Lakers Q&A: How Does LA Land A Starting Forward? Next Steps & More

Yoan Buha. Booha.

>> Yo yo, I'm Yoan Buha, NBA reporter and analyst for Boohha's Block and welcome to another live show. Shout out to the chat. Shout out to the late night gang.

We have not much to talk about on the roster front. Uh it's been a quiet day for the Lakers and actually most of the league as we've seen the moratorium lifted, but there's been some of the signings and trades have gone through. We had the Yiannis trade go through and uh teams renouncing rights and whatnot, but uh there's a bit of a holding pattern right now with a lot of uncertainty with LeBron James and his situation and all of the fallout that will inevitably come with that.

Uh for the Lakers right now, they have not officially announced any of their moves and they are trying to figure out a way to add either a starting forward/wing uh and/or a backup center. So those are the two clear holes on the roster right now. And there are various ways the Lakers can go about trying to address both of those holes. We will be breaking that down today. I have a ton of slides uh to go through in terms of the pathways for LA to add that type of player uh different options and then the order of operations in terms of how the moves have to play out.

So, that's what I've spent most of the last 24 hours doing is breaking down the numbers and just figuring out how does this actually work and and trying to distill it as best I can uh to make it uh more manageable because the the cap, you know, the the apron stuff, new CBA, it's like you basically need a law degree to break all this stuff down and the amount of contingencies and then also the lack of available information like some of these things like some of the rules don't even have the the stipulations like publicly available. You have to dig into it. So, that's what I've been doing the last 24 hours and I'm ready to break it all down.

Uh, but on the Laker front, I think it's worth noting that Rui Hachimura is officially off the table. Uh, the Lakers have been looking at a potential Rui reunion over the last few days, as well as pursuing Jonathan Kuminga. Rui stays in LA, but he ends up going cross-town to join the LA Clippers uh for a two-year, $28 million deal with a team option on the second year. So, that, you know, shows you that you can do team options instead of player options. It is possible. The Clippers had more of the leverage in that scenario.

And the summer league Lakers won today uh 88-84 over the Spurs uh despite a quiet night from Cameron Carr who did not play in the second half. Adu Theo did not play in the game with a right wrist injury. And there's no update on his availability postgame uh from Summer League coach Tai Abbott. And we'll see if Adoo is able to return uh in time for Friday's game uh in Las Vegas. Uh, but they won because Chris Bonan bowled out and had by far his best game of summer league through these first few games. And I I think we finally saw some of the offensive upside that he has and and some of that uh just I mean as a cutter, as a shooter, as a transition threat, and he has a a really unique game because like the defensive part makes sense. He's a defensive menace. He's an ace. Uh and the defensive playmaking is at a very high level. The offensive game is a bit unorthodox. That's where I I think you see some of the athleticism limitations with him. But tonight, I thought his ability getting downhill, making shots, hit like a couple side-step shots, but also given-and-gos, like he he just was all over the place. And I I was really impressed by his performance tonight. Uh so we could get into that during the Q&A, but I first want to start here with the Lakers pathways to get a forward.

So, the Lakers have essentially three pathways to get a forward. Pathway number one is they can create enough cap space to sign or trade for a forward. And this is before they go over the cap. So, uh before you make certain moves, some of the signings or uh you'd probably do the DeAndre Ayton trade first, then you could do some of your signings as long as you're still under the cap. Uh, but if you do some of these trades where you get off some additional money, if you create X amount of cap space, you can use that cap space to offer Jonathan Kuminga a contract or to even trade for a player who fits cleanly into that amount of additional cap space because once you start going into your cap space that you're penciled in to use, that creates a problem. This is just all right, the Lakers have X amount of money committed to their uh free agents that they're signing to Kessler, to Austin, to and you know they're keeping Austin on the cap hold to Sexton with the room exception like they have all these uh moves that they're making, right? You got to keep the cap space as it is and if you create additional cap space, you can then go sign for someone or trade for someone within the parameters of whatever additional cap space you are creating as long as you're doing that while operating under the cap.

Second option here would be trading for a forward after they make their moves. So they make their flurry of moves. They do the Kessler sign-and-trade. They they do the DeAndre Ayton trade. They sign uh Grimes and McDaniels. They uh use the room exception on Colin Sexton. And then they also uh use, you know, bird rights on Austin to go from uh being a cap space team to above the cap. And after all those moves, the Lakers are roughly right now at around $192.7 million. So, uh, little over like, uh, you know, $7 million from the $200 million luxury tax line. And then there's another $9 million there or so until they reach the first apron. So, they they got some wiggle room there under the first apron. They are hard-capped at the first apron because of the Walker Kessler signing trade uh because they're acquiring a player and because of that, they have to stay under the first apron no matter what the moves they're doing are but as long as they stay under the first apron and I think for them ideally the luxury tax though I I don't think that's a mandate. I I just think to not trigger or you to knock off the repeater tax in and this year with them theoretically being able to stay under it and still build a competitive roster and then in future years, it'll be tougher. But like for this year at least, if they could stay under the luxury tax line, that would be, I think, an added bonus.

Or if they don't get off money as a cap space team or they don't make a trade, they can just sign a guy to a minimum contract. And that would be the third path here. I think that's the one that fans would probably like the least, but that is a possibility.

In terms of LA's trade assets, uh, as a refresher here, the Lakers have three second-round picks to trade as of right now. Their 2033 second and then the 2031 and 2032 Wizards seconds that they will be acquiring in the DeAndre Ayton trade. So, realistically, that's going to have to be either the first or second thing they do, uh, the the DeAndre Ayton trade for Jaden Hardy because that will give them those seconds that they can then reroute in a deal. Uh, they also have a first-round pick swap in 2032. So, these are the Lakers' primary draft assets as of right now. They technically have three first-round picks. They just don't have access to trade any of them. And they could obviously do a pick swap with one of them with the 2032 first.

Then in terms of trade candidates because the Lakers are not going to trade D'Lo and then there's some restrictions now like, you know, the the new guys uh can't be traded for a certain amount of time depending on like Austin is I believe January 15th, the the new players that they're acquiring, it'll be December 15th. Cameron Carr. It's 30 days after he signed his uh rookie contract. So, I believe it's August 1st is the first date that Cameron Carr can be traded. And the Lakers don't even have a full roster right now. So, these are the players that would realistically be rerouted if the Lakers make a move either below the cap or above the cap. You know, regardless of which path they take, here are the guys that they will be looking to trade.

First and foremost, it starts with Jared Vanderbilt. This is the contract they will be looking to get off of. Uh if they could get off of this and not use all of their draft assets in terms of the three seconds and the swap, I think that would be a tremendous win for the front office uh just because the going asking rate has been a minimum of a first to attach Jared Vanderbilt in any deal just to get to neutral value. So, if you're theoretically if like a player is worth two or three seconds and you're trying to put Vando in that trade, that's going to be really difficult for the Lakers cuz you're going to need to include Vando just to get to neutral value two or three seconds and then you don't have anything else to put on top of it. So, that's where uh either you don't put Vando in that trade or then you're potentially having to put like a D'Lo in that trade to to sweeten the pot. So, it just depends on who the player is and what the context is there. But you have Jared Vanderbilt, two years, $25.7 million remaining. Jake LaRavia, a $6 million expiring. Jaden Hardy, uh, making $6 million this year, $6 million team option for 2027-28, but he can only be aggregated while the Lakers still have cap space. So what that means is technically after the Lakers do all their moves, they could trade Jaden Hardy, but if they did that, they could not aggregate him with other salary. So they could not use him and another player, two players uh for a certain amount of time. So really, if you are going to dump Jaden Hardy in a bigger trade, you would need to do it while you're still a cap space team. So that would be the order of operations here in terms of uh just like if the Lakers want to put uh Hardy with Vando or Hardy with Jake, Hardy with Dalton, some combination of some of these mid-size salary, you know, mid-lower size salaries that they have. It would have to be while they're still a cap space team and before they go above the cap. So, for example, like they'd have to trade Hardy with one of those guys before they uh probably do the Kessler trade officially. Uh maybe depending on where they're at financially could work, but you know, before they do the Sexton uh room exception, before they do the Austin uh going above the the cap to re-sign him with the bird rights, like those two moves, Sexton and Austin in particular, are probably going to be the last couple moves here.

Then you have Dalton Knecht making $4.2 million uh with a $6.5 million team option for the following season. Adu Theo, $2.2, $2.5 million team option for 2027-28. And then Bronny, making $2.3 with a $2.5 million team option for 2027-28. So those are all I think relatively manageable numbers. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

Now let's get into the order of operations here. So, if the Lakers want to be a cap space team, this is an approximate with how the order of operations would go. Now, technically, some of these moves are interchangeable, but I I think it's a little bit more straightforward to like, for example, the DeAndre Ayton trade, you are clearing additional space, so I think that makes the most sense to do that first. You don't have to technically do that one first, but uh some of these like uh moves one and two and moves five and six here are relatively interchangeable.

Move number one is you trade DA. You you do that trade, you create that additional $2.1 million in cap space, then you sign Quinton Grimes and McDaniels, then you salary dump players in trades to create cap space, and then you could either sign or trade for players that fit into that exact number. So again, if it's if you're dumping Jake and uh Dalton or Hardy and Dalton or Hardy and Bronny, whatever combination of guys you're trying to get off of that, you know, X amount of money, $8 million, $6 million, $10 million, $12 million, whatever the number is, that would be the money you would have to play with that you could either go sign someone within the confines of that number, or you could potentially trade for someone and just acquire someone into that number with the cap space. So, you would uh you could technically even do that before you sign Grimes or McDaniels. Doesn't really matter, but at least you're you're just locking in Grimes and McDaniels. Uh, but certainly the Ayton trade would have to be cuz you do want to potentially reroute Hardy. I think that's what the Lakers are going to look to do. And you need the second-round picks. So, that's like the first thing you have to do. Everything from there up until the end is relatively interchangeable, but I think it would make the most sense to just do the cap space stuff first before you you finish it out.

Then you do the Kessler trade. Obviously, you're not touching any of the assets that you're sending to the Jazz and that. So, you can't you can't back door them, you know, go reroute a first-round pick or something like the assets that you're sending to Utah are locked in. So, you can't touch those. You do the Kessler trade, then you sign Colin Sexton, then you re-sign Austin with his bird rights. Uh, and that would be an example of order of operations here with the Lakers operating with cap space to create some additional room to um to add a a forward or a big man that they could go either direction.

Then here's the order of operations trading above the cap. So this is if you decide you don't love like there's there's no suitor. A distinction here would just be that there there's no like suitor necessarily where you could just dump someone. Maybe it has to be Vando but you're taking back some money or or some combination you're taking back some money. There's not like a clean trade where you just get off the money because that's the distinction here between under the cap and above the cap is under the cap you are looking to just dump that salary. you're getting off of. And again, maybe there's maybe you're you're sending out 16, you're taking back four, and you're still offsetting there by creating $12 million of space. But like the the goal is to get off as much money as possible in that scenario. Whereas here, if you're going above the cap, then it starts getting into some of the trade rules for teams above the cap, but under the the two aprons.

So here, you still do the DeAndre Ayton trade first. Uh and then you could do Grimes and McDaniels, then you could do Kessler, then Sexton, then Austin. So you do all of your moves. You you do the two trades, you do the signings, you do the re-signing, then you trade for a forward or a backup center. You could potentially trade for both. And that's where uh you but now you're operating, it's different, right? You're not operating with cap space. You're not uh just taking in a player necessarily. You are going to have to to salary match to a degree based on the trade rules, which we will get into.

Here's the trade rules. So, gets a little complicated. I I wanted to try to simplify this as best I could, but for the Lakers operating above the cap, but being under the first two aprons, which is how they project to operate once they suss out their cap situation, if you have upwards of $8.8 million in outgoing salaries. So, for example, that could be Jake LaRavia with Adu Theo or Jake LaRavia and Bronny. It could just be Jake LaRavia straight up. Uh Jaden Hardy straight up as long as the combined salary of the one player, two players, three players is $8.8 million or less, uh you can bring back 200% of that plus $225, I mean $250,000. So, for example, here, if you send out Jake LaRavia in a trade, you can bring back a player and Jake's making $6 million, you could bring back a player making 200% of his salary, which would be $12 million, uh plus $250,000. So, uh, for example, here, you could bring back a player making $12.25 million. That's the most you can make for sending out Jake. And then, uh, you know, that that's the most money you could take back for sending out Jake. So, different versions of this, right? Upwards of $8.8. So it could be Jake again, Jake plus Bronny, Hardy plus Bronny, like whatever is the the combination, as long as it's under $8.8, those are the salary matching rules.

If it's above $8.8 and between $29, the number I couldn't find the official number. Might even be a little bit higher, might be closer to 30, but I I realistically don't think the Lakers are going to be sniffing $30 million in terms of a trade with the aforementioned guys cuz you're just having to add so much salary together. That would even like even if you go Vando, Jake, and Dalton, that doesn't get you to $30 million. So, it would take a ton of money and teams are rarely just going to take on like four or five guys, especially with limited draft capital. Like these aren't that enticing of contracts and players and then it's also not that enticing of draft capital. So realistically I don't see a scenario in which the Lakers are getting up into the mid to high 20s. It's theoretically possible. I I just think it's unlikely. Uh, but technically if you have $8.8 uh a dollar over $8.8 to we'll say for now $29, but it might be a little bit higher. Uh, that is uh in terms of salary matching, it's a flat basically $9.1 million. So for example, Jared Vanderbilt who's making roughly uh almost $12.4 million, uh he could take you take back uh up to $21.5 or or thereabouts uh with the the the $9.1 increase from Vando's $12.4. So that's an example now as long as it's within that range. So realistically, if if you know Vando's involved, it's automatically in this range. But if it's Jake and Hardy or Jake and Dalton, anything that goes above that $8.8, those are the the salary uh matching rules there.

Then if it's above $29 million, you're limited to 125% in terms of taking back and then you could add $250,000 on top of that. So, that one again I I think is highly unlikely in terms of the Lakers uh like they're not going to be able to trade some of their or all their free agents and and signings and whatnot. And I already went through the list of guys. I think it's really difficult to combine those guys into a situation where you're sending out over $29 million, but it's it's possible. I I just think it's highly unlikely.

Here are some potential trade targets that check these boxes within the parameters of what we were discussing. Uh so you have Jonathan Kuminga who has been a prime target for the Lakers. Uh now technically he's a free agent so he applies to the free agent list as well but he can be acquired in a sign-and-trade. So technically the Lakers could acquire him in a trade.

Looking at PJ Washington in Dallas, he's making $19.8 this year. But he's got three years, $69 million left over. Dallas has a front court log jam. They drafted Maxwell Lewis out of Michigan. They traded for Usman Garuba. They obviously have Cooper Flagg. Derek Lively is coming back. Like they they have this surplus of front court talent and guys in that general 6'8" to 6'10" range. And PJ Washington with a ton of money left over to me looks like a guy that for the right price could likely be had. I mean, we do have the history of LA and Dallas and I I think optically Dallas would have to hold their own in any trade with the Lakers, but I think he's someone that for a certain price uh is realistic.

You have Derrick Jones Jr. and with the Clippers now going in a different direction, trying to go a bit younger. He's a guy who's in his late 20s and theoretically fits what they're trying to do and they could still use a certain amount of perimeter defense and and shooting and motor and whatnot, but I think he's a guy that as an expiring not necessarily fitting into their long-term goals, like would the Clippers move him for the right price, which again I think is likely going to be the Lakers, you know, at least two seconds, if not all three seconds, depending on if Vando's in the deal or what that looks like.

You have Christian Braun who we've talked about before on the show in terms of would only consider taking him on if Denver was attaching some real draft capital to that. So is that a first? Is that a couple seconds? I know they have a pretty limited cupboard of draft assets. But something in that range, you know, because he's making $21.6 that he's got four years, $103 million left on the deal. So that that's a monster contract. You contrast that with like what PJ Washington's getting and I think PJ Washington's just a better player than Christian Braun even though he is, you know, a bit older. So Denver still has to shed some money with this whole Peyton Watson situation. Even if they get the discount on Peyton Watson, which is how this is all shaken out or, you know, potentially shaking out, they still are in a tough tough spot. They have Spencer Jones, like they love Bruce Brown and they're just it would be great for them to shed some money and I think Christian Braun is the one that they would want to get off of the most. And so that that's the one that I think they'd love to move him. It's just going to cost an arm and a leg and we'll see if they end up paying that price.

Cam Johnson, $23 million expiring. Denver needs to shed money. And look, like from a positional standpoint, I think Kuminga, Washington, Johnson all fit cleanly into the Lakers' current build. With Jones, Brown, Dort, and Strus, you are going a little bit smaller because I I think with how the Lakers have things set up, you're looking for that wing defender, but also someone ideally 6'7" to 6'9". So, if you're not quite in a certain level of rebounder, if you're not quite there, like Dort and Strus are just not they're not at the size or the rebounding that you'd probably want from that spot. Similar thing with Christian Brown, like he's a better rebounder than those guys, but still a little bit on the smaller side around 6'5", 6'6". So, I think these guys hit the target to a degree. I think they're better than LA's current options, but I I just want to acknowledge they're imperfect fits to varying degrees. And some of them are are more big guards, some of them are more wings, some of them are are true forwards. And it's a bit of a spectrum here, but I think these are guys that are likely available slash are currently available and just depends on the the price that their team is looking for and the price that the Lakers are willing to meet.

Uh, then you have Lu Dort, $17.7 million expiring, not $17.1, but OKC is still over the second apron. So maybe they look to get off of him or they do have a front court log jam to a degree at the five. So maybe they get off of center Jaylen Williams or Thomas Bryant or something like that. Uh, we we'll see what they end up doing. And then Max Strus with $16.7 million expiring. Cleveland still needs to shed money and we'll see what happens with LeBron and if he ends up going there or if they end up doing some sort of deal with Jarrett Allen or or what happens with James Harden, but uh Strus could end up being a casualty in the Cleveland cap situation. So, I think he's another one that is worth mentioning.

But yeah, I mean among this group, I think PJ Washington stands out. And if we go back to my wing targets episode that I did with JSM uh right before free agency started, PJ was my highest-rated guy out of all these guys. I think with how LA's roster and and front court has played out, PJ's rebounding here is the thing. Uh, you know, he's got the the proof of concept with Luka. He's got not he's coming off a a poor shooting season, but I think it is historically the level of shooter that you you want at a minimum. I I think it's closer to like the minimum level of shooter, but he passes the the test there, but really to me it's it's the combination of defense. His metrics are still elite across the board. He's more of a three through five defender than he is like a two through four or one through three. But with Quinton Grimes likely being that starting point of attack guy, I think it would give you a nice contrast there where Quinton Grimes is guarding the ones and the twos. PJ Washington is guarding the threes and the fours. D'Lo and Austin are guarding the secondary guys, D'Lo guarding the secondary front court guy, Austin guarding the secondary back court guy. And then you have Kessler as, you know, guarding fives, the the primary rim protector. So, of these guys, I would say PJ Washington is by far, I think, the best fit and checks the most boxes for what the Lakers currently have and and currently need.

