What is up Hardwin Knox listeners. I am Dan Vavalley coming at you with
my without my fantabulous co host Adam frommel I am however and as always super
excited to be joined by Sabrina Merchant, who covers all things basketball and other
stuff for sp Nation. If you don't follow her on Twitter, rem me
that immediately. Just a great mix of analysis sometimes these like really biting jokes
that I really like to see. Follow her on Twitter though, at Sabrina
JM. That's at sab r E and a Sabrina. How are you doing?
I'm doing well, doing very well. Thank you for having me back
on Dan, Hey, thank you for coming on. I think this is
your third time, so I think it's officially your fault that you're here if
you say yes twice like I'm willing to be like, all right, I
hoodwinked them into it. But now that you're back a third time, I
think that this appearance is on you. So but I really do appreciate you
coming back to let me pick your brain. As always, I just love
talking the off season, you know, and we're officially in it. Day
one of the NBA off season. The Bucks are champions. I don't did
you have any lasting impressions after that game six? That finals in general?
Are you still lamenting the fact that it wasn't you know Lebron versus KD.
You know, I never knew that Jannis had this in him. I after
watching the last couple of postseasons, I thought there were limitations in this game,
and you know, still limitations in his game, But for him to
be the best player on a title team like that's that's such a rare feat
to accomplish. There are like three guys in the league who you can definitively
say can be the best player on a title team, and now he's one
of them, So that's just super super cool. I had so much fun
watching him celebrate, Like what a delight yannispo is And I'm just glad that
you had to have this moment because it was so much fun to watch him
and just like a very enjoyable finals. It was. I've covered the league
full time since I think two eleven, maybe two thousand and twelve, of
them getting old, but that might have been the most enjoyable finals i've covered.
Twenty sixteen is definitely up there, but just like it were these two
teams that I don't think of. The Bucks were like in that conversation entering
the season, but even people who are super high on the Sun's never envisioned
them getting there. And I know stuff happened en route to the finals,
but stuff happened for every team when you're looking at injury. So I thought
that was so cool, and then just it was. I was disappointed we
didn't get a game seven because that's how much I love the Finals. But
I'm with you on all the Yanna stuff, especially the part about I'm sure
we would have enjoyed seeing Chris Paul celebrated title and Devin Booker and all that.
But I would have enjoyed Chris Paul a lot last time here to tell
you that. But Yannis, just like flexing about not joining a super team,
would like to point out he still has like two really good number two
and three options on this team, so it's not like, right, what
an awkward plane ride as this gets released, Devin Booker might be on a
plane with Chris Middleton and Drew holiday to Tokyo. Good luck to them.
I hope they stay healthy, But that's going to be an awkward What does
that twelve fourteen hour. I'm just like calling Robertsarvor, like, get me
on a first class flight some other way to get to don't you know?
I don't want to be a part of this. Yeah, that's it.
I mean that that has to be so awkward forty eight hours or whatever it
is. After I did not, I did, I guess I did Tangentially,
here's the segue. I did bring you on to talk about potentially two
super teams, not the Bucks or the Suns, in the Lakers and the
Clippers. You do a fantastic job covering both, as well as just the
general NBA at large. But they are I find every team fascinating heading into
the postseason, but I think naturally they were always going to be interesting.
I'll begin with the Clippers. I feel like they've become a lot more interesting
for all the wrong reasons. The Kauai partially torn right ACL injury is just
an absolute bummer. How does that how? And Kawai is going back to
the Clippers like that was just never in doubt, like all the steps he
took to get there. But does his injury change in your view? Their
their off season approach at all? And the one thing I'll say. And
I think this might be a subset of where your Twitter was talking about how
they should maybe trade the Clippers should trade Paul George, load up on prospects,
and like put themselves in a position to do stuff when Quick comes back.
You just I'm gonna table that you don't know in your first round pick
next year, so there's no point in having a gap season. So but
I'm just curious, Like what do you do now though, Like Hua,
if you even think, if you think he's gonna play at some point next
season, you just lost one of the five best players in the league for
I presume most of next year. Like, what do you do now?
Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the pick because I think that's the big
part of it. You know, the Clippers do not control their own draft
destiny for the next five years. That is in the hands of the Oklahoma
City Thunder Paul George Tray Well, you know that that paskey little Steppian role
means you get you get saved a little bit. But yeah, I mean
the more you're saying is so funny because I'm sure they were all advocating trading
Draymond Green and Steph and Curry while they waited for kay Thompson to get healthy,
right, Like that's exactly what you do when your stars are hurt.
I guess Drymond Green is the more app comparison in this case. But you
know, the Clippers were pretty good in the playoffs after Kawhi got out.
I mean I don't think that they were at the level that they hoped to
be, obviously, because when you lose a top five player in basketball,
it's hard to be at that level. What they got to a place that
they'd never gotten in franchise history, of getting to the conference finals, winning
those final two games, like on the backs of Terrence Man and Reggie Jackson
filling in for Kawhi Leonard, which was just stupid fun, Like just a
tremendously good time watching Terrence Man have this first twenty point playoff quarter and Clippers
franchise history, Like who had the money on that. I think that the
Clippers fins are gonna be the same. I think they're still going to try
to run this back, win a title with this very same group. You
know the problem is that like they have more intel about Kwai's jury than we
do, right, Like we know that it's a partially torn rad ACL.
There's the Spencer Dinwoodie timeline right where it takes six to seven months to come
back, And I think that he had said that he had planned to return
for the NBA Finals were the nets in it, so like that would have
given him about a seven month timeline from when he originally hurt his knee at
the start of the season. But then, like I keep reading that ACL
reconstruction surgery is the same regardless of whether it's partially torn or fully torn,
and so in that case, that puts Kawai back at like more of a
twelve month timeline, And even then, guys don't really get their full lift
back for another two years after ACL surgery. And for a guy like Kawai
Leonard, who already has this degenerative quad stuff going on in his right leg
and had a foot in joy earlier, like it's just very scary to think
about what he's ever going to look like again, because in theory, he'd
be what thirty two years old by the time that two year timeline is over,
and thirty two ye old Kawhi Leonard is is not the guy who I
associate with being a top five player on a championship team. So a lot
of this is in flux because we just have no idea what when or wh
or the version of Kauai that we're getting back, right, So I think
that the Clippers just have to play it as if they're going to win,
though, because again they don't have the pick, they have no flexibility going
forward. I mean, they could draft like a young, high upside guy
with the twenty fifth pick in the year's draft, but like, what are
we hoping to get out of that? You know, even jannat Stack in
fifteenth, Like, yeah, you find gems later in the draft, but
not not that low. So I just think that there are no other options,
right, Like Paul George is under contract for for more years, Yeah,
but like do you want to do the route of like trading him for
three more picks just to like refill your craffers. It's not even like you're
loading up your draft assets. You're just you're so depleted at this point that
trading Paul George would at the very most get you back to even which even
is not the place you want to be if you're going to be tanking.
