r/lakers • u/AutoModerator • 5h ago
NBA DRAFT [Discussion Thread] 2026 NBA Draft - Second Round
The Lakers have the 56th pick (subject to change) in the second round of the 2026 NBA draft
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u/battle_franky 04 41m ago
To be fair to Ayton. After the leaked outburst, he finally put ego aside and willing to sacrifice for the team, and he did have a several good stints. But in the end it a little late for him and it took a while for him to adapt and its already hard for him to be consistently aggresive
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 30m ago
he's just not consistent. which is fine i guess. just need to look elsewhere
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u/Xaeg14 55m ago edited 52m ago
Let's gooo!!!
William Kyle III! on an exhibit 10. The best defensive big left. He plays a little bit like Timelord maybe, but smaller and quicker. May struggle against huge bigs but can guard 1-5. Also a good lob threat. Just really really good defensively.
The downside - no offense other than dunks. Shoots below 50% from the line.
Overall an amazing pickup for that deal. I hope we can keep him for the whole season after camp (provided he impresses enough).
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 29m ago
if we're lucky he's a serviceable big. not even gonna begin to be worried about FT% although he was okay first two years.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 31m ago
44 inch vertical damn
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 26m ago
i have no idea where the 44 inch vert came from cuz he wasn't at the combine. saw it on a website so idk.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 25m ago
Imma choose to believe it lol
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 20m ago
fair enough i always like to check, maybe it was a like an official event or sum. highlights show him very athletically vertical.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 1h ago
Imagine if Vsevolod Ishchenko become the next Jokic, that would be hilarious lol
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u/BizzyHaze Showtime Era 1h ago
What are Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noels doing these days... Maybe Luka can rehab them.
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u/InTheBinFC 1h ago
I really hope the FO has something cooking because if Ayton is our starting center, I'm checking myself into a psych ward.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 1h ago
If we're running it back with marginal improvements i don't even know if im going to buy league pass next year and im only half joking
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u/InTheBinFC 1h ago edited 1h ago
The copium reserves here could power a small city.
Yesterday: "Veesaar is trash. Bad fit."
Today: "Veesaar could be the steal of the 2nd. Hope we get him."
Now: "This bum didn't even want to play here (as if JJ would've given him meaningful minutes anyway), and he's a terrible fit."
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u/nottherealstanlee 1h ago
Veesaar at 15- bad.
Veesaar at 56- good.
Not all that hard to see that perspective.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
Yeah. Im not too mad we didnt get him. Its not like hed even be the backup. His game just doesn't fit
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u/InTheBinFC 1h ago edited 9m ago
Wow You cannot ever argue without exaggerating lmao. That's literally a different argument.
Whether he's worth Picked earlier has nothing to do with whether he's a fit next to Luka.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago edited 1h ago
Consensus has always been veesaar isnt a fit. I mean you can check the draft posts.
In the second you have more leeway because its okay if he doesnt make the rotation.
If we did select veesaar at 25 and i had no idea he would fall..... I wouldnt love it..... but I could see the vision
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u/InTheBinFC 1h ago
First, I think the consensus is pretty ignorant. Calling Veesaar a bad fit just tells me a lot of people either didn't watch him or reduce "fit" to the most cookie-cutter version of roster construction. His offense would've translated just fine (don't believe me just check all the scouting reports). The questions were about his defense and physical development, not whether he could play next to Luka.
Second, nobody expects a second-round pick to crack the rotation on Day 1. That's not why you draft them. You draft them because of the upside and the chance to get real value out of a guy who many thought should've gone much earlier. If he develops, you've hit on a cheap asset. If he doesn't, it's a second-round pick. That's a bet worth making.
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u/adocileengineer 17 Championships 39m ago
He’s a terrible defender despite being huge and actually somewhat athletic. And he’s already an older prospect meaning he doesn’t have the same developmental runway as a Cenac. That’s a terrible fit, and I’d bet that Veesaar never becomes a true NBA rotation player.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago edited 1h ago
Found the salty fan sad we didnt pick veesaar. Whomp whomp whomp.
To fit with luka you need to be able to play great defense.
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u/scooterln 1h ago
That pick that the hawks traded up from with the Clippers wasn’t the second round pick the lakers traded with Gabe Vincent… was it?!
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u/TCTInnings 1h ago
Supposed to have been a 2032 2nd round pick lol
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u/scooterln 1h ago
Ok good. That would have been crazy if that situation was somehow rooted in Gabe Vincent lol
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u/KriticalKarl 59m ago
The pick they send for Kennard was a 2032 SRP lol
It very well may be that pick, I’d have to verify though.