After that, it's tough. I might even go I might go Cam Johnson, honestly, because he isn't expiring. And again, I'm looking at slightly bigger guys. He's in that 6'7", 6'8" range. And he's an okay rebounder. He's not a great rebounder. And I think he's a better defender than people give him credit for. He's not a stopper, but I think he's like slightly above average overall. Uh, just not at the level of like a Dort or a Derrick Jones or someone like that. Uh, but the I think the the shooting mixed with the basketball, like I I think he would fit in nicely with the offense in terms of just the shooting, the passing, the relocating. He's a high IQ basketball player. I think he checks some of the boxes. Now, I I guess thinking through it, like I still want some more defense, so maybe I I shift then toward Derrick Jones Jr. I don't know if he's quite the level of offensive player. And it really feels like as I've thought more about the Lakers build, it feels like especially with that top seven, top eight, their goal is like do not have an offensive liability out there. I think that's a big reason why they went with Colin Sexton over Marcus Smart or even Kelly Oubre with that room exception is I think they're trying to build a top eight or a top nine where there's just no offensive liability and with the exception of Kessler who is efficient and in a high-level finisher but relatively limited. We'll see how his shooting and passing from last season develops into this season. With the exception of Kessler, everybody can shoot threes at at least the league average level. Everyone can pass and move and dribble at a certain level. So Derek Jones, uh, Lou Dort, those guys don't really fit within that. I think they're below the level you want overall offensively. Everyone else here I I think is at least at the level if not above it. Uh, but that to me, I would say PJ Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Cam Johnson would be my three favorites. Christian Brown, again, if you're getting the first, that's when I I start to consider him. He to me is more of a two-three. So, it just shifts like you're not really getting a true he's like a 2.5, maybe three at at at highest. So, he's not really like a big forward. And I while he's a he's a good rebounder for his position, he's not necessarily the level of rebounder you would want. like he he would immediately become the third best rebounder in the lineup, but I I would want a higher level rebounder. Lou Dort, I'm lower on him than consensus and and just think that you similar to Brown. It's like it's kind of a positional thing where he he's in that kind of two-three hybrid. Strus, I guess, is more of a three, but also not really like a big forward. He's in that 6'6" range as well.

And then we get to Kuminga, who I I think is right now the most likely of these guys to end up on the Lakers. He comes with a ton of uncertainty on both sides of the ball. Uh, like the the positive side, like offensively, there's an just an element of talent and skill that he's got the highest offensive upside on this list, I think, easily. But there's also he's been a below-average three-point shooter in four of his five years. He's a bit of a ball stopper. He did not get along great with Steve Kerr in that system in Golden State. And just in general, I feel like the the NBA uh decision makers are are collectively lower on Kuminga. Like I he does not have a great perception around the league. So, uh doesn't mean he can't be a reclamation project for the Lakers, but that is a pretty important position where you would be the Lakers already taking some gambles here of you're gambling on Austin Reaves being a bonafide number two. You're gambling on Walker Kessler growing into a near all-star level center. Like you're paying him all-star se uh all-star level center money and and hoping that he levels up. You are putting a lot in Quinton Grimes to be your primary point of attack guy and as of right now your number three option. Like you're already taking some gambles and some bets on some younger guys within your rotation. Like do you want to add another one into it? And then defensively, Kuminga had a really strong defensive season from a metrics perspective, but I think there's just some inconsistency there. Like if he was the the high-level defender every single night, I I think he would be getting $20 plus million or he would have a certain perception that's just not there. So I think that the potential is there, the flashes are there. Can he put it together consistently just remains the the open-ended question with Kuminga. And the Lakers have a track record of like he he he checks the boxes of former lottery pick guy who's been on a couple teams. Like the Lakers love those types of guys. But if this is like the final if this is the the the Thanos ring that you're trying to add here to win a championship, it could go great and it could really work and and Kuminga could be that final piece or it could be a disaster and you're looking to trade him at the trade deadline. Like realistically, if it's like a one, you know, one-plus-one or two-year deal, it's not egregious. You should be able to move it. And even if you can't move it, it's not going to like sink your cap sheet or your future. It's just it's a wasted opportunity. And like the bad version of Kuminga I would easily put at the bottom of this list, even factoring in like Christian Brown's contract. The good version of Kuminga, though, obviously I think he's closer to the top of this list. It's just are you going to get that guy?

Overall, I would say PJ Washington is the best fit and checks the most boxes right now with what the Lakers need and how their roster is shaping up. But, uh, I think you could argue several of these guys here. And, you know, with the caveat again that with Christian Brown in particular, you need to be getting a draft pick or or two, three seconds, something like that to to really make it worth your time. Otherwise, I think you end up uh passing on him.

Then, here's a list of potential free agent wing targets. So again, Kuminga technically unrestricted free agent. So you can't sign him or you can't acquire him in a sign-and-trade. But then this gets depressing like this none of these guys should be starting on the Lakers. And I I don't think any of them would be. But when we're talking about do the Lakers do something under the cap, do the Lakers do something over the cap or do the Lakers just stand pat and add a minimum player or two. This is where or or I mean technically there's like a within the third version it could just be dump uh Dalton dump Hardy somewhere you don't take anything back uh necessarily and then you go sign someone with that like and this would be the pool you're pretty much uh picking from.

Like Matisse Thybulle, I think he's he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, not like as good as he was a few years ago but but still solid, still really good. I just think he's a fringe rotation guy at this point. Spencer Dinwiddie, I like shot really well in the playoffs. I think he's underrated defensively, but he's an RFA, which is, you know, brings its own complications, even though I don't think he's at the level where he's a a no-brainer must keep for Denver, but that is something you have to potentially navigate. Bruce Brown, Gary Payton Jr. are more of these power forwards on offense but guards defensively so they check a unique box with their profiles. Julian Champagnie, the Nets just rescinded his rights as an restricted free agent so he's unrestricted. You also have Zeke Nnaji. So both those guys have had their rights rescinded and and are free to hit the market. Then Nicolas Batum, which he doesn't really fit what the Lakers are are going for. He he's in his late 30s. So, I think just based on this group, like he deserves consideration. It's just the Lakers are are looking to to stay in the late 20s and below. So, even Gary Payton the second might be out of their price range. Bruce Brown borderline there, but uh this I mean this is the group and none of these guys are starters. I think in the case of Brown and Gary Payton have proven to be rotation guys on their respective teams and their respective systems, but Gary Payton didn't have a good tenure in Portland. Bruce Brown struggled in Indiana and Toronto relative to his performance in Denver. So, we just don't know if those guys are system players, right? And they might just be best staying in Denver and staying in Golden State respectively. Julian Champagnie and Zeke Nnaji have some upside, but they also have some question marks. And at this point, that's more of a lottery ticket situation where you just hope you give them a minimum and hope that they hit, right? But the Lakers have like several of the those guys already in the rotation with Adu Theo and you know, Cameron Carr, we'll touch on him, I'm sure, in the Q&A. He looks ahead of schedule right now. But the the Lakers I think would like some certainty to some degree with some of these guys and it is really difficult like Matisse Thybulle, I think you know what you're getting. Bruce Brown, Gary Payton the second depends on the system and then everybody else like Batum's on his last legs, Champagnie, Nnaji, Jones and Kuminga, those guys are all wild cards and for the minimum it's okay but when you're talking I think in Kuminga's case a bit more than that uh there is some inherent risk there.

And then final couple ones here. The center market's even worse. So this is the uh this is the free agent center market. You're right. Moses Brown, who is my this is in order for me in terms of my top targets. Moses Brown, restricted free agent out of Dallas. They lost Marvin Bagley. So I think with Brown with the potential he showed over the second half of last season, they're probably going to just retain him and and I wouldn't want to pay him more than the minimum anyway. So I would throw a minimum bid and Dallas would probably match that. So I I think unless there's some sort of sign-and-trade where maybe you're sending them a second or something like that, uh like a Washington second, they really want that. Maybe you could work something out with Brown. But other other than that, like Nick Richards, I think is uh he he's grown on me just based on the options. Like to to me with Brown being unrealistic in my opinion, Nick Richards is my choice for most realistic. I I don't think he's good enough defensively and I think he he's gotten some opportunities and to me been relatively underwhelming. Uh like this was someone that people were talking about investing, you know, first-round picks and whatnot on the trade market a couple years ago and I just don't think he's been that level of player. So for a minimum player, I think he's fine. I don't think he's as good as Jaxson Hayes. I don't think any of these guys are as good as Jaxson Hayes. So like looking at losing Jackson and DA, the Lakers are going to take a a step back at the backup five spot, but that's just part of it. And then Khem Birch and Jonas Valanciunas I just don't think are playoff. They're not 16-game players to me. Like just a like imagine these guys in a series against OKC or San Antonio and you can't because it's just it would not work, right? So Valanciunas was a a bit of an innings eater during the regular season with Denver this past year, but we saw in the Minnesota series he was completely unplayable. Khem Birch, you know, he's a vet veteran, right? And he's got the championship experience with the Warriors. He's played in the biggest games on the biggest stage and I think he's got the IQ and just, you know, with the rebounding and and some of the the tricks of the trade like I think he could maybe be an innings eater for a little bit, but I just those guys cannot play on the floor at the same time as Wenyen Gabriel or Isaiah Hartenstein or Chet Holmgren or any of these guys. Like that would be a disaster. So if you're landing on this type of big, you're really putting yourself in a corner where like if Walker Kessler goes down at any point, if Walker Kessler went down when you had DeAndre Ayton, you at least could be like, "All right, DA, step in 30, 32 minutes a night. Give us what you gave us last year. If he goes down for a month, you are are completely screwed with with any of these guys really, I think. But like Richards is the one I guess you could talk me into uh being you know borderline rotation level in the playoffs though I I think probably not. So I mean this is just the state of where the Lakers center position is at. I think clearly it would make more sense to trade for somebody but we'll see if they're able to do that. You're obviously going to prioritize the starting wing/forward spot. So, if you could find a way to just I mean, look, if you could do the PJ Washington trade and get Brown in that and like just unload the clip three seconds and a swap for PJ Washington and Brown, I would do that in a heartbeat, but I don't know how Dallas would feel about that.

And then final one here, uh, we've talked through the no, so you we did order of operations with cap space, order of operations, uh, above the cap, and then this is order of operations with no trade. So again, you just do the DA trade, you sign Grimes, McDaniels, Kessler, Sexton, Austin, you do all of your business uh that you have already committed to doing, and then at the end you sign players for vet minimum contracts. So again, technically you could still, you know, being an above the cap, dump some guys, not take back uh salary, but you know, maybe take back less salary just to give yourself alleviate some room and then sign some vet minimum guys if that's how you want to go about it. But like realistically in this case, it would just be doing your moves and then signing a player or two. Lakers right now are at 13 players uh to you signing a couple guys. you'd get to 15. Now, we'll see what happens with Bronny. If he ends up getting traded to wherever LeBron goes and again, Hardy, they might try to reroute him. Maybe they expand the trade with the Wizards to a three-team trade and Hardy goes elsewhere or they expand the Kessler trade to a three-team trade and Hardy goes elsewhere in that, right? So that there's different ways to go about it. But uh the key associated with Hardy is if you want to aggregate him, it has to be well not only if you want to aggregate him, if you want to trade him, it has to be while you're a cap space team. Otherwise, there'll be a 60-day you can't trade him for 60 days and then uh you you can't aggregate him with other players as well. So that that's the uh final note on that, but just wanted to talk through it again.

So like if you look at it three basic pathways: the Lakers can create enough cap space to sign or trade for a forward before they go over the cap. Two, they could go over the cap, do their moves, and then trade for the forward with some of those trade restriction rules or, you know, parameters. Or three, they could just stand pat and gamble on a minimum signing depending on who is available there. Uh, and here are the again here are the trade rules: where under $8.8 million you can bring back double the salary plus $250k. $8.8 and a dollar to roughly $29 million, you can just bring back $9.1 million. Above uh, and then $29 million or more, you're limited to 125% plus $250,000.

With all that said, let's get into the Q&A here. First one from Notorious CRG. Thank you for the super chat. Uh, how do you think last March's roster plus Kessler compares to our current roster other than AR? I don't feel connected to the team. It'll take time. It's a really good question and it's it's difficult to say because I think last March that was like the team at its pinnacle and so you're comparing like the group there had been stops and starts throughout the season, right? And LeBron misses the first 14 games, Austin misses sometime in December and January before eventually returning in late January. D'Lo had missed some time in December. Rui had missed some time, right? DA here and there, Marcus. So, you just had a lot I mean, it's the story of the season. You had so many guys in and out of the lineup and rotation that that March stretch was finally an extended period where we saw this group relatively whole. Even within that, Marcus missed some time, right? And there was some times where where guys were in and out random rotation players, but for the most part, the key guys were available and they finally gelled and we saw the peak of the roster. So, it's difficult to say the peak of last year's roster versus the theoretical upside to this year's roster. I I do think with this year's roster, if it hits to the level it can, it will be a greater than the sum of its parts type situation, right? So on paper, like regardless of how you ought to frame it, it's either I think like from a salary perspective, it's obviously Walker Kessler as like your number three, but you could argue like typically when we talk about the the pecking order, the hierarchy, it's more through an offensive lens. And right now on paper, Quinton Grimes is the Lakers' number three. And I think if you look at Quinton Grimes, like no matter how high you are in Quinton Grimes, comparing him to most of the other number threes across the league, at least in that top eight to 10 teams, like it's like an All-Star All-NBA level player versus Quinton Grimes, who has been a bench player the last couple of years, right? So, it's just it's a different class. And going from having LeBron or Austin as your number three to Quinton Grimes as your number three, there is going to optically just it's going to be a downgrade, right? Like that there's no other way around that. Uh, so I struggle with this just because I I I have an idea of what the teams are going to look like, but they could certainly reach a different level that we we don't foresee or or maybe the most optimistic fans foresee, right? But there's sort of a see it to believe it element for me.

Within all this, where I know what I saw last March. Uh, now, the one thing with last March that I think people continually overlook is what happened immediately after March, which was the Lakers played the Oklahoma City Thunder and got absolutely whooped, and Austin had three turnovers in the first four minutes. I think Luka played his worst game of the season, and they just got shellacked by OKC on both sides of the ball. And you know, they both got injured, but that was more of, uh, you know, Austin tweaked it at some point late first, early second. He already was having a bad game before then. Luka tweaked it. He'd been nursing the hamstring stuff, but he tweaked it in the third quarter. He was already having a terrible game. So, I do think we look at the March run sometimes through rose-colored glasses of like, look, they had a slew of statement wins. But we saw against OKC, if they rated to them again at full strength, you know, I think that was still going to be a pretty quick series. But I guess you're saying, but you're adding in Kessler here. So, I would say, I didn't really think about the Kessler part. Are we saying DA is still in the team and it's like DA and Jackson? Because in that case, I would say if you just add Kessler to last year's group versus like this year's group, which obviously has lost some depth, I would say last year's group is better. Like if you had, and that was, I think part of the vision for the Lakers was they were hoping to go out and I don't want to go down too much of the LeBron, you know, down the road with too much of the LeBron stuff, but I think there was a version of the Lakers roster build where they did do a lot of these moves and they came back to LeBron, and maybe they're even to dump some more salary, and it wasn't going to be a lot, right? But they're going to say, "Hey, if you slide in here as the starting four, look at the way we've reshaped this roster, and we're set for the future, but we're also going to be pretty good in the present. You could take us over the top." That would have been a really interesting outcome, right? But I would say if you just add Kessler to, when I was originally answering the question, I was thinking not with Kessler. So, I apologize for, I had just been like, last year's group versus this year's group and thinking about how good they were in March. I would say though, you just put Kessler in last year's group and assuming he's got his shoulder in this scenario, I would say last year's group, right? But you that's also like from a cap perspective, not really pragmatic because you're you're now adding in like a $30 million player to last year's group, which if you add in a $30 million player to this year's group, that would change things as well. So, I don't think it's a fair comparison. Like, I know where you're going with it. I don't know if it's a fair comparison based on like Kessler's new salary and the expectations and whatnot. But I do think if you just popped in Kessler to last year's group with how they were playing in March, that's the better team.

Madoo, thank you for the super chat. Uh, or I mean, uh, well, thank you for the, thank you for the super chat here in terms of becoming a YouTube member. I really appreciate it, Madoo. And you are always in the chat. So, shout out to Madoo and I appreciate the membership. Uh, Lil Chris Johnson, thank you for the super chat. Why does Rob always go for offense every offseason? It's a good question. I think that's part of his sensibilities as a general manager, and I think it's part of JJ's sensibilities. I think JJ has shown when JJ has an offense-defense decision, he has often leaned offense. There are the obvious exceptions of end of half, end of quarter, end of game situations where, okay, you need a stop for a possession, you're going to go with Vando, you're going to go with Marcus, you're going to go with Jake, you're going to go with one of those types of guys, you know, looking at last year's group. But typically, he has gone with offense over defense. And we've seen that time after time. And even, I think there was a political element with starting Rui over Marcus to begin the season. But I think part of the vision with that was still like, can we just be so overwhelming on offense where you have the three primary shot creator playmakers, you have the rim-running, lob threat big, and then you have the ultimate floor spacer and Rui, and can that group be so devastating offensively that it limits any defensive limitations? And obviously, the answer was no. That group, the numbers got better progressively throughout the season, but for the most part, you know, it ended up being a net negative and just didn't work out defensively.

