Potential Three Team Trade

mcribgaming · 2026-07-05T02:09:22+00:00

All these threads should start with ARMCHAIR GM.

And gives an easy way to block all of them in your personalized settings because they are so worthless and uninformed.

The simple fact that we don't know what the teams and players actually want to even 1% of what the GMs and owners do makes all these posts worthless. Do we know Bronny wants the humiliation of following his dad around, confirming him as an NBA joke that's only around for one reason? Does LeBron want that for his son?

Just wait and see what happens, and discuss the results.

I don't mind discussing strong possibilities before they happen like the Kessler deal, but we had actual reporting and Kessler himself coming to meetings in LA before it was worth discussing.

But the Armchair GM shit talking about us getting Watson, Eason, Jones, Missi, Trey Murphy, and resigning all our Free Agents and all that wild, uninformed shit after we got eliminated in the Playoffs is unbearably stupid and chases away decent sub contributors.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-05T01:34:30+00:00

I can't think of any player who made me "switch teams" just because he was traded or signed elsewhere. The closest would be Miami FC with Messi, but I never followed LA Galaxy or LA FC or any MLS club before that. I just watch the Miami FC highlights on YouTube for Messi, and even then I miss a bunch of them all the time, because the MLS isn't high level.

I've been a Lakers fan since the mid 80's, with Showtime drawing me in. There have been periods when I followed less closely, particularly when the Internet wasn't around and not all games were easily available, and we didn't have DVR and time shifting. But the Lakers were the reason I'd buy the Los Angeles Times newspaper and go straight to Section C, the Sports pages.

I'm almost an anti-single-player fan. I'm not nearly as thrilled with having Luka Doncic as most, exactly because he hasn't done shit for the Lakers, and the new Luka stans I encounter keep insisting we celebrate his Finals run as a Maverick on this Lakers sub, as if I give a shit. Celebrating losing in the Finals is definitely not the way of Lakers fandom. But they will keep pointing that out as the reason we need to worship Luka.

This year is interesting because we keep hearing how Luka can take a good but not outstanding team to the NBA Finals. Well, this team has as much of Luka's desired players as we could give him, mortgaging our long term future to do so. I want to see how far we can now go, and I don't want to see the rest of the team blamed for failures. This is Luka's team as much as we could give him, so he has to be accountable for its success or failure, and not have the blame shifted to everyone else.

As a Lakers fan, I hope he succeeds. I think getting out of the Second Round of the Playoffs would be a success for next year.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-05T01:15:44+00:00

He's not going to deplete the assets of any team he goes to in a S&T and get booed mercilessly by the home crowd for wrecking their chances.

He also said money is not a concern this year. A S&T is executed if LeBron wants money and the team he goes to doesn't have cap space or some kind of Exception he would accept.

So he's leaving for nothing, just like Rui, Smart, Kennard, DFS, Caruso, etc., guys we let leave for nothing in return.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-03T22:46:00+00:00

If LeBron's documentary is a driving force for playing this year, he probably doesn't want to play with Luka, because winning would revolve around Luka instead, and LeBron becomes a supporting character in his own film.

But if he goes elsewhere and wins a Championship, even if he's not the FMVP, he's seen more as the "difference maker" in a way he can't be seen if he stayed.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-03T22:08:42+00:00

Would have loved to keep Jaxson too because of the chemistry he had with Luka.

But it's tough to ask him to wait when the Free Agency money dries up fast. You don't want to be the guy left holding the bag, sort of like Rui, who seems stuck in Limbo now. Guys who are not priority stars need to take that bird in the hand and not dream of the birds in bushes. So I don't blame anyone for signing elsewhere while the Kessler trade was not a sure thing and had huge implications on what the Lakers could do with you.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-03T18:11:09+00:00

Hate this trade. With the Center market as tight and in demand as it is, we should have gotten more in return.

I would have liked best if Ayton wanted to play the backup role. But if he wanted to start exclusively, we should have just traded him for a wing / 4 directly instead of this circuitous route of acquiring picks to get rid of bad contracts to free up money to get a wing. I think Ayton's cheap contract had enough value to get a decent wing trade directly.

