Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Can the Lakers Contend Before Luka's Contract Expires? This Offseason Provides Clues.

Starting point is 00:00:00 How fast can the Lakers build a contender around Luca? And does the answer influence why they did what they did this summer? We'll explain next. You are Locked on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making Locked on Lakers first listen to every day, Monday through Friday,

Starting point is 00:00:32 matter how you get your podcast. We certainly appreciate checking in. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Kemp. Mennetsky. We got a really, we got an interesting question from our friend the stupup. I believe this was over Twitter at Cam Brothers. Given the team's lack of, as he puts in parenthetical's positive trade pieces, how long do you think it will take to turn the team into a true contender? Can they realistically do it before Luca's contract is up? And it's interesting. It's not that they don't have, you know, nothing, as we've talked about. But

Starting point is 00:01:06 at the very least, if you're thinking about the full range of stuff, the Lakers would be able to trade going forward, they do have a limited set of assets, they don't control their own draft picks. And a lot of the contracts that they do have that could theoretically be of value would mean subtraction, players you want, to get other players. So like, I think the stoop up is correct. They are sort of set the table somewhat limited going forward in what they

Starting point is 00:01:36 can do. Yeah, I mean, they've been limited for a while heading into this pre-agency period anyway. Like, we knew that they were going to be up against it in some respects in terms of how they would ultimately handle this offseason. But this was in a lot of ways the byproduct of decisions they've made in the past that didn't work out. And at this point, relitigating them is pointless. You need to move forward with what you have. And this was also a summer where, frankly they needed to commit and we'll talk about that on a few different levels but they for a variety of reason uh short gap you know short gap solutions you could not do it against stopgap solution short term you could not do that again like they needed to do something

Starting point is 00:02:27 of permanence in terms of commitment with contracts and players and this was obviously the summer that it needed to take place. I will repeat the credo that I've continually had. I like a lot of what they did this offseason. And if Rob is correct about the players that he targeted very early with Walker Kessler and Malman Kalashvili and Grimes and Sexton, and he is right about Austin Reeves deserving a salary that is roughly triple of what he was earning before. if he's correct, the Lakers will have options.

Starting point is 00:03:08 They will not have as many options as far as making trades as you would want in a perfect world, but the world ain't perfect, this is what you're dealing with. But as long as he's correct about that stuff between those guys, if they were correct in drafting Cameron Carr, if they were correct about the steps of a due Thero can take, they will have options. Rob just has to be right. Right.

Starting point is 00:03:31 And so they will have options. the option tree is is somewhat limited, but it is not empty. So, you know, the question he's asking is, you know, can they realistically do it before Luca's contract is up? Luca has this year and next year where he's under contract and under team control. And then in 2829 has a player option for $57, a little over $57 million. I mean, you know, once you get to $57 million, you know, once you get to $57 million, and what's a little over that anyway. So it is widely expected that Luca would opt out of that deal

Starting point is 00:04:10 and presumably sign again with the Lakers for a bigger contract, which would pay him even more money. That's the best way for Luca to maximize his earning potential. But as Stu Pup is alluding to, it also opens up the possibility of declining that option and going somewhere. else or making it clear to the Lakers that, you know, he wants to trade somewhere, whatever it might be. So the Lakers aren't necessarily.

Starting point is 00:04:41 There's no signs yet for Lakers and Lakers and Team Luka aren't on the same page, but they can't just sort of twiddle their thumbs and wait around for this stuff. So I mean, if anything, there are more signs that they are on the same page because by multiple reports and accounts and even the way Lucas commented about this offseason, these are moves that he didn't just approve of. These were moves that were run by Luca, Walker Kessler in particular. He wanted them to do. And while, you know, that doesn't mean Lucas signed a blood oath with this organization, he is not obligated to stay with the team simply because they made moves that he liked. If it turned out they don't end up working, he can,

Starting point is 00:05:25 he is well within his rights to say, and he wouldn't be the first star to do it. Appreciate the effort, guys. It didn't work out. I'm going to let you know how. works out at my next address. Like, this stuff happens all the time. That being said, though, like getting back to the idea of Rob needs to be right insofar as the Stu Pupp's question, if Rob is correct about the majority of the moves they made this offseason, that would mean that, definitionally, in terms of what they are looking for, they wouldn't be that far off from a transaction cycle or

Starting point is 00:06:02 two, that could eventually put them in contention. If they were right about the foundation, they built this offseason. Because you and I talked a lot, heading in, you know, heading into free agency, much less, you know, by the time it got going and where we are now, the idea of transforming the Lakers into a front-running inner circle contender was not realistic. If Rob could have proved us wrong, awesome. But it was not realistic. What they needed to do is, feel like they got themselves 60 to 70% of the way with a roster that feels like it makes sense and you can see what they are looking to do. I think they have accomplished that.