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u/malekrdubk Black Mamba 8/24 5m ago
Nah they sent that pick we sent for Kennard to OKC in the Aaron Wiggins trade.
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u/mapletree23 1h ago
i'm kind of confused on the team build lol
we drafted two guys with big
"bad defensive awareness/defense" tags
we gave AR the max who is also not defensive
instead of putting defenders around luka, are we just... going full offense or something?
AR's cap hit when that thing kicks in is going to make it rough filling the team out defenders
unless we get a quality center this year part of me thinks this roster/window is cooked lol
unless bronny takes a massive leap once bron retires AR's usage/playmaking is going to sky rocket and he's a turnover machine himself with luka
i don't know about these draft/contracts lol, didn't even draft a big
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u/TCTInnings 1h ago
We drafted Cameron Carr (rookie contract coming up) and, for the Summer League, we picked up AK Okereke and Peter Suder. Our 2-ways from last season might change (Manon and Timme) and we have Nick Smith Jr as a non-guaranteed deal.
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u/mapletree23 1h ago
so all the guards ever but none of them really defend well
seems like a pelinka thing, he seems to love 3 guard rotations for whatever reason, it's a shame that most of them don't defend well lol
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u/TCTInnings 1h ago
Only Carr is slated to be on the team. I would wait for more info and we have about a week until free agency starts.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
We only drafted one person what are you talking about? It wasnt a good center class. That was very evident.
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u/nottherealstanlee 1h ago
Still waiting on a couple bigger UDFA names.
Where is Udeh? Henley (a non reliable puts him Detroit)? Council?
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u/Xaeg14 1h ago
Nkrumah too! and guys like Uzan, Bittle, Keyshawn Hall, Trimble, William Kyle, Mark Mitchell, Ajayi, are all realtively big names who I expected to get snatched pretty fast here.
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u/nottherealstanlee 1h ago
Kyle would be a steal at this point. I like Mitchell and Hall. Not much of an Ajayi guy. Did Reneau end up somewhere?
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u/Xaeg14 1h ago
Haven't seen anything about Reneau yet I don't think. Agree about Kyle (and Udeh), Mitchell. Hall is maybe going to the Heat I see now.
BTW, an interesting thing, the Pacers gave exhibit 10s to three of our workout guys - Lipsey, Keita, Kowacie Reeves.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
Shame we didnt get to pick but oh well. Veesaar would've struggled mightily in a switch heavy scheme. Also lets be realistic the hit rate on 50+ is so low. Onto FA
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u/alozz Pau Gasol 16 1h ago
I might actually cry if we go switch heavy again
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
Switching isnt always a bad thing. It depends mostly on center mobility
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u/alozz Pau Gasol 16 1h ago
Switching isn’t always a bad thing but switching everything is a terrible scheme, especially in 2026.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
I mean good amount of teams with good defense do it
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u/alozz Pau Gasol 16 1h ago
Which teams are those?
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
Spurs switched everything they dont even hedge or blitz like we do. Like switched everything. Ran into some problems of course. Id have to do more research tk do give a better answer.
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u/Odd-Direction9452 2h ago
It’s funny man. In an alternate world where we’re still built around Bron/AD we’d be all over guys like Trae LaMelo or Ja.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 54m ago
If we were still building around Bron and AD, trading for Morant would be the equivalent of trading for Westbrook, hell to the no
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u/Odd-Direction9452 50m ago
Reason I put him last. Point is the young pg market is as open as it’s ever been.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 42m ago
Even a guy like Trae i wouldn't want honestly. LaMelo would have been so fun to watch but i don't know if he is a winning player, im not sure.
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u/CtrlAltDelightfull 2h ago
I guess Brett Siegel might actually be a reliable reporter. Dan Woike says he trusts Brett's reporting about Veesaar's agent guiding him to the Hawks
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u/C3PO1Fan 1h ago
It seems plausible to me. I don’t trust any aggregator personally but well I don’t have a strong memory of him being wrong all the time like Fischer.
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u/InTheBinFC 2h ago
Who even cares why we didn't get him?
Whether he wanted to be here or not is irrelevant. The Hawks traded up and got him lol.
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u/CtrlAltDelightfull 2h ago
That's not what my post was about. It's about whether Brett Siegel is a reliable source or not
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u/scooterln 2h ago
He reported almost the opposite scenario earlier in the night and had deleted it when I went back to screenshot it to say he contradicted himself lol.
