WALKER KESSLER TONIGHT:22 POINTS 9 REBOUNDS 4 ASSISTS 4 BLOCKS2 STEALS7/7 FGM2/2 3PM+13 +/-29 MINUTES pic.twitter.com/yW0z6Crqjx— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 23, 2025

🚨 BREAKING: Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been arrested by the FBI for alleged illegal gambling, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/PJXHWTzVYr— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 23, 2025

That’s not even close to the haul they’ll get. Should read “Best Trade the Lakers Can Make In-Season” lol. They’re going to get better than that, should he ask out now, guaranteed.

According to ESPN (so dubious, at best) the Knicks were the team he’d go to this summer. Evidently that is no longer the case and you’d have to expect Milwaukee will do their utmost to get enough draft assets to hit the reset button now. That’s not our offer, which is admittedly the “kitchen sink” offer we could put out there.

Honestly, for the Lakers, it would be better for him to have waited until the summer when we’d have 3 more picks to add outright along with the kitchen sink. Could have balanced the contracts better by signing and trading Rui and Reaves.

Top 5 in-season suitors:
-Bulls
-Heat
-Clippers
-Raptors
-Pistons

Top 5 summer suitors:
-Bulls
-Heat
-Raptors
-Pelicans
-Celtics

All of those teams can trade more draft picks outright and also cobble together the $$$ to make it work.

The good news is Luka Doncic’s already taking his game to another level. The bad news is the Lakers are wasting prime Luka and risking falling far behind waiting for answers they already know instead of taking action.

The Lakers knew they were an elite 3&D starting small forward and quality backup center from being a legitimate championship contender before LeBron James got injured and should have resolved those issues offseason. Pelinka’s failure to fix the Lakers’ roster last summer was inexcusable. It left the Lakers vulnerable to major size issues should LeBron get injured and now forces them again to make and integrate a big midseason trade.

In the meantime, JJ Redick is going to have to make some changes to his starting lineup and rotation. To start, He needs to replace Vincent with Smart, as Gabe simply does not have the defensive size or length to start. The challenge is losing LeBron leaves the Lakers without a legitimate plus defender at small forward or power forward. Last night, Butler dominated Reaves at small forward as Kuminga abused Hachimura at power forward.

The plan to give last year’s roster a 20 to 25 game test run before making a trade should have been flushed the instant Pelinka learned LeBron had a sciatica issue and would likely miss at least the first month of the season. Nor did Rob need last night’s game to figure out what was going to happen when the Lakers were forced to go small against the veteran Warriors or what will happen when they play a bigger team like the Timberwolves.

Nor does Rob need 20 more games to know he must make a trade right now not only to bolster the Lakers until LeBron gets back but also to finally wean the team from over-relying on their legendary 41-year old superstar.

Aloha,

Well that was ugly. With as bad we played it is a wonder we didn’t lose by 30. Just a few points.

While on one hand I understand the Lakers being cautious during preseason to reduce injuries this team looked like a team that didn’t play together much. They looked sloppy and all the turnovers were the result.

Can there be too much Luka? Yes The ball wasn’t moving as Luka and Austin as well pounded the ball all night. The other guys hardly touched it. That resulted in a lot of ball watching from the other guys. It’s well known that players play better on both sides of the ball when they are engaged in the offense.

All those missed free throws killed us. GS made 10 more free throws and only took a couple more than us.

Our 3 point shooting sucked. Austin and Lucka combined for 3-15. Unacceptable. Rui shot 50% from 3 in the preseason and was 3-6 last night. He is our best 3 point shooter and it’s up to JJ to make sure he gets more looks.

What is it about 3rd quarters with this team?

The Warriors hunted Gabe all night with Butler. That’s just a miss match. I would have preferred Smart or Vando in the starting line up. Gabe did his best but he was just too small to contain Butler.

We better find some bench scoring. The Warriors bench killed us.

It’s apparent that we really need LeBron back ASAP. His playmaking alone would have made a huge difference.

Final: Warriors 119, Lakers 109LA falls to 0-1. Many of the concerns from their 1-5 preseason translated to the opener. Their defense collapsed for much of the second half. Missed too many 3s and FTs + too many TOs. Luka had 43/12/9. AR had 26/5/9.Up next: vs. MIN on Friday.— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 22, 2025

He’s been pine riding for a couple weeks now and Kleber is getting his minutes. Maxi brings a different vibe off the bench but, like Vando, can’t continue to pass up open shots. Folks like to rip on Vanderbilt for his offense but I’ve never seen him air ball a finger roll at the rim…he’s also shooting better from three than Smart is. So either it’s a run where the staff told him he’s riding pine while they look at something or, more likely, Redick just isn’t the right coach for him. It happens, Vando, in the right system, is solid. In what we’re doing these days he needs to hit the corner three and cut for open layups.

Some news: I'm excited to announce the Lakers Collective, featuring myself, @_JasonLT, & @jovanbuha teaming up to talk Lakers every week LIVE on Thursdays at 10am Pacific!Subscribe here: https://t.co/sUKRSy3W0f pic.twitter.com/FIxrZCX5Ez— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) October 21, 2025

Lakers’ second-year head coach JJ Redick had to be smiling and thanking his lucky stars watching 31-year old Marcus Smart looking as spry and athletic on defense as the 27-year old version that had won a DPOY.

The Lakers desperately need better defense from their starting lineup and it’s obvious after Smart’s defensive performance against the Kings that he’s exactly what JJ Redick needs to turbo charge the starting lineup’s defense. Vincent will still start Tuesday night vs. Golden State as Redick probably wants to make sure Smart can sustain a high level of play and stay healthy. Once he shows that, Redick will quickly move him into the starting lineup.

What makes Smart a better option as the Lakers’ fifth starter than Vincent or Vanderbilt is his experience as an elite starter on a championship team and a defensive skillset that earned him three All-Defensive team honors.
While Smart’s only an inch taller than Vincent at 6′ 3,” his 6′ 9″ wingspan and 220 lbs enable him to defend forwards as well as guards. Unlike Vando, Smart is good enough on offense that he can’t be played off the court.

When you look at the Lakers three candidates to be the fifth starter until LeBron returns, Smart is the only legitimate NBA starter quality player. Vincent’s a great shooter and Vando has great size but they’re not starters.
The Lakers need their fifth starter to be a game changer and tone setter, not just another role player. They specifically need a defensive superstar, which is exactly what a healthy and hungry Marcus Smart could be.

JJ Redick has already walked back Gabe Vincent being the starter beyond the home opener so don’t be surprised if he changes his mind again and makes Marcus Smart the fifth starter vs. Warriors on Tuesday night.