Starting point is 00:06:47 We'll see if I'm right. Right. Right. Well, the, the distance between where they are and where they need to go. I mean, it's, is at best impossible to say at this point. you know, it is a completely transformed team. And we haven't seen them practice, let alone play. They've even gotten to the mini camp in Slovenia yet.

Starting point is 00:07:15 Like, there's still a lot of information that needs to be had. There's still at least somewhat the possibility that, you know, the team could change a little bit. There's an interesting list of potential free agents that, that ESPN published the best guy still left. Obviously, what happens around Peyton Watson could have some ripple effects that the Lakers are at least tangentially related to. There's still the Jonathan Kaminga story and all that other stuff.

Starting point is 00:07:44 I really hope they add at least one more center to the center rotation because as much as, you know, Mamu is a backup center. He's also going to be playing a lot of power forward minutes there. You lose a lot of flexibility. if you don't have a better backup center than Kavana Luni. So you need more guys to be able to do it because if Loonie, you want to be, Kessler is going to get a lot of playing time at center. You don't want to limit Mamu to just backup center position.

Starting point is 00:08:15 You need to be playing power forward to, you know, potentially even playing those positions together. They need another body. How close, we will learn a lot this year, I think, about the, answer to that question. Like when you know, I don't think the Lakers really know. I think that it is fair for them not to know. If the Lakers go out and they're relatively healthy and they win, you know, 46 games this year, the answer is they got a lot of work to do and I don't know if they get there with what they have available by the time Luka has to make a decision on that

Starting point is 00:08:53 contract, on that player option. If they win, if they win, win 52, 53 games this year, kind of what they did last year with relatively decent health they win this year. They win a round in the playoffs. They get eliminated by either Oklahoma City or San Antonio in the second round, you know, put in a credible effort. Then you can say, actually, they're closer than, you know, then the answer to Stup's question is yes. They could get there, I think. But what I really found interesting about it, too, and this gets to a different article that was on ESPN Bobby Marks put out is I think it when you look at that kind of question and then like fast forward into what the future landscape of the NBA looks like I think

Starting point is 00:09:41 you kind of what's coming dictated or potentially dictated pretty significantly why the Lakers did what they did and how they did what they did and in ways that we will explain next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by Odu. Running a business should not feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems, never designed to work together. One app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales. And somehow none of them talk to each other. And that's where Odu comes in. Odu is an all-in-one business management software that brings every part of your business together in one powerful platform from sales and accounting to inventory and marketing. Everything works together in one place, helping your team move faster, stay organized, focused on growing business,

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Starting point is 00:10:49 And it was by multiple accounts and appearances, a group effort between Rob Polinka and the new front office brain trust, includes a literal rocket scientist, owner of Arc Walter, regular communication with Luca Donchich, and they created a roster that may not be perfect, but it makes sense, and it represents clear thought and direction. So it's a good start. And again, communication. Great organizations win because operations matter. And that's why you should get Odu. Try for free today at Odu.com slash lockdown. That's ODO.O.com slash locked on. So one of the common criticisms of the Lakers this offseason is that, you know, perhaps they, you know, overpaid for Walker Kessler.

Starting point is 00:11:38 They moved very quickly on guys like Mama Kahliazvili and Quentin Grimes, including player options, which, of course, the Lakers seem to give out to anybody who wants to come play for them. Anybody and everybody gets their player option. And, you know, there are people leaving, you know, another one for Colin Sexton and all. that stuff the the Lakers some people would say we're kind of giving these premier level contracts while in some ways at least competing against themselves there weren't a lot of teams out there with cap space there were not a lot of teams out there that could jump in and you know boost the player from the Lakers under their nose like could Brooklyn have gone over the top for Grimes?