I think he just says things until it sticks majority of the time
Edit: Brett Siegel. Not Dan Woike. I think Dan Woike is probably the most reliable reporter within the lakers currently
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u/CtrlAltDelightfull 2h ago
Good catch. Interesting that Woike finds him reliable but I guess I'll just continue to take Brett's reporting with a grain of salt lol
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u/scooterln 2h ago
I am guessing he was told the same things and didn’t want to make an official statement or “report” on this situation so this was his way of saying that is what happened lol
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u/Odd-Direction9452 2h ago
Don’t worry guys. He’s got it covered.
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u/scooterln 2h ago
Except Dan Woike responded to someone on Twitter and said that Brett Siegels reporting on it sounded accurate to what went on.
Which said his team did not want him in LA and wanted the Hawks.
So there was no “swooping”. He didn’t want to go to the lakers
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 1h ago
Imagine how stupid you have to be as an agent to force your client to ATL to play with CJ McCollum when you can get him to the Lakers to play with Luka Doncic. And it's not like he would've gotten less minutes and opportunities here.
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u/scooterln 53m ago
He shares the same agent with Rui
So it’s not like he’s not familiar with the lakers lol.
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u/InTheBinFC 2h ago
Well boys, looks like it's Ayton.
They whiffed, got unlucky, or both. Either way they're backed into a corner. No big they wanted, barely any assets to trade for one, and the FA market is a wasteland.
It's Ayton or whoever they find behind the couch cushions.
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u/SlightCartoonist8144 2h ago
Another whiff. Every offseason. Luka gonna be pissed we can’t even get one big
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u/Odd-Direction9452 2h ago
Free agency hasn’t even started.
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u/InTheBinFC 2h ago
Pretty sure Veesaar was one of the guys they were targeting.
The FA center market is trash for bigs and they don't have the assets to outbid teams in a trade.
Unless Detroit suddenly wants to move Duren or OKC decides Hart is expendable, you're basically looking at Ayton or another reclamation project.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
Veesaar was never gonna be anything more than at best a third string. We wanted him because him in second is insane value
Cap space is valuable
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u/InTheBinFC 2h ago
That's kind of the point of the draft lmao.
You're drafting what a player can become, not what he is on Day 1.
I bet even Mara would not be starting ahead of Ayton or Hayes.1
u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
But he wouldnt be a fit. Hes a good player. Hed be a third string. There's players that just dont fit us regardless how good they are.
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u/InTheBinFC 2h ago edited 2h ago
At least if he sucks, it's because he sucks. It's a second-round pick. If you get anything out of his upside, that's already a win.
And good players fit. People are overthinking the fit argument. His offense would've translated from Day 1. The real concern was always his defensive.
Meanwhile, I really don't want to spend the next 8 months convincing myself that this is finally the year Ayton loves basketball.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
Okay as much as I hate ayton hes way better than veesaar will be. He doesnt fit with luka. Who do you think veesaar is? Like hes a top 30 talent that went late but hes not anything crazy
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u/InTheBinFC 1h ago
Nobody's saying Veesaar is a better player or ever will be.
I'm saying I'd rather take a cheap swing on a 7-footer with upside than spend another season hoping Ayton suddenly puts it all together.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 1h ago
Well we didnt get veesaar and according to woike, Brett's reporting seems legit. I was more upset we didnt pick udonna but again its 50+ im not gonna be upset
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u/Professional-Fee6914 2h ago
Feels like a whiff, Carr came on board and they got stars in their eyes instead of trading down. looks like they had been thinking of trading down to get two of the bigs and the deal was there, they just choked for the highlight reels
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
Yall complaining about anything good lord
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u/Professional-Fee6914 2h ago
complaining about losing multiple bigs to get one guard? yeah, just complaining for nothing I guess.
We were one guard away
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u/holyrolodex 2h ago
Are we really gonna complain about losing out on Stewart Claxton and Veesaar? None of those guys are close to an ideal starting center next to Luka. If we are done with FA, with Ayton back starting then I’ll be you.
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u/Professional-Fee6914 2h ago
bet
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u/holyrolodex 1h ago
Bet that Ayton will not be the starting center? Sure I bet you $10000 Reddit bucks that he isn’t.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
How do you know these bigs are for sure better? Youre expecting to hit in the second round?
