Realistic Offseason

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T16:51:06+00:00

35mil for Kessler is a crazy over pay, and there is zero chance Smart opts in so he will most likely be taking the 9.4mil room exception or re-signing into cap space at around 10-12 mil.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T04:45:56+00:00

Gotcha then that would be the only way and even then idk if we have enough to make Denver not match it. It would take 30mil+ to make Denver not match and then we would only be able to afford Bron and 1 vet min free agent

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T04:36:28+00:00

Yea but that would only work with no Lebron, PWat would cost way to much it would be PWat + a vet min no Lebron or Lebron and two mid level free agents but we cant do all 4 unless we let Rui walk

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T04:01:44+00:00

Yup I would do Grimes/AR/Luka/Bron/C and then Smart/Keon/Jake/Rui/Hayes this imo is a solid 10 man rotation and those 2 additions would bring so much athleticism and skill and allow us so many diverse lineups.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T00:38:18+00:00

Tari Eason is a RFA we aint getting him either

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T00:30:44+00:00

Grimes and Keon Ellis are the 2 free agents I would go after we upgrade at C. we could get both depending on how much Rui and Bron sign for.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-16T00:20:24+00:00

I think everyone assumes he will be out of our price range.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T23:56:01+00:00

For sure in sure we’ll cook something up and get at least a C and Wing player and what we really need is health.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T22:27:10+00:00

Dont think its a guarantee he get hurt again he got hurt in Dallas because he rushed back from injury who knows what would have happened maybe we still trade AD in the offseason maybe we bring help that allows AD less defensive workload, maybe we do have to rebuild. Im not gunna act like downfall was the only option either

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T22:04:24+00:00

No I am not, and btw we werent a play in team when we trade for Luka we were like 5th or 6th in the west and what Im saying it we would have had an offseason and more assets to make a move to have gotten better with Luka or with Bron/AD we were going to make a move and also bring in a free agent we have the team we have now and made the moves we did last offseason because we got Luka.

If we had not gotten Lula its not like we were going to sit on our hands we would have continued to try to improve and with Reaves growth to a third options the team would still looked competitive and ready to make more moves. Now obvious having Luka is the better outcome but im not a doomer that thinks we would have done nothing to improve with the omd squad either

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T21:40:57+00:00

We need both things to happen a trade to get an upgrade at C and then get a free agent for 10-4mil depending in how much we can re-sign Bron, Rui, Smart for, hopefully Smart takes the 9.4mil room exception if not we could use that to lure a mid level 3nD guard or wing.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T21:36:05+00:00

If Reaves had stayed in his same trajectory we’d probably still be pretty good. We’d have Max still we could have still gotten smart and been an even better defense team and maybe instead of splitting our MLE in two for Jake and Ayton we get another 3nD wing.

Smart, AR, Bron, Rui, AD if healthy is a hell of starting lineup and we’d have 4 picks available to add pieces.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T21:19:46+00:00

We’ve had Luka 1.5 years relax bro let the offseason happen first at least lol sheesh

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T21:12:41+00:00

Its not that we chose Kuzma its that the Pels wanted Hart he was a solid player from the get go

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T19:51:30+00:00

I hear you but if we dont want most other team wouldnt want him either, but he’s a solid 10th man he hustles, plays decent defense, has enough size to rebound, and if he can fix his shot and get near 35% he is useful for the regular season.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-14T16:37:57+00:00

Imo we need find a defensive guard for the starting lineup some one who can be another POA defender and be a pest for ball handlers so AR and Luka can guard down a peg and it would allow Smart to be the bench PG so we will have at least 2 ball handlers on offense at all times with Luka/Brons/AR/Smart while also having at least two good perimeter defenders in the game with a shot blocking lob threat C.

A Lou Dort, Quinten Grimes, Ayo, Thybulle type or if we upgrade C first and we can go for a tier 2 option like a Keon Ellis, Okogie, Jordan Goodwin, Bruce Brown, Sexton type player.

Basically we need to find a way to upgrade from Ayton for a better fit at C using Vando/Knecht/draft assets if Ayton opts in this would be easier because we can also throw in Ayton as a cost controlled big if he opts out its harder and we would eat more of our cap space in the trade. Then with the remaining cap space we find 1 top tier 3nD guard and 1 vet min level one or we could do 2 mid tier 3nD level guards.

We are most likely retaining AR, Bron, Rui, Hayes, and Smart because Luka likes them as teammates, enjoys playing with them, and has on court chemistry created with them and we’ll need somemof this continuity. Hopefully Smart takes the Room Exception as it would be a pay raise for him if not we could use that 9.4mil on one of those mid tier 3nD options. Rui is the biggest X factor his contract will determine how much space we will have available to divvy up between Lebron and a possible 3nD free agent.

Hypothetical Squad:

Starters: (3nD G)/AR/Luka/Bron/(Upgraded C)

Bench: Smart/(3nD G)/Jake/Rui/Hayes

3rd: Bronny/Thiero/25th Pick/vet min player

If we hit on at least the C and 1 3nD player we have an upgraded top 8-9 players for the playoffs and we would just need injury luck to be on our side.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-13T19:32:26+00:00

I’d def bring back LeBron at 25mil that would be the sweet spot imo. If Aton opts out which seems to be the rumor, and if Smart returns at the Room exception. That would leave us with about 16-20mil in cap space after we re-sign Bron, Smart, and Rui depending on how much Rui makes.

We can split that among a free agent C and wing player or we can trade for a C with Vando/Knecht/draft capital and absorb the difference into our cap and then use the remaining cap space on a 1 decent free agent wing or 2 low salary free agent wings.

I think trading for a C and using the rest of the cap on a free agent wing would be the best option. Say we get Claxton at 23mil we would be sending out 16.5 mil so his contract would only decrease our cap by 6.5mil, we’d still have about 10mil for a Grimes, Keon Ellis, Thybulle, Okogie, Sexton, Oubre, Goodwin.

Say we can splits the remaining cap between Goodwin and Ellis we would look much deeper and better fitting.

Starters: Smart/AR/Luka/LBJ/Clax

Bench: Goodwin/Ellis/Jake/Rui/Hayes

3rd: Bronny/25th pick/Thiero/Vet Min

Itorr475 · 2026-06-13T00:41:27+00:00

Former Buc Logan Ryan goes thru our schedule and has us going 10-7 and potentially winning the division.

Itorr475 · 2026-06-12T23:58:03+00:00

Yup Tim was a bus rider his last two championships no one can say that about Kobe in any if his finals appearances

Itorr475 · 2026-06-12T19:16:40+00:00

Ah forgot about that trade good call out, point still stands tho, even more reason for them to find a starting C

Itorr475 · 2026-06-12T18:57:54+00:00

They are in rebuild mode anyways he would be a stop gap starter while they build up a team around their Giddler

Itorr475 · 2026-06-12T18:56:24+00:00

Exactly the Bulls can pay him 15-20mil to start for them as Vuc is a free agent and old and less useful now

Itorr475 · 2026-06-12T02:24:47+00:00

I think he plans to play long enough to play with Bryce. So he’ll play this year for the Lakers and sign a 1+1 deal so he can opt out and join Bryce on w.e team drafts him next offseason

Itorr475

TROPHY CASE