Starting point is 00:12:33 Sure. Does he make sense for their timeline? Not even a little. Does Mamu make sense for the Nets? No. And the Nets were really one of the only teams the Lakers were competing against in terms of pure cap space for free agents. One of the things that I think that was interesting, Andy,

Starting point is 00:12:52 is when you look at the landscape going forward, and Bobby Marks talks about this in an article he wrote for ESPN over the weekend, It, it, that, I'm sorry, last week I should say. That changes pretty significantly going forward. There are, you know, if there are just a small handful of teams that had cap space this year, most of which were not really looking to build with veteran players, the types of guys you can get in free agency. That landscape is going to change significantly last year when, as Bobby Marks notes, over a third of teams could have significant caps.

Starting point is 00:13:29 space. Well, it's interesting. And there's a few things to jump out of me with this. First of all, while you are correct that the Lakers and like the Nets and the Bulls, they were among the very few teams this offseason with a lot of cap space. They were not the only ones with full mid-level money. Sure. But the reason I'm saying this matters is other than Kessler, all those guys that they targeted super early were all basically mid-level money. So individually, they all could have been picked off, even if there were not a plethora of other teams that it could have gotten all those guys at volume, which I believe in a lot of ways explains my theory that the Lakers gave out those player options and, you know, the, I believe the higher end of what is reasonable AAB for Grimes and Mamu and Sexton because they were looking to get them off the market, ASA, FP and in doing that, you needed to incentivize them taking themselves.

Starting point is 00:14:34 Sure. But those things, those things are related because you need to, the point of this is like, you could play a little more hardball with some of these guys and potentially keep all of them. And maybe save yourself a little money, you know, they did do some certain smart things and this will become relevant to the conversation in a couple minutes. We talk about like, Mamu, for example, has a slightly descending contract. It makes a little bit less money in his second year than the first.

Starting point is 00:15:04 I think they did that with Reeves as well. Yes. I mean, Reeves took $5 million less than what was originally reported. I am not sure yet if the biggest drop is also in that second year. It could be. I just don't know for sure.

Starting point is 00:15:20 The general, as I understand the way it's been reported, The general idea is that the Lakers constructed these contracts so that they could keep a full mid-level for next year, which is something we're going to talk about here in a second. The reason you need to lock them up in the way that you're talking about is because if you lose, let's say you lose out on one of them, you're probably in a situation now where you have to fill in with a short-term contract, another one-in-one, whatever it might be. and then you go into next off-season competing for whoever's around next season with fewer draftics. Because I think the one thing I think we would both agree on or whatever, like a lot of people would agree on just looking at. The one thing the Lakers were definitely going to do was move the house for Kessler. Because if there was a position, like they were going to spend that draft capital that they had remaining on.

Starting point is 00:16:24 the best player they could find preferably a center. And that's, you know, a young center. And so that was going to happen either way. I mean, who were the two names that were most heavily connected to the Lakers when free agency began? Walker Kessler, Jalen Duren, not an accident. No, I agree 100%. And so, you know, failing that, it would have been, you know, some sort of massive offer sheet for a guy like Peyton Watson to try to fill in a different thing. And then it probably would have turned into some sort of sign and trade with the same draft capital goes out the door except to Denver instead of Utah in order to get Watson and get the the the the the nuggets not to match so I think in the

Starting point is 00:17:05 end you're you're in a similar position if you lose out on say Mamu or grimes or even a guy like sexton to some degree who they ended up signing to that you know kind of one and one you you are putting yourself in a position where potentially next year you have to compete for a similar maybe batch of players, a crop of players, whatever might be, with less at your disposal against more teams. Now there are more teams in the market with more ways to go out and try to get these guys to execute sign and trades, whatever it might be. So you have less stuff available to you next summer in a bigger pool of players. And so not only do I 100% agree with you, not only do the Lakers need to make sure they get the guys they want because you want to, um,

Starting point is 00:17:53 you know, start to build something that's coherent that makes sense that you can, you can plan around and do all these other things. I feel like they understood, too, that the environment was going to get worse next series and rather than get better. Well, I mean, it could get worse in the sense that they were going to end up competing with more teams that have cap space. So even if it's a wider pool of players, it essentially ends up just as narrow a path because you're competing with that many more teams.

Starting point is 00:18:21 But in all honesty, too, I don't even. even know if you can count on a wider pool of players because the reality is we're seeing now free agency is dying and all the list every year of potential free agents, it starts increasingly getting smaller and smaller because increasingly players don't end up hitting the market for one reason or another. Like looking at Bobby Marks's list of different potential free agents, this coming off season in 2027. Like, you know, there are guys like Janus, who I'm sure is going to end up in an extension in Miami

Starting point is 00:18:59 or, you know, Yokic, I need to see that he's actually on the market before I actually believe it's a possibility. You know, LeBron, Kauai, like these are all guys, you know, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis. Like, these are all guys that at this point are too old for the type of forward-looking build that the Lakers are doing.

