Speaker 1: Rest in peace to the twenty twenty five Los Angeles Lakers.
They finished the year having lost, but they also finished
the year having had them with the option. So, like, say, really,
last season wise, what we need to get into just
sort of a synopsis of what their salary cap situation
is gonna look like. They projected to be four million
dollars over the luxury tax if Lebron and Dorrian Phinney
Smith exercised their player options that would give them I mean,
they have some expiring or just mid en contracts. Can
you dump money onto Brooklyn or a team with an
exception to then access the non tax payer mid level?
Are they also in kind of the veterans take less
to play for them territory? I don't know that this
is the This isn't the big man that they need necessarily,
but could they be in the brook Lopez running by
virtue of just being the Lakers and having minutes available
at center? Even so, would you agree that it seems
like any material changes for this team will be coming
via trade? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think so.
Speaker 3: And to just to jump on that, like they can
trade one of their first outright and they got a
bunch of swaps.
Speaker 2: So they can.
Speaker 3: It can be twenty one, twenty thirty one, or twenty
thirty two. They could swap one of those, and then
they also have swaps available in twenty six, twenty eight,
and thirty, so there's they have some flexibility. Would you
agree though, that it's gonna be hard for them to
like or maybe impossible to like have the best offer
for anyone that has like multiple suitors, like it will
take like someone has to steer their way there, Viatrice.
Speaker 1: People wondering if they can get Giannis attend to Kumbo
people because the acre should be no less unless there's
just something that I'm missing here. Yeah, they don't. You're right,
they don't have the assets to win a sweepstakes. Yeah, right,
Like you could include Dalton connect and one of those
first round picks is the equivalent of maybe two first
round picks, like outright, not swaps or anything. That's just
what is that maybe if you throw Reeves on the table,
but then you're getting into like some really new clear scenarios.
Speaker 3: Well not only that, but I will not to jump
ahead of things, but Reeves is extension eligible and you're
not gonna be able to extend him because the most
you can do is like four for eighty nine because
his last deal was such a bargain.
Speaker 1: Well, he, I wonder if he would just sign that
based off how worried people are about the NBA's middle
class getting squeezed in the new CBA. Man signs that
you pounce, right.
Speaker 3: You just if I'm doing backflips, if I if I'm
the Lakers and I can keep him for that, like
I just he but but so like it just to
to follow through, Like if you're trading for Reeves as
like a big piece, you know, like as a major
part of the outgoing or your incoming package if you're
Milwaukee whatever, it's like, well, we don't even know, like
this guy's gonna go into free agency or at least
it's like a it's a strong possibility, right because you
just can't be sure he's going to settle for four
for eighty nine, right.
Speaker 1: And also I do think we know their biggest priority
needs to be getting a different type of center looking there.
The defense was very fly by night during the regular season.
It was exposed during the playoff series against Minnesota. I
think we know you can get into it a little
bit like the prototypical big man that you want to
put alongside Luca? Is that still true for you? And
then like do any name sort of spring to mind,
like they need to be in the market for these
type this player.
Speaker 2: I will answer your question.
Speaker 3: I want I have like a threshold thing before which
ties to the big man thing. Do you do you
think so Luca did not look good against Minnesota. There
are a lot of reasons for that. You know, he
would get his numbers, he would score. Do you think
that owes more to the lack of like a rim,
rim running big guy, like you know, a lot of
has been made of that, like they just the Lakers
don't have that. Luca really thrives if he has that
passing option like in the decision tree, as opposed to
like either he has to try to finish, which he
has not looked good enough to do consistently, or just
spray it out, like do you think that just if
it's Mark Williams, like, does that make Luca look like
Dallas Luca?
Speaker 2: Or is it still health.
Speaker 3: Conditioning like that kind of thing and it won't solve
all of the problems.
Speaker 1: I really think it's the latter, Do you like, would
you I don't think that Mark Williams. Did you see
that he tweeted a smiley face after the Lakers loss.
It was I hope people, I didn't look I hope people,
quote tweeted with film of him playing defense for most
of this year. I don't think like I do, think
that's the type of big you still offensively, you still
want alongside Luca. But like Luka, Dancic will figure out
a way to have iconic performances when he is fully healthy.
