Keeping Lauri seems increasingly pointless

[bigmike]

I’ve been on the “keep Lauri” train for two years. Really thought we’d find a way to strike in the trade market for 1-2 star players and have him as a key part of a 1-2-3 punch.

We seem to be moving further and further away from that reality.

We’ve made two big moves thus far, both of which signal we’re doubling down on youth (which I agree with at this point). Unfortunately that means we look really, really bad in 25-26 and likely 26-27 as well.

I’d love to trade Collins but we’ll see if we actually can.

I’d trade Walker for a stupid offer, but he’s young enough to be a cornerstone of a winning nucleus that’s still 2-4 years away.

Lauri’s timeline fit seems increasingly awkward and I have to believe we’d get a ransom for him with 4 years of team control left.

 

[NUMBERICA]

“We’d get a ransom” as in he’d be worth a lot? Cuz that’s a big nope in this CBA.

The org completely ****ed this up.

 

[bigmike]

“We’d get a ransom” as in he’d be worth a lot? Cuz that’s a big nope in this CBA.

The org completely ****ed this up.

Doesn’t mean there’s no deal to be had. Look at the return for D. Bane.

Still love the idea of a Kuminga S&T. JK + Ace on the wings could be absurd.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Doesn’t mean there’s no deal to be had. Look at the return for D. Bane.

Still love the idea of a Kuminga S&T. JK + Ace on the wings could be absurd.

Kuminga would be terrible for Ace’s development, so absurd is a good descriptor.

 

[FalseFlagg K]

Doesn’t mean there’s no deal to be had. Look at the return for D. Bane.

Still love the idea of a Kuminga S&T. JK + Ace on the wings could be absurd.

sorry Kuminga sucks balls Why would you want an inferior player with an attitude problem

 

[Isaiah 1:13]

Doesn’t mean there’s no deal to be had. Look at the return for D. Bane.

Still love the idea of a Kuminga S&T. JK + Ace on the wings could be absurd.

That train has left the station! We had our chance and since the drastic overpay his numbers have only declined. Bogy used to complete more drives to the rim and his 3pt% is down to 34%. I see flashes of greatness occasionally so I haven’t completely lost hope. I think his best chance is as a #2 option. Rooting for Bailey to take that mantle.

 

[Shad]

We're stuck with him and Collins. There is no market for either at least until the trade deadline. There was nearly no money for teams to spend this offseason as well

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

I wanted Lauri traded after year 1. Then we paid him top 10-15 money. Yeah I think Danny royally effed up. Hopefully AA brings in a different mentality. He’s already gotten rid of JC and Sexton which DA couldn’t do. I’m flabbergasted that Collins has no value, must be his contract? Had DA gotten rid of Sexton and JC before the end of season one maybe we’d still have Simone and I forget the other dudes name we got from Cleveland. But yeah Danny did everything wrong till this last year when he went all in on the tank.

 

[cctrackstar]

i've hated max contracts ever since AK got his over a decade ago. players thinking that they deserve one just because dipstick on the other team got one is stupid. i like to think that if i were in the NBA i'd cut my contract in half to make room for better teammates so i could get the glory that comes from multiple titles, but in our current nba a player over 40 insisted that he get his 50 plus mil contract confirmed while at the same time trying to force his team to go into the tax to get him that title. so much wrong with max contracts.

 

[The Midnight]

We're stuck with him and Collins. There is no market for either at least until the trade deadline. There was nearly no money for teams to spend this offseason as well

Don't ever group Lauri with Collins… we basically got Collins for free and he’s still worthless.

You’re grouping a Mercedes and a Suzuki.

 

[Rubashov]

At best he's worth a protected first.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

There's a lot of noise in the market right now. Our guys didn't fly off the shelf, but I'd see what the market looks like later in the summer. I wouldn't give away Lauri just for the sake of trading him.

The issue is that with the new CBA teams aren't going to spend big money on a player unless he's a bonafide star. Lauri fits with a contender who's looking for that 2nd or 3rd piece, and there aren't many teams in a position to make a move for him. I'd continue to hold onto him for now.

 

[slc]

Keep Lauri for now Still may fit timeline if young players accelerate potential
Ace and Clayton may be ready to play very quickly

 

[seattlejazzfan]

i'd be curious how he feels about being on a team with a bunch of 22 and under year olds and losing 60 games. if he's good with that, i'd probably keep him around unless an offer blows me away.

 

[rippimpc]

If we had cleared the decks in the Wemby draft, I think we would have ended up with one of Wemby, a Thompson twin, Brandon Miller, or Scoot. Then in 2024, we’d likely have landed one of Sarr, Risacher, Sheppard, Castle, or Holland.

Best case, we’d have Wemby and Castle.

Worst case, we’d have Scoot and Holland.

In reality, we ended up with Hendrix and Williams.

I’m not sure how the pick value would have netted out if we had traded our guys then vs. now, but it seems pretty clear we would have gotten more back at that point.

Honestly, I’d probably rather have the worst case (Scoot and Holland) than Hendrix and Williams, especially with Williams looking like a bust right now. Plus, we’d have more picks.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

If we had cleared the decks in the Wemby draft, I think we would have ended up with one of Wemby, a Thompson twin, Brandon Miller, or Scoot. Then in 2024, we’d likely have landed one of Sarr, Risacher, Sheppard, Castle, or Holland.

Best case, we’d have Wemby and Castle.

Worst case, we’d have Scoot and Holland.

In reality, we ended up with Hendrix and Williams.

I’m not sure how the pick value would have netted out if we had traded our guys then vs. now, but it seems pretty clear we would have gotten more back at that point.

Honestly, I’d probably rather have the worst case (Scoot and Holland) than Hendrix and Williams, especially with Williams looking like a bust right now. Plus, we’d have more picks.

well said. even worst case is probably better than what we have now. and scoot was sneaky good in 2025 (since Jan) this season. there is a chance he becomes a really good pg in the league.

 

[Bodhi]

The way the tank has been handled over those years was just simply bad. We half stepped and you can’t half step in this league.

 

[bigmike]

sorry Kuminga sucks balls Why would you want an inferior player with an attitude problem

He's 22, has elite two-way potential, fits our alleged "positional size" mandate perfectly, and there's no way the return would be just Kuminga. I'm sure we'd insist on at least 1-2 unprotected firsts during a window where GSW could be really bad.

Maybe he has an attitude problem, I don't really know. He might just need a change of scenery and a real chance at consistent minutes. He came into the league as a really raw player and joined an aging nucleus that was trying to win now - pretty much worst case scenario for his development.

Markkanen also floundered for 5 years until Hardy and co. unlocked his game here. That's worked out pretty well for us.

 

[outerspacefan]

The way the tank has been handled over those years was just simply bad. We half stepped and you can’t half step in this league.

You freeze for a couple years, no direction, and all of a sudden you got compromised for several years ahead.
Natural consequences. Hopefully now RS continues to grow as an owner, AA continues to do what he's doing.
But make no mistake, Markkanen's trade value is now up in the air, no one knows what or if he will get us anything worth going forward.
It is what it is. No case to ruminate on it anymore. Let's enjoy on the fact that a direction at least appeared to be picked, and on the development of our new players..

 

[Strutter]

There's a minimum team salary: you have to pay someone. Lauri will be turning 30 in the 2026/27 season, which is when we will be pushing hard for wins. He shouldn't necessarily be washed up at that point and he just might help us with a quick restart if we hit on this draft and the next. From a team perspective, I don't see why signing him was devastating (although I think from Lauri's perspective he could lose out on some of his best seasons to tanking).