And then if you're taking like what what does that make for Reggie Jackson,
then Nick Patoon and Marcus Morris and all these other guys. So they put
themselves in position to win two years ago, right, They made all of
the they traded all the picks for Paul George, they traded an additional pick
for Marcus Morris. So they set themselves on this path to be all in.
They kind of have to do it right. There's just no other way
of going about it. Like, Tyler is not here to coach rebuilding team.
Ask Cleveland. Tyler is not here to coach a rebuilding team. So
I just I don't see any of half like it just said, has to
be done this way, I don't. I couldn't even come up with an
argument against anything you just said. There's just like there's no other thing for
them to do. It's probably good that they ended up signing Paul George that
extension last year, because all of a sudden, I wonder if his free
agency would have gotten interesting this summer. Had he looked at oh Kauai has
gone basically all of next season, and I'd read the same stuff you did.
I thought, partially torn acl recovery. Time's got to be shorter,
but then it's like he underwent surgery anyway. So a lot of the stuff
that I read said the timeline is basically the same. It's also Kauai,
as you mentioned with the other stuff. I'm assuming even if he didn't have
they weren't worried about the quad. They're just it's Kauai. You're gonna treat
him with kid gloves early on. So you look at I think the first
steps for them, because it's actually kind of difficult in at least two instances
looking at their own talent in free agency where I didn't think I'd be talking
to you or anyone this offseason about they really need to bring back Nick Batoum
and Reggie Jackson. And by the way, one of my favorite Clippers stats
and it makes sense when you consider the context of Clipper season, but Nick
Batoum led them in total regular season minutes played. That's just also something that
was never you could have predicted. Do you think among their own free agents
and we're looking at I would say mainly Nick Batoum, Reggie Jackson, and
Serge Ibaka. If he even reaches free agency, I'm curious to what you
think he'll do with the player option following the back injury. What do you
expect to happen? Do you figure do you think they figured out a way
to keep all those guys? Do you think one of Batoum and Jackson leave
just given the bird right situation on them? My guess is that Reggie Jackson
is going to come back because they can offer him about ten upwards of ten
million dollars for that starting salary with the early bird rights. And I know
that, you know he's he just played for a minimum like the previous contract
was like something in the range of five years eighty. So I don't know
what the market is set on for Reggie Jackson, but I think, like
at age thirty one, playing with his best friend Paul George in Los Angeles,
playing for a team that clearly values him has brought out the best in
him. I think that ten million number is gonna be fine. You know,
I don't think it's gonna I don't think some other team is gonna bowl
Reggie Jackson over with an offer that he can't say no to, Like do
the New York Knicks want to throw out twenty million at Reggie Jackson to be
their point guard? The future? Like I don't think so. I mean,
I could be wrong, Like the New York Knicks do crazy things all
the time, but I just don't see the money coming for Reggie from another
team that's gonna like make him say, oh, I have to say no
to the Clippers because like it's it's good enough money, you know, like
it's not it's not ridiculous, Like they're not giving him a minimum again.
Right. The Buttom thing is a little more interesting because he's got, you
know, that final year of his Charlotte contract is still coming in, right,
Like he was making twenty seven million that last year of the Charlotte deal,
So he's he's kind of, you know, sitting on borrowed money here,
right, Like he doesn't need to be catching in a new contract.
But at the same time, you want to be playing for your worth,
right, Like if the more that you say that you're a minimum player,
the more that the league values you as a minimum player. Right, It's
really hard to go from a minimum contract back into the even like the mid
level of range. So that's the only thing that's tricky about the Tomb is
like how much more does he him does he see himself playing to the point
where like he needs to be a mid level guy or you know, just
anything more than a minimum guy, because I don't know how much you really
do want to pay him. Like, like you said, he did lead
the Clippers in regular seas minutes this year, which is just a crazy fact.
I learned it actually just last week when I was like setting up the
player's season and reviews. That esmunation as like, oh, that's super weird
that Nickpoto was leading the league, leading the team in minutes. But like,
the Clippers just don't work without him, right, Like he played small
belt center he started the season of Power four. He just fills in every
single slot there. He guarded the best perimeter player for most stretches during the
regular season. He was defending Rudy Gobert during the playoffs. Like it's it's
just a lot that was asked to him. I don't expect that he would
have a similar regular season role next season, just because like he's of a
certain age, you know, it's it's probably the time that Nickpotum is not
leading your team in regular season minutes, Like that shouldn't be happening for a
guy who's this far in his his NBA career. I think the Clippers are
going to have to just dip into that mid level to bring him back.
I don't really see a way around it. The problem is, and I
know you plan on getting in this later, it's just I think they need
another wing to build out the rotation, and like, how are you going
to get at that other wing unless you have your mid level to attract that
guy? Right, So, like I've heard rumors of, like, you
know, the Warriors not bringing Kelly Bray back, But like if Kelly Ray
wants to ring Chase somewhere else, it's going to take at least a mini
mid level to get him. Right, you can't just get him for a
minimum. I don't think that's a reasonable situation. Like even if you wanted
to go after let's say the Pelicans, like just blow it all up and
let Josh Hard hit unrestricted free agency, Like that's another mini mid level guy.
So I it's gonna be really fascinating negotiation to see how low they can
get the tumb Like can they just give him like a one hundred twenty percent
raise on that minimum that here in last year because they just need to keep
that mid level intact to do something because like you, like we talked about
earlier, they have to go for it, and this roster, as presently
constructed, needs more juice to go for it. So where is that coming
from? Yeah, and if pushed game to shove, just because of everything
you mentioned about Nick Batoum, and even knowing that, I don't think that
you could count on him to replicate everything he just did if it costs you
most of the minimate level to bring him back. If I'm the Clippers,
I'm probably we have to bring him back. And you know, maybe you're
just hoping that Terren's man that ends up playing a bigger role. And I
think it's also tough too. Is you mentioned they could go try and go
bargain hunting in free agency, but like if you do use your best spending
tool in the summer on just retaining your own talent, you're not even open
to Like you're just so far into the tax at this point you can't even
acquire someone via sign and trade, and so you would have to then take
like a bigger swing on the trade market, and that's just tough to do
because they have the depleted asset pool. Like, yeah, you can trade
this year's pick after you take it, and you have some of those Detroit
seconds, and you do have some like matchable money. But I don't know
if do you think the Kauai injury makes it more or less likely that they
would be open to taking a bigger swing on the trade market. That's a
good question. I think that whatever trade they make is probably not going to
be something that makes them worse in the present, right Like if they were
going to make a trade like a big swing to further deplete their asset pool
and get better, like I have to think that they would do that even
if Kauhi were healthy, right, Like they traded two seconds away to acquire
Rajon Rondo, right Like, It's not like they weren't doing anything with their
assets last year. So I just keep coming back to Luconnard in my head,
like he is such a swing piece and all of this, because he's
that matching salary that you would need if you work to acquire like a player
of a reasonable price. Right he's entering year one of this extension that I
think the cap hit is sixteen million a year. But I don't really know
how the matching works because a lot of its incentives and I think the base
salaries like twelve million, but whatever. Like, the point is that Lukenard
is a movable salary if the Clippers decide that he's not worth having around.