So, I think if I want to put myself in their shoes and what they're trying to do, right? Because I think that's an important part of analyzing the offseason. We can sit here and criticize, and I have been critical of certain things, right? I don't love, I have my issues with some of the non-Kessler contracts. But if we put ourselves in their shoes and look at what they've done and what they were trying to do, all four additions are 27 or younger. All four additions bring some sort of athleticism or physicality element to the table where Sexton is a speed demon. Grimes has a certain amount of athleticism with his handle, beating guys off the dribble. Also can dunk on your head if you, you know, if he has a runway. Mamu, I think I will admit, I had the idea of Mamu's game, but like, as I've watched more and more film on him, like he's far more athletic and far better at finishing and like dunking on people and and-ones and stuff like that than even I recalled. So, Mamu, who I think definitely brings an element of physicality and strength and just power to his game. And then you have Kessler, who has the seventh highest standing reach in the NBA, 7'2", and just a monster out there. One of the best offensive rebounders. Last time he played a full season, he led the NBA in offensive rebounding and was second in the league in blocks to Wembanyama. And since he's entered the NBA, second in defensive field goal percentage allowed at the rim behind only Chet. So, Walker Kessler, in a rare class as a rim protector and as a defensive anchor. So, I say that to lay out like, I think people are focusing on the offense, but the Lakers have added an element of youth and athleticism and some speed, some toughness, some physicality overall with the group. I think, now, aside from Kessler, everybody does trend more offensive, right? Like I was talking about this a couple shows ago, like Mamu, Grimes, and Sexton. The first thing on the scouting report with all three of those guys is offense, not defense. And I think Mamu has some utility with just being a bigger body, the defensive rebounding, some of the help defense that he has, some of the rotations and stuff. I think he can be effective in that. Like if you get him on an island, you get him switched on to someone, yes, he could be blown by. He's got some athletic limitations, foot speed limitations. But, uh, I think he's locked in. He tries. And I think sometimes that's half the battle with certain guys defensively. So, I think Mamu, within a certain role and within a certain system, can be a net positive defender, even if on average he probably nets out closer to average-ish, if not even below average in certain configurations. Like, you don't want him as your primary rim protector. That's a real limitation for him, and you don't want him switching a bunch. If you limit those two things, I think you can put him in the right place. Grimes, I think his defense is growing on me, specifically in a point-of-attack context. I don't like the current slotting of him as both the point-of-attack guy and the wing stopper. I think that's an over-ask of him. And just as a 6'4", 6'5" guy with a 6'8" wingspan, like he's just a little bit too small for that role. And he doesn't have like the Marcus Smart, Davon Mitchell, Pat Beverly kind of quality of, "I'm going to rip your head off," in my opinion, at least in the film I've watched. Like, he's a tough player, to be clear. But like, there's an extra level of, I think especially if you're undersized, you need this certain edge. And I think he has an edge, but I think you kind of need the little bit of like the screw-loose edge that certain smaller guys have. And I don't think he quite has that. So, I like him in a point-of-attack context. I don't like him, I don't want him as the primary guy on Jason Tatum or Kawhi Leonard or some of these apex wings, right? Like, if the Lakers were playing, I mean, just if the Lakers were playing themselves, like I wouldn't feel great about him on Luka. I'd probably prefer him on Austin. So, like, that's kind of where I'm at, where I still want a better player to put on kind of the big wings and creators. And then Sexton, I was trying to be kind and I was like, you know, his point-of-attack defense is okay. But overall, I would say he's clearly a net negative in the film I've watched. And I mean, the numbers scream that he's a terrible defender. I think he's better than that, but he's not a good defender. And to me, a lot of it's like the energy that he brings translates to like looking like a good defender, but when you actually see him getting blown by or rotating and some of the limitations there or just chasing guys, just as an off-ball guy, like I don't love it either. So, look, I think that the thinking with them was like, build a certain floor offensively where if you have a top seven, top eight, where everyone could do multiple things offensively. And if we do compare them, specifically Mamu, Grimes, and Sexton to D'Lo, Rui, and Marcus, I would say it's a more dynamic offensive group overall. Right? Like, if we're putting Kessler and LeBron are the two like big big signings, right? Like Kessler, 30-plus million, LeBron is making 50-plus million. Put those two to the side and compare more like the role player supporting cast guys. The Lakers got better, I think offensively within that, right? Because D'Lo and Rui were, I mean, Rui was very one-dimensional, just, I mean, did what he did at an elite level, but if you're not taking an open three or putting the ball on the ground for a pull-up, Rui is pretty limited. D'Lo, I think showed us late in the season, obviously with the playmaking, the rebounding, some of the big performances he had, he could do more. But there also was a limitation to that. He got played out of the Houston series, got played out, or played into a smaller role in the OKC series. And then Marcus was just nightly, you didn't know what you were getting from him offensively, but obviously high-level, elite defender. So, it's a good question. I think part of it is sensibilities. I think part of it was like, the more I thought about Sexton versus Smart or Vanderbilt, like, I still disagree with it. I would prefer, especially because he's on a short-term deal. It's not like you lock Sexton up for some long-term thing. You gave him a one-plus-one. To me, I would still value Smart and Vanderbilt as stopgaps that could get you to the next wing that you need or or forward. Whereas like now you're kind of at a deficit trying to find that spot, and you did plug your backup backcourt spot. But I just don't think that's as important as that defensive wing spot. But, yeah, I mean, I think we have enough sample size here that like he does trend more offensive than defensive. You have JJ, who I think also trends more offensive than defensive, despite being an elite defensive coach. And that, like, you know, just he needs more tools at his disposal. But I mean, that's my breakdown of is I think they wanted to get younger, they wanted to get more athletic. They wanted to get better offensively. And then now that they've built it, they're trying, and obviously they got better defensively with the rim protection. Like, that's a major thing that I feel like people sometimes just gloss over. Like, D'A to Kessler is a massive defensive upgrade. I think it's on the perimeter, they got worse, and they still need to address that. Like, so that's the thing that they've got to figure out.

HJVA, thank you for the super chat. Yo yo, trade D'Lo, Vando, Hardy for draft assets. Offer sheet P-Wat if Denver matches. Sign Kuminga, 15 to 20 million, team option, two to three years. Trade for assets, keep if good fit. So, I'm glad you brought up Payton Watson. And if you guys noticed, I did not mention Payton Watson. I did not have him on my realistic target list. I just think if it's under $25 million, Denver is going to match it. Even upwards of $25 million, I think Denver is going to match it. And I think it's pretty difficult for LA to create enough cap space for that specific offer sheet. So, I think it would be, in my opinion, it would just be a waste of time. Now, if the Lakers have intel that they could potentially pry him, and if Denver's walk-away price is like anything above $22 million or something like that, for example, okay, that's a different situation. If you could get to $23 million and you could steal Payton Watson, I'm all for that. If the Lakers somehow walked out of this offseason with Walker Kessler, Payton Watson, Quinton Grimes, Mamu, and Colin Sexton, I think that's an A++ offseason and really sets them up nicely for the future and the present. I just have a tough time seeing them carving out enough. I think it was going to have to be, I think it's probably going to be a higher number than they could realistically do because even to this point, you're at about $22 million, maybe adding in the, you know, Vando's $12.4, D'Lo's $4.2, $4.3 something like that, Hardy $6. So, yeah, I mean, you're at almost $23 million. I just don't think that's enough for Payton Watson. And so, or or like enough to pry Payton Watson from Denver. I think Denver would just match that and then figure out their other, I mean, they might end up just being a second apron team. I'm hard-pressed to believe that. But, you know, it'll probably cost them Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones, and and they'll get off Valanciunas, and you know, we'll see what else they do. Teams are calling about Cam Johnson. If they really need to get off Cam Johnson, I think they could get off Cam Johnson. But then you could offer Kuminga $15 to $20 with a team option, second or third year. I would, I probably wouldn't want to go upwards of $20. I would want to keep that. I would almost prefer to sign Kuminga for a little bit less and then see if you could sign someone else. So, if you do create $20 to $22 million, I personally would not want to allocate that all to Kuminga. I would view him more as like a $12 to $15 million guy somewhere upwards of the non-taxpayer, but ideally lower. And then can you spend the rest on a different position to build out your depth? Especially if you're trading three guys. Because right now, right now they technically have two openings, but the Lakers typically like to carry 14 guys. So, as of right now, the way this would go is I think they would just add one guy. And then in terms of like input-output, their goal is to probably get to 14. That would be my read on the situation. So, if you trade three now, obviously you're going from 13 guys to 10 guys. You add P-Wat or Kuminga, you're at 11 guys, you still have three guys you need to sign. So, in that case, I would almost prefer to split part of that on Kuminga, then use the remaining amount to entice some other player to take that deal and not take a minimum or not take the taxpayer MLE. You're not going to get a center, I don't think, for that. But if you could add another solid guard or or solid wing, I think ideally wing. Then if you walk out of dumping D'Lo, Vando, and Hardy, plus you're walking out of that with Kuminga and another player, and then you have a couple more minimum players to fill out the roster with a center and someone else. That would be solid to me. That would be really, really solid. Now, the key here, or the tricky part, is I think people are just acting as if it's going to be super easy to dump Vando, D'Lo, and Hardy, or some combination of two or three of these guys. Like, I think that's easier said than done. There are not, there are only a few teams with the current cap flexibility to just take on two or three guys in that teens, low 20s range. And you have to think about the opportunity cost because if it's Brooklyn or Chicago, they would potentially be taking on this package versus like, if I'm Brooklyn, I'd rather just go pay Kuminga and see what Kuminga could do in Brooklyn. Or I'd rather go pry another guy that is waffling on where he wants to go and then over, you know, even overpay for an interesting prospect rather than this. Because this, I'm like, all right, Vando is not going to factor into Brooklyn's future at all, and D'Lo and Hardy, I think at best, if they hit, are like ninth men at best. And so I would rather take an upside swing on some of the other free agents that are out there and see, I mean, you still have Benedict Mathurin out there. I'd rather throw an offer sheet at Mathurin rather than this package. So, like, there's also, this is what I've been trying to talk about with trades is like, you can offer it's like, all right, someone walks into your living room and let's say your TV was, we'll say $500. If someone offers you $500, if someone knocks at on your door and says, "Hey, here's $500 for your TV." Are you going to just give them your TV for $500? Like, technically that's how much you paid for it, and actually it's probably worth more than how much your TV is currently worth because with depreciation, the second you open that box and put it on your wall, now it's maybe worth $400 or $450 or whatever. So, you can make a fair offer. You could say, "Hey, here are a couple young guys. Here's three second-round picks." Doesn't mean the team has to do it. And especially in the context of like, if I'm Brooklyn or one of these Charlotte with some cap space or flexibility, I'd rather take swings on other guys than just be like, uh, give me this poo-poo platter with, you know, two or three seconds. So, that's where the tension's going to be. I think the Lakers can get off. I think they could do a couple moves here where it is some of the smaller guys. Like, I think Hardy and D'Lo in particular would have some value, especially if you're combining them or adding a second or something. A dude would have some value if you want to get that aggressive. But once you added Vando and his salary and how negative of an asset that is, I think you start to get into a tricky spot where, you know, you might be putting in two or three seconds, they'd be viewing it basically as net neutral. And at that point, that might not be enough for them, right? Like, I mean, like if I were another team, I'd only do a Vando trade if I were getting three seconds and a swap. Like that would be, or at least three, like three of the four assets. Two seconds on a swap or three seconds or, you know, some combination of, I would want three of the Lakers' four assets just for Vando. And if you're not giving me that, I have no interest in taking on Vando. But we'll see. I mean, if the, I'll say if the Lakers can get off Vando just for the price of two seconds, I think that's incredible negotiating from the front office and an incredible win for the Lakers regardless of the context of the deal. That to me would be a remarkable outcome.

Madoo, thank you for the super chat. Why didn't Rob sign a two-way wing after signing Kessler? We still have plenty, excuse me, we have still players on high contracts that we can't even use. I mean, you're preaching to the choir here again. Like, I'm on board with Grimes and Mamu. I see the vision there. I just view them more as like sixth and seventh men. And I don't think the roster's, like, the roster is arguably structured right now with them starting. I think they would probably go Jake as the placeholder until they get that bigger forward. Keep Mamu in a bench roll and as a four-five hybrid. But you could argue they could start Mamu. He's making over double the amount of what Jake's making. So, if money talks sometimes with roles and starting lineups and whatnot, you would probably go Kessler, Mamu, Grimes, Austin, Luka, and like, I like those guys. I see the vision. I like the role. And even Grimes as a starter has grown on me. But yeah, I mean, that would be to me, that's where like the Sexton opportunity cost comes in. And I would have preferred a better defensive player there. But I think the Lakers are really trying to lean into building around Luka, optimizing offensively around him. And then if you build out the best offense in the league, you do have more margin for error defensively. I think the issue for the Lakers the last two years has been, two years ago they were 11th in offense. This past year they were 10th. Part of that due to injuries, and even that first year they didn't have Luka for the full time, right? You had the trade at the deadline or right before the deadline. But the Lakers have underachieved objectively offensively the last two years. And so I think despite them prioritizing offensive players as, you know, the question from Lil Chris a couple questions ago, they have not been up to the level they should be offensively. I think the goal right now or the belief right now is like, let's build the top five offense. So, let's build the top three offense and hope that Kessler plus another addition can get us to like league average-ish, if not maybe a little bit above there. Now, it's tough to win a championship. I think it's going to be tough to win a championship if you don't build a top 10 defense. I think if we just look at some of the recent trends in recent years, with the exception of the 2023 Nuggets, all of these recent champions going back to even the Warriors' first, you know, KD run, I mean, you go back the last decade with the exception of the Nuggets, everyone's been pretty good defensively and had several elite guys. And you could even argue that the Nuggets with like Gordon and KCP and Bruce Brown, I think, was defending at a high level during that run. Jokic, I think, had a strong run by his standards that playoff run. Like, even they had some guys punching above their weight or defending at a really high level. So, I think the key here is like, you, I think for the Lakers to truly be a contender or to be taken seriously in that OKC, San Antonio class, they need a top 10 defense. That's, you know, they could be the best offense and that would be great. That would be a major step in the right direction. I also think they need a top 10 defense. And if they're not there, like, that should be the goal. It doesn't have to be number one, doesn't have to be number five, doesn't have to be number nine. I just think as long as you're in that round of 10 and you have a top three offense, you're in the mix.

Cage Brit, thank you for the super chat. We need Mamu's Cisse to free up space, perfect backup. I would love Mamu Cisse. And he was one of the guys. So, it's funny. I went back and I looked at my free agent bargains list, and two guys on there. So, Mamu was actually my number one big on the bargain list. The list was theoretically supposed to be guys making $10 million or less. So, Mamu went over that. Dean Wade, who was the other guy I was iffy on, ended up going for, I think what, $13, $14 million a year. He was also on the list, and in that, you know, was a little bit lower on on Dean Wade in terms of salary projection. But outside of those two guys, most of everyone else has been single digits. And yeah, Mamu Cisse was on my list of bigs that I was interested in, and he checks the boxes of finisher, lob threat, high motor, athlete, good rebounder at both sides of the ball, shot blocker, rim protector, still raw, and I think needs to continue to refine his game. But, you know, it could even be, I mean, if you're using him as your primary backup, it's like, there's a bet aspect to this, right? But I think the physical profile and some of the flashes he's had to me definitely ahead of Looney and Valanciunas, but even Nick Richards. I would not be shocked if he was like a better player than Nick Richards by the end of the season. So, yeah, Cisse would be an awesome pickup for me. I just, RFA, it's tough to happen, you know, tough to pull off.

Easy Peasy, thank you for the super chat. Dream scenario: seconds to get off Hardy, Jake, D'Lo, Vando, and stretch. Offer Payton $25 million first year with increases if Denver matches. Kuminga and Minneso- Richards, Agbaji, Thybulle, Ziaire, Jake, D'Lo, Hardy, Vando. Yeah, I mean, I think that would be like the dream realistic scenario. I think $25 million is probably in a range where Denver matches. But to your point, like, so here's the central tension right now with everything that's going on, right? So, for example, like there's just so many moving parts with all this where, so Washington has a trade exception for Kelly Oubre that expires on July 9th. So they have, I think it's like a $13-point-something million dollar trade exception. They have some incentive to just take on DeAndre Ayton into that trade exception. So, there's like a little bit of a, they don't have to, but there's a little bit of a ticking clock here with that being on Thursday. And then if they do use that, then that would actually create a second exception for them with the Hard trade because they'd be putting Ayton in that exception, not technically getting anything. It's complicated, but they'd be creating a second exception. And so like Washington has some motive here to do the DA trade by Thursday. And not everyone's going to wait because like that's the, you know, it's quicker post-mortem with the two-day period or depends if you're doing it before noon or afternoon. If you know, if it's afternoon, then it's three days. If it's before noon, it's two days. It's a whole, again, all this CBA stuff is just so complex for who knows what reason. But, like, it's not the longest time. But I think as more time passes, especially if LeBron, it doesn't seem like he's making a decision anytime soon, but if LeBron makes a decision by the weekend going into Summer League or by like early next week, I think there'll be a flurry of moves that have been held off until LeBron decided because if you're Golden, well, Golden State's not going to go after Kuminga. But if you're Minnesota, I mean, it's less than Kuminga wants, but Kuminga could make some sense for Minnesota, right? And you don't even need, I think like a big difference in how Minnesota would use Kuminga versus how LA would use Kuminga is you have McDaniels and Gobert there. You don't need to use Kuminga as this stopper. Like he's one of your lesser defenders in the lineup. With the Lakers, he'd kind of be in a position where he has to be a stopper, right? And have to defend. So, I think like there's less, in my opinion, less inherent risk. You'd also only be offering him the taxpayer MLE. So, if he's willing to sign for six, he can start and he could focus more on offense than even defense if that's what he wants to do. But, you know, there's Minnesota, and I mean, all the teams that are in Miami, Philly, Cleveland, like there's all these teams that are being held up right now that could potentially be looking to add fours that then would affect the Kuminga market in terms of opportunity or or cost or whatnot. So, I think the only fear here would be if you do the Payton Watson route and your cap space you just cleared is tied up, then there is a possibility here you miss the Kuminga wing window just because guys don't always wait, right? And sometimes I think we've seen it in several instances where you had the Lakers at LeBron and how they handled it with him, you had this situation with Rui and how they handled it with him, and like just sometimes guys don't love if you clearly telegraph that they're a second choice or even in Kuminga's case might be like a third or fourth choice, depending on how you view it. So, I just, yeah, I mean, look, if you can get Payton Watson, I say go get Payton Watson. I'm not going to deny that. I think it's going to be really difficult to get to a number that Denver wouldn't match. And then I think there's also inherent risk in potentially losing Kuminga. That would be my fear with that. But Richard, Agbaji, Thybulle, Ziaire compared to Jake, D'Lo, Hardy, Vando. Sure. Sure. I'm, yeah, I'm not going to disagree with that.

