NBA 2026-27 offseason trades, signings & rumors

[Donoghus]

This Lakers sale could get really messy. 

Lawyers are about to make a boatload of money in this.

[slightly biased bias fan]

This Lakers sale could get really messy. 

Lawyers are about to make a boatload of money in this.

Good.

The Lakers have been a mess for years. The Buss kids have been incompetently squabbling over the team like spoiled children. LeBron deciding to go there in 2018 papered over the cracks of a broken franchise. The way the Buss family treated Jerry West was disgraceful.

Now the Lakers are owned by a Clippers fan.

[Neurotic Guy]

This Lakers sale could get really messy. 

Lawyers are about to make a boatload of money in this.

Good.

The Lakers have been a mess for years. The Buss kids have been incompetently squabbling over the team like spoiled children. LeBron deciding to go there in 2018 papered over the cracks of a broken franchise. The way the Buss family treated Jerry West was disgraceful.

Now the Lakers are owned by a Clippers fan.

The more incompetent the owners, the better. I?m not convinced they?ll be incompetent but I do hope they will be. Spend a lot, spend it unwisely.

[slightly biased bias fan]

This Lakers sale could get really messy. 

Lawyers are about to make a boatload of money in this.

Good.

The Lakers have been a mess for years. The Buss kids have been incompetently squabbling over the team like spoiled children. LeBron deciding to go there in 2018 papered over the cracks of a broken franchise. The way the Buss family treated Jerry West was disgraceful.

Now the Lakers are owned by a Clippers fan.

The more incompetent the owners, the better. I?m not convinced they?ll be incompetent but I do hope they will be. Spend a lot, spend it unwisely.

Yeah I agree.

I feel like Luka is somewhat of a poison chalice. He will make them competitive but given his high usage, lax defence and stubborn habits, the Lakers will not win anything anytime soon.

[SparzWizard]

This Lakers sale could get really messy. 

Lawyers are about to make a boatload of money in this.

Good.

The Lakers have been a mess for years. The Buss kids have been incompetently squabbling over the team like spoiled children. LeBron deciding to go there in 2018 papered over the cracks of a broken franchise. The way the Buss family treated Jerry West was disgraceful.

Now the Lakers are owned by a Clippers fan.

The more incompetent the owners, the better. I?m not convinced they?ll be incompetent but I do hope they will be. Spend a lot, spend it unwisely.

Yeah I agree.

I feel like Luka is somewhat of a poison chalice. He will make them competitive but given his high usage, lax defence and stubborn habits, the Lakers will not win anything anytime soon.

He did get to the Finals with lesser skilled players when he was with the Mavs. If he learns to play defense he could be a game changer, but hopefully he can't learn defense.

[Goldstar88]

Roy, you are going to want to sit down before clicking on this link. 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25474786-lebron-james-jaylen-brown-tyrese-maxey-link-workout-1st-photo-together-76ers

[Roy H.]

Roy, you are going to want to sit down before clicking on this link. 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25474786-lebron-james-jaylen-brown-tyrese-maxey-link-workout-1st-photo-together-76ers

The funny thing to me is that if I'd been right in the 2020 draft, we might have all three of JT, JB and Maxey (and Lebron might have joined up too):

Roy H.

#14:  Tyrese Maxey

He seemed like the ultimate Danny Ainge guy.  Instead, they took my pre-draft binkie in Nesmith. 

[SparzWizard]

BREAKING: The Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers have agreed on a trade to send Peyton Watson to Cleveland, Max Strus to Los Angeles, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to Denver, per Shams Charania.

Cavs receive: Peyton Watson (to sign a new 4-year, $88M deal)
Clippers receive: Max Strus
Denver receives: Unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick & 2032 Kings second-rounder

[slightly biased bias fan]

BREAKING: The Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers have agreed on a trade to send Peyton Watson to Cleveland, Max Strus to Los Angeles, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to Denver, per Shams Charania.

Cavs receive: Peyton Watson (to sign a new 4-year, $88M deal)
Clippers receive: Max Strus
Denver receives: Unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick & 2032 Kings second-rounder

Mitchell
Harden
Watson
Mobley
Allen

That is a heck of a starting five.

[jpotter33]

On the one hand, the Cavs are better with Watson, but not significantly.

On the other, I think you really do have to wonder how Jokic views this. With him strategically not extending and having leverage for next year, this is a huge gamble for them, as I think they?re a lot worse with alot more risk with injuries without Watson.

If things don?t go well in Denver, could Jokic potentially be gettable at the deadline or next summer? That PG contract and Clippers picks could come in handy.