But at the same time, they gave him that extension for a reason.
It wasn't just so that they can move him. You don't give a guy
for your extension just to turn into a trade piece, right, Like,
they think that he's gonna be a part of the team going forward. Can
he take some of that ballhandling responsibility? Can he be some of that shooting
and playmaking that the Clippers are going to need without It's stupid to say that
Luke Nard is going to replace Kawhi Leonar's production, But like they have voids
in their offense now that Lukenard is going to have to fill. So I
do think that, like that's really the swing piece. Is he's the only
guy that the Clippers can move who theoretically has valuing forward because he's still fairly
young, He's only twenty four years old. He's shown the ability to play
in the playoffs, right, Like, the Suns didn't abuse him by any
means. It just was a hard series to playing because the Suns are really
good, and like that's just to be expected for a guy who's playing in
essentially his first postseason because I don't count an eight seed playing against the Cavaliers
is like a real postseason experience. Apologies to all Pistons fans, but that's
that's sort of where I see it coming. Is like that the only big
move they can make is if they decide that like Luke is no longer part
of the future. Because other than that, like I don't see them trading
Terrence Man, It's just they've they've struck old with him, like how could
you possibly move in? And he doesn't make any money, so like how
is that going to get you anything in the trade market? And then beyond
that, it's like, well, zoombatch, I guess makes some money and
Patrick Beverley has an expiring salade, But like, what's the value of Patrick
Beverley on the open market At this point, He's going to be suspended the
first game of the season because he's two handed chev Chris Paul like he's constantly
hurt. I Mean, we didn't talk about Roggie Jackson's the starting boy gard
for the Clippers last year, but he he basically was he started forty games
last year because Patrick was always hurt. So I just don't see where the
value, like to trade anything is going to come from their teams. So
they could make a big swing, but like, I don't think the Kawhi
injury affects that at all, because like we said, they're just all in
regardless. I would wonder if Patrick Beverley something more valuable to them too,
just because of the load he's going to have to carry by default without like
a Kawhi Leonard there every night. He did have some good moments in the
playoffs, And I think the other thing is you definitely don't move parents.
Man, if you were going to make a trade, you're probably in a
situation where it's not an undesirable player. We're zone unders. Like I think
people mentioned Kemba walker I thought that was a good idea, and then I
realized, why would the Thunder want to help out the Clippers in any way
when they own the rights to their pick next season. So unless they think
that Kemba Walkers just like doesn't have cartilage anymore or something in his knees,
I don't know why they make that move. But then you're looking at like,
yeah, if you can just step ladder your way with your salaries to
a Russell Westbrook. Okay, fine, but I don't really know how much
that will actually help you, and so it really does hamstring you from doing
anything big on the trade market again, unless you're going to enter the sweepstakes
for a player that teams might just be looking for cap relief from. Did
you give any thought to like any like free agents, like cheap ones,
or even just like under the radar trade targets that you thought would be a
good fit for this team, or even just I know you mentioned that they
need a wing, Is there, like the what are just the biggest areas
of needs that you think they need to fill if they want to actualize the
best version of their non Kawai selves next year? Right? So I think
that the best version of the Clippers is when they're playing small, right,
and they're opening the floor and just switching everything and eating you with her pace
and blow eyes and just making the floor really spaced out, which is like
what we saw them do when Terrence Span came into the lineup for Kawhi Leonard,
right, Like, that's just how they beat Utah, It's how they
occasionally played against the Suns because I still quibble with the defensive decisions they made
in that series, but you know, it's neither here nor there. They
weren't going to win a title without Kwhi Leonard anyway. So the problem is
is, like again we talked about this before, whatever wings are on the
market, if the Clippers are using their money to bring back Nickbatum like which
I think is probably the right choice because I don't think that anybody who's better
than Nickpatomans can be had for that level of money. Like what are they
going to do? Like they just offer minimums to guys like we saw how
this went last decade with the Clippers, Like yeah, come one, come
all your Paul Pierce's, you're Lance Stevenson's, your Wes Johnson's. Like is
that what level of bargain been hunting the Clippers are going to be doing or
do they really have an ability to get something better? Like I mentioned Josh
Hart earlier, if the Pelicans aside to blow things up there, he's restrict
cre agent. I imagine that they're going to bring it back. Like the
gettable guy there appears to be Lonzo, not Josh Harden. Alonzo is definitely
not in the money situation where the Clippers have here, although I think he'd
be a nice fit. I mean, are we talking about like I don't
even know, Like, uh, do we bring back up Sterling Brown?
People were frustrated at that trade idea last time you're on the podcast that I
threw. They thought it was Sterling the lawn right stuff. Yeah, I
just I don't see who it is. Like Reggie Bullock is going to be
a free agent. He was a Clipper once before, you know, he
was even drafted by them in the first round, but like he's going to
demand more money, talking like David Nahuaba types. I just don't see what
what's happening here. Like I love David Nauava, but I don't know.
And the Clippers are former greater than I am. Obviously the front office finds
things, but like I think that's the player they're going to target. It's
probably someone they should just draft. But like maybe a mere Coffee plays more.
I maybe Jay scrub plays more next year, but like I don't really
see it on the free agent market for a minimum, like it just it.
I have this like again, like this West Johnson PTSD, It's just
like the guy's golfe. Do you think that Serge Ibaka is going to end
up opting in? And if he opts out, do you think the Clippers
want to bring him back? When I think you had just mentioned their best
identity is playing small. Yeah, Well, Baka is kind of interesting because
he does space the floor right, like he can shoot, so he's not
a traditional big in the same sense that like Zoobatches. I don't know that
he can switch defensively like he used to, right, I think the defensive
reputation of Sergebacca kind of outpaces where he is talent wise at this point,
and for a good reason, like he was he was damn good in Oklahoma
City, so it's it's fair for that reputation to still follow him, even
though I don't think he's that same defensive player anymore. But the Baka thing
is very interesting because he could be super cavalier about this and just opt out
and be like what are you going to do a Clippers, like you have
to pay me? But then at the same time, like he's coming off
of back surgery, and do you really want to risk the Clippers playing chicken
with you? Because I do think that the Clippers would play chicken with him.
