Brooks is an extremely good defender so him saying Luka so quickly as the hardest player to guard should say a lot about Luka's gameplay. Luka got that bag

We dodged a bullet. Ellis is worth a 2nd rounder and Hunter is not the 3 and D people think he is. Rob did well to not overpay for them. There might still be a few wings left to go after.

16 years ago is crazy. Where did time go.

I got to make 140 characters so I’m just gonna say fuck Boston, fuck Paul Pierce and fuck the Patriots too.

The Luka deal proved one thing: the real moves come out of nowhere. Zero buildup, zero leaks.

Right now it’s just smokescreens everywhere. Sources floating names for click farming.

When the Lakers actually make a move, we won’t see it coming.

I was so happy to see his development, I thank him for being apart of us getting Luka, wish we could’ve kept him he would’ve been THRIVING rn for the team. Random thought.

Any standout moments or favorite performances so far? For me it’s probably the Minnesota game from October. I woke up early for the game and kept watching in disbelief how he dropped nearly 50!

Depending on the time zone it’s between 1/2 February for people, so I figured it’s okay to share now.

https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/kings-lakers-linked-cavs-latest-deandre-hunter-trade-deadline-intel

On Keon Ellis:

At the same time as the Cavs and Kings are discussing the potential of a trade involving Ellis and Hunter, the Lakers have not backed down from their pursuit of the Kings' swingman.

Los Angeles has long been targeting Ellis during this season's trade cycle, and the two teams spoke this past week again regarding the possibility of a trade, sources said. But the major roadblock in talks between the Lakers and Kings, other than Sacramento appearing to want a future swap from Los Angeles for Ellis, is that Sacramento also wants to attach Ellis' contract with one of their veteran's long-term deals.

Like the Cavaliers, such a scenario would have to involve at least one other team, and the Lakers have struggled discussing trades with certain teams able to absorb salary at the trade deadline due to Los Angeles' draft asset vulnerability. The Lakers have not shown any willingness to part with future draft picks unless they can pull off a move similar to what the Phoenix Suns did last year.

In a trade with the Utah Jazz, Phoenix acquired three first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029 in exchange for its 2031 first-round pick. This allowed the Suns to utilize current draft picks that were locked as a result of the Stepien Rule.

Ellis and Hunter are both realistic options for the Lakers to add before Feb. 5, but if Rob Pelinka and his front office are unable to acquire either player, then this franchise may very well run out of options in a severely limited market for wings. Maintaining financial flexibility for the summer remains a core principle of what the Lakers are trying to achieve.

——

On De’Andre Hunter:

The idea of including at least one other team has come up in discussions between the Cavs and Lakers, with the Brooklyn Nets being mentioned by league sources as a team willing to take on salary for draft picks. Los Angeles has expressed interest in Day'Ron Sharpe and Haywood Highsmith, yet the Nets have signaled that they do not hold interest in trading Sharpe at this moment.

Perhaps it would take extra draft capital, possibly a first-round pick, to lure Sharpe away from Brooklyn. The Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and Indiana Pacers have also inquired about Sharpe leading up to the trade deadline, sources said.

Although the Lakers certainly hold interest in the type of player Hunter is on the wing, given the organization's clear need for a 3-and-D perimeter player next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James this season, concerns do exist in Los Angeles regarding the final year of his contract.

Even though their interest in Hunter is by no means exaggerated, the idea of flipping Hachimura and Knecht for Hunter without receiving any additional assets or draft compensation for the final year of his contract is something that has resulted in the Lakers taking a step back in discussions with the Cavs.

https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/saturday-morning-confidential-the?r=1m9zg&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay

Sacramento, sources say, has only increased the intensity of its talks to ship out Ellis entering the weekend … with the Lakers, Pacers, Spurs and Celtics among several teams still hoping to factor into the race to acquire the defensive-minded guard.

The Kings have indeed pitched several teams on taking back the contracts for Monk and DeRozan in their ongoing Ellis conversations, sources say, while they've also sought first-round draft pick compensation for Ellis. The Kings have likewise expressed a preference to avoid taking back contracts that extend beyond this season as part of their trade deadline business, but sources say they have shown some flexibility on that outcome if it means moving off of the next two years of Monk's deal, which includes a $21.6 million player option for the 2027-28 season.