[Who]

BREAKING: The Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers have agreed on a trade to send Peyton Watson to Cleveland, Max Strus to Los Angeles, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to Denver, per Shams Charania.

Cavs receive: Peyton Watson (to sign a new 4-year, $88M deal)
Clippers receive: Max Strus
Denver receives: Unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick & 2032 Kings second-rounder

Mitchell
Harden
Watson
Mobley
Allen

That is a heck of a starting five.

CLE have finally gotten a starting SF.

It only took them 3 years.

[Who]

Mitchell
Harden
Watson
Mobley
Allen

That is a heck of a starting five.

I am still nervous about Peyton Watson's 3 point shooting. He was a bad shooter his first 2 years who limited their lineup choices because he couldn't make enough jump-shots. His 3rd year, he shot 35% but on low volume (1 3PTA every 12min). His 4th year, last year, he shot 42% albeit still on low-ish volume (1 3PTA every 8min).

If that 3 point shot is not legit, CLE will have serious spacing problems with that frontcourt. Evan Mobley is a bad shooter. J Allen is non-shooter. They put a lot of pressure on the perimeter trio to provide spacing for the rest of the team.

It will also be interesting to see Peyton Watson without Jokic. Without all those backdoor cuts and movement in the halfcourt. Now P Watson will have to stand in the corner while Harden / D Mitchell run PnRs over and over again.

Last year was P Watson's 1st season with a positive TS% number (59%) after being at 55% for his first 3 years. Take away some of those easy rim attempts. More stagnant offense. Asked to take more 3s than he ever has before. We'll see ...

[Who]

BREAKING: The Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers have agreed on a trade to send Peyton Watson to Cleveland, Max Strus to Los Angeles, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to Denver, per Shams Charania.

Cavs receive: Peyton Watson (to sign a new 4-year, $88M deal)
Clippers receive: Max Strus
Denver receives: Unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick & 2032 Kings second-rounder

Why did the Clippers take Max Strus without getting any draft picks for it?

Do they even need Max Strus?

G: D Garland, K Dunn, Cam Christie
G: Kobe Sanders, Keaton Wagler, Gradey Dick
F: B Ingram, (Ben Mathurin??), Jordan Miller

I wouldn't want to see Max Strus take minutes away from young wings like Kobe Sanders or Keaton Wagler. If he doesn't take minutes from them, assuming Mathurin returns, there is no role for Strus on this team.

So if there is no need for the player, why take his salary? Unless you are receiving draft capital to do so.

I do not understand this trade for LAC.

... unless they are parting ways with Mathurin in which case Max Strus gives them a replacement. Someone to compete with Jordan Miller and Grady Dick for those backup SF minutes.

[Who]

BREAKING: The Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers have agreed on a trade to send Peyton Watson to Cleveland, Max Strus to Los Angeles, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to Denver, per Shams Charania.

Cavs receive: Peyton Watson (to sign a new 4-year, $88M deal)
Clippers receive: Max Strus
Denver receives: Unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick & 2032 Kings second-rounder

Denver's bench looks awful now. They have lost their 2 best backup wings in Timmy Hardaway Jr and Peyton Watson. They have moved on Jonas Valanciunas. They moved on from Bruce Brown Jr but they replaced him with a solid alternative so that is okay.

G: Lonnie Walker IV, Tyus Jones
G: (no-one)
F: Spencer Jones, Julian Strawther
F: (no-one), Zeke Nnaji
C: Mo Bagley, Daron Holmes

This is the worst bench in the league. You can't win a title with the worst bench in the league.

-------------------

Spencer Jones and Julian Strawther are 2 of the least athletic SFs in the league. Both struggle athletically to keep up with SFs nevermind chase around SGs or move up to PF and bang with PFs.

Cam Johnson is a below average athlete at SF. That leaves C Braun and A Gordon as their only plus athletes 2-4. J Murray and N Jokic needs athletes around them. DEN don't have them.

Zeke Nnaji is a good defender / rebounder at PF with lousy offense but their coach has no faith in him. Refuses to play him. He could have helped DEN several times in the past and the coach refused to play him. I expect that to continue.

Mo Bagley is 1 of the 2 big additions (L Walker) for their bench. Bagley has never been a net positive for any of his teams his entire career. I see no reason to expect for that to change. He has consistently been one of the worst defensive Cs in the league. The youngster Daron Holmes is an undersized big who couldn't get on the court. That leaves Jokic as the only quality interior defender DEN have on their roster.