So the most likely option to me is that he just opts in because
he's getting paid a fair amount of money and like, that's backup center money.
And I think we're at the point where, if he's a sup watch
is going to be starting for the team during the regular season just to save
the backup from himself really at this point, So yeah, I don't think
there's gonna be a lot of injury there. I imagine he's just going to
come back. They're gonna manage his minutes as carefully as possible so they're not
in this situation again and hope for the best with his back, which is
really just a scary situation. I think he said he had a pinch nerve
during the regular season, and that's just super painful to think about. So
it sounds like we should really just expect the Clippers to look mostly the same
with moves made on the margins, which given their cap and asset situation,
pretty much makes a ton of sense. Yeah, I'm going to say that
the most changes that the Clippers make this off season are happened on their bench
with their coaches as opposed to their actual rest. Well, They've already lost
three. From what I understand, Chauncey and ro Rodgers are both going to
Portland and then Kenny Atkinson is going to Golden State. So development I didn't
compute the Roy Rodgers one. I thought it was two. My god,
three. Ye, it's a lot of coaches to lose. Yeah, I
mean they we talked all the year about like the player development for the Clippers,
like how important it was for you know, Terrence Mann obviously coffee,
even Paul George like becoming a playmaker with something that wasn't really part of his
bag earlier. So Kenny Atkinson was basically the guy in charge of that.
So I'm interested to see how they replace what he brought to the staff.
Terrence Man, are what do we make of him following the postseason? I
mean, he was just a delight to watch And are you expecting them to
still kind of like, is he gonna be in as prominent a role in
the regular season next year given that Kauai definitely isn't gonna be able to start
the year. Is there anything you're hoping to see Hi add to his game?
I know he did on offense, like was very dangerous off the ball,
but like he has some really off the dribble juice to him. I'm
not saying that we should make Terrence Man a primary initiator for the Clippers,
but if Kauai is going to be out and you're not going to make any
substantive additions, like, can we maybe plumb the depths of Terrence Man's offensive
game a little bit more? Do you think they're still going to kind of
want to shoehorn him into that specialty role. No, I think he's gonna
be the starting small forward or whatever you want to call him for the Clippers,
Like he and Paul George will be the two wings starting depending on how
the rest of the lineup works out. My best guest is like it's going
to be Ready Jackson, Paul George, Terrence Man, Marcus Morris in a
center. Like that's seems to be the most likely option for how the Clippers
are going to start the season. But yeah, like I love watching Terrence
Man play. Every time he just like fases up a guy crosses over and
slashes a jumper in his face. I am shocked. I still can't believe
that that is a part of what he can do, just based on how
he came out of college, he was not a shooter, and for him
to have all of this, like you said, juice on the ball,
like just this creativity and he's always moving and cutting into the lane and like
he's got these super weird hook shots that come out of his hands, like
he's there's a lot of flare to his game, which is super fun.
He's tremendously confident, except for you know, a couple of times when like
he was just not hitting the corner three and then decided, Okay, well,
I'm just gonna like take it to the rack on rudygo. Baron's dead.
But how can you not love watching this kid play? I do think
that they're just gonna expand him as much as possible, Like I don't think
they want him to pigeon hole into any one thing, Like he has already
gotten so much better at the shooting, and I do think that they're going
to try to encourage that playmaking aspect of him too, because as much as
like he has grown as a shooter, he's still not a guy that guys
are going to defend. You know, if he's spacing the floor right,
He's not Reggie Jackson He's not Marcus Morris. He's not somebody who you just
trust to like dead eye knocked down shots. So putting the ball in his
hands I think makes a lot more sense because one, it saves Paul from
him having to do all that and PEG's handles concerns me. But you know,
it's just if you put the ball in Terrence his hands and like,
it just creates so much space around him. So I think that's like the
most exciting thing about the Clippers next season, which is probably not what you
want to be saying about a team that has championship inspirations, but the Terrence
man like growth curve monumental. At this point. I know he's up for
an extension with the Clippers because he signed a three year deal out of the
draft. I don't really know what that would look like. I don't quite
understand the cap machinations, like is he eligible for the same like Taylor Marton
Tucker type extension or is it like a lower number. I don't really know,
but he's he's just like the most fun player on the Clippers, And
I don't think that's like a controversial statement made. Maybe Reggie Jackson, like
the die hards, but I do think they're gonna be putting the ball in
his hands a lot. What I'm looking forward to is his defensive improvement because
he was low key hunted when you know, opposing teams like won against those
Clippers small lineups, and he's got to get just better and more disciplined at
defending on the ball because he gets a little too foul happy, a little
too jumpy. So that's really where I'm looking for the improvement from Man.
Is there? I would first of all, watching Karen's man should count as
a form of cardio because he is just isn't all over place and he's pure
joy. Is there anything I know we skipped around here? Is there anything
about this team I didn't ask that you think really needs to be touched upon
leading into their off season? And I think you talked about point right thing
with Reggie and Patrick Beverley that that's the one thing where I do think Patrick
they're they're going to be shopping him because of that expiring contract and it's just
the only way to really get any flexibility. Yeah, you know, just
another day of talking about the Clippers, about mentioning I's Subach, who's just
solidly the most consistent player on the team and does everything you could possibly ask
of him. But that's such as still viewed as like some sort of a
liability, which is just a crazy thing to be crazy to me. And
I don't know why you would move him unless it's part of unless you're hitting
a home run trade like just the value he brings that's your starting center at
sub eight million dollars a year like that, you're just not replicating that.
And he's when you look at his size and just like his like with or
girth, whatever you want to call it, like he's a lot quicker than
other dudes that are built like him. And so I don't know why you
would move off of him again unless it's we're about to hit like this home
run or there's this really for like irrational opportunity for us on the trade market.
