Instead of chasing big name stars with bigger salaries, the Lakers would be wise to trade Austin Reaves, four one-way players, and a first round pick for four affordable two-way rising stars who better complement Luka Doncic.

The Lakers have an opportunity to trade five one-way players in Reaves, Hachimura, Knecht, Vincent, and Kleber and a first round pick for four young two-way guards and wings in Wiggins, Murray, Mitchell, and Ellis. The trade would let the Lakers to do for Doncic what the Thunder did for Gilgeous-Alexander by surrounding their young superstar point guard with multiple young, long, physical defenders instead of a high paid superstar.

For practical purposes, the last CBA killed the ‘Three Superstar’ model and the current CBA is working to do the same to the ‘Two Superstar’ model. The Lakers need to copy OKC’s ‘One Superstar’ roster building blueprint.
It’s near impossible to build a championship team with multiple max salary players under the new CBA. The punitive taxes and competitive penalties have basically hard capped 3 teams at second apron and 17 at first apron.

Unless Antetokounmpo or Jokic want to force their way to the Lakers, Pelinka should focusing on using their tradable young talent and draft capital to acquire affordable young two-way players to optimize Luka.
Rob’s three biggest trading chips are Austin Reaves, who could be worth as much as three draft picks for the right team, their unprotected first round draft pick, and more than $40 million in tradable expiring contracts.

The Lakers don’t need Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic. They need to copy the Thunder’s ‘One Superstar’ blueprint for a talented deep, diverse, young team with defensive game-changing speed, length, and athleticism.

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THE BLOCKBUSTER LAKERS TRADE

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This proposed blockbuster trade has the Lakers sending Reaves and Knecht to the Kings for Murray and Ellis and sending Hachimura, Vincent, Kleber, and an unprotected first round pick to the Heat for Wiggins and Mitchell.

In total, the Lakers are sending out five players earning $58.8 million per year, bringing back four players earning $53.4 million per year, leaving the them with $5.4 million under first apron to fill their two open roster spots.
The blockbuster trade would transform the Lakers from a second tier Western Conference team heavily loaded with one-way offensive players to a first tier West team with excellent balance between offense and defense.

The only problem with the proposed trade is that Mitchell is not eligible to be traded until January 15th, which could mean the Lakers make the Kings trade before season starts and wait until January to make the Heat trade.
Hopefully, Reaves and Knecht would satisfy the Kings and Hachimura, Vincent, Kleber, and an unprotected first would be enough for the Heat. If not, the Lakers could sweeten their offer with a swap or second round pick.

While trading Reaves would be a hard pill for the fans to swallow, the Lakers would still be able to offer two first round picks next summer on draft day and a trade could realistically end up helping Austin’s career.
The problem is Reaves has simply outplayed and outgrew his job with the Lakers. It’ll be interesting to see how he would do as a team’s #1 or #2 star since he averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists as #3 option.

The Lakers get four young promising two-way players, the Kings get a young rising star in Austin Reaves to build around, and the Heat get an unprotected first round pick and over $40 million in expiring contracts.

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WHY LOS ANGELES LAKERS MAKE TRADE

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The Lakers make the trade because it lets them surround their superstar point guard Luka Doncic with a deep, talented two-way roster like the Thunder did with their superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Before the blockbuster trade, Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt were probably the only two Lakers good enough on defense to be classified as legitimate two-way players. The rest were all one-way offensive players.
With the trade, the Lakers were able to add four young, budding two-way point-of-attack players with all-defensive potential in wings Andrew Wiggins and Keegan Murray and guards Keon Ellis and Davion Mitchell.

The Lakers post-trade nine-man rotation would include superstars Doncic and James, starting center Ayton surrounded by six defense-first two-way guards/wings in Smart, Vanderbilt, Wiggins, Murray, Ellis, and Mitchell.
The trade would leave the Lakers with 13 players and cap space under the first apron to sign a minimum salary third power forward and center, though they’d be limited to minimum salary players like Kevin Love.

Trading a beloved home grown star like Austin Reaves is just the team’s brain overruling its heart. As great as Austin is as a player and teammate, he’s more valuable to the Lakers right now as trading chip than third star.
Doncic and Reaves might become a championship backcourt given time but right now Austin is obviously not the ideal defensive fit with Luka and the Lakers need to cash in his two-plus-draft-picks value as a trading chip.

Bottom line, the Lakers make the trade because surrounding Luka Doncic with players who can shoot the three and defend multiple positions is the proven blueprint for how teams win championships in today’s NBA.