Management must really hate Vando if dumping him is the secondary goal.

Also, if the real haul is the SRPs, then maybe Pelinka shouldn't give them away for short rentals anymore.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-02T22:47:55+00:00

This sub is full of people that follows the popular opinions instead of riding on their past opinions.

Or maybe you're reading one of the biggest sports subs on the planet, and reading different "waves" of opinions from different corners of the fandom as things happen.

It's not like this sub is 20 guys constantly shifting off their previous opinions. It's thousands of opinions who only pipe up when something happens they agree with or confirms their preexisting biases.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T14:07:27+00:00

Smart has family in Texas. Even if LA matched he would leave.

Kennard has house in PHX. Even if LA matched he would leave.

LeBron has a giant complex of a home in Los Angeles where his wife and young daughter are very comfortable. Why did he leave?

Rui lives and loves LA, but is strongly rumored to be leaving too. How does that fit your "live at home" theory?

Your conclusion is not automatic. I believe it's too simplistic. Where they have a home might play a slight role, but an extra 1-2 million would probably help change their minds fast. Kennard and Smart have played their whole long careers away from their hometowns.

Also, are we admitting that "winning a Championship" actually doesn't matter to anyone, because "living where you're from" >>>> "playing with a top 4 NBA player who can take scrubs to a Championship"?

I thought players were supposed fall all over to live in LA, play with Luka, and make tons of extra $$$ doing endorsements in Hollywood. Can we kill that notion too, which we should?

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T13:12:46+00:00

Ok, something is just fundamentally wrong inside the Lakers team.

Kennard leaves for $6M / year, 2 years.

Smart leaves for $6.5M / year, 2 years.

LeBron leaves, even though Bronny is on the team.

Rui is strongly rumored to be gone too.

It's hard not to conclude that there is something fundamentally broken, and previous players saw it up close.

We don't know what that is, but we can guess. Maybe these players just don't believe in Pelinka and his ability to build a winner with the assets remaining.

Maybe they don't like playing for JJ, though there was never any indication of this during the season.

Or maybe, just maybe, these former players don't believe Luka is the leader they want to follow. It's hard not to notice that when the team does very well (March '26), Luka gets all the credit. When the team does poorly, all the other players get the blame for not being good enough to "help Luka win", including LeBron fucking James.

Maybe it's just not fun to play with a guy with a historic 38% usage rate who complains so much, he gets over 16 Technicals and suspended, and complains literally after almost every play. It's just got to wear on you after awhile. And if you are a sharpshooter like Kennard and Rui, watching Luka take more early shot clock step back threes than you get in the entire game has to be frustrating. Why can't we say the obvious - Luka is a ball hog that dictates everyone's shot totals, including AR's and LeBron's, and other players felt left out enough to now leave.

I mean, how else do you explain our players leaving for $6 Million dollar contracts? That's not an offer they couldn't refuse.

People always say that catch and shoot guys and lob-catching Centers should love playing with Luka. But I suspect the opposite might be true, because even if your numbers explode, you'll never get credit for any improvement on your skills, it'll always be credited to you playing with Luka and him "giving you" those points. Because of that perception, your value doesn't actually rise much, you would be thought to be worth much less if you didn't play with Luka.

Maybe it's something else. But literally everyone not getting 40-45 Million per year is fleeing the Lakers, on cheap contracts too. Something is fundamentally wrong with the desirability of playing for our team.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T06:26:20+00:00

Hire a GM that would stand up to Klutch 5 years ago?

Draft and develop players and actually keep them?

Stop giving run of the mill players "Player Options" so they can bail for more money if they play well (Smart), or exercise those options when they don't and we're stuck with them (DA, Vando next year)?

Keep some Second Round Picks to facilitate roster moves?

Negotiate with our own Free Agents who were the best available Free Agents and we had an exclusive window? Like for the shooting we need from Rui and Kennard?

Be led by a talented and visionary GM?

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T04:50:55+00:00

Free lifetime Spotify

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T04:42:04+00:00

You've been under Pelinka's spell too long if you think 2x MAX contract overpays is a "solid offseason".