It's crazy to me how many Clippers fans want to start to mark his
cousins over him, like it's it's mind boggling to me. But hey,
Cousins is flashy in a way that zoo Watch is not, and such as
life. I guess I didn't want to ask you some questions about the Lakers
who are They're just by virtue of having Lebron and a d they were always
going to have a fascinating off season. But I'm wondering if after these playoffs
you see Anthony Davis banged up, not as usual in the playoffs, mostly
because he hasn't doesn't really have a ton of playoff experience when you look back
prior to Los Angeles, but he's banged up. Lebron is banged up,
which is definitely new, and then you remember, oh, yeah, that
was his age thirty sixth season. Maybe this is not you want to say,
a regular occurrence, but you know, your future kind of flashes before
your eyes there without Lebron. I'm going to deal with that. Do you
think the circumstances under which they lost this year increase the urgency for them to
find I'm going to call it a third creator because I do not believe that
they have the ammo to get a third star in there. I know Chris
Paul's name is already being floated after the Sun's lost. I just don't see
it. Yeah, I just don't see a path. I mean, I
guess you with the salaries. If the Wizards decide to blow it, up
to get Russell Westbrook. I just if they get a third star, I
will be flabber gassed. So let's say a third creator. Do you think
it increases the urgency or was this just like it was always going to be
the urgency or my overreacting where it's like they did come off the shortest offseason
in sports history. Now you've given Lebron a regular offseason to heal up,
and he's just gonna come back and dominate as per usual and they'll be fine.
Yeah. It's interesting because there's a couple of ways that you can look
at the Laker season. On one hand, they are up to one double
digits in Game four against the Suns before Anthony Davis gets hurt, and it
feels like they've sort of figured out this opponent right, Like they looked very
comfortable against Phoenix. They were just manhandling them with their size in a way
that we saw Milwaukee do in the finals. So you can look at that
way and be like, oh, healthy Anthony Davis, they definitely get out
of that round. They fare very well against Denver, and then you put
him against Clippers, we'll see what happens. But on the other hand,
like they were the seventh seed, and yeah, Lebron was hurt for a
stretch of the season, Anthony Davis was hurt for a stretch of the season.
But for all of their gifts, like their supporting hauts, was just
not nearly as good enough, not really good enough for what they were hoping
to be. Right, Like Dennis, Shrewder was not the third ball handle
that they were hoping him to meet. And whether that was because he may
or may not have gotten COVID at the end of the season, lord knows.
How Dennis tried to explain that, Let's just say that the Lakers were
not thrilled with his decision making on or off the court, and that might
be a reason to not wat Shrewder around for another year. Yeah, I
think like that was their big ticket move, right, It was getting Shrewder,
was getting a guy who they hoped was going to inject some bounce like
in the half court playoff of Lebron and Anthony Davison for the first half the
season, like before Valentine's Day, when Anthony Davis gets hurt, I think
that there was a reasonable argument that, like, yeah, hey, the
Lakers did the right thing. This starting line up with Shrewder and Marcusol is
going bananas like it's really really good and this is everything they'd hoped for.
And then obviously the wheels fall off and you know, they fall into the
seven seat and blah blah blah. But so that's the problem I have with
the Laker season is that depending on which part you want to focus on,
Like you have an argument in favor of whichever direction in the off season you
want to pursue. You have an argument for, hey, let's run it
back because this team was working when they were healthy, or hey, maybe
it's a problem that all of our best guys are over thirty and gimpy and
maybe aren't relied upon to stay healthy for an entire postseason like they were.
Starting Marcusol, I don't think that his health is something that we should overlook
either, because the guy just plays all year round right in the Olympics right
now. I don't know how much we can trust him to be like fully
ready to go for another eighty two game season. So it's it's just very
tricky because like, what what is the real version of the Lakers? Which
one should we be looking at? And like, I think they had the
same sort of questions after the twenty twenty season. Even when they won the
finals, it was like, well, did we have to go through all
the best teams? No, so maybe we still have to improve. And
for them to have that proactive of an approach after winning the championship makes me
think that, oh, hey, losing in the first round as a seven
eight, they're going to blow some shit up. So I do think that,
like, yeah, they're going to try to get a third playmaker.
I don't think that the Russell Westbrook smoke is anything to discount by any means.
La gu Rob linkl loves star hunting. You know, Chris Paul is
obviously a lot more challenging to acquire it just because of the number. And
why would Phoenix do that? Really is my question? So that I mean
you mentioned Kemba Walker with the Clippers earlier. I think Kemba Walker is another
name he might think about with the Lakers, just because they need another greader
and his value is a little bit depressed. Right, the earlier you go
after him PROMOTEKC I think the better. But yeah, I don't expect Shrewder
to be back with the Lakers. I do expect them to heavily shop this
KCP Kuzma to maybe not KC like this THHT Kuzma Struder twenty twenty two pick
or what they're gonna set the record for the number of sign and trades they're
sending out in one trader in one trade. I mean we mentioned this with
luken Ard earlier, Like you don't sign like Kuzma was signed to a two
year extension that is a contract that is builds to be traded. Yeah,
yeah, I just don't. I mean, they can get there, but
it's just for them looking at the Russell Westbrook and let's even just say you're
trading for CP three on his option number, so like they're both forty in
the forty four million range, and so you're unless you're signing and trading Dennis
Shrewder like it's KCP. I guess who need Harold to opt in and then
Kuzma, Like that's the way that you get there. And I'm not even
sure, Like I just are those packages that interest the teams that would be
sending out Russ or Chris Paul in those instances, I honestly don't know.
And yeah, you could include other stuff and you mentioned I guess the possibility
of a THHT trade. It's just a lot of just machinations to go through.
But I do kind of agree with you that I think I actually expect
them to complete like some either they're going to get one of those like older
pricey point guards, or maybe they figure out a way to do the one
I pointed too that I thought I would be fascinating. I know the shooting
is not a great fit, but like a sign and trade for Spencer did
why involving Kyle Kuzma, who I think could actually help the Nets. But
they need they need the help because in Lebron the past two years, their
half court offense is ranked in the twenty fifth percentile and nineteenth percentile respectively of
efficiency with Lebron off the court, And I know that's sort of like a
harbinger of Lebron teams. It's a lot more damning when Lebron is entering his
age thirty seventh season. Yeah, I mean, there's like a if you're
the Lakers, rass and you're watching the finals and you're looking at Milwaukee,
just junk up the game and play really physical defense and win the math advantage
by getting to the foul line more and living in the paint and just getting
more shot attempts. Like that's the prototype of a Lebron James Andy Davis team.
It's not like this beautiful game that the Suns are running. We can't
do that with the Lakers, Like that's just not going to happen. So
the fact that a team like Milwaukee is so successful with this old school like
just again terrible half court offense, but really good and transition type of game,
I think that gives you a little bit of comfort and your approach going
forward, like you can still do this bulleyball thing, like it wasn't just
a fluke of the bubble. I think that there is a legitimate reason to
believe that that can work even in this small ball era. So, like,
I that's why I think that that Russell Westbrook thing is something to think
about, just because yeah, he can't shoot, but I mean he gets
into the pain, he gets you extra possessions, Like there's something to be
said for that if he's willing to rain in his defensive tendencies or whatever.
