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The Los Angeles Lakers' decision to rescind the Mark Williams trade has left them without a starting-caliber big man for the rest of this season, but it has also put them in a position to pursue a big name in the offseason. Here is a look at some of the assets that the Lakers will have at their disposal after this season.
- 2031 first-round pick
- 2025 and 2032 second-round picks
- Pick swaps in 2026, 2028, 2030, 2032
- Dalton Knecht
- $40 million in expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, and Gabe Vincent
Depending on how confident you are about Luka Doncic's body breaking down by 2030, that 2031 Lakers pick could prove to be quite valuable. The Dallas Mavericks don't seem to believe the Slovenian is going to be great four to five years down the line and if they are right, that could well be a high lottery pick. The same logic applies when talking about the last two pick swaps, especially the one in 2032.
As for the players, the Lakers would be hoping that Dalton Knecht rediscovers his early-season form to bump up his value. The 23-year-old rookie is averaging 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in 2024-25.
Knecht shot 42.9% from beyond the arc in the first 20 games of his NBA career but has connected on just 28.2% of his shots in the 28 games that followed. Considering he doesn't offer much on the court outside of his shooting, his stock isn't all too high at the moment. The Lakers need him to catch fire from beyond the arc not just to increase his trade value, but also to help them win this season.
Someone on the Lakers who has not been struggling with their shot is Rui Hachimura. Hachimura is averaging 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season while shooting 50.7% from the field and 42.7% from beyond the arc. He is set to earn $18.2 million next season and will have value on the market.
While Knecht has struggled with his shot as the season has gone by, Gabe Vincent has gone the opposite route. Vincent has shot 40.4% from beyond the arc since December and is finally performing the way the Lakers expected him to when they gave him a three-year, $33 million deal in 2023. He'll make $11.5 million in 2025-26 and like Hachimura, does have value as a trade asset.
Lastly, we get to Maxi Kleber who is the least valuable player of this lot. Kleber is past his best at this point but the fact that he'll be a free agent after making $11 million next season would mean teams wouldn't be too hesitant to take him on if there is a need to match salaries.
While all these assets might not be enough to land a superstar, you can certainly get a star or a promising young player. Considering the Lakers are keeping one eye on the future after acquiring Doncic, you'd think they'd look to bring in a younger player.
The Lakers have reportedly been interested in Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler for a while now and could go after him again in the offseason. With all those expiring contracts, they can also target someone like Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton.
It will be very interesting to see who the Lakers eventually end up going after. The failed Williams trade showed that they would be willing to give up a lot of their assets for the right player and they will have a few options in the summer.
More must-reads:
- Celtics' sale comes with significant and surprising twists
- Portland Trail Blazers to be sold to Hurricanes owner and pickleball enthusiast
- The 'NBA minutes leaders by season' quiz
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Celtics' ownership move should concern Lakers governor Jeanie Buss
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
Browns HC confirms Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders whispers
A previous report suggested that the Cleveland Browns want to start 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel at quarterback for this coming Saturday's preseason game at the Philadelphia Eagles over 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders as long as Gabriel is healthy enough to play at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. While speaking with reporters ahead of Wednesday's joint practice involving the clubs, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that Gabriel began the day on track to start Saturday's contest. "The plan was always to give both of those guys a start in the preseason, so we’ll see how it shakes out," Stefanski explained, as shared by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. Neither Gabriel nor backup Kenny Pickett played in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Friday as they continued to recover from lingering hamstring injuries. Sanders received the bulk of the meaningful reps in that game and completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-10 win over Carolina. While Gabriel is doing 11-on-11 work during joint practices this week, Pickett remained relegated to 7-on-7 drills as of Wednesday. That said, FanDuel Sportsbook continued to list 40-year-old Joe Flacco as the betting favorite at -310 odds to be the Browns' starting quarterback for their Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals as of Wednesday. Pickett was at +360 odds, followed by Sanders at +1060. Gabriel was a +1800 underdog to get the nod for the Cincinnati matchup at that time. Gabriel began Wednesday as the Browns' unofficial QB3 ahead of Sanders. Meanwhile, Sanders did not get any reps in the opening few periods of the Browns' joint practice with the Eagles on Wednesday morning after suffering an oblique injury. Earlier in the month, the former Colorado star missed some practice time due to arm soreness. Per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Stefanski added that he wants "to get through" Thursday before he finalizes his plans for the Philadelphia game. Unless Gabriel experiences a setback ahead of the weekend, it seems he will receive an opportunity to silence critics while serving as Cleveland's temporary QB1 against the Eagles.