And I'm not trying to just excuse the health to
what part his own conditioning played in it, and then
also just choppering into a new team. A lot of
variables that play here. But he he looked like he
could move by the end of the Livererwool series, and
that matters more than oh, the Lakers don't have a
center and they only have Jackson Hayes. I did see.
I thought it was kind of cute that, like, people,
how did JJ not play Jackson Hayes by the end
of that series? And it was if that's what you're
quibbling over, clearly he just didn't have options at his disposal.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I think I think so to Ancel, it's
got to be you just have to have. I don't
you know how good the guy even needs to be.
It just like you know, nobody liked nobody thought Daniel
Gafford was all that great until he ended up in Dallas.
Speaker 2: So like Daniel Gafford.
Speaker 3: Level, So like the twentieth or twenty fifth best starting
center in the league, something like that would would do it.
Speaker 1: You know, Luca like reinvent or not reinvent reboot Clint
Capella's value. He's a free agent that maybe the Lakers
could afford.
Speaker 2: Sure someone liked that.
Speaker 3: I mean Lopez. I hadn't even thought of Lopez, but
like if you he's.
Speaker 2: Like the opposite, He's a complete opposite. But that's kind
of fun to.
Speaker 3: Think about, just as a guy that has to be
guarded on the perimeter has Luca. I guess you'd say
like Kliba was was the closest that Luca ever got
to having like a stretch five on the floor with him.
Speaker 2: Am I forgetting somebody? Uh in Dallas? Like you never
really went with that look constantly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's just like the but the number of
centers who would check that box, I mean, would you
want to be interested in Bobby Portis if you're able
to get him as a player option. No, it's not
really a center, would you. I just don't know how
they go about, like how much does it cost to
get Rob Williams from Portland? He's never healthy, so you can't.
I'm not giving up a first round pick for him,
but you have some matching money or they do if
they're out on that experience. Is that the does he
check enough of like if he's healthy alongside Luca Boxes,
are you looking for someone that has more size?
Speaker 3: I think that the health if is like a little
too big. But yeah, maybe it's been so long since
Robert Williams's played consistently, I honestly don't know if he's
like still a legit lob threat of the caliber that
Luca could really utilize. Yeah, I still maybe it is, though,
because I think my the thing I come back to
is like, the guy doesn't have to be I don't
know who's the best. It doesn't have to be Pete
Anthony Davis ironically, or like or Yiannis or or you know,
it doesn't have to be Clippers DeAndre Jordan. We don't
need like a truly great lob threat like Luca will
make a decent lob threat guy, a good lob threat.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I'm also kind of looking at like
the big man free agents, and there's just not a
lot of inspiring options if you're looking for an actual
lob throw or you want to like a reunion with
Andre Drummond.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's no, he's not getting off the
floor anymore. That's yeah, I think.
Speaker 3: Well, and that's the thing is, like that's not the
only thing the Lakers need. You know that that's the
most conspicuous one and the one that theoretically makes you know,
helps Luca the most. But like you could use another shooter,
you could use You just need more front court size
in general, like you might just you just have to
have because I don't think like Hayes's Hayes is unrestricted, right,
Hayes is gone most likely unless you bring him back
on a minimum and just don't intend to play him.
Speaker 2: I just I think you need.
Speaker 3: At least the lob threat guy to start. You probably
need a backup five, and you probably need another four
with some size too. So it's you know, maybe you
get away with Hachimura, DFS and Lebron, but it's it's
not just the big the rim running guy.
Speaker 1: Do you you ass signed any value to Look, this
could just be like in the fog of war type thing,
but Lebron sort of saying he needs to think about
his future and how much the Lakers he want to
prioritize him. He has a player option, so the control
the Lakers don't want him. He's a no trade clause
and a player option, so like the powers in his heads.
Speaker 3: Right and eligible to sign for three years and up
to one seventy five if he doesn't pick that player
option up, which he's basically has not done anything other
than a two year deal for a really long time,
So that's that's probably not gonna happen.
Speaker 2: I think he still has.
Speaker 3: To be a pretty big priority at least until you
get Luca. Well, then this ties to the Luca extension eligibility.
Speaker 2: What is it four for two twenty nine? I think
he can sign for so like.
