Good stuff, Michael. I don’t disagree with saving the pick and I do think free agency is the smart move to make. We should be able to land at least one future elite starter and maybe two with the $60M we would have if we only keep Reaves cap hold and try to keep Smart with the MLE.

The problem is I have zero confidence in Rob Pelinka to execute the moves we make this summer. There’s a reason we had our hands tied for this and previous transaction windows. Building a championship team is done by series of positive steps forward position by position, player by player, transaction window by transaction window. It’s done by planning and execution. Not by fate and luck dropping Luka in your lap.

Mark Walter has to see that all of things that got in our way this transaction window are the same things that screwed up every previous transaction window. The first move Mark needs to make when the season is over is to fire Rob Pelinka and hire a real professional like Bob Myers. No more of the Rob and Jeanie show. Wasting one full year of having Luka, LeBron, and Austin. That’s Rob Pelinka’s obituary as far as I am concerned.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Buyout candidates
Players must be waived before March 1 to retain playoff eligibility with a new team. There are two categories of buyout candidates. The first is players making above the $14.1 million mid-level exception. They can only sign with teams below the $195.9 million first apron. They are prohibited from signing with the Cavaliers, Warriors, and Knicks.

Non-apron teams only

Khris Middleton ($33,296,296)
The Mavericks acquired Middleton primarily as the salary matching piece from the Wizards’ end for Anthony Davis. He could stick around in Dallas if they feel he’d be a good veteran presence around Cooper Flagg. He would be the most highly sought after player if bought out.

Jusuf Nurkic ($19,375,000)
This one seems unlikely since the Jazz are low on big men and need size to get through the regular season. But they’re also sitting Nurkic out a lot for lottery positioning. He could be a difference maker for any team needing a reliable big man to come off the bench.

These are the potential players who could sign with any team

Can sign with any team

Matisse Thybulle ($11,550,000)

Mike Conley Jr. ($10,774,038)
Conley Jr. is expected to be bought out, and it’s possible he returns to Minnesota. It’s allowed since he was traded again after the Wolves first traded him.

Lonzo Ball ($10 million)
The Jazz will reportedly waive Ball. They took him with two second-round picks attached.

Pat Connaughton ($9,423,869)
Connaughton was already waived so the Hornets can create a roster spot to facilitate the Tyus Jones trade.

Georges Niang ($8,200,000)
Niang can be a sneaky good addition to any contender if he can get healthy. The Grizzlies will waive him to make room for the Eric Gordon trade.

Cam Thomas ($5,993,172)
The most surprising addition to the buyout market is here. The Nets waived him after not finding a trade for him. A disappointing end to one of the longer tenured Nets.

Guerschon Yabusele ($5,500,000)
Yabusele is rumored to want to return to Europe. If he does, he would likely need to decline his $5.8 million player option for next season or most of the money.

Dario Saric ($5,426,400)
Saric will likely be waived so the Pistons can create a roster spot to convert Danis Jenkins.

Kevin Love ($4,150,000)
Love was considered a buyout candidate upon being traded to Utah. They’ve held onto him throughout the season and now the trade deadline. Maybe they’ll let him loose so he can join a contender.

Chris Boucher ($2,296,274)
The Jazz took on Boucher because of the second-round pick attached. They will reportedly waive him.

Chris Paul ($2,296,274)
The Raptors reportedly won’t have Paul report to the team. They took him in for Ochai Agbaji because it got them under the luxury tax line. We’ll see if there’s another team interested in Paul’s services.

Mason Plumlee ($2,296,274)
Plumlee was waived by the Thunder after acquiring him from the Hornets. They cut him to create a roster spot for Jared McCain.

Eric Gordon ($2,296,274)
Gordon was traded to the Grizzlies so the Sixers could gain more tax flexibility for their two-way conversions and buyout season. He will likely be waived by the Grizzlies.

These are players who could get bought out but probably won’t. Most of them have an additional non-guaranteed year left on their contract, which complicates things. Most of these players might avoid a buyout so they can have a chance at making some or most of their non-guaranteed money for next season.

DeMar DeRozan ($24,570,000)

C.J. McCollum ($30,666,667 expiring)

D’Angelo Russell ($5,685,000)

Bogdan Bogdanovic ($16,020,000)

Brook Lopez ($8,750,000)

Nicolas Batum ($5,601,600)

Bradley Beal ($5,354,000)

Terry Rozier ($26,643,031 expiring)

Kyle Anderson ($9,219,512)

Kevon Looney ($8,000,000)

Please, let’s grab this guy before it’s too late.

The Pacers are sending Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and one second-round pick to the Clippers for Zubac and Kobe Brown, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/AFQmRFVrMQ— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2026

Another of my favorites is gone. Very sad.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

This offseason looks to be a big one in Los Angeles: Austin Reaves has a player-option decision, while LeBron James will be a free agent.
If Austin Reaves declines his $14.9 million player option as expected and LeBron James is wearing a different uniform next season, the Lakers are likely looking at $38 million to $47 million in cap space, depending on which of their other free agents, such as Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, stick around.

That is enough to make a major impact for the right player to fit next to Luka Dončić and Reaves long-term, but they would likely be an exceedingly top-heavy and eventually expensive team moving forward. That said, the right talent would make a team construction like that worth it since Reaves’ new contract likely takes them out of shifting that spending power to 2027 and beyond, though that is not 100 percent locked in yet.

Only way this deadline was excusable is if the second the season ends, Rob Pelinka is unemployed and Jeanie is either gone or purely governor by title and has ZERO influence on basketball operationsGiving those two morons another summer to fuck this roster up is not it— erSources CEO | Adou Thiero FC (@pelinkaburner) February 5, 2026