Phillies superstar may be building Hall of Fame case
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber is in the midst of another impressive season. Schwarber entered Wednesday having posted a .249/.373/.578 batting line in his 528 plate appearances this season, hitting 42 homers while driving in a National League-leading 97 runs. The Phillies slugger was named to his third All-Star Game this season and, according to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, he should be the NL MVP. Schwarber has been one of baseball's premier power hitters since establishing himself in the majors in 2017. He's in his eighth season of hitting 30 or more homers and has reached the 40-homer plateau three times in his four seasons in Philadelphia. The 32-year-old Schwarber may find himself in elite company when his career comes to an end. He has already hit 326 homers in his career, potentially giving him a chance to reach the 500-home run plateau. If Schwarber does hit 500-plus homers, the narrative around his career may change. There have only been 28 players in MLB history to reach that plateau, 19 of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Two players — Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — are not yet eligible and are expected to be enshrined on the first ballot. The seven players who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame have been linked to PED use, torpedoing their candidacy. At the same time, his entire candidacy may be based on his home run total. Schwarber has a lifetime .232/.346/.499 batting line over 5,188 plate appearances; although batting average no longer carries much weight for the voters, he would have the lowest batting average of any non-pitcher in the Hall. His 20.7 fWAR has been dragged down by his defense and is unlikely to make him a favorite among the younger voters who put more emphasis on such metrics. Schwarber is marching toward the 500-home run plateau. If he does reach that mark, he could be a polarizing Hall of Fame candidate.
Bears make big decision amid concerning Caleb Williams reports
Second-year Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and other starters were spectators for Chicago's preseason opener versus the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson confirmed things will be different when his club hosts the Buffalo Bills for an exhibition matchup this coming Sunday evening. "Everyone's going to play," Johnson said, as shared by Courtney Cronin of ESPN. Johnson added that how many snaps Williams will take versus the Bills is "to be determined." The Bears will first host the Bills for a joint practice on Friday. Johnson came to this decision following multiple reports detailing the supposed struggles that Williams has endured throughout training camp. Most recently, Monday’s practice was allegedly "a low point for" Chicago's first-team offense and featured "Williams and receiver Rome Odunze both looking frustrated" after some failed connections. "I've been pretty consistent with the thought of reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get [Williams] up to speed," Johnson explained. "And by the plan that we had a week ago, we were able to get him probably somewhere between 80 and 100 more reps than we would've been able to do had he played in the game. This week, it's a different schedule. Different length of time in terms of in between games and all that. And so, our plan right now is the guys that sat out last week, they will be playing this week." Those running the Bears hope that the hiring of Johnson, an advertised offensive guru, will help Williams become a top-tier quarterback after the 23-year-old won only five of 17 starts during his rookie season. However, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic is among those who have mentioned that Williams has been responsible for a noteworthy number of inaccurate passes this summer. "I think the trust that we've been talking about from the get-go, that's really where that comes into play," Johnson added about risking the health of his starters by playing them against Buffalo. "We haven't been here with this group as a coaching staff. That trust has been earning, and we've been developing that amongst each other. It's not a one-way street. It goes both ways. And so I think that's just another step in the progression, you know?" The Bears will wrap up the preseason with a game at the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 22. It's unclear if Williams or other Chicago starters will see any action that Friday night.
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