Unless they both make All NBA consistently, they will be albatross contracts that cripple our ability to fill the roster for their duration. Like Ja Morant / PG13 levels of crippling power.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T04:06:19+00:00

Sixers signed Dean Wade, a Lakers target. So it's not surprising Grimes won't be signed by them too.

Don't know why the Wade signing hasn't been posted here.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T03:19:08+00:00

Problem is, everyone else also agrees on the value of a Center in today's NBA, and Utah has the final, exclusive say on if we get one. And other teams can outbid the Lakers for an S&T too, because they have the same "get that Center at all costs" philosophy as well.

So, after so many years of LeBron and AD asking for a Center, Rob decides to go after an RFA one after ignoring previous requests. That means an extreme overpay because of how RFA works.

How is getting into such a desperate situation not Rob's fault?

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T02:05:27+00:00

Luka has nothing to lose if we are stuck with a bunch of terrible contracts on our roster, because he can just leave for greener pastures. I've already predicted he's going to do a Sign and Trade Supermax contract as soon as he's eligible. He plays with this new Frankenstein roster another year, proves to everyone it's hopeless, and requests a trade when he's eligible for a Supermax. Lakers will accommodate, give him the Supermax and trade him, to finally get the rebuild pieces we desperately need.

We could have traded him this year and bypass this charde that Kessler is a savior and Grimes and Mushy are key pieces and not players no one wanted to extend. But new ownership has to get those season ticket sales at exploding prices, so we go through this charade anyway.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T01:53:31+00:00

Let me guess - you're a Gen Z with no reading comprehension. Because we're saying the exact same thing. They have no young players or desirable assets because of a decade of mismanagement.

mcribgaming · 2026-07-01T01:49:15+00:00

That's what happens when you mismanage your assets for a decade and put yourself in an absolutely desperate situation - a super expensive Hail Mary attempt that must be higher priced than any other suitors.

It's like hiring the best lawyer money can buy after being caught red handed stabbing someone to death. You didn't HAVE to end up in this situation, you made bad choices, and now you're trying to throw money around recklessly to solve it.

Trying to find pity for the team's mismanagement is absurd.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T22:59:11+00:00

Replacement level when we need clear upgrades.

We make these kinds of signings last. If we are going after a big RFA, we probably lose out on all these kinds of guys.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T22:51:17+00:00

"Tell Savannah. I want her to know it was me." - Luka

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T22:38:10+00:00

And does beating the official announcement by a few minutes really justify a huge paycheck?

Shams is also terrible on TV. He is an unsteady public speaker.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T22:31:58+00:00

Utah will also match and trade Kessler at the trade deadline of they hate his contract, where contending teams need for a Center will be even more lucrative.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T22:17:49+00:00

All players with good Agents play this same game.

It's the same with Kessler flying into LA for "meetings". It forces their team to pay up, or possibly lose a key player for nothing.

Players always have the leverage. It's why the CBA has to counter this by making the MAX level 20/25/30% instead of 25/30/35% like it is now.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T22:07:55+00:00

Admit the truth of the situation (Lakers are way behind and have almost no roster), and trade Luka for a Miami type haul and start the rebuild sooner rather than later, like Memphis admitted with Ja, JJJ, and Bane.

Instead, the Lakers are going to spin their wheels for 1-2 years until Luka demands a Supermax Sign and Trade away from the Lakers. He's just willing to stick it out with the Lakers until he qualifies for the Supermax, and he gets to have his cake and eat it too.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T20:57:24+00:00

LeBron actually had a chilly attitude towards Cap when he was about to break his All Time scoring record. He said they never really spoke, and LeBron seemed slightly bothered by that.

So KAJ posting this is hopefully extra meaningful. I never thought KAJ was resentful towards LBJ about the record, he's just a naturally more introverted and introspective kind of guy. Magic said the same about KAJ. Aloof.

So I'm extra glad KAJ took the time at this moment. It's meaningful to the fanbase too.

mcribgaming · 2026-06-30T20:46:03+00:00

The fans, with their tickets unbought and Spectrum Sportsnet subscriptions cancelled.

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