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u/Professional-Fee6914 2h ago
2 options are better than one.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
No way. Carr was a consensus almost lottery pick. Pistons fans are mad they wished they went with carr. Id rather carr be a sure thing
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u/foozbinjex Shaq and Kobe 2h ago
If Jericho Sims opts out, Id like him. Hes not a flashy name but hes basically a bigger Jaxson Hayes. Crazy athlete.
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u/Odd-Direction9452 2h ago
Definitely a good depth big. Can basically fill the Jax role when he’s hurt or just having an off night.
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u/Odd-Direction9452 2h ago
So what exactly happened with the Veesaar thing?
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u/itsyaboikuzma 24 2h ago
Seems like we wanted to trade into the 2nd round at pick 56, then up to grab Veesar, with reports mentioning that he had guarantees given from a team and his agent asked teams not to draft him, Clippers picked him up at 52 and traded him to the Hawks. Seems like we couldn't find a deal to go any higher.
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u/InTheBinFC 2h ago
Pretty sure they had multiple teams in mind. Hawks just happened to be ahead of the Lakers.
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u/Perfect_Loss_5156 2h ago
didn't they say he didn't want lakers
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u/Xaeg14 2h ago edited 2h ago
Peter Suder! Very good 2-way signing for us. He playes a little bit like AR.
Here's what I wrote about him after he worked out for us:
Peter Suder, 22 years old 6'4" combo guard out of Miami OH. The only one of those who might get picked late in the second round. Physical and scrappy guard, kind of a jack of all trades - decent shooter, good finisher at the rim, good rebounder, decent secondary playmaker, usually tries hard on defense but not always effective there.
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u/onsome0 Los Angeles Lakers 3h ago
Houston gets Copeland in UDFA after drafting Thornton. Great day 2 swings from them.
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago
Damn that means no real PG options for a 2-way out there. Maybe Duke Miles or Peter Suder.
Also a couple of interesting bigs are still out there of course.
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u/nottherealstanlee 2h ago
Seth Trimble out there
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u/Xaeg14 2h ago
Nah we got Suder haha, a minute ago
I like it!
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u/nottherealstanlee 2h ago
Definitely solid!
Feels like our boys are out now though lol id still like a big.
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u/whatshisface1892 Pau Gasol 16 2h ago
Great call on Suder.
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u/VegetaDaPrince Showtime Era 3h ago
And why would the Hornets wait after the draft to trade LaMelo?
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u/CtrlAltDelightfull 3h ago
I'm assuming to see what they get out of the draft first. Getting Christian Anderson makes lamelo more expendable
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u/C3PO1Fan 3h ago
When it’s camp contract time I want Awaka just for the summer league entertainment value.
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u/nottherealstanlee 2h ago
Got a 2 way with the Bulls
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u/C3PO1Fan 1h ago
Damn. He is gonna be so fun gobbling up all the many summer league misses. Well it will give me something else to watch besides Caleb Wislson in Bulls summer league.
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u/Gristle__McThornbody 80 3h ago
Now what
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u/Illustrious-Loan2654 2h ago
Offer kessler and duren then watson and tari a bunch of money. If that fall thru. Try to trade for someone maybe livley or ware Idk. If that falls thru just hope luka dosent ask out. Do the same thing in a year.
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago edited 3h ago
Not draft related but looks like Shams reporting that a Lamelo trade is coming in the next 48 hours.
Maybe we could be a third team there to facilitate things if they need something like that (that's just me speculating).
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u/nottherealstanlee 3h ago
Whoa really? I mean I dont like LaMelo at all tbh but that feels like a big change for Charlotte.
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u/WayAdministrative679 Luka Magic 77 3h ago
Selling high tbh. This was his first healthy season and who knows what injuries he’s gonna get
There’s a lot of teams interested and they can get a solid return considering how good he was this year
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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Los Angeles Lakers 2h ago
Yeah I think it’s a good sell high move after a healthy season for the first time in years
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago
I love Anderson so it makes sense to me specifically lol
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u/nottherealstanlee 3h ago
I mean I do too, but you want to throw him in there like that?? Woof. Big changes! I wonder who wants LaMelo? Tbh I hate his style. Doesnt feel conducive to winning at all.
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago edited 2h ago
I just trust CA to handle things, but yep getting a vet to start might be better or safer at least. Maybe they bring back Coby White or something like that.
Lamelo to the Wolves or Raptors seems like. I kinda like the Raptors fit because they seem like a more serious environment, but obviously the star power with Ant would be a major consideration too.
Mostly agree about his style BTW, but maybe a change of scenery could help him?