The pipe dream I keep hearing about from Laker's Twitter is like, oh,
what if Zach Levine is wants out of Chicago, Like, yeah, great,
wouldn't I don't know if I don't know if Kuzma in a first round
pick in twenty twenty seven is getting there Chicago's own tailor, Horton Tucker,
is really what you're going for that one. I did see the Damian Lillard
sweepstakes linked to the Lakers, where it's like it would depend on how interested
the Plazers aren't talent Horton Tucker, and I was like, DoD, They've
views like eight first rounders. Yeah, And I think that was a great
point about the box. I think what if they might even boldened the Lakers.
But it also kind of proves like you do need at least the set
because milwaukee second and third best players are both guys capable of handling the offense
and Jannie's absence, and they're both arguably running more of the offensing crunch time
than Yannis anyway. So if you're the Lakers, you need you have that
sort of prototype and Anthony Davis you need the second creator aside from Lebron James.
So I think feel confident and then I will never doubt Lebron James.
But just age thirty seventh season scares me, Like you had the high ankle
stuff, plus the playoffs. I'm just like, there needs to be somebody
else there, Like we were scared at age thirty four a run, So
I mean three years later you get the sense that it's like the one of
the shoes has to drop at some point, Like this get like this can't
go on forever. Ken it and I hope it does, but I get
increasingly wary each and every offseason about it. Yeah, and which is why
they try to, you know, get shrewder and give him an additional ball
handler so he wasn't running everything in the half court, and that didn't quite
work out. I don't think THHD is ready to assume that responsibility. Alex
Caruso, for all of his gifts, is not that ball handler for the
Lakers. Like it's just it's not his game. So they got to do
something. I mean, I think the Dinwoody thing is probably the most likely,
just because there's so much noise about him coming to LA and like he's
just perennially unhappy with the nets. But like, I don't know, it's
got to come from somewhere. But like you said, I fully expect some
big move to happen here. They do have a ton of free agents,
so I'm wondering if you can quickly join me for a round of keeper nah
with them, the first and most important one, Andre Drummonds. No,
No, I do think that the Lakers are going to look into reacquiring Javal
McGee Dwight Howard this season. That's Olympian JaVale McGee. I'm sorry, I
knew it immediately as I said, a team USA's own JaVale McGee. I
apologize. So Dennis Shrewder and I think you've kind of already touched upon this
that people have talked about a lot. He kind of has them in the
bird rights trap, and he does, but like does he really? Because
it might be more valuable for them to have the room under the apron than
signing Dennis Shrewder anything for anything close to the eighty four million dollars that he
turned down already, right, And I think the bird rights trap also works
when you can leverage another offer from somewhere else. And collect did Dennis Shrewder
do during this season to say, like, hey, someone else comes signed
me. I'm clearly not a starting point guard. But so if you're the
Lakers, are you looking at more? Do you view it as an obligation
as you have to bring him back, or do you think that this team
might just be better off letting him walk. I think that sign and training,
and I don't think they're gonna resign him just to stay town Horton Tucker.
Yeah, they got to keep him. It's just for the days.
The only asset you can thrown around, right. He's also just his game
is so like herky jerky, and his the way his body moves doesn't make
sense, and I absolutely love it. And he like kind of started hitting
some jumpers like towards later in the season, so that you're flinched at that,
So like that's like not something. But I think Tucker's three point percentage
was under thirty percent for the whole season, So if he was hitting jumpers
for any consistent stretch, think about how bad the rest of the year rest
of him. He's so young, though, so like maybe that was him
turning a corner. But he also has the same physical measurements as Brianna Stewart,
So I have hope there you go. I mean, look, that's
that's that's that's what you're touting first foremost in trade talks with anyone you're trying
to acquire. Alex Caruso is super interesting and what I will say, like
with THHT and Caruso, I would view them as guys that ideally you would
want to bring back in most situations, but I also think those are guys
that other teams are really going to like, and so like you do have
the ability to keep them, it's do you want to pay these guys like
over the longer term. And I know that THHT is captain what he can
get obviously, but still, as you mentioned, how many minutes is he
gonna play? And Kenny actually even shoot thirty percent from from three point range.
Yeah, Caruso is the scariest one to me because number one, he
is the most beloved by Lakers fans right along actually along with KCP and Kuzma.
He's the longest tenured Laker, whether you see it that way or not,
because technically the first two years were spent on the two way, but
whatever, he's the longest tenured Laker along with those two guys. A long
live the twenty seventeen Summer League Lakers Champions, but he is the one,
like you said, who I think is going to get offers from other teams
right, Like I've heard Cleveland would be interested in him as a defensive guard
to pay with her other guys. I've heard that Atlanta kind of makes some
sense because I mean, you can actually play Caruso next to treyng I think
that works pretty well and then just you know, move Herder, Bogdanovitch or
whatever to the three, and you've just got some super interesting line ups to
work with there. So there's a fit for Caruso a lot of places who
could use him right now, which is what would worry me if I were
the Lakers front office, because he is going to get offers from elsewhere.
I know, even like Golden State tried to post him the last time he
was a free agent, but he decided to stay with the Lakers. So
you just got to hope that you've built up enough equity with the guy to
keep him around. And the thing I always come back to is like,
there is not a single teammate that Lebron James has played with in his entire
career who he has a better net rating with Alex Caruso, Like it's like,
yeah, so you just got to keep the guy around because he amplifies
your best player. And what is the point of everyone else on the Lakers
if not to amplify Lebron James. So if he wants like twelve to twelve
to fifteen million a year, like you just got to give it to him
because he's that good around your best player. Also, he brings social media
impressions, which that has the factory free. Caruso Mantras, Harrold, I
don't even think you need to say, like, I don't think he should
be back. I don't think they should have signed him in the first place,
and I actually thought it probably turned out worse than it should have or
maybe many people expected. Do you think he winds up opting in, opting
out? And do you think it matters? Is he just gone from this
team? Either way? It's kind of crazy. I don't know if he's
gonna opt out, because like, this wasn't a good season for him in
terms of increasing his market value, right, he didn't he didn't prove that
he could play in the playoffs. I mean, he didn't really have an
opportunity to prove that. Frankly, for a lot of it, for whether
that was the right decision or not. He's obviously said some things about the
Lakers, you know, during the off season, so is Drummond. I
think if we're to rank those, Drummonds probably rank worse than Montres Harrold's.
