Don’t know the source….

Legitimate or posturing?

I could see Lakers putting this out there to let teams know they expect at LEAST two seconds to even consider moving Bronny….

What do u all think?

Since Vegas went to all thirty teams in 2018, only eleven teams have gone 4-0. 10 of 11 had an All-Summer League selection. The 2024 Warriors was the only exception, but this makes sense as Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis played two games.

Lakers went 4-0 with Arthur Kaluma, Adou Thiero, and Chris Manon all playing four games, and Cam Carr playing 3 of the games. Zero selections.

All four of these lakers averaged double figures, led by Kaluma's 18.6 points per game, in Vegas. Kaluma was 60.9% from the field. And he shot 50% from range. Perhaps the question should be whether or not Kaluma was worth of First Team or Second Team, as opposed to whether or not he should have made the list.

Of course there are questions like: "Who cares about Summer League and the All-Summer League teams" and "Other guys had higher PPG". For me, it's about two things:

First it's about recognizing the Summer League Lakers' best player Arthur Kaluma, who had a career changing run that cause the Lakers to sign him to a two way. He might not have a lot of these type of opportunities at recognition. Given his two way play, that should be recognized. Those talking about other playing having a higher PPG reminds me of that Miles McBride quote: he talked about how the league "reward guys that don’t win" and pay guys for that.

Secondly, it's about the principle of the matter. It's the latest in the long line of these type of snubs.

After we signed thybulle zo started to look a bit more into thybulle as a player, both advanced and tape. And I noticed some similarities to carr. To start they have a similar height and wingspan, both are good at blocking jumpshots. I think the thybulle signing, besides just good for our team and filling a role we need, is also a good signing for carr. I think carr can learn a lot from thybulle to develop into a similar great defender, while hopefully also develop a more standard poa defense and becoming good at staying in front of a guy.

I think we need to seriously be creative as an organization about what alternatives are out there besides Kuminga.

The longer this goes on the less confident I feel about his motivation and therefore fit within our team. He has a history of wanting more money and or role than what he should actually have, and the way these contract talks are going, either he's going to get significantly less money than he wants or we will significantly overpay for him.

While I love the upside and consider him the best 4 besides Lebron thats available, we're also unlikely to land guys like Peyton Watson or PJ so it seems the Lakers should pivot towards finding a quality backup center.

This would allow for insurance on Kessler, while ensuring we have a quality rotation of bigs (Kessler, Mamu, whoever) so that Looney doesn't have to take too much time. More importantly, we clamor about getting young guys reps. WE feel great about Luka, AR, and Kessler and their respective backups, if we let Jake start at the 4 since he's at least proven he can be serviceable, then we have plenty of 3s - 4s who can come in off the bench and fight for a backup if not starting spot by the deadline. If neither Williams, Thybulle, Carr (I know these two are more of a 1-3 but still), Adou, or AK doesn't work out for the last wing spot, then we make a push at the trade deadline for someone, or just wait it out until next offseason when we have access to an exception and test the free agent market then.

I don't think any reasonable fan or analyst expects us to be a championship level contender this year, I certainly don't. And if we add that missing 4 maybe we are, but sending out quite literally your last available assets for someone who has serious concerns makes me hesitant. All thats to say, if we were to pivot towards finding a quality backup big, who would you target that wouldn't cost more than maybe 2 - 3 players (ideally some combination of Vando, Knecht, and Hardy) and no more than 2 seconds (ideally 1)?

Jake Laravia started 43 games for us, just shows how thin we were. No other playoff contender would’ve had him playing 43 games as a starter. His availability was great he played 82 games in the season. However he completely disappeared in the playoffs looked like a deer in headlights with so many mistakes. Definitely was a mental thing.

[Source](https://www.espn.co.uk/nba/player/stats/_/id/4592691/jake-laravia)

A few got down voted for expressing concerns. Personally, I liked the signing at that time but I can't remember if we had better options that year.

Walker Kessler doesn't need crunk juice.

Highlights: https://youtu.be/PqjJfcsEyww?si=DbAR6eZ5E9BwZGWQ

Defensive stats: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-overall?SeasonType=Regular+Season&TeamID=1610612762&Season=2025-26

On defense we've got an elite young center. Bring Pau Gasol to help develop his offensive game and we're set for the next decade.

Quentin Grimes

Highlights: https://youtu.be/lwosiPjHlvg?si=SwYSNJZZOAYXPRwo

Defensive stats: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-overall?SeasonType=Regular+Season&TeamID=1610612755

I expect Grimes to have a similar role he had in NY playing alongside Austin and Luka. The numbers don't lie—he can still get the job done efficiently.

Matisse Thybulle

Highlights: https://youtu.be/5qx8kWeoqxE?si=w_6NuQDyUDJPmAQg

Defensive stats: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-overall?SeasonType=Regular+Season&TeamID=1610612757

Dude is a pest. Elite perimeter defender.

Collin Sexton

Defensive stats: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-overall?SeasonType=Regular+Season&TeamID=1610612741&Season=2025-26

He's not known for his defense, but in Chicago he held his matchup below their season averages.

Ziaire Williams

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB3jdE5IxAE

Long, athletic, and still a project, but he has intriguing tools.

Adou Thiero

Highlights: https://youtu.be/2YgL8oBph-o?si=xnnkfJ4I7vmurexz

I'll finish with a kid who barely played last season. After one game I judged him way too harshly. In the last Summer League game he was outstanding: excellent on-ball defense, finally imposed himself on the glass, and was disruptive defending the passing lanes.

Our boi pulled up looking like prime Mads Mikkelsen.

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