Starting point is 00:19:18 If you could maybe add them as the final piece, awesome, but the likelihood of that is low anyway. But then if you start looking at it, by the way, unlikely to be added just because Lakers don't have the, you know, the Lakers, let's say Yannis became an option again. The Lakers don't have the stuff to land them anyway. So it doesn't matter. Right.

Starting point is 00:19:34 And then like you start looking at guys, for example, player option guys. Max Christie is on that list. For a very low number, he's likely going to opt out. I would be stunned. I mean, like real, I will call this now having made no calls on this, not, you know, I haven't reached out to Nick Angstad of Locked on Mavs or biased or any of those guys. I'm just thinking about this common sense.

Starting point is 00:19:56 Dallas has between now and June 30th, I believe, of next year to work out Max Christie an extension. I would be stunned, stunned if he is not one way or another extended with that team. For sure. Way too much sense. And even, and we can carry this conversation through after the, through the next segment, but like, let's say, Andy, that they didn't work it out. the most of the Lakers would be able to offer is a full mid-level to Christie. There's a zero percent chance the Mavs wouldn't match that.

Starting point is 00:20:28 Well, he wouldn't be, he would be unrestricted. No, he'd be unrestricted. But the point is, I don't think he's going to end up available anyway. I would be shocked if given where Dallas is at, what Max Christie does for that team, he is a young, continually improving, hardworking player with an awesome attitude. I'd be perfect alongside what you want with like Cooper Flag. I'd be stunned if they don't end up locking them up. And then something other.

Starting point is 00:20:57 Even though I obviously was mistaken in that last point, but my basic point is whatever it is, $15 million a year, $14.8 or $15.1, whatever the, whatever the mid-level, a full mid-level is for next year, if Christy plays like he did, if he plays next year like he did last year, you're not going to be able to get him for that either.

Starting point is 00:21:18 He's going to be a $20 million player. He may very well be. I mean, Bobby Marks' piece pointed out how the amount of guys in free agency who actually got $20 million or more was pretty small. But regardless of whether you think Max will get $20 million or not, he ain't going to be on the market. I would be stunned. And then like before we get to restricted free agents,

Starting point is 00:21:42 unrestricted for next year, there's a bunch of other guys with player options like Paul George and Brandon Ingram and Julius Randall, Jeremy Grant, like those guys are either going to be opting into their last year or working out some type of lower AAV extension. Like, but the idea of whether you think they're great for the Lakers or not, the idea of those guys hitting the market next year just feels low to me. Like, and you, if you, the further you go through these lists,

Starting point is 00:22:09 and after the break, I'll get into a few other names that jumped out of me. The more you go through these, the less likely it actually feels that some of them will be options in the first place. So that gets to the other part, a critical part of the Stupupup's question. Can they realistically become title contenders before Luca's contract is up? Certainly the part that everybody's going to be looking at is the part before his player option, but even extending it to the full three years, so much of it is related, Andy, to what they're able to do to try to fill this spot along the wing, the kind of player that they can get. We spent a lot of time talking about it last week. What might be available when you start looking at those names?

Starting point is 00:23:04 And plus, are there other factors that get into this question that Stude Puppies asking? we'll ask, we'll talk about that next. A quick word before we get to it, Don Nelson, the longtime coach of the Warriors and Mavericks, passed away over the weekend. And, you know, obviously a lot of tributes from people around the league, including Luca Donchich,

Starting point is 00:23:41 who said it's a sad day for basketball fans at the passing of Don Nelson. I have so much respect for him and everything he did for the game, especially the way he believed in international players, I'm grateful for the time I spent with them thinking of the entire Nelson family. Today, I loved getting to know you, coach. Beyond just Don Nelson being one of the most entertaining and just purely colorful characters of his era,

Starting point is 00:24:03 Luke is correct. He was a huge proponent of international players. Big proponent of international players. He was really innovative in a lot of his approaches to the game. He loved trying to really force mismatches. he was one of the forebearers of a lot of what's become like small ball, speedball, you know, seven seconds or less, some of what Steve Kerr does in terms of alignments on the floor. Very much a forerunner with that.