But I mean, as long as we're talking sign and trades like or not
signing trades. But Blake, would Charlotte be interested in taking Montres Harold,
Like if the Lakers could somehow swing DeVante Graham out of it, that's something
maybe to look into. But yeah, this this is like, this is
a no. I would I would hope that he opts in because I think
that gives the Lakers more freedom in terms of their trading possibilities just because of
that salary. But I don't think he's starting next season on the Lakers.
It's funny as we're recording this just another a second report that the Lakers could
trade for Russ, following the initial report that they could trade for Russ or
CP three bottom of the Russ's wife follows A d and Lebron James on Instagram
as skip Bayliss likes to point out real journalism matters is basically story. The
final two I have bottom of the barrel here, but West Matthews and Marquis
Morris good questions. Wes Matthews was like this really interesting, uh you know,
sort of sentimental signing for the Lakers last year because his dad had played
for the Lakers and they had this a strange relationship and it sort of meant
something to him to be in the same uniform, and like he's got these
baby pictures of his dad carrying him like at the Great Western Form. So
suffice to say it didn't quite work out that long. But I do think
that we talked about this with the Clippers. Right there just aren't any wings.
We're going to come play with you on a minimum. So if Wes
is willing to play for that, I think he got the BA last year.
So like if on a similar salary, if he's willing to come back,
just on that number, you just do it, you know, because
like it's a perfectly fine use of a roster spot. And then I've already
forgotten the last name. Who was Marcosol? Sorry, no, you didn't
say Mark Marks Marky FORRTS. Yeah, okay, if there's a roster spot
field, like I guess I don't know, Like Steve bamber is subsidizing him
to play like for a Los Angeles right, isn't that the groth the running
down? So yeah, I mean he likes living in LA, you know,
around his brother and around his family. I don't think he was particularly
good last year for the Lakers. I think the playoff run that he had
was a little overblown, which obviously is the reason why they brought him back.
But like when you get to these end of the bench guys like,
I don't know, it is what it is, unless it's Jared Dudley,
of course, unless it's who you did not mention on your free agent list.
I just assumed he wouldn't be a priority, but maybe he will be.
He's locker room glue. I think Jared Dudley is a higher priority than
Marky Morris, honestly. Fair enough, I feel like Markieff is gonna either
if he doesn't sign with the Lakers, gonna havem signing with the Clippers,
so he'll he'll still be on in LA one way or the other. We
we kind of oh, I agree with you on West and they also in
theory. I know he wasn't this guy this patch year. They need wings
who can both defend and shoot, and he's at least, in theory,
one of those guys, even though the shooting was very much all over the
place. Yeah, I do have to make a correction. Lebron and Ad
follow Russ's wife, not the opposite. So my bad. It's okay.
We'll we'll give you on that. We appreciate you relaying such hard hitting an
important news and context. Anyway, So we've already talked about what the Lakers
might do with they're sign in trade targets. Do you think it's because I
think it would be easier in theory to acquire a Kemba or Russ because it
feels like there's a higher chance of those teams. There's a scenario where those
teams just want to get off their money. But it feels like it might
make more sense to go after like a medium price guy that's probably more in
demand, like a Spencer Dinwoody or maybe even an Evan Fournier, like depending
on what Boston's thinking. So do you think the Lakers are gonna wind up
what would be more likely in your estimation that they wind up with a Russ
or a Kemba or that they end up with a Dinwoody type guy that's an
actual free agent in assign and trade. Who's going to have more of a
market. I just keep thinking about that, Kyle Howart trade from Trade top
Life. I still can't believe that. I can't believe they turned that down.
I know people thought that the Raptors asking price was like through the moon
for that. I was just like, if they were going to take that,
why wasn't this deal done? I was like, yeah, you trading,
you're starting the like two of your guards, I guess. But like
it's Kyle freaking Lowry. Yeah, absolutely, It's just a super weird hypothetical
thing about But yeah, assuming Kyle Lowry is not available on sign trade market,
which I don't think it's going to happen now, he could technically be
if he really wants I mean, if we if they didn't want Dennis Shrewder,
then I don't think his value has really gone up since. But yeah,
I think the Lakers are gonna swing big. Like that's just their m
O, right, Like they could have probably tried to do something a little
more manageable at the trade deadline, and no, they went for Kyle freaking
Lowry. So they didn't go for George Hill or something like that, right,
So this is the Lakers, This is Roblinka. He likes flashy guys.
I would think that a bigger name, even if they're not nearly like
necessarily as effective as a more middle of the road name, is probably where
the Lakers are going to go. A couple questions last before I get you
out of year? Is Kyle Kuzma like somehow underrated? Now? Outside of
those, Kuzma had a pick for Damian Lillard. Like conspiracy theorists, it's
Kyle Kuzma underrated now? Is that what we said? Underappreciated for what he
does under I could do without his social media presence, if we're really throwing
it on the table, I could. Yeah. I just wish we could
do without the hair dying constantly. Just I feel like the blonde Kus jokes
have gotten a little a little too much, and I really do think he
plays the worst when he's blonds. But you know, it's interesting in the
twenty twenty post season, I think we sort of hit this cap with Kuzma
where like he was not really that playable against Denver and Miami, and like
there is a level of player who can get you through the first couple of
rounds, but when they're going, like when you get to the final four,
it's harder to slot them in. And I didn't think he was nearly
good enough in the conference finals. With the finals and then what was what
was so fun about Kuzma during the first eighty ron year was that whenever one
of them was out, he would come in and just like go full gunner
right, and he would put up like twenty five points and be like,
yeah, I could do this every night if you gave me the chance.
And obviously he can't do that every night. I gave him the chance because
he was given the chance this here, and that didn't happen. So I
I kind of think he's probably rated right. Like his offensive game has regressed
since he was a rookie. He's never shot the ball as well as he
did that first season. I think that was just a he was unfortunate.
I remember he was like one of the five most efficient ISO players is a
rookie, which was just crazy. He put up like forty points and three
quarters against Pistons once. It was nuts. But I don't think that he's
an afficient offensive player. I do think he's added a good deal of value
on the defensive end, like he was solid wing defender, rebounds the ball
while but like the Lakers need some creation and for whatever reason, Kyle has
like lost that ability on the offensive end. And I've come to the belief
that, like anybody can defend pretty decently in a frank vocal system, So
I'm not giving him all that much credit on that end. So yeah,
I kind of think he's properly rated. Like it's it's unfortunate because like there
was much higher expectations for him, even though he was the twenty seven pick,
just because that like phenomenal Summer League and then the way he came out
gangbusters during that right he year. But he he just is a very one
dimensional offensive player now, Like he doesn't shoot the ball well, he just
he doesn't have that craft around the rim that he used to. I don't
really know where it went. Like those are the kind of things that shouldn't
have gone away. But yeah, I think we're pretty clear with what with
what Kuzma is, and like if other teams like him, so be it.