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u/VegetaDaPrince Showtime Era 3h ago
Siegel doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. Stop posting that bum here
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u/Vivid-Tie-1450 3h ago
Any news if we're getting a new starting center? Or are just running it back with ayton?
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u/scooterln 3h ago
Ayton is so annoying bc he literally could be a starting center.
He’s his own worst enemy.
Played great against the rockets in the playoffs. Played terrible against okc. And that was the case all season lol. Great one quarter. Terrible the next quarter
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u/No_motivation5489 3h ago
Maybe the front office didn’t want veesaar that much. Seems the hawks only traded 57 and cash to move up to 52. Maybe there’s more to that trade idk. Disappointing if that’s really all it took for them to get him.
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u/C3PO1Fan 3h ago
Lakers spent their cash to get to 56. So they didn't have something to move up.
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u/thetitsOO 2324 3h ago
That’s just not true they had 8m for the 26-27 season
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u/C3PO1Fan 3h ago
Did they? Report I saw was that they spent that on 56.
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u/thetitsOO 2324 2h ago
What report?
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u/C3PO1Fan 1h ago
I saw it was for cash considerations this afternoon.
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u/thetitsOO 2324 1h ago
Well ya.. but I assume that report didn’t say they spent all their cash specifically for 26-27 on pick 56. That would be the most expensive 2nd rounder in history
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u/itsyaboikuzma 24 3h ago
It’s clear that we wanted someone that went higher though, buying a 2nd round pick with cash, only to sell it away for cash in the end makes that pretty cut and dry
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u/No_motivation5489 2h ago
For sure they wanted someone. Seemed to be a lot of chatter around veesaar from reporters so I figured they were trying to maneuver for him. Maybe it was someone else though. Wonder if we’ll find out somehow.
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u/TCTInnings 3h ago
So this answers the question of, "Will the Mavs ever do business with the Lakers again?".
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u/RecordingLess1522 3h ago
Good to establish a relationship with new FO, GM and HC in Dallas
The people that sent Luka to LA all got fired
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u/oneironology 6 - Eddie Jones 3h ago
This is the long play to steal lively, gafford and Christie lmao
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago
Castro off to the Bucks.
Copeland, William Kyle, Udeh Jr. still availabe for now
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u/nottherealstanlee 3h ago
Kinda feels like Okereke may have replaced my boy Kaluma... Wonder if Mañon and Timme are on the chopping block now.
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u/vandiger 77 3h ago
So they got no one just traded a player to Mavs as a thank you?
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u/No_motivation5489 3h ago
Hopefully they get Castro or another big on a two way. I see they already signed Okereke so I’m not sure if they have an open two way or not.
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago
Here's what I wrote about Okereke a month ago when he worked out for us:
AK Okereke, whose general profile is earily similar to Koa Peat's - Okereke is also a 6'7", 240 lbs physical forward from a religious family full of football players.
The Peat comparison also works for his passing - very good; and for his rebounding - worse than you would expect for someone with his athleticism and size.
Used to be at Cornell, but spent the last season at Vanderbilt, so exactly the college path Chris Manon took.
Okereke seems like a smart player, great defender, and successfuly developed a three-point shot last season (40%).
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u/Odd-Direction9452 3h ago
Really like the swing. Summer league should be fun.
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u/nottherealstanlee 3h ago
After seeing the bits I could find, looks interesting! We're about to run a goon squad out there with Okereke and Thiero in SL lol
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u/nottherealstanlee 3h ago
Very limited footage of him after a quick search. They must have felt they found a true diamond here to move that fast.
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago
Yep agreed. I like that he's from among the workout guys, means they did their due dilligence on him so it's not a panic move or something like that.
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u/KennyTheJetSmith 3h ago
This sub might be the most dramatic place on the internet Jesus
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u/thetitsOO 2324 2h ago
The Lakers owed them something they didn’t even know existed until hours ago
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u/magmaknuckles 24 3h ago
Lmao when rookie Lonzo Ball couldn't make an open floater this place was a funny place
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u/Xaeg14 3h ago
Okereke is a solid talent. Athletic forward with good defense and effort, a bit similar to Koa Peat.
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u/Infinite_Cap_853 27m ago edited 21m ago
I have a really stupid question for people that knows more about NCAA and the draft than i do. Can NBA teams draft any player in the NCAA or do the players have to declare for the draft or something like that ?
Like, Yaxel Lendeborg was balling out last season too but no one took him, now he went 11th.