Speaker 1: Does do you think Eco Harrison would offer that contract?
Speaker 2: Maybe he'd offer that one.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 3: He wasn't gonna offer the bigger one. What another stroke
of luck for the Lakers. They can't even pay Luca
like the most he could have made.
Speaker 2: They have to they get the bargain rate.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would agree that it feels like they need
an I could. I think you could argue that they
need just like another wing type, because you're all your
wing types are just starting.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they're really more forwardy than than like wingy.
Speaker 1: And yeah, you just get into like what do you
you have those resources? Ideally maybe you divvy them up
or address multiple needs in one trade. I just don't know,
like that the assets are so modest. You're gonna point me,
you're gonna have to get some hits on like kind
of the minimum or exception market whatever you're working with. Yeah,
they would be. I don't like if any other big
spring to mind, Like I was thinking, does Mitchell Robinson
make sense for this team if he expiring contract? I
don't know what the Nicks will want for him. He
might not be enough, like he doesn't have the hands
and maybe he'sn't enough of a lob threat, but like defensively, yeah,
you can still turn on the Jets there. I thought
about Nick Claxton, like his deal doesn't look as good
as it did like last offseason. What does it cost
to get him out of Brooklyn?
Speaker 3: And if he can be the best version of himself
his he can switch a little little bit or used
to be all switch a lot and and like maybe
solve some of the Luca targeting things like or at
least mitigates that a little bit. Yeah, he's interesting. I
feel like he's Do you think they'll go after someone
in his like pay grade? That that feels like you're
you're using up a lot of your limited resources and flexibility,
where I think, as we're talking about it more, you
do just you need like three different types of guys
and you can't use it all on well.
Speaker 1: I mean, the fact that they were going to trade
for Mark Williams makes me wonder if they would just go.
Speaker 2: Well because he did it and they thought better of it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well he was financially like cheap, but in terms
of asset equeen, then you're gonna have to bankroll his
next deal, which I assume won't be in substantial but
maybe it won't be Nick Claxton's twenty five million dollars
a year. So that's a that's a good call out.
Speaker 3: Just going through what do you think the most likely
scenarios are contract wise for Luca Lebron and Reeves, Like
in terms of the you know, the extension eligibility and
opt outs and all that stuff, Like, how do you
think this shakes out in each case? Uh?
Speaker 1: I think Lebron ops out, we'll not another one plus one,
or maybe he'll sign the phone Like he's older, so
he might just lock up the three years. And he
now he's you know, he's less integral to the Lakers
because of Luca than before, so he might view it
as having less leverage. Interesting, So I think that'll happen.
I think Luca puts pen to paper on the extension
because this season, I'm not saying it was warranted, had
to be some sort of reality check with the way
things played out in Dallas. Plus look at how he
looked towards the end of that Timberwolve series. He might
just want to lock up like the extension now rather
than waits that you could add the extra year and
the extra money.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's the thing, all right.
Speaker 3: He can sign for like he can sign a two
plus one essentially extension and then.
Speaker 2: Get back into free agency sooner.
Speaker 3: So the argument would be, like he could make back
up the one hundred plus million he can't get by
virtue of being traded from Dallas to LA You think
he'll go the four two twenty nine.
Speaker 1: I think he will. I'm gonna predict that he does.
And if he doesn't, that my may things And like
maybe he's trying to time his for agents with Yokic's
at that point. Who knows, So look at that, Uh,
don' worry Phinney Smith. I kind of feel like he's
going to opt in and extend. Do you think that's
how this ends?
Speaker 3: Well, he's like right around the mid level, right I
would I wrote it down like if he's right around
fifteen or fifteen point four.
Speaker 1: And the mid levels fourteen point one. I assume not
a lot of teams have flexibility, but I assume that
he wanted to leave, there would be a multi year
mid level exception offer on the table for him.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so it's gonna take at least that, right, So
I don't know what you go up to for him,
but but yeah.
Speaker 1: You can lower his pay rate in the extension too,
is what you like per year? So it's like, would
he sign an extension or I guess keep him flat,
Like a three year, forty five million dollar extension? Is
that not enough to lock him up?
Speaker 3: That's the question. I mean that that's a good like
over under to set it out. Whereas if because if
you're the Lakers, I think you're pretty darn happy if
you got him for that right he was.