Starting point is 00:24:32 You mentioned the eccentricities. He was notorious for a postgame presser with a can of beer nearby in retirement. It may not have been the first one he had after the game. Nope. And he walked to the podium, you know. In retirement, he became a marijuana farmer in Maui. I remember you and I one time we went to a warrior shoot-around because we needed to talk with Rony Turiof for a piece that we were right.

Starting point is 00:25:03 I don't even remember what it was, but it was when Roney was with the warriors. And remember we were watching this shoot-around. And a bunch of the other coaches were giving direction to something. Nellie sat on this table. at the sideline did not say a word for the entire time we were there other than one time he pointed at Kalena Azabuki and just went Kalana over there. That was like all he said the entire time. I remember also too was really cool.

Starting point is 00:25:31 Brian and I years ago did a piece for ESPN the magazine where we were counting down basically the 24 hours leading up to the Dallas Mavericks opening training camp. and this is when Nellie was coaching the team. And one of the things we got to do was actually watch the coaches in a meeting. Like we couldn't report on anything they talked about, but we got to just watch it and pick up the vibe. And like, you know, seeing Don Nelson talk about stuff like that was pretty amazing. And again, he was, he's one of the all-time,

Starting point is 00:26:07 his second all-time winningest coach in NBA history. So it was good stuff. an incredible career. So we definitely wanted to make sure we made note of that. Obviously, Luca doing the same there. So, like, you start to go through some of the names that are out there, you know, for, like, starters, starter caliber players. Because they're not going to get, remember, unless they can make a trade or something like that,

Starting point is 00:26:35 the Lakers are unlikely to be able to just outright sign anybody who's going to cost more than a full, mid-level. So, you know, when you start getting into the even, you know, higher-level guys like the, you know, R.J. Barrett's of the world or Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randall, guys you mentioned in the last segment, a lot of those guys will end up costing more. I mean, you never know. The new economics of the NBA are, you know, it's certainly different than it used to be. But now you're getting into the Sadiq Bayes of the world. I know it's a man, you've kicked around a lot. Assuming, assuming. Assuming, you know, you're going to be a lot. he's even available, Jake Madison.

Starting point is 00:27:15 I'm just talking about guys who contracts expire. Right, but. Sure. With the caveat that half of these guys may never touch the market. Well, I, Jake Matt, the reason I bring it up is Jake Madison. I asked him over at Lock on Pelicans.

Starting point is 00:27:32 I actually asked him about Sadiq Bay. He does not have this 100% nailed as news, but he is pretty sure they're going to extend Sadiq Bay. in the not so distant future. You know, the restricted free agents, you know, the Thompson twins, good luck with that. Jason Wallace, not going to happen. Keanuth George, not going to happen.

Starting point is 00:27:55 Brandon Miller, not going to happen. Derek lively, I doubt. There is no high-level restricted free agent. The Lakers are going to be able to get from another team. The Thunder have a mid-level. Yeah, the Thunder have a team option on the A.J. Mitchell. They are either going to work out in a team. extension or pick up that number and then try to figure out in the following offseason.

Starting point is 00:28:18 There is no restricted free agent or a player in an AJ Mitchell like situation where the Lakers are going to be able to steal that guy for a mid-level. Certainly not from Oklahoma City or like teams like that that are in direct competition with the Lakers. So you can start to like, so what do the Lakers need. They need a wing player who can defend with versatility. About all they need offensively from that guy is ideally

Starting point is 00:28:53 is to be able to credibly spread the floor. Everything after that is probably gravy. So a player, like, you know, and Cam Johnson, I guess, is both live for this year, but also next year. Part of the reason he's live for this year is because he is, in fact, an expiring contract that Denver

Starting point is 00:29:09 might have a little bit more success moving, extracting a lower price because he's expiring, because all these other things. So, you know, the Lakers are in that conversation. Maybe you could get him for less. But let's say he goes into the market next year. He's the type of player who kind of fits the profile. And I think by next year, Johnson probably becomes in the new economics of the NBA, a mid-level type player, shoots the ball credibly.

Starting point is 00:29:42 I was actually a pretty good shooter. You know, the defense is the part that it's like, is he really as good as the reputation? But you start going through the list, and I've seen people on the chat mention like Demarda Rosen, I think potentially available now will be available next year. But DeMar de Rosen does not solve what the Lakers are trying to do. Doesn't even come close to solving what the Lakers are trying to do.