Madoo, thank you for the super chat. And also doesn't seem like Rob is good at negotiating. I feel like he should have found a way to get off Vando, D'Lo, and Lavine. I would, what I would say with this is like, the Lakers have been trying to get off Vando for a while, and there's been no takers. They were shopping Vando and D'Lo both at the deadline. And granted, like they're both in different spots contract-wise where, with, you know, D'Lo, he's now going to be an expiring, there'll be another team option with him. And then Vando's got one more year compared or he's got two more years. He's got two more years compared to three more years or two and a half at the time. But like, those are just not contracts that people are high on on taking on. So, yeah, I think I think the holdup right now, like obviously the holdup for the Lakers is they're not, they're not going to proceed with some of their moves or they're going to hold them off for as long as possible to try to create this window for cap space or to at least create some more flexibility for trades. But they're going to have to proceed and, you know, move forward at some point here. And my fear, like from an optimistic perspective, I think at a minimum they should be able to get off. I think Jake's a movable contract. I think ultimately D'Lo's movable, movable contract. I think Jaden Hardy, I think Bronny, especially in, you know, depending on the context with LeBron, like I think they have several movable contracts. AD, do I, I don't think they want to trade AD, but if you really needed to, you could trade AD. Vando is the one that I think is going to be difficult to trade and it's going to require most, if not all of your draft assets. But I think they can make some trades. I just think the big one of clearing out the high teens to 20s, I think is more complicated than some are suggesting. And I just, I think if they could have done it, they would have done it already, right? Like, I don't know what the hold up because really, if you think about it, the Lakers have this master plan, right? Like they, I think things have pretty much gone to the way they've wanted, including trading DA. I believe that that was part of all this was he was going to opt in and get traded somewhere, right? And he gets traded to a situation where he could have an opportunity depending on what happens with Anthony Davis. But the Lakers have known they've needed to trade these guys for weeks, right? I mean, frankly, months going back to at least going to the deadline. So, they've had all this time to try to negotiate and get off these guys. And I think they're trying to swing big right now and get off as many of them as possible, but it might end up being a situation where it's a couple of them together or it's a couple of them in smaller separate moves. And I don't know if Vando is going to be in that. So, you can waive and stretch him, which might just be the conclusion here. I push back against that a little bit just because I think it's pretty damning to have $5 million on your cap sheet for each of the next five years. So, she won already. LA, like LA's right now, if you just think about the Vando part of the cap situation, LA is like 16ish under the first apron, and it's not going to affect them now, but like, in theory, if they had like the same salaries and then just like the addition of Vando, like you're D'Lo's starting to get close there. And if you are trying to take back a certain amount of money that is affecting that and the salaries are lower now, like Luka is going to be making more money, Austin's going to be making more money, Kessler is going to be making more money, Grimes and Mamu are going to be making more money. The salaries are going to be going up. And eventually you have to pay Cameron Carr and AD, and if you're retaining those guys. So, and you're going to try to use it on taxpayer next summer. So, it just starts to add up. And that $5 million doesn't sound like a lot, but if you're up against the first apron and you're hard-capped there, that's really difficult to navigate. And it could lead to a situation where you have to dump someone that you don't want to dump because you have this dead Vando money. So, it's not like an egregious amount. I think it's low enough where you could justify it. I just want to acknowledge there is some real risk. Maybe not even next year, but I think starting like the third year of Austin's contract as Luka's potential new extension is kicking in with Kessler's money rising, you're going to be pushing up against the first apron. And if you're doing any sort of move that hard-caps you there, that $5 million could come into play in a big way. But to your point, they've been trying to get off the money. They just, I think they will get off some money. I don't know if they'll be able to get off as much as they want. We'll see.

James, thank you for the super chat. Only Vando trade that makes sense is Vando and D'Lo to Minnesota and DiVincenzo being rerouted to a third team, assuming Minnesota loses out on Brunson. That's, yeah, that could work. And Vando and Ant have their relationship. I don't, for as maybe high on Vando as Minnesota is, and I forget if Connelly drafted or, you know, was part of acquiring Vando or not. I'm trying to see because that that would sometimes. Okay. Well, actually, what I forgot, this Tim Connelly has traded Vando twice because Vando was drafted by the Nuggets and they traded him, and then he got traded for Minnesota. So, I don't know how much of a Vando guy is Tim Connelly. Now, if Ant wants him, they do have a need at the four. I don't think he would start for that team. I think they would go like, I'd rather bring Vando off the bench. But yeah, I mean, they're also a potential Kuminga. Like, any team that needs a four is theoretically a threat for Kuminga and a threat against the Lakers as long as it's not the Warriors because he's not going back there. But yeah, I think this, I mean, I think the other one, which we've discussed on here, is Christian Brown. And that's a situation that I think at that point, you don't get the first. But there is something to, in my opinion, like getting off of Vando if you can that potentially opens up my interest in that. Just making sure. Okay. So, you see, shout out to Kobe Price, friend of the show. He reported he's live there at the California Classic that Cameron Carr did not play in the second half due to a toenail situation. So, we'll be monitoring that to go along with AD's right wrist injury. But, yeah, I can see your point. I think Christian Brown or taking on some sort of contract that someone doesn't want, like that's really, that's the cleanest way to get off Vando. The cleanest way to get off Vando and not stretch him or not attach assets is to take on a worse contract. And that to me is either Christian Brown, Miles Turner, someone like that. Turner doesn't really make sense now with Kessler there. Although you could theoretically talk yourself into some double big looks. Maybe there's a version where he plays 24 minutes off the bench, but like, I, he's got three years left. I would not want to touch that contract.

Alma, thank you for the super chat. Yovin, I'm a tad worried about the talent disparity other than Luka. Who else on the team is a certified starter on OKC, San Antonio, New York, etc.? Walker Kessler, of course, has the high upside, but still unproven thanks to Utah's tank. I have a fun Walker Kessler fact for you guys, by the way, because I looked into this. So, his games played numbers are artificially doctored in the sense that through his first three years, Utah sat him between, sat him to end the season somewhere between four to eight games. So, one year he didn't play the final four games, one year he didn't play the final seven, one year he didn't play the final eight. So, when you look at Walker Kessler's numbers on the surface, they are a little concerning in terms of he's only played over 64 games once in a season, which was his rookie year. He's actually been declining in terms of games played in, you know, season over season. So, he went 74, 64, 58, 5, right? Like, that's trending in the wrong direction there. But when you add in the games that he sat down the stretch of the season, it actually goes 78, 70, 65. And then this past season with the season-ending shoulder surgery that he was in a contract year, Utah's tanking, I think there's some factors that led into that. But if you go from 74, 64, 58 to 78, 76, 5, that looks a ton better. You have now two seasons in which he was available for 70-plus games. All three seasons that he, you were full seasons, 65-plus. So, that looks a lot better. His numbers are artificially down because of the tanking and because they sat him and multiple guys down the stretch of the season. And so I think Walker Kessler has gotten dinged a little bit because of that, unfairly in my opinion. That said, yeah, I totally understand that. Like, this is the part I've been grappling with with this roster is that I think if you look at the success the Lakers have had, like, I think the Lakers have a strong foundation where you could argue Luka's the best offensive player on the planet. You could argue he's the best player on the planet. He's in that conversation. And so that's already a high starting point. Then Luka and Austin has basically been a double-digit net rating through their first two years together on the floor. And that's regardless of who's the center, if LeBron's on or off, like just isolating for just Luka and Austin have basically been in that plus-10 points per 100 possessions. So, that's a strong foundation as well. Then you add in like, if you look at some of the time when LeBron was out of the lineup and it just was those two guys, they did play like your Luka is the lead. Obviously, Austin's playing off of him, but if it's just those two guys plus shooting and rim runners, that has proven to be at least in the regular season a winning formula. So, the Lakers have replicated what has worked with those two guys. Like, I think if you're trying to optimize for those two, they've gotten pretty close. Now, they haven't got all the way there because I would argue that those guys also need a certain level of perimeter defense that the Lakers have just ignored for, you know, variety of reasons, but or or not not ignored because I think Grimes addresses it to a degree, but not quite nailed it to the degree that I think they need to nail it. But, yeah, I mean, outside of Luka, like this is where this year's group teeters in terms of like real upside, but also some questions that, you know, if they don't hit would be concerning. So, the Lakers have bet, the Lakers are paying Austin right now is the number like 41st highest paid player, but that's going to go up to 45, then 48, 49, then 51, right? So, the cap's going up. Other guys are going to get paid, but they're paying Austin probably over the life of his contract like a top 30 player. And a top 30 player is All-Star level, right? It's not equal because the West versus the East and the depth, you know, it might even be deeper on the East right now, but just your top 30-ish player, right? So, I think Austin was in that mix last season, but kind of tale of two seasons, pre-injury. I think he was definitely in that mix. Post-calf injury, I don't think he quite got back to being at that level. So, this is a bet on Austin like being that pre-calf injury player for the entirety of the season and into the playoffs. Kessler, you're paying as the third guy, but offensively maybe more the fourth or fifth guy, but it's a huge bet on him. It's the biggest contract for a non-All-Star level center. Now, again, cap rising, guys are getting paid. So, once Durant gets paid, he'll be the 11th highest. We're going to get his extension. Other guys are going to get paid. Kessler is going to be making closer to like league-average starting center money. And I think that's perfectly fine. Like, through that, if I told you Walker Kessler is being paid as the 15th highest-ranked center, I think most people would take that. Like, that's a pretty fair for what for how great he is at like the specific things you want on a Luka team. Totally fair. And then you got to Grimes and Mamu and Sexton, and like those guys maybe being slotted a little bit higher than you would want ideally, and it could work or it could not work, right? So, a lot of questions here. I get your point though, like the Lakers are at just a top-end talent disadvantage outside of Luka to this point. Like, if you're comparing, you know, you could do whatever order you want to do with Luka, Brunson, Austin, and Cat, right? Like, you can rank, I think.

You know, it's Luca or Brunson, and then you get to Austin Reaves. And, you know, I think probably most people would go Reaves. So you go Reaves, Austin. Okay, that's your top four. You might take the the next three players you take. Well, you definitely go OG Anunoby next. I guess once you get to Bridges and Hart versus Kessler, that's I mean, those guys are proven. Kessler is unproven in the playoffs, but like, you know, it's a conversation, but you Kessler's somewhere in there. And then you go to a couple of Knicks before like. So I think you go through like the top eight is like five Knicks and three Lakers. And and that's kind of similar, I think, San Antonio, OKC. So, like that's where this was kind of an issue for the Lakers last year. And this is where I'm interested to see how they fill out the rest of the group. Is that like last year, the the pitch was, well, you know, if you're the Lakers, you're like, well, we have the the three, we have the best trio, or we have a trio that we feel confident against anybody that you throw out your Shai, SGA, JDub. Throw out your uh, Wembanyama, Fox, Hartenstein. Wembanyama, Fox, Kessler, Hartenstein, whatever. Throw out your Brunson, Reaves, OG. We can go toe-to-toe with those guys. As we go further into the roster, okay, you get a shakier. Smart, Rui, Hachimura. It's not as strong as some of these other teams, but the thing was like the top end. You have this incredible top-end talent. First trio in NBA history, 20 plus points, five plus assists. Like you had that. This year, it's going to be more like you. Luca needs to be the best player in the world, or or right at that level. Austin needs to be a legit number two. Walker Kessler needs to play up to the contract and and basically be what he's been, but like a higher version of that, and be available. And then some of those other guys are gonna have to punch above their weight. And Grimes is gonna have to be better than Marcus Smart was this past season, right? And McDaniels is gonna have to be better than Rui. And Hachimura's gonna have to be better than Canard. And you get that, and you also get the starting four. Like that then maybe shifts things into this group being better. Like you're still gonna have those other teams and their top-end talent and their advantages, but uh, that that's where I would say to me, what what I've been saying comparing the two rosters. I think this year's group has a higher floor because I think they're gonna be greater than some of their parts. They're gonna click. There's gonna be chemistry, continuity, as long as they stay healthy. Like I I think just the the collective processing IQ, like just some within the rotation, I think it's gonna be a better product on a nightly basis. They're not gonna have the lows of last year where they get blown out against the best teams in the league every time up until March. That it's not gonna be some of the lows. My question is, can the ceiling be as high? And that I it's really gonna be dependent on Austin being a legitimate bonafide number two, like honestly, probably have to be like a top 25 guy, which is possible, but like has to do it and into the playoffs. Then Kessler has to be a legit 16 and 12 with two and a half blocks. Like you're gonna need that type of production. And then Grimes is gonna have to be an every-night high-teen scorer plus locking down the opponent's best perimeter guy. Like that's that's a tall task for all those guys, but like that that's the task, right? Like that's if you're gonna be a true contender, they have to be delivering at that level.

Daniel, thank you for the super chat. Uh, Chris Dunn on an AJ Mitchell type deal makes all the sense in the world. I get that he needs to develop offensively, but the Lakers need his defense in the worst way possible. I'm coming around to this. So, I think that would be something I would like. You know, one of the the previous questions was like, can you dump three guys and then go get Watson or Kuminga or whatever? And I talked about even splitting the money between Kuminga and a different player. Uh, I think you do like those moves first, and then you circle back to Dunn. Uh, and like, or you could promise him now and be like, hey, we're, you know, these are, we got some moving parts, like let us uh, build out the rest of the roster, and then we're gonna save the 14th spot for you. I'm coming around to that. I think tonight showed me a level of offensive upside that I'd seen a little bit in the G-League, but tonight was a monster performance from him on that end. And granted, it's summer league, and like there's been so many guys that have you played at a certain level in summer league. It just doesn't translate to training camp, preseason, the season, the G-League, whatever. So, I think he still projects as a net negative offensively, but with how great he's been defensively, I think he is someone that's definitely worth a look. And I, I if I'm them, at a minimum, I'm like, really pushing for training camp, preseason, like giving him that shot in the preseason and seeing what he could do in like a rotation role in like a preseason context. I I don't think he would project to be in the the current rotation, but it obviously depends on what ends up happening because if the Lakers, like if a dude's not ready and Cameron Carr is ready but isn't quite ready for what you need from him defensively, you're gonna need to find defense somewhere, and Chris Dunn could be an option there. Now, I I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here and label him like a rotation player because I I don't think I think he needs to show more to get to that level. But I I'm I I know this idea has been out there a ton and people are floating like signing him to some three or four-year deal. And uh, I would I would be open like I would heavily want to protect yourself in terms of team options. I don't know, team option year three, non-guaranteed year four, something like that. But, uh, yeah, I do I see the vision with Dunn. You know, the Alex Caruso stuff I think is a little far. He's not, I I don't think he's the athlete or the processor that Caruso is, but I I see, you know, could could he end up being like a Jordan Goodwin level player? I think that that's probably a more realistic like best-case scenario for him, and that is obviously contingent on him continuing to develop offensively. But if he can develop offensively, it and continue to refine his game, I think he has that type of potential, which Goodwin's a good player, but you know, Goodwin versus Caruso is is different, different ballpark.

Joey Luckco, thank you for the super chat. DFS DK plus second to Charlotte with a wink. Could not agree to buy out. I mean, yeah, you you could uh, I mean, it's gonna depend on what what's the buyout number, right? Uh, because, you know, you are, I don't think you're buying out the the full contract. It like that that gets a little tricky there. I know like he's got the non-guaranteed stuff in the future, but I I mean, maybe I wonder if they just buy him out or or, you know, waive him currently and then he just goes signed somewhere for the minimum.

Zach, thank you for the super chat. Can we trade Vando, Hachimura, DK, three seconds for Sharp? Uh, my not and sign JK and Thybulle uh and target DJJ and Dort for next offseason. Thoughts on Adu. So, I think I don't know if Minot and Sharp have officially inked their deals. If they have, they can't be traded until it depends on what what bird rights they used. I I don't know off the top of my head, but it would either be December 15th or January 15th. I think it might be January 15th. So, if they haven't inked those deals yet, they could switch it to like a sign-and-trade situation, but so I would say I'm not quite sure. I would air on the side of probably not, but theoretically possible. Uh, and what Vando? So, Vando, Hachimura, and DK, that's collectively that like almost 23. Sharp and Minot. Let's see. Cuz Sharp Sharp's getting a decent up. He's getting up to 10 million now. And then Minot, I want to say he's he's still at the 4.5. Okay. So, yeah, you'd I mean, in this case, you'd only be saving about roughly 8 million, 8.8, 8.5. So, I think Thybulle in this case would still be uh or Thybulle. I forget if it's I always forget if it's Thybulle or Thybulle, but uh Matisse would be a minimum guy. And then JK maybe seven and a half, eight is enough for him. I I feel like that's a little low. I think he's probably gonna want double digit, you know, two-year 20 million, two-year 24, something in that range, but that might just be the best offer he gets. So, uh, yeah, then target, I I would prioritize DJJ over Dort, but that I think the Sharp, I think Sharp and Minot, they've already gone through and or Minot had um was Minot a team option? I'm forgetting if Minot was uh I forget if Minot was a team option or what his contract, but but Sharp, they declined and renegotiated. So, yeah, I don't think this next trade would work. Then thoughts on Adu. Uh, I would say so, I I want to reserve my judgment and this even applies to Chris Dunn, but like Cameron Carr, Adu, Chris Dunn, I want to see just more games from them, more of a sample size, right? So, I'm gonna be out there in summer league uh in Vegas and I'm gonna be watching the uh their Friday and and Saturday and then, you know, maybe their final game. So, I I do want to consume more film, watch them in person, and just get a larger sample size with my overall thoughts with where each of those guys is at and where their their games are are trending. I would say with Adu, to me, he still looks pretty raw and I don't think the current form of Adu looks like a rotation player. And to the point that like I I think like if I were JJ and I I viewed Vando the way that I think JJ views Vando, I still would kind of be like, even with all the the warts that this, and this is obviously partly contingent on if they even keep Vando or not, depending on if they you trade him. But I would even be like, I would play Vando over Adu. Adu's gonna have every opportunity to show he should play ahead of Vando. And again, that with the caveat that Vando might not be on the roster, but like if he's on the roster, I think Adu is gonna be given opportunities to surpass Vando because that's better for the team longer term. But right now, between the two, I I think Vando just has more is better at channeling his physical gifts than Adu is. Now, that said, I think Adu has had some flashes that have been nice. I think the especially as the role man, some of his roles to the basket and him reading screens as, you know, with the screening angle, but also the way he slips or, you know, some of the trickery with maybe like tapping a guy then going the other way. Just little stuff like that. I think the nuances within his game, I've seen some growth with him as a role man in the way that they're using him. But he's also had these drives where he's completely out of control and just barreling through the lane and is turning it over or throwing up wild shots. And uh I would like to see a little bit more refinement to his game. And and to be completely honest, like I mean, they're they're only a draft class apart, but like Cameron Carr has looked at a completely different level. Like I know he had the the rough or quiet first half, whatever today, and ends up I guess having some uh toenail situation, but Cameron Carr through the first two games is like, I mean, that he looked like Cameron Carr looked like a second-year guy or or even like a second-year guy going into his third year who you play for one or two games at summer league and you just ice them from that point on. Adu looks like he really needs the reps. So, I I I still remain bullish on Adu. I think the you see the screenshot of like him battling what was it for like the lob or the offensive rebound or whatever, like his arm is his elbows above the rim. Like he he's in that like .1% athlete that he just pops on the court anytime he's out there. And I think that's what makes him such a tantalizing prospect. But I think he's really gotta work on slowing down a bit, letting the game come to him, work on his reads, work on his processing. And I think that I will say I think there's progress from comparing game two to game one. I think game one was far more out of control. And like he he did do certain things better in the second game. And then I think defensively, the playmaking has been at a high level, and you see it with the blocks, the steals, the deflections. I think he he can be a little undisciplined at times gambling, or and part of this is summer league basketball too. It's not the most organized or aesthetic or or process-oriented basketball as it could be or should be. But yeah, I would say like he he's been there's been some things I've liked. There's been some things I I haven't liked. I do want to give him more time though. That's the big thing. I want to circle back to is I I don't want to write him off and be like, "Oh, well, he's not gonna play this year or he's not a rotation guy." like he continue like he needs to continue to develop. He's got some raw elements to his game that he needs to refine and continue to watch film, work on it in practice, and get more reps. But, uh, I I think the especially if the Lakers roster ends up where they do one of these three for one, four for one situations, shed multiple guys, there is a scenario in which he ends up being like the ninth or tenth man. And they're gonna need that athleticism, motor, the rebounding, the finishing, the defense. Like they could use Adu. It's just on him if he can prove that he's ready. Because I think there's an element with him where just knowing JJ and in general coaches with young players, like if you're making certain, there are certain mistakes that coaches just hate, and I feel like Adu does some of them where I could see that being a frustrating thing for JJ that limits his playing time where if he cleans up some of that stuff, that's also where I could I could see him potentially growing on the job, if that makes sense, where they are giving him the reps and he's growing on the fly. Whereas Cameron Carr, I He's not perfect. He's got his things he's got to work on, but like dude's just an offensive uh weapon. Like you could use him in so many different ways. And already he looks like a second or third-year player on the offensive end. So, uh, yeah, I I think that's where I'm at right now with Adu. But again, I I want to reserve full judgment for a larger sample size. And also there's a whole question here, like can he stay healthy? And him now, he had the hard fall the other day, and that's apparently where this wrist situation came from, and like just his playing style is pretty reckless and it's entertaining, but think about some of the guys like John Morant, Derrick Rose, like some of these high-fly guys uh you know, early in their career that they have to learn how to tone it down a bit, and I think Adu is kind of getting to that point.