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WHY SACRAMENTO KINGS MAKE TRADE

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The Kings make the trade because Austin Reaves gives them what they do not have, which is a legitimate high-character, highly-coveted rising young star whom they could build around or flip later for valuable draft capital.

The sad reality is the Sacramento Kings are the worst run franchise in the NBA. They’ve made the playoffs just once in last 20 years and won their only championship 75 years ago in 1951 as the Rochester Royals of NY.
The Kings should immediately go into full tank mode as they’re stuck with a 2-year $95 million untradable contract for 30-year old Zach LaVine and 2-year $50 million untradable contract for 36-year old DeMar DeRozan.

Realistically, the Kings would be smart to consider accelerating their tanking and rebuilding by waiving and stretching LaVine and DeRozan like the Milwaukee Bucks did with Lillard and the Phoenix Suns did with Beal.
Trading for Reaves this summer could then put the Kings in great position to possibly flip Austin at the deadline as his trade value could soar as high as three first round picks for a contender desperate for a major upgrade.

The Kings should firmly commit to a total tank and complete rebuild before the season starts. They should trade Murray and Ellis for Reaves and Knecht and then start Schroder, Reaves, Clifford, Raynaud, and Sabonis.
Besides improving their odds of landing a high pick in what should be a stellar 2026 NBA Draft, the Kings would give their fans a fresh new look with an exciting young team led by Austin Reaves and Domantas Sabonis.

The Kings make the trade for Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht because it gives them a legitimate rising young star in Reaves to pair with Domantas Sabonis in a partial rebuild or to flip for more picks in a complete rebuild.

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WHY MIAMI HEAT MAKE TRADE

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The Miami Heat make the trade because they get an unprotected Lakers’ first round pick, $40 million in expiring contracts to open up valuable cap space, and three new players whose 3-point shooting creates spacing.

Pat Riley has major decisions to make regarding the Heat’s plans going forward after last season’s Jimmy Butler fiasco. Like the Kings, the Heat are also projected to further slide down the Eastern Conference standings.
While Miami is unlikely to do a total rebuild, the Heat needed to move on from Andrew Wiggins. Giving up a talented but small Davion Mitchell hurts but getting back three quality rotation players and a pick eases the pain.

What Riley needs more than anything at this point in time is optionality. He gets three players whom he can re-sign, flip in a trade at the deadline, or let walk for nothing to create space under the first apron to sign free agents.
The Heat currently own tradable 2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032 first round picks, which means they could offer a total of five first round draft picks should Giannis become available at the trade deadline or next summer.

The challenge for the Heat in trading for Antetokounmpo or any max contract superstar is being able to hold onto Adebayo and still come up with enough in tradable salaries to match Giannis’ $60 million per year.
While there will be major competition to trade for Antetokounmpo, the Heat understand that they’re going to need more than the four first round picks they have if they’re going to be a legitimate contender to sign him.

The Heat make the trade because Vincent, Hachimura, and Kleber make their roster more versatile and competitive and the Lakers’ unprotected first round pick allows Miami to improve a potential offer for Giannis.

ESPN Western Conference Standings Projections1. Oklahoma City Thunder2. Golden State Warriors3. Denver Nuggets4. Los Angeles Clippers5. Houston Rockets6. Los Angeles Lakers7. Memphis Grizzlies8. Minnesota Timberwolves 9. Dallas Mavericks10. Sacramento Kings pic.twitter.com/mOBdg1lQjC— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 9, 2025

Seen in the Lakers’ parking lot a day after Luka Doncic hosted the team at a Porsche driving experience: pic.twitter.com/125wsy14vf— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 8, 2025

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

This was supposed to be a mega game preview for the first Lakers–Mavericks matchup on Friday. For obvious reasons, these are the two teams I’ve watched closest over the last two seasons, and Luka facing his old team, even with Nico Harrison gone, will always be a special game. The potential return of Anthony Davis only adds intrigue.

But instead of a straight preview, I decided to zoom out. Watching the Mavericks struggle to score all season while ranking dead last in offense, and seeing the Lakers and most of the league in the middle of another scoring explosion, got me thinking. Offensive rating is at an all-time high, Dončić leads the league at 35.2 points per game, three other players are averaging 31 or more, and 14 players are at 27.9 or higher. And all of it makes me wonder how Nico Harrison misjudged the direction of the NBA game this badly.