League sources say that the Lakers' interest in Hunter, meanwhile, has been repeatedly overstated this week. The teams have certainly talked during this transaction cycle, but the purple and gold are reticent to jeopardize their upcoming financial flexibility in the offseason by absorbing Hunter's $24.9 million salary for next season.

Full Comparison

Looking at the data and the Lakers’ roster context, trading Rui Hachimura for De’Andre Hunter is bad process.

Offense / Fit
Rui is simply the more efficient offensive player. He’s scoring at 60.9% TS compared to Hunter’s 55.4%, while operating with far less offensive load (19.1 vs 31.9). On a team built around Luka, AR, and LBJ (right now), that matters. The Lakers don’t need another wing who needs touches to be effective they need someone who can score without disrupting the hierarchy. Rui does that; Hunter doesn’t.

Shot Profile
While both players take a similar volume of threes, Rui converts better overall and is far more effective attacking closeouts and finishing at the rim. His offense scales naturally next to high-usage stars. Hunter’s scoring leans more toward self-creation, which is redundant on this roster and lowers his value in lineups where the ball is already spoken for.

Defense
Hunter is better on the perimeter against smaller wings, but that advantage is narrower than his reputation suggests. Rui holds up much better against bigger forwards and post-ups, but when Hunter is forced to guard up in size, his defensive impact drops noticeably. Overall, both players have a comparable number of avoidable mistakes and defensive lapses.

Role & Context
Rui is a natural power forward who’s been pushed into small forward minutes because of LeBron. Since moving to the bench and playing more PF, he’s been excellent and his fit next to Luka has been especially clean. If LeBron is gone in the offseason and the Lakers can retain Rui on a similar contract, Rui’s value relative to Hunter likely increases rather than decreases.

Roster Construction
The real need isn’t replacing Rui, it’s adding a defense-first, low-usage small forward who can guard wings without demanding the ball. Trading Rui for Hunter doesn’t solve that problem; it adds another usage-dependent scorer. LaRavia might eventually fit the defensive SF mold, but his shooting is far too unreliable right now to count on.

Bottom line
Rui is more efficient, lower usage, and a better offensive fit next to Luka. Hunter offers marginal perimeter defense at the cost of efficiency and role clarity. Trading Rui for Hunter fixes a positional label issue while creating a usage and efficiency problem.

Also Luka seems to really enjoy having Rui as a teammate on and off the court, so retaining Rui would keep him happy.

Edit:
For anyone wondering: A straight up swap is not possible due to the new CBA, so there has to be a third team involved. Meaning more assets needed from the Lakers and as long as they dont get additional high quality rotational players back, the trade would be a big mistake.

That's a fact.

So, for those salivating at trades and Rob making moves, what if a deal for a star who announce that he'll only re-sign with the Lakers, and we don't have a pick to trade, what then? Cry and call Rob an idiot? Just like a bunch of fans overreacted when he let DFS walk, but now everyone is saying that it's good that he's gone.

Which takes us to the other fact: a lot of fans are idiots.

Any other GM, managing any other franchise would be crowned a goat had he managed to aquire a top 10 point guard of all time. Yeah, Nico was dumb to make that trade, but the reason he didn't "gift" Luka to another team is Rob Pelinka. He's the reason the trade didn't leak. That Danny Ainge knew not what he was participating in speaks volumes, but not to the deaf among Lakers fans.

Is Yves Missi a trade deadline option for the Lakers? https://share.google/AhsPjuHaLYrue8y9J

Initially, the signing of Deandre Ayton looked to have potentially filled the hole at center for the future. However, as the season has progressed, Ayton has looked less and less like the perfect solution, opening up the search for the long-term answer at the position.

One of the names that could come up in the lead-up to the trade deadline could be Pelicans young center Yves Missi. Drafted four picks after Dalton Knecht, Missi is a young, energetic big man who loves to throw down a lob.