JRod, thank you for the super chat. Uh, I feel like DK Hardy, our picks can get players like Bay. Yeah, I think that's that's fair. I really think like I think any non-Vando package is gonna be relatively solid in terms of what you can get. I think it's one you add Vando into the package, that's when it it gets tricky. But yeah, something like that. I I think you could probably get someone at like the the Saddiq Bay-ish level. I think that's a that's a good name.

Sound Automotive Group, thank you for the super chat. Was the what was the second round pick to the Mavs trade executed? Do we still have the full 8.5 million available to send out as cash consideration in a Vando trade? Uh, that's a good question. I don't know. Uh, I I mean, it resets uh if you're talking about, I'm pretty sure that was in the previous transaction cycle. So, it would um, it would reset. I believe it res well, it does reset every new cycle, but I I'm pretty sure the second round pick trade was the previous transaction cycle and the Lakers do have their full 8.5. So, that's another thing here. They could throw in cash uh for the Bulls in particular. That could be an enticing uh proposition. The Bulls love cash, and so you can't throw in cash in a trade. I think there are some restrictions with it. I don't like I don't think you could throw the full 8.5. I think there's I don't know if it's like 5 million or there's some limit. But uh, again, this is where the CBA gets very complicated.

JRod, thank you for the super chat. How do you feel about going after Reese? Getable. I'm not a big Reese guy. Depending on the alternatives, like if it's Reese or what are the minimum guys, like sure, you could talk me into Reese, but just depends on on the price. And what's his also wonder like, are they willing to sell relatively low on him because he's making 13.8. Then he has a 17.4 million club option, which I assume would be declined, but but maybe it's just picked up because of the optics. Well, yeah, they got to decide that in like four almost five months or four months at the end of October at 13.8. I I don't I think that's too much. I think if the offseason had played out a certain way and the Lakers still had like cap. Yeah. No, I'm I'm like try to talk myself into it. I would not I'd be okay with being Reese's second team and like second contract at a much lower number, but not in the double digit millions.

LA 824, thank chat. If Grimes, McDaniels, and Sexton replaced Smart, Reaves, and Rui in the Houston series, does LA still win? Love Kessler, but rather keep last year's role players at their prices. If LA chose this, still get Watson. Okay, let's take this question by question. So this is tough because one of the unknowns here with the young guys or or the the new guys and the younger guys is that they Sexton and Kessler have not played in the playoffs. I know you didn't mention Kessler here, but Sexton and Kessler have not played in the playoffs. Grimes has played in two playoff series and McDaniels' played in one. And so they are entirely unproven, and there's just a lot of question marks. Now, unproven does not mean bad. Unproven does not mean worse. Proven means unproven. So we just have a very limited sample size to judge these guys off of. Grimes, they had, I feel like, had a worse offensive playoffs than you would have wanted, but probably a better defensive playoffs. So like you could judge that how you want to judge that. Uh, and then McDaniels had a pretty rough first round series against Cleveland and was played into a smaller role, shot 28%, had a pretty tough defensive series. And so I I guess through that like, I mean, objectively Rui was better than any of these. I mean, Sexton, we almost have to put to the side because we just don't know what he would look like in a playoff context. But like if I think if you were ranking those five guys in terms of their playoff performance, Rui and Smart are easily ahead of Grimes or McDaniels based on this past postseason. And then Reaves, maybe you could quibble with Grimes or McDaniels versus Reaves, just because like I think they're obviously better players than Reaves, but based on how Reaves was playing and and the slotting there, like if you if you took off Reaves and put Grimes in there, I think that would have been an overall upgrade. But how Smart and Rui were playing, I mean, Rui averaged 18 points a game in the playoffs. He he shot uh, I mean, basically what 50% or whatever on threes, and yeah, I mean, that's just better than Grimes or McDaniels. So, I I would say the Lakers lose that series if they have those guys. But again, it's kind of going back to the earlier point. It's tough to compare. Like I that roster wasn't built. I think this roster is trying to be more geared around Luca and Austin, and that team had half of Austin for that series and then didn't have Luca at all. So, it's it's a little, it's it's different, right? Um, now, well, do they still win? Is I guess it depends how much you believe in Houston, but like objectively Marcus was huge in those first three wins. Reaves had a couple monster games the first couple games, and Rui was big throughout the whole series, including game six, you know, similar thing with Marcus. So, I mean, just based on the performance last postseason, really small sample size, but I don't know. I think it's a downgrade for sure. Do the Lakers still win the series? You still have LeBron? I assume in this scenario you don't have Kessler. I don't know. I think it would have been like I think it goes seven, and then at that point, who knows? But I I think objectively, like those guys performed worse. There's no other way around it. Uh, and then one of the guys didn't even play, so it's just tough to compare.

BT Kingsley, thank you for the super chat. Come on. No chance for PWA or PW. JL Hardy three picks and swap for PW. I mean, if No, I mean, I I don't think so. Like second round picks are still second round picks, and Peyton Watson was their fourth best player last year. So, if I'm, I mean, I will continue to beat this drum, and if Denver approaches this differently, Denver approaches it differently. Peyton Watson to me is uh clearly a better player than Cam Johnson or Christian Brown and is going to like that contract is gonna age better. Like he's he's probably gonna get a similar number to Christian Brown and is a better player than Christian Brown. So, if I'm Denver, I'm moving heaven and earth to keep Peyton Watson and send out Cam Johnson or Christian Brown. Like, losing Peyton Watson is a non-negotiable for me. So, uh, three second round picks and a a pick swap that might not materialize is not enough for me to get off that. Plus Jake LaRavia and Jaden Hardy. Like, if you if you're Denver, you are taking, I mean, you also put yourself in Denver's shoes. Denver's on like a a limited timeline here kind of with Jokic and Murray and Gordon, and like they're trying to go for it. Trading Peyton Watson for Jake LaRavia and Jaden Hardy is a massive step back and does not get you any closer to a title. You actually get further from a title. So, yeah, I I don't think that's enough. Uh, maybe is that enough for Cam Johnson? Maybe that that might be enough for Cam Johnson. Uh, but I don't think that's enough for Peyton Watson.

Ryan, thank you for the super chat. DK, uh, every time I see JH, I I think of, uh, JHS. Three second round picks, uh, swap for PJ. Three-team from DA deal. I've So, you I've talked about this before, second round picks, typically three second round picks is roughly the equivalent to a first. So, if you look at it as basically a first and a swap for PJ, I I think Dallas would would have to consider that. I don't know if Dallas would do that. I don't know if optically with the Lakers, they'd want to be like, "No, we got a first from the Lakers," or or the Lakers would need to reroute the three seconds to get back a first and then maybe put the first in the deal. Something like that. But, uh, I think that's fair. And I I would do that if I'm the Lakers.

This is nice follow-up here from Zinc. Asks, uh, thing with the super chat, do you think Dallas would give up PJ without a first? Seems like it would have happened already if they would. If not, could we acquire one? What do you think about Carr for both PJ and Musa? So, I just mentioned I I think you could probably flip those three seconds for a first. I I think there would probably wouldn't be like a great first, but teams like say they got a first for a player. So, there's like an optics element within that. I Well, so Carr now has a restriction because he signed, he can't be traded for a month. So, technically doesn't mean you can't go acquire these guys later in this the offseason, but just want to note that I would really try to refrain from trading Cameron Carr. I think there's the obvious upside element here of just potentially risking and regretting trading him. But you want with how much Luca, Austin, and Walker Kessler are going to cost, you want rookie scale contract guys as much as possible. And I would argue that Carr compared to any of the other guys you want to compare him to, uh, Hardy, you Hardy's obviously making you a bit more, but like Hardy, Connect, Adu, Bronny, I think Carr is at a different level as a prospect and a different level as like an asset. So I think that would get like that would get Dallas's attention and and I think they would play ball with you to to figure something out. But I would strongly prefer to keep Carr in this uh instance. Now, there are players that I would consider giving him up for, but if I'm the Lakers, I am trying to keep as many of these guys, preferably Carr and Adu are the two guys I'm looking at. Like if these guys pop with their athleticism, their skill set, their physical profile, they could be very valuable cheap young talent on our team for the next few years. And like that's not saying they're not untouchable, that there are like to me this is a borderline price where I like PJ a lot. He's probably my top realistic guy in my opinion of of like the Lakers could get, but I I don't know if he's at the level where I'd want to give up Carr. Like obviously he's I I think he's objectively worth Carr. I just would be a little bit pickier with it because the Lakers don't have this plethora of young talent that they're like if the Lakers had an army of young talent, it's a different story, right? Like if Max Christie was still on the roster or or whatever, like okay, you have some guys that are still at like a reasonable number, but I think Carr, if he hits at the contract he's gonna be on and you have his rights for basically the first seven years of his career with how RFAS work, like that's just really tough to lose.

J uh or Jamal or Jal, I don't know which one it is, but uh J. Thank you for the super chat. Uh, supon Laker fan from Alabama. I don't know if you answered this already, but what would be your ideal rest of summer for the Lakers? I had not uh I think for me if we go back to some of the names that like looking at this list here and I'll take your chat off. I I would I mean my ideal player out of all these guys would be PJ Washington, and I I think that number is a little like there's some risk with him approaching his 30s and some of the injury stuff, but I I just think he he fits nicely. And then I think like longer like next year, for example, you could potentially try and get a 3-and-D depending on how Grimes performs in starting role. You could also be in a situation where you maybe get like another wing player, slot Grimes as your sixth man, and then if you're rolling into next season with Kessler, Washington, 3-and-D, point-of-attack guy, X, it could be Derrick Jones Jr. You really go with the Dallas rebuild at that point. Uh, or or someone Austin, Luca. Then your bench is Grimes, McDaniels, Sexton, uh, backup center Y, and then wing or you big guard or or wing Z. That to me is a really. And that could just be Cameron Carr, right? Like so it could, you know, backup center and Cameron Carr. That's your 10-man rotation. I like that 10-man rotation. So, I would say for me on this list, to me the the two the best value of all is probably Derrick Jones Jr. at 10.5 expiring. I just don't know with the Clippers situation, especially with the Lakers and Clippers coming to terms on a side trade with Rui, even though it was the Clippers just wanted to send money, they didn't want to send any pick or, you know, draft capital. So the Lakers, why would the Lakers do that just for money? Uh, I think Derrick Jones Jr. is the best bang for your buck here. And then PJ Washington is probably the best player and the best fit. But then Kuminga is the one where if you're just getting off of money, you could just sign him or sign-and-trade for him, and you're probably only getting like, it might be the most realistic and the cheapest overall price, right? Like Washington, you probably Washington, maybe Jones, and maybe Dort, just from like a negotiating perspective, you might have to empty your clip in terms of seconds or or the swap or whatever. Kuminga might be the one where, you know, depending on what what the final price is, uh, you might be able to only do like one or two seconds or something and and kind of keep some of your assets for the future. And it's it's a more seamless transaction, you particularly because they're trying to get off of him where some of these guys I think you'd have to convince the team, right? Like Denver's trying to get off Christian Brown. Okay. Uh, Strus, that one's kind of up in the air right now. Denver's trying to keep Cam Johnson. OKC, I think would prefer to keep Dort, but he might just be a casualty. Clippers, I I not quite sure where they're at with DJJ right now. And then I think Washington for the right price would you know, could be moved from Dallas. So I would say like getting in and like you ask me my ideal, like dream scenario, I would say PJ Washington, and then uh from a back like, I mean, if you could do PJ Washington and Musa Diabaté, and you acquire Diabaté in a sign-and-trade, that would be a pretty good outcome for me. And if you're dumping, I think realistically you'd have to dump, I'm gonna assume you have to keep Vando and you're not dumping Vando on this, but you could dump like Jake. I don't know if they'd want to take back Hardy. That Yeah, that that's that's kind of tricky, but Jake, I mean, you have to do like Jake Dalton, Bronny, I don't know, some something like that. You're getting over that 8.8, so you could take back a certain amount more money. That would be interesting. Uh, the money would have to work, but if you if you got Washington and Diabaté, I would be uh I'd be into that. That that's probably my ideal outcome. My maybe like medium outcome right now for me would just be finding a way to get Kuminga, either sign him or sign-and-trade for him, and then get like Nick Richards. That's probably like a medium outcome. Worst case outcome is like you don't get any of these guys, including Kuminga, and you're forced to start you're forced to start like Jake or Batiste Diallo or McDaniels in like a and like have three bigs where it's like McDaniels, Kessler, and a Nick Richards or like a even worse like a Kevon Looney, something like that. So that's like my downside scenario, but we'll say keep it positive here. I'd say like Washington, Diabaté, or Richards. And uh, then depending on how many spots you still have, I'd be looking at some of the upside swings with uh, some of the younger UFAs.

P Rod, thank chat. Basically picking Grimes Reddit guy over using that money for Peyton Watson upside and long-term fit is a fumble in my opinion. What's your thoughts? I don't So I realized uh there might have been a different Peyton Watson question. Yeah. Going back to this one, he had asked this was the Houston series one. If you uh if the Lakers chose this path, would they have been able to get Watson? Well, I think so. Smart and Reaves, you could have signed one with the room exception, replace Rui and Reaves. Let's just say it's Rui and Smart and Reaves is the room exception guy. Rui and Smart. I think you would have had to pay Rui more than the 14 he got. Let's just say you paid him 16, a little bit more. You like you squeeze him a little bit. And then Smart, 6 and a half. Maybe he gets like a little bit more, but we'll say 6 and a half. 22 and a half. I mean, that that fits cheaper than Grimes. And yeah, I mean, I guess you could have kept all three of these guys and slotted them in with Kessler and or or Watson. Now, if you lost all those guys and didn't replace them, you could have potentially gotten into the Watson range, but I think McDaniels and Grimes are making a combined somewhere around 23, 24. So, I I think that's a little low for because remember with RFAS, part of it's like you have to overpay to get the player. Even potentially in a sign-and-trade, it's gonna be a little bit lower. But like with Kessler, the Jazz didn't want to pay Kessler over 28. So Kessler ends up getting 32 and a half AAV from the Lakers, which is an overpay, at least relative to what his incumbent team wanted to pay, but like that's just the the going rate with. So I think Watson, Denver probably would love to pay him in like the low to mid 20s, but you probably have to go above that to actually pry him and that now the the crappy part is that he might just get like 20 or something from from Denver because of the market and because of how things are going where he's really getting squeezed right now. Uh, but again, just because if if Denver resigns him for 20, it doesn't mean they wouldn't have matched more. It just means that they scared off his other suitors and they were able to get a discount. But I think it would have to be over 25 to really get Denver to consider letting him go. But I could be wrong on that and and we'll see. Uh, so going back to this question from Perrod, uh, so I I think Grimes Grimes is making 15 uh million per year over his contract. I don't think that would have been enough to pry Peyton Watson. I I really think it it came down to more Peyton Watson versus Walker Kessler. With LA's emphasis on a center and Luca really wanting a center, I don't think it was ever really in the mix in terms of uh it was just gonna be really tough to like you could have waved and stretched Vando or or done some of those cost-cutting moves and really expanded it out and you could have done Kessler, Watson, and then one player with the room exception. I don't think you're gonna get Grimes or McDaniels. So maybe it would have been Sexton again. That would have been interesting, but I think they would have I don't think just swapping in Watson, you know, swapping out Grimes, swapping in Watson, I don't think that was realistic. I think it would have had to have been clearing more space, using that additional space to make an offer for Watson, and then you still would have had the room exception, which you could argue, I mean, straight up like, would I rather have Grimes or or you Grimes and McDaniels or Watson? I would lean on the Watson side of that, but you could argue it's not like definitive enough that you could go either way.

BT Kingsley, thank you for the super chat. Uh, what happens in Bron's signing trade? What's in it for us, especially to Denver? Uh, so I've talked about this the last couple shows, but to get the cap space, the Lakers had to rescind the rights to LeBron. And if they signed and traded LeBron and got something back, that actually would go into their cap space. So that wouldn't be legal. So the ship has sailed with the sign-and-trade for LeBron and and Rui. Uh, well, I mean, it depends on Well, I mean, Rui is already like, I mean, I guess technically like if if Denver just, you know, you could have like a higher number where Denver, you would have to do that in the very beginning. I I don't think you'd get a player back. I I guess that's the distinction here. You could theoretically until they rescind LeBron's rights, you could agree to a sign-and-trade that creates a giant trade exception for you, although you couldn't use that once you go above the cap if you use cap space. Uh, but you could potentially get an asset of uh, you know, a second or I I don't think you're getting a first or anything because I mean, if you're Denver, I really it'd be more so to help LeBron out by potentially getting him more money in a sign-and-trade, but Denver's pretty strapped anyway financially. So I think Denver would just be like, "Hey LeBron, we're giving you the taxpayer or or, you know, whatever their exception is that they could use." So, I I I'm high I would say I'm highly skeptical of a LeBron sign-and-trade, and that also requires LeBron and the Lakers to be on the same page. I I think that is not gonna happen.