For all my Mavs-fan readers, I don’t want this to turn into another kicking-the-dead-horse piece, even if the names Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson are impossible to ignore in any honest analysis. That’s why I’ll also share a few thoughts and past examples of what it looks like to build a championship offense around a player with a Cooper Flagg-type profile. And for the Lakers, the Dončić–Austin Reaves duo echoes so many past Mavericks iterations that the comparisons are unavoidable.

But most of all, this was just a fun exercise of looking at and comparing the abundance of offensive talent we have the privilege of watching on a game-by-game basis.

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Today’s highlights:

Data and methodology

Offensive engines: tiers and categories

The makeup of title teams from the past decade

Paths to contention: Lakers with Luka, Mavs with Flagg

1-Data and methodology

The idea for this analysis started with the same question everyone in the Mavericks and Lakers orbit asks themselves after every Dončić outburst: how can you give up a generational one-man offense? That led me to a second, even more interesting question. How many players in today’s NBA are actually that — a guaranteed engine or the main piece of an elite offense?

So to answer that, I ended up looking at three different data sources (all using data from 2022–2025):

Cleaning the Glass On/Off data: points per 100 possessions scored with the player on the floor

source: Cleaning the Glass

This is where I started, because I wanted a look at how many players over the last three and a half seasons were part of offenses that scored at least 120 points per 100 possessions with them on the floor. I know 120 is a round-number bias, but it’s also the mark of a truly elite offense. There are four players who reached that threshold: Jokić, Dončić, Brunson, and Jamal Murray, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander putting up outstanding numbers since the 2023–24 season. You could argue Murray is there because Jokić is so absurd — and there’s truth to that — but the rest of this exercise also reaffirmed my belief that Murray is an underrated offensive creator.

EPM – Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus

source: EPM — DunksAndThrees

EPM is one of the most popular all-in-one advanced metrics, and for this exercise I focused on the offensive side of it. More specifically, I looked at how many player-seasons had an offensive EPM of 5 or above. Another round number, and another mark that only elite offensive players can reach. Jokić is in his own stratosphere when it comes to advanced metrics, with Shai and Luka sitting right below him.

Self-created shot volume and efficiency

I looked at both the volume of self-created shots (the share of self-created attempts per 100 shots) and the efficiency of those attempts, defined as shots with two or more seconds of touch time. Luka and SGA are in a category of their own in terms of both volume and efficiency, with Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton being the two other guards who stand out.

Inefficiency on these shots — which also shows up in the On/Off data — is why I excluded some of the less efficient high-volume scorers like Trae Young, Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes, and Paolo Banchero from my final lists.

2-Offensive engines: tiers and categories

I put four players in my elite tier: Jokić, SGA, Luka, and Giannis. You could also call this the “size matters” tier, because all four are prototypes of the league’s recent shift toward big ball-handlers and creators with size.

There are two smaller guards, Steph Curry and Jalen Brunson, who I could easily include in the elite tier, but I decided to place them just a step below. Curry only because of his age, and Brunson because his advanced numbers are still a notch below the true elite. Tyrese Haliburton is another tweener who could be added to the Brunson and Curry category. He’s an elite playmaker, maybe just a bit smaller and with slightly less overwhelming numbers, but he has already shown he can be the engine of a team that reached the NBA Finals.

I would put six other guards in the next category, again mostly smaller but highly efficient, high-volume shot creators and capable playmakers. These players are Donovan Mitchell, Kyrie Irving, Jamal Murray, Tyrese Maxey, Austin Reaves, Darius Garland, and De’Aaron Fox.

Then there is the next category of wings or score-first shooting guards, players like Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard, and Jaylen Brown. They score at a high rate, but they don’t have the playmaking or passing abilities of the elite tier. I think the top players from both of these last groups can be the best player on an elite offense, but they need more supporting talent around them than the elite tier does.

Lastly, there are four other names worth mentioning. LeBron James and James Harden are both prototypes of big ball-handlers who spent a long time in the elite tier but, although still great, have declined with age. Cade Cunningham, on the other hand, is at the opposite end of the spectrum, another big ball-handler who looks like he is on the verge of a breakthrough into, or at least close to, the elite tier. Similarly, Alperen Şengün is another young player who could follow Jokić and Giannis as the next game-changing, playmaking big man.

3-The makeup of title teams from the past decade

Another question I kept coming back to (and this is where the Cooper Flagg or Kyrie-Irving-on-the-Mavericks perspective becomes interesting) is whether you can build a team that can win an NBA title without one of the elite top 3–4 offensive engines, the players currently in the Jokić, SGA, Giannis, or Luka mold. Here’s a quick chronological look:

2025: OKC won the title with an elite offensive hub in SGA, plus historically elite defense.