Speaker 1: He was for the most part spectacular for them, especially
during the regular seat Well, he just.
Speaker 3: He mad like the you know, the older Lebron gets
and the more I don't know if Lucas just never
gonna be in.
Speaker 2: Shape, like you gotta have that guy like he just
has to guard somebody.
Speaker 1: Here's a question for you. Which player is most likely
to be traded this summer.
Speaker 2: On the whole team, No, just on just the start
of Lebron, Luca and DFS. I'd say DFS probably It's okay.
Speaker 1: So who do they gave Vincon expiring that trif Vanderbilt
contract does not aged well, No, a Roally contract, which
I slammed his age. I you know, I posted this
on Blue Sky where said it doesn't really get talked
about enough that Ruy went from a thirty five percent
three point shooter in Washington who was so erratic and
then just turned into a forty plus percent dead eye
guy in LA and everyone's like the Lebron effect. He's
not a good shooter, and it's just yeah, the Lebron
has definitely helped, but also just he had players who
actually get downhill and move on the ball and reeves
and ad but like the form just looks I'll say,
more fluid if it's not quicker, and he's just you
still do not It's not like he was shooting forty
five percent of wide open threes during his like duration
of Washington.
Speaker 3: Well do you remember too, like how much we hate
I remember how much I hated his shot profile.
Speaker 2: It's like, oh, he's super good at.
Speaker 3: Like sixteen foot pull up that shoots a lot of those,
or like the turnarounds from the baseline that are two
point shots, Like yeah, I think I mean, he deserves
most of the credit for changing how he plays, but
it's also a little bit of like, oh, once he
was on a team that was good enough to say, like, hey,
knock it off, like shoot these shots.
Speaker 2: Like their stakes here, and then he did it.
Speaker 1: And there's the gravity part. But I did note because
when people said that he shot lower on threes off
passes from Lebron this year than he did overall. So
I do think that there's a lot of other stuff
that goes into it, like defenders being pulled away from
him in general. But it's just the improvement there has
been great for him, and I think he's someone who
I don't know that you would say teams are tripping
over themselves to get his contracts, But if you were
as a like a salary matcher, well, that's actual value,
that's the thing is.
Speaker 3: So that's why I was like kind of trying to
you have to someone that would have real trade value
that the Lakers could talk themselves into affording that that well,
we can upgrade on this somehow. Rui's like kind of
threading that needle, right because teams like he has like
some and he has enough like playoff like bona fides
now to where it's like, yeah, he can guard up
and he can make shots, and like.
Speaker 1: That's the Jokic stopper.
Speaker 2: That's enough. Like yeah, he's shut down Jokic. Just remember that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would you wouldn't want to trade him. But
but also like, how are you enticing someone from another
organization to trade somebody good unless Ruey's.
Speaker 2: In the deal?
Speaker 1: Yeah, because I think that him and Reeves and I
you could say the same about Dorian and Finney Smith.
But you get it that, okay, Like we just named
their five best players and they're all indispensable. But aside
from Lebron and Luca, it's Ruey Dfs and Austin Reeves
have the most standalone value. And I don't think you
want to trade any one of those guys right now.
So I think I would pick Kleiba and Vincent are
both on expiring deals. They make like in that eleven
million dollar range. Yeah, I'm gonna pick one of them,
and I think I'll say Vincent just because you might
hold out hope. And like if Maxi cleeb was just
healthy and can either move on defense or his hitting
threes or both, he would comes like kind of a
rotation asset.
Speaker 2: The story of Maxi Kleba since twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: Because Gavin shot the ball well better down the stretch.
But it's just ultimately like you have Luca and Reeves
and Lebron. I don't know how much his offense matters
to you, and he plays sort of a defensive well.
I guess you get into the well he can take
someone like the tougher perimeter defensive assignment Tory Finny Smith's
gonna do that anyway.
Speaker 3: Yeah right, all right, thanks everybody for listening, for watching.
Make sure you're a rated review subscribe five stars, many
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comments there.
Speaker 1: Let us know what your thoughts are.
Speaker 3: I'll join our discord links for that, and the YouTube
can talk about description. So it's always been a shout
with Frank Milakeina and an apology to Jared Allen