Ryan Lucas, thank you for the super chat and shout out to Ryan who's been all over this Jonathan Kuminga stuff. Would be a shame if JK falls through. It's in LA's court. Uh, so Ryan has been reporting that out on X, and we'll see what uh, what ends up happening in terms of a potential. I think it would probably be a sign-and-trade, but maybe the Lakers clear enough space to just sign him straight up.

Shaboo, thank you for the super chat. Lots of people asking us to sign Dunn. He's exactly what the Lakers need, another offense-first guard. Uh, no, I mean, I I get the Dunn pitch. I just think, you know, right now, for example, there are greater needs of I I want to retain the asset and I I don't want some other team to to pry him if I'm the Lakers, but you still need the starting forward and you need the backup five, and then depending on where the roster is at, you could fit him in, or maybe you could just fit him in as the 15th player anyway. But I order of operations is important here. Priorities are important, and I think you have to prioritize some other positions. But yeah, I mean, depending on the contract, especially if it's like a minimum with some team options and non-guaranteed, I'd be open to that.

Conor Phillips, thank you for the super chat. I'm optimistic think three to six seed again. Oh, for sure. Like I the people who think they're not gonna be a playoff team, I I vehemently disagree with that. I think it's the West is still really difficult to project because Denver, it's just are they gonna be a second apron team? Are they gonna have Watson, Johnson, and and Brown? Are they gonna get rid of one of those guys? Are they gonna lose Watson? Like, are they gonna do a bigger trade, trade Murray? Trade Gordon? Like, what's going on in Denver? There's I think they have a pretty high ceiling and floor if they relatively run it back, but they've already lost Tim Hardaway Jr. They might lose Spencer Jones, Bruce Brown. So, there's a ton of variables with Denver. Minnesota has half a rotation right now. Doesn't have a starting power forward. So, Minnesota is in limbo right now with everything going on, you know, particularly the LeBron chase. Then you have the Lakers, who are firmly in that mix. And then you have Houston, who I think depending on how Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams look coming off of their injuries. I really love, I mean, I know you guys are gonna want to hear this, I love the Marcus Smart addition for Houston, and I think he's someone that could have a ton of utility as uh, even like they'll probably be like Fred VanVleet will inevitably go back to being starting point guard, closing point guard, you're gonna have Reed there, but Marcus wears so many hats for them as a defensive ace off the bench, but like if they need if they're down Fred VanVleet or Reed Shepard, they can use him as a ball handler, and like I I just think he could do so many different things for them. So, Houston's also gonna be in the mix, right? Like they're still I think they're more of a regular season team than a playoff team, but in the regular season, they could be another team that's pushing 50 plus wins and is in the home court mix. So, I still think the top six in the West is gonna be the same top six. I think San Antonio and OKC are in their own tier and they're gonna be jostling for 60 plus wins, but the Lakers are firmly in that tier in my opinion with Denver, Minnesota, and Houston. It's largely gonna come down to health and the rest of the offseason, right? Like if the Lakers don't get a quality starting four, I think they could be fifth or sixth. If they do, I think they could be third. And uh, even as you know, standing pat, they could potentially be third. But there's a lot of variables here that are gonna determine how I how I personally view the the top six. But for sure, LA's sixth right now. I probably have them fourth or fifth. But, you know, I I think yeah, I would say fourth or fifth, but it it does depend on how they build, like who's the backup five and and who's the starting four, cuz they don't have a complete roster.

BT Kingsley, thank you for the super chat. I like a combination of D'Angelo Russell and Zaire if no JK. Uh, so Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that the Lakers are not linked or, you know, tied to D'Angelo Russell. That's where I'm at. Look, I'm an SC guy, so I will always have a soft spot for DeMar DeRozan, fight on. But I just think from a like he he can't be your he can't be like if you added DeRozan, it cannot be as a starter. It could only be in like some sort of bench scorer role. I just think at that point, like the combination of lack of shooting and lack of defense is just too detrimental to what the Lakers are trying to build. Like again, I I think they have this vision of a top eight, top nine where everybody can shoot, dribble, pass, and ideally they have a few plus defenders in there. DeRozan can dribble and pass and create in the mid-range, but he's not really an off-ball catch-and-shoot high-level guy in that regard. And like I would have liked him more. DeRozan to me would have been interesting if the Lakers lost Austin and they went with a more defensive mind, like if they went with a more defensive-minded wing or or something where you needed some additional shot creation. DeRozan could have been like an interesting stopgap, but at best he's gonna be the third option, but he doesn't space or play off of the ball at a high enough level in my opinion to offset some of the age and defense concerns in addition to just the the shooting. So, I would pass on DeRozan. Um, honestly, regardless of the price, I I just, you know, like there's a talent element, but there's also

A fit element that I I just don't really see it with Luca and Austin. And then Zire I like I I like Zire. Zinc, thank you for the super chat. If we don't offer Sexon and Mamu, could we have created 30 million for a Watson offer? No. And I'm glad you asked this question because Sexton, remember, is the room exception. So, the room exception is separate from your cap space. So the Lakers ended up somewhere in the mid-50s cap space-wise. They used that all on Kesler, Grimes, and Mamu. If you look at their contracts, it nets out to about 556 million. And you know, they they shed some money with the DA trade. Ston they're using that if you use cap space in our, you know, capace team, you get the room exception, which is $9.4 million earmarked. It's a separate exception that does not interfere with your cap space. So they're using that for Sexton and Mamu and Grimes were part of the actual cap space. So if they didn't sign Mamu, they would have had about, you know, starting out it's about 11 or so, uh, maybe 12, but overall his AAV is around 13. So you could have gotten somewhere in that like 12 13 range, I guess, but that's not enough for Watson.

BT Kingsley, thank you for the super chat. DK and Vando have to go because they are unplayable to JJ. I agree. And that that's where like even the people who are optimistic on DK and Vando. I'm like, well, that's not how the coach feels. And we have enough of a sample size here where uh they're just rotting on the bench. And that's 16 that's over that's almost $17 million just sitting on the bench that is not going to play or really play. Like Vando is not being optimized. They're they're not looking to optimize Vando's role. DK, I think that ship is entirely sailed and he's just not even a rotation guy for JJ anymore. So, it's like what what's the point of all this if uh like he's not if they're not going to play, then you might as well trade them because again, if you if you think about it, if you could flip Vando into Jonathan Kaminga and it goes from Vando being a fringe rotation guy to Jonathan Kaminga starting, just think about the reallocation of salary on your cap sheet and how valuable that is. Like that that would be incredible.

Andrew H, thank you for the super chat. Uh, does the Lakers delaying their signings potentially mean they're working on a trade? Yes. I mean, I don't know if anything's like currently agreed to, if there's like a framework. I could check my phone here. Uh, I'm not I mean, nothing's happened. I'm just making sure I'm not getting any texts myself. Uh, so they're trying to figure it out. It's just I think they're haggling from again like their I think their goal of trying to get off Vando because that's also that that's the easiest way to facilitate the most like if you just get off Vando you could probably just sign Kaminga tomorrow or sign and trade Kaminga tomorrow starting in that like 12 12 and a half range just by getting off of Vando to say nothing of potentially adding in Dalton or Hardy or Bronny or whatever. So, I think that's the one they really want to get off of because it doesn't just help them this year, it helps them next year as well getting off that contract. I just think they still have the limited draft capital where again, if you're selling me on give me player X for Vando, I say, okay, I want, you know, two seconds. And then they're like, well, here's three seconds. And I'm like, okay, well, cross it off two or three of those for Vando. So, you're really offering me one second. That's below what I want for this player. So that that's where I think that the haggling and who knows maybe they can flip, you know, can you flip Dalton or Hardy for more seconds, right? Can you get a second for one of those guys and then add that in and that gives you more leverage with the the Vando situation. So there's different ways they could go about this, but uh yes, to my understanding, doesn't mean a trade has been agreed upon or or or is closer is even going to happen. It's more so they're canvasing the market right now trying to find something that you find either one trade or two to three smaller trades that they can get off multiple guys and then create that space.

BT Kingsley I think it was soup chat what does offer sheet look like for Cay uh look like 7 to 12 I don't even think you have to well maybe it's a prime from Dallas you have to go that high but the Lakers have like only have so many resources in terms of you can't like I I think you have to use that money on a wing right so that's Kaminga or that's someone on the trade market I don't think you could go backup center above starting forward-wing I think that would be a mistake with your assets. But yeah, I think I mean if I think if you went that high for Cay, they they I mean definitely 12, but even seven is probably borderline for them.

Um and then BT Kings follows up. Cay I mean well I was thinking Cay uh CS which is Colin Saxon was necessary to help bench and get ball up court. I totally So those who um who feel this way, I totally understand where you're coming from. I would just say that if you have two paths. Path one is you add a starting level even if they're fringe starting level. But I would say at least based on last year to me Marcus Smart and Kelly Ubé were clear starting level players. Uh now with them in their early 30s and with their injury histories, maybe they don't age well, they get injured. Next year they drop off a little bit. They're more fringe rotation or fringe starting guys. But like last year, both guys to me were clear starting level players. If you look at their production, their impact, their advanced stuff, like their contract, like all that stuff, I I think they were clearly starting level guys. So there's path one. You add a starter level wing with some warts a little bit older than you'd want, but now you need to find a backup point guard or path two where you get the backup point guard, but you still need the starting forwardwing and you're probably going to end up with a guy worse than the guys you could have had for the room exception. I would pick pri like I I just think the wing defense was a a greater priority. It does not mean that getting a backup was not a priority. And in fact, I think if the Lakers had gone that route, you could argue that if depending on if if Smart is starting or not, maybe he's technically the backup and like Grimes is starting over him, whatever. But if there was a version of this where Smart or UB is starting and you don't have the backup, right now we would be talking about Lakers need a backup five and they need a backup point guard. But I'd rather, if I'm the Lakers, I would rather live in that reality where you need two backups rather than being in the reality right now where they're trying to scrge to find a starting level player with pretty limited resources to pull it off. and you know, you're you're either taking on some money that you don't really want to take on or you're taking a risk on on a guy like a Kaminga who might not pan out. Like I just I don't know. I I am of the belief that you prioritize filling out the starting group and then you go to the bench and the Lakers kind of did it a different way. And maybe it works out. I'm not I'm not saying it can't work out. I just think to me like if if the starting point was and clearly Sexton was like you know those guy that they agreed to later they had already figured things out with Mamu and Grimes earlier. If I'm telling you the starting point is Luca, Austin, Kesler, Grimes, and Mamu, I think the clear need there is another defensive athletic wing. And again, we could debate how much Smart or UB actually qualify there, but they qualify there a hell of a lot more than Colin Ston and were both notably better players than Colin Ston last year. And so I just think like there's just an overall talent capability component to this of I have more confidence in both those guys in a playoff setting than Sexton who's just never been there. Like no knock to him. But we saw go what going to war with Marcus Smart looked like last year and it was pretty fun to go to war with Marcus Smart last year. Uh so that that that's my you know I'm coming around more to it. I understand youth athleticism speed. They they want, you know, him as their six-man. Okay, I get it. But you have a pretty gaping hole at the forward spot.

Ashley, thank you for the super chat. LeBron goes to the Heat. Devon Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, LeBron, Giannis Bam, Bench, Brandon W, Tim Hardaway, Demar, Pton Watson, Bobby, are they better than the Knicks? So, how are they getting Pton Watson in this scenario? Uh, I don't think the Heat have I think they only have the non-taxpayer and they'd probably use that on LeBron if he if he comes there. So, I don't see where I mean Demar maybe he takes a minimum or, you know, whatever. Uh, Bobby's obviously Bobby Poris. I I don't see how Payton Watson fits into this, but if you go with the starters plus is Brand did Brandon Williams sign with the Heat. Did I miss that? Maybe I missed that. Uh, okay. So, he's drawn interest from the Heat. He hasn't officially signed there. Uh, I mean, with Peyton Watson, it gets interesting, right? But I don't think that that's realistic. I would say this team on paper is not as good as the Knicks, but they have I mean that that's a menacing defensive starting group, right? Like LeBron's your worst defender and that's I think a good thing because you you could protect him and like let him be in a lower usage helper role but Giannis and Bam together defensively is insane to say nothing of you have an elite point of attack guy in Devon Mitchell and a really good wing guy in Andrew Wiggins. So that combination plus if you you know Bam and Giannis can both switch uh if you need especially under like wings so you're covered defensively. That's like an elite group. And then offensively, the spacing is going to be clunky because none of these guys are like lights out shooters. Wiggins had a really good year, but you have some general shooting spacing concerns and and might be underelling it, but I would like to think the collective talent particularly of LeBron, Giannis, and Bam. I think DaVon and Wiggins have grown in their offball uh you know, shooter roles uh in Miami a bit. So, I mean, I I think that'd be a really good starting group. The bench, again, I I don't see how Pton Watson ends up there, but you know, Demar is your six-man. Bobby, Tim Hart, I mean, you got a lot of offense. The the bench is very offensive heavy. Again, Peyton Watson, I just don't see how it's possible. They pulled that off. I mean, I think he's better. He'd be easily better than any bench player on the Knicks. And you could even argue, you know, Demar is that even if he's an imperfect fit, uh, you know, in some ways, but, uh, I mean, that I think that the Knicks group just fits so good together and it's like offensive, small, point guard, stretch big, three tough, nasty wings who can put out basically any fire defensively. Like that that's a pretty good combination. and you have a ton of shooting and you know, you just don't they don't really have a weakness with that group. I I mean, I guess the glass sometimes, but that that's uh you know, rim protection sometimes, but it's pretty tough group. So, I would say I think it's it's going to be difficult for them to come out of this with with us feeling like they're better than the Knicks, but they could get if they had LeBron and they fill out the bench well, like they could go into next season as the second best team in the East.

Keon Park, thank you for the super chat. Uh, you think Luca will give this team two full years or only one? And if not enough, he would ask to be traded. Like, we can't really trade the new guys with those contracts, right? No teams would take it. I don't know if I'd go that far. I think uh so like Sexton's a oneplus one. That's, you know, whatever. Low, relatively low risk. Like I think the only risk was who you picked them over. Mamu. I I think Mamu's like Mamu is the one that could go either way where it just depends on how he continues to to play. Like I think it's a fair contract. I would have preferred three years instead of four, but and like a little bit lower, but you know, it it's not by much. We're talking like 1 to two million. So I don't I think it like unless one of those guys gets injured, that's really the only way. Like Grimes, I think that's a that's a fine contract. I actually think it's better than I think it's a better value than Mamu or Stexton, honestly. Like I think Grimes is probably the closest to his actual value in my opinion of those three. And then Kesler I think will be fine especially as some of these other big center contracts start to kick in. He's going to be paid like I said earlier closer to like the 15th highest paid center in like two years which uh to me I think he's easily going to be considered a top 10 center as soon as this season. So I I don't it's tough to say without knowing why the Lakers are struggling. like my and I didn't even mention Austin like I think that'll be tradable at least in the first year or two maybe year three it starts to get like once he's in the high 40s that might be a little too high for some teams but then you only have an additional year after that third year so who knows but I would say that if I had to predict like if it's an injury plague season then you have to judge is it like how serious are the injuries like How are you viewing the whole situation, right? Do you just not trust someone to stay healthy or what's what's the context there? But realistically, I think if this team struggles, it's going to be on the defensive end, and it's just going to just be that they don't have enough collective defensive talent in their rotation. And Kesler will help. He will they won't be the second worst rip protected team of the league. They'll be better on the defensive glass. there are all these things that will be better with Kesler out there, but that's assuming Kesler is able to stay healthy, which I I think is a fair assumption. I just you have to state that. And then it's also like how do the pieces fit around Luca and Austin. So I think they have zeroed in on Luca Austin Kesler is the core. everyone else around that. It's sort of how do they fit and and can they do the jobs that we need them to do and if they can or can't like you know if Sexton thrives in the six-man role then he thrives and then you're you're potentially opting out and you're looking to sign him to a longerterm deal. If Grimes or Mamu are slotted in starting roles, but they are performing more like bench players, then you have to make that calculation of can we reshape the roster to put them in a bench roll and optimize them or do we have to get off this money? I I would say that probably the sooner getting off the money the better because what you risk sometimes is like if a guy doesn't live up to the contract in year one, sometimes the juryy's still, you know, people are still deciding how they feel about him, but then if he doesn't live up to it in year two over like the first half of the season, it's like over. Everyone's like, "Ah, this guy's not worth this contract." So, you might have that window there next summer to get off of some of this money if you so choose. You also have the non tax pyramid level exception, but I think my read right now would be that Luca I don't know if he gives them the full two years, right? I mean, it's tough to say. We would have to know how this the season goes, but I would say if the season if it's like similar to the last two years where they're a low to mid50s win team and they lose in round one or round two, I think there will be a call for upgrades next summer. If they have a seven game series in round two or even make it to round three, beat one of OKC or San Antonio, maybe lose to the other one in the conference finals, then maybe it's more fine-tuning, right? It's just difficult to say without knowing the context of how the season went. Obviously, if they win the championship, then you're ideally trying to run it back and and you know, make a couple upgrades, but uh I my understanding is Luca is happy with the roster. that was obviously reported by the Athletic and this this was like he was heavily consulted and it was a lot of like what do we think fits best around Luca and Luca type players. So they'd be tough for him to sign off or or be cool with parts of the roster and then immediately not be okay with it, right? So I think it's going to not to say they won't make any trades at the trade deadline. Well, we we'll see where they're at. But my operating assumption here would be that he gives it through the season and then depending on how things end, that will determine where they go from there.

Javier, thank you for the super chat or the super sticker. I appreciate you.