2024: The Celtics are one of the rare outliers without an elite offensive hub. But they had two high-scoring wings in Tatum and Brown, a unique supporting cast with two high-level secondary playmakers in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, and elite shooting.

2023: The Nuggets had an elite hub in Jokić, plus a high-level secondary playmaker in Murray.

2022: The Warriors had an elite hub in Curry, a unique system, and elite defense built around Draymond Green.

2021: The Bucks had an elite hub in Giannis, plus a secondary playmaker in Jrue Holiday and a wing scorer in Khris Middleton.

2020: The Lakers had an elite hub in LeBron and a peak-level secondary scorer/finisher in Anthony Davis, who also anchored a dominant defense.

2019: The second outlier, with no elite playmaking hub. But they had prime elite wing scoring in Kawhi, another wing scorer in Pascal Siakam, and two secondary playmakers in Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol.

2018: An elite hub in Curry and a second elite scorer in Kevin Durant. An unfair combo, not even mentioning Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and the rest of the supporting cast.

2017: Same as above.

2016: The Cavaliers had a prime elite hub in LeBron James and a secondary playmaker/scorer in Kyrie Irving.

2015: The first Warriors iteration with an elite hub in Curry and a great system and supporting cast in Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and others.

Looking even further back, there are a couple of other iterations of teams built around elite wing scorers — like the last Spurs title team led by Kawhi or the 2011 Mavericks with Dirk — that did not necessarily have an elite playmaking offensive hub.

The NBA has evolved since then, and we will see when the next team without an offensive hub breaks through. The 2024 Celtics and the 2019 Raptors showed it can be done, but you need an incredibly balanced and versatile cast around that star to make it work.

4-Paths to contention: Lakers with Luka, Mavs with Flagg

The roadmap for the Lakers with Luka looks clearer and more imminent, but it’s still anything but straightforward or easy. The Mavericks’ 2024 Finals and 2022 Conference Finals teams were built around the same model: an elite offensive hub in Luka, a high-level secondary playmaker in Irving or Brunson, and a defensive-minded supporting cast. The current Lakers roster, with Austin Reaves taking another leap this season and filling the secondary creator role, and LeBron James — even at 40 years old — still capable of doing that as well, looks like the best offensive iteration of this proven model.

The problem is that defensively the supporting cast is not close to the level the 2024 Mavs had, and the roadblocks on the way to the promised land are massive. The Thunder are a juggernaut with an absurd abundance of defensive talent, youth, and athleticism around SGA, and the Nuggets remain the team with the most continuity and a proven championship model built around Jokić, Murray, and Gordon.

The Mavericks’ future is more murky. It seems like the injuries to Irving and Anthony Davis will prevent us from ever seeing whether a team built around two elite number twos and defense could be a winning formula. At its best, it was still a risky proposition because of Irving’s and Davis’s age, injury history, and the top-tier talent on the other contenders. Now the priority should be to build the team around Flagg. It is extremely hard, and honestly unfair, to talk about limitations for an 18-year-old, especially one as talented as the Mavericks rookie. Based on what I have seen so far, I would project Flagg’s ceiling more in the elite wing-scoring, not necessarily elite playmaking, mold, closer to players like Tatum, Kawhi, or Jaylen Brown. Flagg’s size, athleticism, and motor also make it much easier to build an elite defense around him, which makes the 2024 Celtics and 2019 Raptors the most relevant team-building blueprints.

However, like the Lakers, the Mavericks do not have an abundance of assets, which is why both teams will need to be very creative and probably a bit lucky if they want to eventually challenge OKC, which currently looks like a dynasty in the making.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

You know those moments in sports where someone says something simple, but it somehow clears up months of confusion? That is exactly what happened the night LeBron James finally addressed the narrative about whether he could “fit in” with this new version of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Finally, he did not dance around it. He did not leave hints on social media. He just said it plainly, and immediately, you could tell the entire conversation around the team shifted.

Bill Simmons picked it up instantly. On The Bill Simmons Podcast, he emphasized how important that clarity was, saying, “What he said I thought was very encouraging… I am glad he said it out loud.”

Zach Lowe echoed that same feeling. He admitted it was the exact thing he and everyone else had been waiting for: “That’s all we’ve been waiting to hear. How about more of that and less of cryptic statements from agents and tweets and Instagram posts from Cleveland’s practice facility.”