But like I don't think there's this untapped star potential here or even that
much more than what we saw the last two seasons. The point about his
defense under Vogal, I guess I didn't give enough consideration because I look at
at three years and thirty nine million and the final years of player option.
For another team that maybe has enough creators to where they don't need Kuzma to
come in and put the ball on the deck, you might actually appreciate that
he's you know, put himself in more of a niche offensive roll, like
the Nets as an example, like you're not you don't need Kyle. You
don't want Kyle Kuzman to handle the ball if you're Brooklyn. So maybe a
team like that was he thought. I just think the number is fine.
And it's like I was seeing deals thrown out where like teams were getting off
like taking on Kuzmos that they could get off bad salary and being spun as
doing the Lakers a favor. And so I could almost feel like perception of
Hit is levered too far towards negative because he was too you know, pumped
up as a guy who was playing for the Lakers, and again because of
what he did during his rookie season. As you mentioned, I like the
idea of him going back to the nets where he was originally drafted. I
guess I'm part of the D'Angelo Russell trade. But yeah, I mean like
the Kuzma didn't what anything obviously makes a lot of sense for both sides.
Anthony Davis, after what a decade or so in the league, has said
that he is ready to play more center. Do you one buy it?
And two? Is it an oversimplification for people like myself to say that his
aversion to playing the five was stupid in the first place? I just I
can't. I've asked, and I have asked scouts whether I'm being like like
stupid ass talking head here, and a lot of them have said no.
And I'm just curious, smart basketball person like yourself, like what your interpretation
is of one him saying that into his aversion to it in the first place.
Have you seen space sham yet? No? Okay, do I need
to see space him? No? No, I think Anthony Davis is playing
the five and space jam, which is why I bring it out, like
maybe this is a tune shift. You know that we're spoilers alert, And
yeah, it's unclear to me though, because Necho gumc is also when she
kind of toggles between the four and the five. So I haven't quite figured
out positionally what they're doing yet, but something to keep in mind anyway.
Uh, you know, I I love the idea of Anthony Davis being able
to play the four, and like when the Lakers switch, he's still there
to play backline defense, or if he's out on the perimeter, then he's
the one that's immediately leaking out and jump starting the transition offense. Like,
I think there was a valid reason to play Aim at the forder in regular
season, then obviously he switched to the five more often during the playoffs.
I mean, the Lakers, like Dwight Howard got an exceptional amount of credit
for the defense he played on Yokich in the Conference finals, and I think
that was wildly overblown because during go time of those series, that series,
it was always Anthony Davis at the five on yok And like, yeah,
eighty couldn't really guard him, but who could really Guardio? Like I think
we've seen that that's not really a thing that happens provided his entire starting backward
is not injured. But like, I don't think that the whole like eighty
needs to play five during the regular season is like an actual thing, like
he could play it for He played what forty percent of his minutes at the
five his first year with the Lakers, and obviously ten percent last year was
far too little. But I think that some of that was just because what
are we classifying Montrese Harold as you know, is he a center? As
center? Yeah, one of those things. But the problem with the Lakers
wasn't that Anthony Davis wasn't playing five. It is just that the rest of
their perimeter rotation like sucked, you know. And I don't think that that
was because they didn't have the space to attack because Anthony wasn't playing the five.
I think it was just because, you know, their center rotation wasn't
as good as it was last year. Like for all of the jokes we
make about JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard, like they were much more effective in
their roles than what are Drummond and montres Heroll and even Marcus all doing extent
we're asked to do. So I think the Lakers problems are a lot more
nuanced than oh yeah and the Davy should just play his best position and get
it over with. Like he'll do it during the playoffs. We've seen it.
It's not a problem. I also just like, like he's so like
fragile, you know, and I don't want him to have to deal with
that during the regular season and having to play center all the time. So
yeah, I kind of lean on the Yeah, eight should probably play five
more than he was during the regular season, Like ten percent is just way
too low for his minutes total at the five. But I'm not of the
belief that, like you need to go into a season starting Anthony Davis a
you're at center, and like just make him do it, because I don't
think that exactly solves the Lakers problems either. Yeah, that's a good point.
I guess where I fall on it is just it feels like it puts
a cap on their offense if he's at the four, unless the right five
is next to him, which I thought that right five was Gasol, And
I think there were minutes where it proved to be, but he Gasol became
like a pariah, like he was this year's Danny Green among Lakers Twitter exactly.
Yeah, Like, and I didn't understand that I would have rather seen
more Gasol a d than Harold ad and I know those minutes ended up being
fine during the regular season, but like even when Drummond came in, like
everyone was making fun of Gasol for pouting, but I was like, no,
Like I kind of feel where he's coming from from that front. So
I think I don't mean to dilute it down that far. But that's where
I'm at is, I think it puts a cap on the Lakers offense if
he's playing the four that often, unless they change up their center rotation.
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. I just think that Frank Vogel has
shown time and time again that he's going to prioritize their defense when their defense
is better when Davis is at four during the regular season. I also agree
with you that Marcusol is the kind of five who theoretically he could bring out
the best aspects of eighty on both ends of the But the problem is,
even when Marc Gasol was playing center and theoretically spacing the floor, like,
they never ran any pick and rolls they d so there's just like a lack
of offensive ingenuity. I think that's also bringing the Lakers down a little bit,
which is why I'm interested to see if like Fizdale changes that at all,
or whoever they bring in on the assistant ranks like changes things up.
Because I watched Lakers a lot and I'm not I'm not sure that they're optimizing
their personalities, not so much that like they don't have the space to do
it. It's just a D needs to be used in different ways. You
mean a D and the pick and roll is better than a dy like Iso
wing from eighteen feet away or jacking up jumpers from outside the bubble. Of
course, because he wasn't, My goodness, what a concept? Did anything
glaring I missed on the Lakers that you think needs to be talked about.
I think we're good. I mean we spent a good, solid twenty minutes
on the denistrator experience, which I think is what everyone is looking for when
they talked about the Los Angeles Lakers. So good to go, well,
Sabrina as normal, Thank you so much for coming on. I do normally
try and space out when I will ask you to come back, but I
hope you allow me to pester you in the off season once all the moves
are over. I always enjoy talking hoops with you. Listeners. Love it.
Follow Sabrina on Twitter at Sabrina JM. That's at SA b R E
and AJM does a fantastic job covering basketball, NBA, w NBA, all
other stuff at SB Nation. Thanks once more for coming on and as you
know, and I just said, I'm definitely gonna be pestering you again.
Yeah, happy to do it. Thanks Dan,