Jerry Soraniano, thank you for the super chat. OKC's McCain and Mitchell killed us. Did they play D? Uh, so McCain, no. But the McCain competes, but he's still a negative defender. Mitchell, I actually think defending. I mean, he was kind of hobbled and it didn't really It's always funny when a player's hobbled and they're still played great on offense so that you see it more on defense and you know that that's just sometimes how it goes. But Mitchell actually think played really well defensively. Uh, like I thought he gave Austin a ton of problems in the regular season, not as much in the playoffs, but to this point, I hear what you're saying, and I I don't know if this is in uh reference to like Colin Ston maybe in the bench role. My strong push back here would be if you're say like these two dudes, small guards, don't play defense in the OKC rotation. Okay, that is two of their top 10 players that do not play defense because everybody else plays defense uh at a certain I mean I guess maybe you could say Jaylen Williams is like I think he's an above average defender but not he's not like a rim protector stopper necessarily although I thought he had some good minutes against WMBB in the conference finals but the rest of the group is uh Chat Hartenstein JDub Caruso Dort Wallace like We're talking multiple alldefense guys, multiple guys who are considered top 10 if not top five defenders at their respective positions. So the Lakers do not like you could have a McCain or a Mitchell, even though I would argue Mitchell's a good defender or at least above average. Uh when you have a plethora of just all defense guys, the Lakers as right now don't have a alldefense guy. like one I think Kesler will be an alldefense guy if not this season like the the following season but he hasn't made that yet and no one else has. So, I just think it's it's apples to oranges. Like, these are not they're not comparable rosters or or you know, if the Lakers go out and get Kesan Wallace and Alex Caruso and Lou Dort and Isaiah Hardenstein and uh fill out the rest of the rotation with those guys, okay, then I think you can afford guys like Stan or some of these other small guards who can't really defend. But if you don't have those guys, then the rest of the roster has to be better.

Nick Carney, thank you for the super chat. What's the path to a top 10 defense in two years? I like the framing because I I think two years is probably more realistic than than one. I think it's it's some form of it's it's probably getting the forward wing guy via trade or signing this summer. So, I mean, it's basically like trading for someone or getting Kaminga and then Kaminga hitting in addition to also potentially doing another move either at the deadline or next summer plus signing someone for a non-taxpayer MLE or one variable within all this would be how Carr and Adu develop. I think Carr is projecting I mean I haven't really talked about this yet but you can make a case he could be the seventh best player on the team right now. Uh again, don't like don't want to overreact to summer league, but already he his bag like he could do certain things. We'll see how it translates rest of summer league. We'll see how it translates training camp and preseason. But with the current group, you could argue I think as high as like seventh or you know, eighth for for Cameron Carr. So if he really actualizes his potential defensively, that's a variable. If a do develops offensively to the point of being playable consistently, that adds an element. But I think like the next the top 10 version of the Lakers in my head would be Kesler, two new starters, Austin, Luca, uh Grimes, Mamu, Ston, Carr or Adoo, and then like a a solid defensive backup. And that's an expensive roster that that is probably a multi-transactional situation. But if you build a a situ like a rotation where you're top 10, your minuses are Ston who's a backup point guard and Mamu in certain contexts and everyone else. You know, obviously Austin and Luca to varying degrees, although I think it it's a bit overblown, but like you know, the other six guys that are not Luca, Austin, Sexton, Mamu are all above average to good defenders, if not even potentially elite depending on who else you bring in and how Kesler develops. That's to me a top 10 defense. So, uh, that that's I think it's a multi-transaction cycle build, but I think it's within the realm of possibility.

BLC, thank you for the super chat. Why didn't the Lakers want the exception? The Clippers wanted to exchange for Ruie. Is it because it won't open up money for them because they were already capped? Thank you. Uh yes, that is exactly why. The second they it only would have applied if they were using it under the cap. Once they went over the cap, they would have lost the exception. Uh now, you know, it would have been nice to have gotten some some draft capital for them. That was not in the card. So, they decided to pass and and I get it. But, uh, yeah, that that that's the the core reason why.

Brett, thank you for the super chat. Uh, yo yo, is it possible for the Lakers to sign and trade LeBron before they make their signings official? Uh, so I I answered this a little bit earlier. Technically, yes, but it's it's a little complicated. There's an order of operations here. Uh, so I I like I think they would have to immediately it would have to be one of the first things they do. Like maybe they could do technically the DeAndre Aton Jaden Hardy trade. Although actually no, I think it would have to be the first thing they do. They basically would have to sign and trade LeBron at some point here before they do their flurry of moves then, because you'd have to create they don't have cap space if LeBron's still on the books. Like that that's the thing is like even they ended up creating like 55 56 million somewhere in there in cap space. LeBron's cap hold 60. So just with LeBron on the books, you don't have cap space. So LeBron needs to be off the books to access the cap space. So I guess like technically there's a a world in which you sign and trade LeBron somewhere and you get cash picks maybe a young player or something but then that creates a ripple effect where that affects your cap space then you have to get off additional so I don't know maybe I mean maybe it's you put Bronnie in the trade and you get back a player the equivalent of Bronnie salary-wise and it's like LeBron sign and trade alongside Bronny. Uh I I don't know if that's if I'm violating the cap rules. I probably am somewhere, but that like general framework could potentially work and you get back like a a really cheap player, but maybe you like that player and okay, you could do something like that. But I'm pretty sure, if I understand correctly, it would have to be before anything else because you don't even have the cap space to do all these moves with LeBron on your your books. Now, the issue here is LeBron, according to Rich Paul, is not even close to picking his next team. So, like the Lakers would then be held in limbo until LeBron decides. And really, like the team would have no incentive to do a signing trade for LeBron. The only situation would be can you get LeBron maybe a little bit more money than they're offering? can that fit into their because and some teams like like Cleveland couldn't do that because of the whole second apron like you'd have to be under the first apron. So there's some limitations with with the team that could do it and so I I say all this to say like I would I think it's highly unlikely. It also would require cooperation and communication between LeBron and the Lakers which I don't think is going to be happening anytime soon. Uh, so I would say theoretically possible, but it would have to happen before any other move and it would have to probably happen within the next 24 to 48 hours. So unless LeBron decides it has a change of heart here, I think it's unlikely.

Drew, thank you for the super chat. Hardy, Jake, and two seconds to Derek Jones Jr. then Wave and Stretch Vandal get Kaminga. Nick Richards and Thai vet. I don't know. Just throwing ideas. I think these are all interesting. So Hardy and Jake you get to that's about that's tw 12. So Derek Jones makes 10 and a half so you save a million and a half there. Wave and stretch Vando you save about seven there. So you're at about eight and a half. And then you make Kaminga an offer for eight and a half. I don't know if that's enough to get him but you're getting in the mix. You're above the the taxpayer MLE teams. Yeah. And then you could go Kaminga DJJ and then Grimes is your six-man. Or you could go Grimes DJJ, you're a little bit smaller. Kaminga is your sixman. Like, you know, you could figure that out. But yeah, no, I I I like that. I don't I mean, the two big questions here are is that enough for DJJ and the Clippers eyes and then is that enough for Kaminga based on his market, which you know, we we'll see.

Daniel, thank you for the super chat. You have one at the next press conference. Can you ask Mark Walter or Rob what it's going to take to get our gold unis back? The neon banana yellow got to go. So Mark Walter has not done a press conference with us. So I I cannot ask him that. Rob, I could I would say that's that's probably more of a private question than an on the spot question. Uh that you know that that's you know that's a type of question that catches them off guard and those you know maybe if I give them a heads up that I'm going to ask about it. But I I think it's more it's more of a question honestly for the business side that that's more of a a lawn you roen question. Uh so but we'll see if they go back to the again I think it's more of a Nike thing than anything but I know this has been a thing for a long time now that uh I agree with they they got to go back. I think it got better. They they did tweak the color a little bit but it's still not where it should be.

Jerry Soano, thank chat uh car to Denver and signing trade for Pton Watson. Yes or no? So this one, so I had been asked about PJ Washington. Metaphorical gun to my head. I think I would do it and that just speaks to how high I am on Payton Watson and his potential fit next to like I really like the quartet of Luca Austin Watson Kesler. And I think it also gives you some insurance of if Austin if the Austin Luca pairing just has a ceiling to it or Austin can't quite be a true number two and you just feel like that contract is too much. I think Watson and his offensive upside, he's not Austin, but he did flash I think a level or two above a role player this past season during certain stretches when he was empowered. So, I I I like that part of it. Uh, but I I would echo what I said earlier. I would really not want to give up Carr under almost any circumstances, but I think Watson is one where he fits the timeline I'm high on him enough where I I would, but I'm sure some fans would say hell no. And if you say hell no, then I I totally get it. Like, I would really exhaust other options to not give up Carr. But if it really came down to it, I think I think you're you're like hoping Carr turns into a Payton Watson level player, which I think on like if if Watson was an unrestricted free agent, I think he'd be making somewhere in the mid20s. And does Carr have maybe higher upside than that? Like theoretically, sure. But if Carr turns into a mid20s type player, like that's a that's a pretty good hit. That's a pretty good player. So I I don't know. I'd I'd want to not give him up, but if it really came down to it, I do believe in Pton Watson enough where I would pull the trigger.

Is he a real one? VA real MC. Thank you for the super chat. Any truth to the Lakers refusing a signing trade for Ruie? I see that floating online, but no source behind it. Still possible to get JK. Please rate his defense. Uh so, so yes, I talked about this a little bit earlier. There is truth to this. uh because the Clippers were only offering the Lakers money and they would have gotten a a you trade exception, but then it wouldn't have really mattered because once they used their cap space, they would have lost it. Uh so I think the Lakers were hoping for draft compensation and the Clippers weren't interested in that. So the Lakers were like we're not going to do that. It doesn't really make sense. Like it really it only makes again this is like the flip side of any theoretical sign and trade where the Lakers are acquiring someone. And it's like you have to incentivize the team to participate in the signing trade. And for the Lakers, what the Clippers were offering didn't really make sense. Uh now, uh possible to get JK. Yes. Either clear cap space, sign him or sign and trade for him or even above the cap. Oh, well above the cap. I mean, technically you could do a sign and trade depending on the matching salary, but uh so yeah, I guess there you could go either with the cap space or above the cap, but then you have to have matching salary and depends how Atlanta feels about those players. His defense, I'm kind of at um I'm at around like a six or a six and a half for his defense. And and so I guess if you're going like a 1 through 10 scale that that's where I'm at right now with the upside for more like I I think there's upside to for like seven and a half maybe eight but but maybe we'll we'll conservatively say like seven and a half and then there's downside where you know he could be like a four on defense uh or three and a half but definitely higher upside than Ruie if that's kind of the comparison here. Uh, if we're giving it a grade, I I would say he's more of like a like a B minus defender with the upside to be like a B+ defender, but it's just how much does he want to commit to that and and make that like his calling card? because I still think the offensive side and the ISO scoring is such a big part of his game that it really depends like where his mental space is in terms of his career, his archetype, his journey, where he wants to go. If he buys into like if he wants to be Aaron Gordon, I think Jonathan Kaminga could be Aaron Gordon, right? Like they're they're different uh ultimately different physical makeups, right? So, it's, you know, he's not going to be the rebounder or like maybe the interior player that Aaron Gordon was, but I think if he goes like the the Aaron Gordon, Andrew Wiggins route where he reroutes things from I want to be like a number one or two scorer to being more like I'm going to be this monster productive two-way role player that like there's a real path and upside there for him. It's just where he's at with his game and his career and I don't know the answer to that. Uh so yeah, I mean I would say he's to me somewhere in that like you know six six and a half B minusish range but certainly upside to be a better player than that. And like he's had moments where he really locks in defensively and I I think particularly in ISO defense more so than offball or or helper defense, he could be a really productive ISO defender, but you want to see it consistently.

Doc, thank you for the super chat. Uh, what do you think makes Delta Connect so unplayable to Reic? Seems like he would be better now if he would have gotten consistent playing time through the year is the issue the player development department. Uh, so I mean the the short the short of it for me is I think it's it's a couple things. Um, if you look at just look at Dalton's numbers this season compared to last season and across the board, his field goal percentage declined, his three-point percentage declined, two-point percentage actually went up. But, uh, that shows that he his three-point rate went up as he became more of just a shooter, less of anything else. But, free throw percentage decline. And then if you're looking at per 36 or per 100 possessions, he declined as a rebounder, a passer. Um some of the defensive metrics actually went up in terms of the playmaking, which most of his time is in garbage time, but like that that's nice to see. But the scoring went down, the fouls went up. You look at his advanced metrics, they all uh decreased across the board. Turnover rate nearly doubled. Again, some increases in the the defensive playmaking, which is nice to see. But uh I think then you look at the advanced metrics and they all scream just like a a glaring negative. So I think with Dalton the the issue was like I think it's as simple as like he has not been the same player since the trade got rescended. I think he had already started to decline a bit pre-trade, but he still had like the flashes, the random game where he hits a few threes or or just you see the upside basically from the like he had a few big performances post trade uh when they were short-handed and then this year had you know a couple of of decent games. I would say most of his big performances were obviously garbage time short-handed situations. But I I think the big thing for Reic is I I would say and I'm trying to be trying to be careful here. I'm trying to be fair here, but like Dalton is a belove average processor on both sides of the ball. Just that you look at his defense, the way he reads the floor, the rotations, the decision-m, whether it's switching or rotating, just there's some limitations there. And then offensively, this is a guy who there's been several viral clips of him forgetting plays and JJ chewing him out. And it's like you cannot you cannot forget plays at the NBA level. Like that is just inexcusable, especially as a young guy and as like an older young guy. Like I mean he's he's 25. Like he's like part of the Dalton appeal was supposed to be plugandplay. Like this dude's ready. This dude is as ready as it gets. like one of the older first round picks in recent memory of of you know being a basically 23-year-old like that that's we're starting to see more juniors and seniors again in the first round but he's pretty old and so like one of his things was supposed to be supposed to shoot at a certain level and he was supposed to be like NBA ready and he has not shot I mean 34% for a player as limited as him in other categories like he's a bad defender he's a below average uh passer below average rebounder and I think does have more to his game within inside the arc, but that wasn't the role that he was put in. Like I think this is where I think like part of it to me is like a fit thing where Dalton to me and I I'll give um I think uh Dan Wy of the Athletic, you know, we we've been covering Dalton since he came into the league and like one thing that I I give Dan props for that I think he identified pretty early with Daltton is he was like he's kind of buil as this elite shooter when it's more he's a good scorer who can be a good shooter but he's not this like you remember JJ called him a point I forget if he said 1% or or.1% shooter. Might have been 1%. But like that's not his actual Gabe at the NBA level. He shot 37% his rookie year and 34% his sophomore year. Like combined that's like he he's been a below average shooter at the NBA level. Uh he's at 30 some% so he's like a smidge above uh league average. But for a guy who doesn't bring that much else to the table, he needs to be a 40% three-point shooter to get like rotation minutes like that. That needs to be and so I just don't think he's he's shot it well enough. I think he struggled with processing on both ends. The defense has been really problematic. Like you'll often see JJ would play him for a shift and the shift would be a couple defensive mistakes for Dalton and he's immediately pulled. And it's just like dude, you got to be like more locked in on that end or you can't be making some of these mistakes. So, I think in a macro sense, I think there's like a fit element here where Dalton needs to be on like a Brooklyn or um a Washington or one of the, you know, a Memphis or or one of these teams where he could just play his game and figure out his skill set and and have like freedom to roam and and and figure things out. That's not the Lakers. That's not the fishbowl of of the Lakers. and it's not a Lakers team that's trying to win a championship and and so his role has been reduced to spot up and make threes and he's just not doing that at a high enough level. I've mentioned this recently during the middle portions of games. Second quarter he's shooting 23% on threes. Third quarter he's shooting 20%. Like the the middle of the game I mean that that's unplayable. That's worse than Vando. So he just has not translated to the level that you would want. Uh, I think the biggest thing has been remembering plays, like his decision- making, his processing how he sees the game, uh, combined with like a fit element. And it's just like, you know, he's not Luke Canard or Ruie out there who despite whatever other flaws those guys have, they are such elite shooters, you can't keep them off the floor. Dalton's not at that level, and I think he has to get to that level to really become a rotation guy. So, that that that's my breakdown of that.

Tom Tom, thank you for the super chat. There were talks about training Bronny to Cleveland for a second. To be honest, I would want two seconds for him. We were develop we developed him, blocked the roster spot for two years. Why wouldn't we get more than we paid for for him? I would say it depends on the second. Like if if Lakers got a good second, then I think you you take that. If it's like a protected top 45 protected second, top 55 protected second, that's probably not going to net out anything. And and so at that point, yeah, you might want the second one. I think it depends on the quality of the second. But, uh, yeah, I mean, I talked about this too with Bronny lately where I I just think now with the way that they're going, like he's at at best like the fourth point guard in the pecking order where you're going to have Luca as the primary ball handler, Austin as the primary ball handler when Luca's off the floor, then Ston as like the next layer, and then even Grimes, I think, depending on the configuration, like probably not as a primary guy, but I think if Grimes and Bronny are out there, Grimes would be prioritized as as more of like an onball player than Bronny would be. So, I just look at that and it's like, you know, obviously you could play him off of the ball, but I don't think he's developed into a good enough shooter to do that. Like, he's his shots in development. He has had some flashes as we saw at the end of of last season. But I think part of it was like they were trying to make him this on ball caretaker kind of um you know ju just to get the offense going with the second unit. You could still do that a bit, but I I just think like the the pecking order has kind of changed. Now look, you could argue technically last year they had Marcus and and Luke in those roles that Grimes and Sexton are in. So it's like a similar level of ball handling or whatnot. I would also then say like Bronny, he had already started to get some playing time before Luca and Austin's injuries, but it really went to a different level once those guys were out and he was able to do more offensively just because of the the, you know, lack of ball handling and and usage opening. That's not going to be on this team. So, I I just think if we're projecting out the rotation, Bronny, I I just don't see a realistic path in which right now he's like a top 10 rotation guy. Like I I think it's going to be especially if they get the forward it's going to be Kesler forward Grimes Austin Luca and then it's going to be Ston Mamu backup five and I think Jake and and Cameron Carr and like and those guys regardless of whatever flaws they have are are I think going to be playing a certain amount because of the size element there of Carr being 6'5 with his wingspan. and athleticism, Jake being 67, like I I think shifting in Bronny would dramatically change the uh makeup of the rotation. And already you have Grimes as a point of attack guy. Ston will be like the bench point of attack guy. So I think uh Bronny's better than Ston at that, but not enough. He's not going to play over him, and I don't think he's going to play over Carr or Jake. So, I just look at it, I'm like, I think for for Bronny's sake, like even forget the LeBron part of this of like if they're a package deal or whatnot, I I do think for Bronny's sake, if the Lakers do end up dumping him somewhere else, I think it would actually be a positive for him because it's kind of similar to Dalton. Like, you you only have so much to develop in in a situation where you're trying to contend for a championship. And especially if like I I think with Braun, it would either need to be he's like a 40 plus percent three-point shooter or he's a DaVon Mitchell lights out point of attack hounding

you full court. And I don't think he's, you know, he's not that level of shooter and I don't think he's that level of defender either. So I just look at the rotation and I'm like he's probably projecting as like maybe even the 12th man right now depending on how a do develops or or if they keep Vando. So yeah, you know, to say nothing, I think Jaden Hardy would probably be avail uh, you know, ahead of him, too. So I I think he's he's kind of getting squeezed with like they've had this influx of of perimeter talent and then they also got Luca and Austin back healthy and I I think he doesn't project in the primary rotation. So I think I get I get what you're saying. Like of course you want as much back for him as possible, but if it's a good second, I I think that's fair value. If it's a bad second, then sure. I think you you try to push for more.