The NBA is seeing a different Lakers team—and it all starts with LeBron

LeBron’s timing could not have been better. He had just returned after missing the first 14 games of the season due to a sciatica injury, and instead of trying to reclaim his throne as the entire offense engine, he gave the Lakers something even more valuable: balance.

His debut was not flashy; it was just exactly what the Lakers needed. He only put up seven shots. He finished with 11 points and 12 assists, and yet the team put up 140 points with ease. He did not have to overpower the game; he just helped to shape it.

After the ball game, he addressed all the noise around the idea that he might struggle to blend in with Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves. He did not sound frustrated; he was actually more confused about why the question even existed.

“I can fit in with anybody. I don’t even understand why that was even a question. What’s wrong with these people out here? I could fit in right away with anybody,” he said.

James has earned the benefit of the doubt. He was a part of the Miami Heat’s Big Three, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Big Three, and countless Team USA squads. LeBron has spent two decades adapting to elite talent without losing his impact. This is not something new for him.

Simmons later broke down why this version of the team might actually be perfect for LeBron right now.

The NBA podcaster said, “I don’t know what would be a better situation for his age to have two awesome offensive players… This is a nice team, and by the way, it’s good if you’re 40–41 years old to have Luka Doncic handle most of the day-to-day stuff.”

Simmons is absolutely correct. Doncic can deal with the scoring load. Reaves can continue emerging as a real second option. LeBron can conserve his energy and fill the gaps in ways few players ever could.

The postgame quote was LeBron clearing the air and showing that he knows exactly where he stands and where this team can go.

Rui Hachimura has quietly become the perfect role player around Luka Doncic
Rui Hachimura offers the three-point shooting and defensive versatility Luka Doncic needs.
By
Maxwell Ogden

Los Angeles Lakers wing Rui Hachimura has quietly developed into a player who can check almost every box as the ideal forward in a lineup that’s built around Luka Doncic. He’s steadily emerged as a versatile defender, a corner 3 specialist, and a corner-crashing asset who can play above the rim.

All eyes will be on potential extension negotiations between Hachimura and the Lakers, but for the time being, what needs to be known is that he’s become a perfect fit alongside Doncic.

Hachimura is preparing for his seventh NBA season, as well as his fourth with the Lakers. Since Los Angeles traded for him in 2023, he’s worked to become the type of player they need on both ends of the floor.

Hachimura’s growth as a player was never more evident than in 2024-25, when he took to head coach JJ Redick’s new system like a fish to water.

Hachimura shot the lights out, rebounded in ways he hadn’t since his rookie season, and established invaluable positional versatility. He thrived alongside Anthony Davis, adapted on the fly when the franchise player was traded, and all but instantly became who Doncic needed him to be.

In 2025-26, Hachimura will be tasked with taking one final step forward in order to secure a new contract with the Lakers and enable Doncic to lead the team to contender status.
Rui Hachimura has become two-way player Luka Doncic needs at forward

Hachimura finished the 2024-25 season averaging 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 offensive boards, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.7 three-point field goals made per game. He shot remarkably efficiently, compiling a slash line of .509/.413/.770.

That alone is reason to be optimistic about the value Hachimura can continue to provide as he enters his athletic prime at 27 years of age.

The details of what Hachimura brings to the table are even more intriguing than his general production. For instance: In 2024-25, he shot 41.7 percent on catch-and-shoot threes—an identical figure to the mark he posted in 2023-24.

In addition to becoming a sustainably elite catch-and-shoot option, Hachimura shot 44.5 percent on 110 corner three attempts—perhaps the most significant statistic of all.

One of the primary strengths any Doncic-led team must have is a corner 3 specialist who can create optimal spacing. Doncic is a downhill playmaker who ranks among the best in the NBA at making passes on the drive to open shooters.

That’s already reared its head in Los Angeles, as Hachimura shot 42.9 percent on three-point field goals off of passes from Doncic in 2024-25.

Hachimura can solidify his place as a pillar of Lakers basketball by improving as a point of attack defender in 2025-26. He’s already operating at a starting-caliber level, however, and has the benefit of playing a key role during Los Angeles’ run to the 2023 Western Conference Finals.

Assuming Hachimura sustains what he’s built with the Lakers and makes improvements along the way, he should be safe as a key teammate during the Doncic era.
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ESPN reporter says quiet part out loud about Lakers roster https://t.co/8HSqfrhMLD— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 2, 2025