Starting point is 00:30:03 A guy like Balal Kulabali is, he does, he's young, he's a good defender, he's at least learning to try to shoot threes. Won't be getable for what the Lakers could afford because Washington's going to try to keep him as an RFA. Ironically, Rui could be available. That would be kind of funny if they ended up bringing him back. But like D'Andre Hunter, you know, just there aren't a ton of names. And that mid-level exception that they're working with,

Starting point is 00:30:31 at least right now, looks like the clearest path that they're going to have to making a significant addition to next year's team without losing a player that theoretically matters. Yeah. I mean, this is in part why you and I both said that if the Lakers

Starting point is 00:30:52 could actually get PJ Washington, they should do it. And if that costs them next year's mid-level, so be it. Because the odds of getting a guy better than PJ Washington, like significantly better for PJ Washington, at the mid level. I'm going to say it's impossible, but it's low.

Starting point is 00:31:10 It's low. The truth is one of the ways they're looking to get that player that you're talking about, Brian, or hope at least becomes a possibility, is that Cameron Carr by year two really becomes a live option for that. You mentioned that. And I was going to say my last thing on this, you know, before we go,

Starting point is 00:31:30 is the next way for the Lakers to reach that place where the, where they are legitimate contenders when um by the time you know that that lucas contract is up this two to three year window cam car and addu thiro play a massive role in that calculus because the the best way for them to make a jump is for one or both of those guys to become um you know high end rotation players. So they're cost-controlled, young, bouncy, valuable guys who fill in need Thero probably helping them with both athleticism along the wing, the potential to become a better defender, Carr filling in a role offensively with a little bit, maybe better defensive people think. And then, you know, what do a lot of these good teams now do is they hit on good,

Starting point is 00:32:33 unrestricted free agents. They, they're two-way guys become guys that you want to convert to a regular grown-up contract. So, you know, does, you know, Chris Mannion finally become a, you know, truly viable NBA player? Does, you know, do they hit on Arthur Columa? You know, guys like that, you know, Columa becomes a reliable eighth man. That is enormously important for this, this project. If it not him literally, then someone doing that over the next couple of years.

Starting point is 00:33:09 So those are the avenues the Lakers have available to them. Yeah, it's extremely important. The Lakers are behind the eight ball on this particular part of the project because they missed badly with Jalen Hood-Jafino. And while there's still time

Starting point is 00:33:27 for Dalton Connect to turn things around, he has dramatically regressed after coming out of the gate hot for a couple months. Those were two 17th picks in a row that did not work out. And Cameron Carr and a due thierro, one, if not both of them, taking tangible steps this season will make a really big difference. And then in the meantime, same basic principle of cost-controlled outperforming contracts. And this is something we can talk on more at length during the week, but if Matisse Thibel and or Zaire Williams really outperform their contracts, like genuinely outperform by a long shot, what you would reasonably expect

Starting point is 00:34:13 at a veteran's minimum, that will in and of itself raise the level of this team this year. This year. And that's something I want to talk about this year because there was a, I think they did a poll or something like on a Silver Screen and Roald. like guys, you know, something to the effect of, you know, players who are, you know, can make an impact on this, that? Like, who are the guys on this team that are most likely to outplay their contracts that may not have a massive effect going forward just because guys on one-year deals when they play really, really well can actually be hard to keep because you can only pay

Starting point is 00:34:51 them so much. But it, it's not irrelevant. And that question for this year's team, especially, and we can talk about this during the week, is who in this group from top to bottom are most is most likely to outplay that contract. And that can include, by the way, guys who are making a significant amount of money. So we'll break that down over the course of the week. Really quick, it is worth noting that if, say, Zaire Williams or Matisse Thibel truly outperform

Starting point is 00:35:24 those contracts in the case of Thibel, he stays healthy all season. way that feels real moving forward, that could be the answer to who do you use your mid-level exception on? One of those guys to keep them. It could be. But even then you're keeping your own guys in that case as opposed to adding more talent to the roster. And so it becomes a different question. But if they outperform the contract at a level where you feel like they're going to be as good as anybody that you'd bring in for the mid-level, you're at least not taking steps backwards. You're not taking steps back, but you're arguably not taking steps forward, which is part of why this gets complicated, something we can talk about over the course of the week.

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Starting point is 00:36:39 And we will see everyone tomorrow.

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