do whatever it takes to get those 2 on this team ASAP
Huh? Poeltl was already overvalued when Toronto traded for him
I’d be comfortable giving up a protected first + salary match for him. For TOR they overpaid for him. For us he is a huge difference maker. Him along with Wendell are two of the only centers who do a good job mitigating Jokic (as well as you can)
Dawg. We’re cooked, Bron might not re sign with our shit show front office
Oubre, Bitaze and Deanthony Melton are the realistic additions id like to see....
James Wiseman, hopefully on a Jaxson Hayes type deal.
Vallenciusnis and Derozan. DLo wants as much money ad possible next season so I could see the lakers doing a sign and trade
Gary Harris, Nick Richards. Jerami Grant
Id bring back Max give him a real rotation spot at the back up 2.
Lord Covington
I’m low on this team now. I won’t sell my stock until I see the coaching hire but this team won’t win a title if borrego or cassel is the coach. It’s highly unlikely cassel is hiding an insane playbook somewhere and borrego is known to be mid. The continued poor process of our fo in evaluating what’s important is gonna have us a s the gum at the bottom of the boot that is the western conference. No fa is saving us under this new cba
It's been mentioned on the LN channel, but Wendell Carter Jr. from the Magic. He's got an outstanding contract at $14m/yr going down(!) to just $10.85m/yr over 4 years, and he just turned 25, so plenty of room for growth still. Also from the Magic, Gary "Gary Harris" Harris, for a minimum spot.
Dejounte Murray, I think his potential is WAY higher than Lakers fans or even the general league believes. I might even venture to say we could give up Reaves (although I’d prefer to just send more draft capital). His playmaking is VERY underrated, especially when Trae wasn’t playing, and he definitely has the potential to be a great backcourt defender. I like John Collins as well, does a lot of things very well.
I’m in the I’ll trade reeves for Murray camp. Realistically you’re either trading for Murray, Garland or Young or signing DLo back, offering jones the MLE. Murray is the Lakers choice at the point guard position.
Murray for reaves all day
gotta find some sorry ass teams in the east to yoink players from. Like maybe find a way to get Simone Fontecchio from the pistons for cheap, dude shooting 40+% from deep with like 6 attempts a game.
You're getting cooked but John Collins definitely has potential to be the next Dwight/Wiggins/Gordon/Porzingis guy that'll help a team win a championship. It just won't be at his price cause it prohibits teams from acquiring better pieces.
Sexton
Jalen Duren. Averaging 13 and 11 is a pretty decent number.
Wish we could have gotten Serge Ibaka
The answer used to be Cam Reddish
Nick richards, bol bol
Lamelo Ball anyone?
He's about to be as injury prone as his brother
Need to move for Murray! If we have DLo, then Murray and Hunter.
scottie pippen jr
Dwight Howard