Colobby, thank you for the super chat. Uh, do you think there's a world where the Clippers decline Ruy's team option next year? Lakers could pick him up for the MLE, or does Rui feel disrespected? I think there's a world where this is possible. Now, for the Lakers, I think they're probably going to prioritize a more defensive-minded player, but who knows? Maybe they trade for the PJ Washington or something, and they have a different they they feel like they have a different need at that point. I'm I'm I feel like the that fence can be mended. I I don't think that's a fence that is permanently broken or, you know, knocked down, but I I don't I I don't think he feels Well, look, I'm not going to speak for Rui. I I think there was a moment a few days ago where there had been like a potential, you know, is this going to happen and and is it possible to clear the money? I actually feel like part of this playing out the way it has seems to me to indicate that I mean either it's it's one of two things. It's either they're prior they you know they decided that Kaminga's the bigger priority and that they would prefer Kaminga over Rui all things equal or two they're a little concerned with how much money they could actually clear in terms of space and they're like to Rui like hey we just don't think we're going to get anywhere close to this 14 and we know you're not going to take less than that or you know you'd rather just go to the Clippers stay in LA more money so I think it was more that than than like these like major hard feelings. Uh but I mean it's it's possible. It's possible.

BT Kingsley, thank you for the super chat. Hm. What am I missing? Why no signing? Why are we waiting? They're trying to see if they can dump some guys before or or early into some of the the signings and stuff because it's a little bit easier to do it the cap space route than going above especially if you could find a way to sign Kaminga which it seems like they're they're angling to do. So, it's more so them it's more of an order of operations uh situation.

Is he a real one real MC? Thank you for the super chat. BT Kingsley who often comments on your page is one of the best comedians in Hollywood. Look him up. Laugh factory in Hollywood chocolate Sundays. I am aware of BT Kingsley and I do appreciate BT Kingsley's uh favorite uh or frequent um super chats, but I will have to come I want to come see one of his shows because I I appreciate all the super chats and I would love to come out and support him. So, I will uh I will look up chocolate Sundays and we let's make that happen. I would love to meet BT in uh in person.

Doogie Phillips think of the super chat. Vegas, let's go. Excited for the weekend. Yes, very excited for this weekend. I'm going to be out there for a while because as you guys may or may not know, my son primarily lives out there. So, um, you know, going to be bringing him out there and and he's going to be spending time out there. So, we'll probably make it a little bit of a longer trip than, uh, like last year I did two days in summer league. I've been coming to summer league since 2011. So, I've been I've done just about I said this one time, I've done just about everything there is to do at summer league and in Las Vegas. I even did a 10-day trip, which I would never recommend 10 days in Vegas. uh that that's you know go a little crazy but uh yeah very excited for this weekend. Uh Lakers play Friday, Saturday, so I'll be there Thursday through at least Tuesday and uh really excited. We're doing um I guess I'm going to break the news here, but we are doing a uh Lakers collective reunion on Hoops tonight with Jason Tim. So, it's going to be uh myself and Trevor and Jason. We're we're doing uh you know, a show there in Vegas together. And then um I'll probably end up doing a a meet up for those who are out there. Uh last year we did uh beers. Trevor showed up, Raj showed up, and it was uh Aaron Larul showed up. It was a fun time. Uh, so definitely looking forward to another Booha's block meetup.

Giuliard, thank you for the super chat. Uh, you're one of the few reporters who said for years Bron in the front office had a shaky relationship. Are you shocked he stayed eight years with LA? Well, thank you for this. I I appreciate this. I, you know, I've been pretty consistent on that. And, um, you know, I've gotten a lot of flack from multiple parties, whether it's LeBron fans or Laker fans or whatever, kind of saying that's not true. But I think that has obviously played out the last uh week or so. And then you you had the Ramona report today and uh you had the McMenan report and they both basically echoed things I've been saying on here for a couple years of this has been a marriage of convenience and both sides have been making it work. But I I it's not the the best or healthiest relationship. And I think it's far more transactional than it is like a true partnership, right? And I think a lot of that stems from post Westbrook trade. Like that there was a clear delineation in how the two sides operated with each other pre and post Westbrook trade. And I I think you look at I think some of the the the power and the dynamic beforehand versus after and it just was was never the same. And I think that was a big reason why the two sides just never kind of fully fleshed it out and resolved things. Um, I I would say like shocked is a little strong, but there I would say like starting in like 2023 and on, it's it's kind of been like uh you hear things behind the scenes and it's like, oh, LeBron's not happy, he's going to leave or this or that and or or the Lakers want to move on and and they're, you know, going to prioritize the next star that they get. This was like pre-Luca trade. So I think once this definitely worked out for the Lakers in terms of I think they had been trying to figure out how to navigate the post LeBron future and getting Luca was like the golden bridge into the future for them and and then it was just a matter of you would LeBron want to stick around with the new dynamic and obviously we we saw the answer with that. Um, I wouldn't say shocked, but there there had been a couple times where I thought the relationship had close to run its course or like I I or like stuff dur It's more so like stuff during the season you hear and then you're like, "All right, well, this summer the Lakers are are just going to be done with him or he's going to be done with them. He's going to ask out." Like there had been a couple of seasons where I I expected that and it didn't materialize. So, I guess from that perspective, I I was a little like I don't know if you talked to me back in 2022 or 2023 and you asked me, do you think LeBron's going to play eight years as a Laker? I would have said no. So I I I guess from that perspective maybe a little bit of surprise, but uh I wouldn't say shock because I I think the writing especially now that we have like more hindsight with just like how last year's contract negotiation went, some of the stuff during the season uh and then some of the exit interview comments on both sides and and just how this all played out. I think it was pretty clear like both I think both sides were ready to move on from one another.

And then uh Kami or Cammy thank you for the super chat for Kesler. Aside from sitting at the end of the season 2022 23 season also missed five games to illness in 2024 25 and missed nine games to illness rest. I'm glad for the context here. Uh so yeah I mean he he rested uh maybe some of those games at the end were also illness related. I I don't remember. But I mean, if you go to Walker Kessler's gay blogs, go look at the end of each of his first three seasons and he somehow coincidentally just misses time to end each season. It's a little, you know, has a month or plus of of good health and all of a sudden last four or five games of the season, he's unavailable. So make of that what you will.

BT Kingsley, thank you for the super chat. high volume AR and high volume QG are being uh Quinton Grimes are being way underrated. Uh are we talking like offense or are we talking Well, I assume we're talking offense, but like just offense overall. Are we talking shooting? Like what are we talking about here? I I do think Quinton Grimes is underrated and I think even underrated by me. Like I I would say that he's the one I I think I had a certain perception of Quinton Grimes through the years and it was just not really my cup of tea, but in watching more film and just learning more about him, I have changed my opinion on him. So, I I definitely agree that Quinton Grimes is underrated. And I think Austin is underrated as well, especially for his regular season production that, you know, only 11 guys put up this past season. But I think the big question with both these guys is like, can Austin be the number two on a team for a full season? I think we saw he was that pre-f injury, then he was not that for a while. it was more LeBron. Then they eventually flipped it back over to Austin. Then he had, you know, a month stretch of that or whatever during most of March. Then he gets injured and then he comes back and like you wasn't quite himself those first few games and like the OKC series. He is somewhere between the one or two depending on the game with LeBron, but uh you had a really rough game one then played better game two through four. But I mean, we're still an open-ended question of of is Austin is his ceiling a number three or is does he level up and he's like a clear number two for like a full season and the playoffs? That that we just don't know the answer. And then Quinton Grimes as constructed he I mean he's going from like a six-man type to like a number three type at least from an offensive perspective. But you could also argue that based on how important he is defensively. I mean he's he's by far the fourth most important Laker. It's like not even close. And I wonder if that like I think that's Quinton Grimes like actualizing his full potential on both sides of the ball and like really hitting a ceiling. Not saying it can't happen, but that I think that's like a little bit of an optimistic slotting for him. I I would feel better about him as either the fifth most important player in the starting group or like the sixman. But we'll see. I mean, if he hits, then he hits. And and that's a huge win for the Lakers because I think if he hits in the role that he's in, he's almost certainly going to be a bargain because if you're the number three guy on an elite offense and you're a perimeter stopper, those guys are making way more than $15 million. So there's a chance that's a real bargain of a contract.

Jeffrey Jal, thank you for the super chat. When Lakers have good defensive players, Caruso, KCB, Goodwin, smart or shooters, Rui and Luke, they let them go. They get no assets in return. Any thoughts in a vacuum? I would agree with you. I think each of these situations has their context. I think Caruso is an utter disaster that created the Kuruot scale for me, which is uh, you know, grading Lakers mistakes auto the one through five uh, you know, Defcon scale with uh, but calling it Kurubots for Cruso and Zubots. Uh, KCP, they kind of got out at the right time. you know, he did have a couple more years there with Denver or or you know, I guess went to Washington than Denver, but uh yeah, I mean, obviously like that was the Russ trade and and that was a giant mistake as well. Goodwin, I will contend that it would have been better to get off of Vando, Maxi or Dalton last summer to keep Goodwin like that. That's the thing people frame like kind of like the Caruso thing gets framed as Cruso versus THT when they could have kept both. Goodwin gets framed as Goodwin or smart when they could have kept both. And that one I I think is inexcusable and you know I they should have kept him. They should have found a way to dump money or kept him over Dalton. And then uh Marcus TBD I think it's going to be a mistake or at least a mistake for this year but we'll see. We'll see. And then Rui and Luke. Now there's been this push from a certain segment of people and I understand it and I agree with it to an extent that like if you actually look at perh like per possession volume if you're looking or if you're looking at per 36 per 100 possessions the new guys actually let it fly at a higher volume than Rui and Luke. And so there's an element of, okay, is Rui a better three-point shooter than Mamu? Yeah. Is Mamu going to take two to three more threes than Rui in a similar role, even potentially in fewer minutes? Also, yes. Is are Grimes and Ston going to let it fly with reckless abandon and have irrational confidence at a level that Luke Canard never could? Yes. Now, where the percentage is net out and how that factors into LA's offense remains to be seen, but I think there's an element with the shooters at least where collectively Mamu, Grimes, Sexton, they're all high volume three-point shooters. And even if they're all within that like mid30s, you know, Sexton is is around 40, Mamu's high 30s, Grimes is closer to average, that, you know, factoring the volume that that can have a net positive impact on LA's offense. Uh now to your point like overall I think the Lakers have had some real issues with asset management. We could go back to Malik Beasley, Mo Bomba. Uh in general they have not they have tended to retain assets. They've either retained assets longer than they should and should have gotten off of them earlier or they've botched like the valuation because really when it comes down to it, Caruso was an was a valuation thing. Like they did not value Caruso at the proper level and that is the issue. I I you know it's not I don't even think it was a cheap thing. I think they didn't think I mean this is also based on my reporting at the time like they did not think Caruso was worth the contract. It was not like yes they got you know it was a matter of okay they're close and you know do you want to match the contract whatever they didn't think he was worth it and so they thought he was replaceable and they clearly miscalculated that KCP was the cost of doing business for Russ and I think was another one where they miscalculated how good he was and how important he was to the bench and then smart again that you know that that's TBD Rui and Luke same thing but I get what you're saying like I mean I would argue that like Rui Luke and Smart, you at least got cap space out of it, and you're replacing them with younger alternatives. So, those ones a little bit more defensible to me. Goodwin and Caruso, I think, were misaluations of how good those guys were. And then KCP, part of the Russ trade, which is a broader discussion that was was a another disaster.

And I got these final two here. Then I I do have to wrap. Uh Andrew, thank you for the super chat. Do you think Kaminga has mutual interest in LA? I do think so. But I think Kaminga, I mean, if you look at the the current market, there are not many guys in the Kaminga range in terms of price point upside. A lot of teams need forwards and wings right now. So, I think he's going to have a market. Just the issue, we saw it holding up Rui as well, is all these teams are holding out for LeBron. So, again, if you're Minnesota, would you rather have LeBron or Kaminga? you'd rather have LeBron, even if it's a short-term thing versus a longer term thing. And that's to say nothing of they could only offer $6 million. So, I think Kaminga's kind of a a victim right now of the LeBron sweep stakes and and that freezing things to a degree, but my understanding is yes, there is mutual interest and that there's a chance something gets worked out here. It's just a matter of how LA moves the money around.

Luke, uh, final one here, Luke, thank you for the super chat. In full honesty, are you relieved LeBron is finally gone? Wow. Just tossing me a grenade with the final question here. Um, no. I I was on board with LeBron staying at a lower number. I also knew the reality of the situation and that whether it was LeBron not liking the idea of the number or the Lakers maybe even prioritizing him less and really focusing on building out the roster than coming back with a lower number. Uh that there was a chance it obviously wasn't going to work out and that that's how it played out. But I, you know, I'm I'm not a fan. So I I can't, you know, if you're a fan and you feel that, then like uh that's like your feelings. I'm not I'm not going to knock anybody who who feels that way. I would say if you look at this current group, if you just slotted in LeBron right now, if they create this extra cap space or whatever, it's 10 12 million. Obviously, that's probably you not even probably like less than LeBron wants to take, although he said he would take the minimum depending on the situation. If you just slaughtered LeBron on this team and you had Kesler, LeBron, Grimes, Austin, Luca with Ston, Mamu, uh, backup center, still need another wing. Maybe that ends up in Carr or, you know, Lavia as a placeholder, whatever. Like, I do really like that top 10. And I I think there was a version where if the two sides could have met at the table and hashed it out, it it could have at least in one more year situ like the Lakers went and built the team that I think LeBron could have been the potential missing piece to and and it also would have served like two like it would have served the short term, but it would have been at a low enough salary where it wouldn't have affected the long term either. you know, you already had your your key pieces and if it just like just would you rather have LeBron for 12 million or Vando for 12 million. It's obviously LeBron for 12 million. So that's where I I think especially with how things played out, there's part of me that's like would have been really interesting if the two sides could have had better communication throughout the process and like just temporarily hash things out and been like, "All right, one more year. We we got the roster. We got the Kesler. We got the Yeah, whatever. But uh no, I mean I I would say I I think covering LeBron is not for the faint of heart. I will say that. And with you're on the clock as someone who covers the NBA, as someone who covers a team 24/7, but you're on the clock at a different level with LeBron because anything LeBron does is news. It's at a different level than any other player. I've said this before. 90 plus% of all the newsers I've written at The Athletic have been LeBron related in some form or fashion. Like anything LeBron does is news. And so there's like this extra level of being on all the time and and just pressure and and scrutiny. And you know, now the the flip side is like you get more attention and you get more views and and it's a higher profile situation. And uh you know I've definitely benefited from covering LeBron, covering the Lakers like in in what the last you know decade has been like. So the you know there's pros and cons. It definitely is going to change like just different covering LeBron versus not covering LeBron. Uh so there won't be as much news around the Lakers and that's just how that will go from a coverage perspective. But no, I'm not uh I I like the only sense of relief I felt was relief to the situation. I didn't know how long it was going to potentially be dragged out. So, I was like, "All right, we can at least move forward." And we know he's either staying or he's going. All right, he's gone. Like, now move forward with the plans with the team and like the coverage. But um I was I mean most of my cap sheets you guys saw I I like and when people asked me what I would want I said I wanted LeBron back at a discount depending on the opportunity cost and I think especially with how things have played out if it was as simple as get off Vando, get off Jaden Hardy and you give up the seconds and like go back and sign LeBron I I think that would have been a no-brainer. So I know some people don't feel that way but you know to to each their own.

And I guess we we got two more here. Uh Julliard, thank you for the super chat. To add on to my earlier super chat, do you believe the rumors Genie was mad enough she wanted to trade LeBron to the Clippers? I forget if that was reported or not. I had heard like rumors about that, but I don't I don't think so. I I it's tough for me to say with with great confidence in in either direction. I know there there had been rocky points in the relationship at various points, especially over the last couple years. There was the diance with Golden State at the 2024 trade deadline. But LeBron has also been in situations where he's pretty much always had a no trade clause. So, he's been able to dictate whether he's going to be traded or not. And I don't think he would have welcomed the trade to the Clippers, but uh I mean technically, yeah, depending on I I mean, if it was this year, he he had a no trade clause, so that wouldn't have worked, but uh I know the relationship had been tense times. We we'll say that.

And final one from Matthew the Sicilian, thanking for the super chat. There's a part of me that feels like LeBron's really enjoying keeping the league on hold. Maybe I'm being too harsh. I appreciate the chip, but I'm happy happy to move on to the Luca era. I mean, again, kind of on like the news front, like certainly there's less there's less news and with LeBron, there's always news. There's always news in the offseason. He does have a flare for the dramatic like, but as I say, there's like pros and cons to that because sometimes, especially in the offseason, gets like a little too dull and there's nothing to talk about or there's nothing to really analyze. And like LeBron provides news and not only does he provide news, but it's like enticing news, right? It's interesting news from like a just general fan perspective where everyone wants to know where's LeBron going, what's going to happen, what's the issue with LeBron and the Lakers, right? So there's an element of that of like LeBron LeBron's almost a media company unto himself and and that or like a media news cycle unto himself and and that's very rare for uh you know an athlete even at even in modern day where everyone's got social media and you could have your own YouTube channel, podcast, whatever. It's like LeBron exists in a in a rare era of of content I would say. Right. Um, but yeah, I mean, I'm sure on some level he does enjoy the courting process and teams pursuing him or or keeping things on hold. I I don't I don't think that would be unfair to say. Uh, you know, I guess it depends how the degree you want to say that, but like I don't I think that's fair. Um, but yeah, I think it it was ultimately time. I mean, that that's been the the theme of the past week was like the Lakers wanted to move into this new era. LeBron wants to finish out his career, dictating the terms in a different way than he was able to in LA. And that's ultimately where they're at. But appreciate you guys for rocking with me. For those watching on YouTube, please be sure to hit that subscribe button, turn on channel notifications, and like and comment on this video. For those listening on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your podcast platform of choice, please be sure to follow, download, and leave a fivestar review. I'll be back tomorrow. I will also be back tomorrow with Lakers Collective. Uh I will talk to you guys then. Shout out to the chat. Shout out to the late night gang. Make sure you guys hit that subscribe button.