Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Do the Lakers and the Knicks Have Similar Problems With Roster Construction?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Monday. Brian Komeneski, Andy Kaminetsky, what can the Lakers learn from the teams playing in the finals? We'll tell you 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.

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Starting point is 00:00:49 All of those people, Andy, are interested in the NBA finals and what LeBron James thinks can be done to improve playoffs and playoff officiating. We get to all that over the course of the show. Do you want to let everybody know that today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. take control of your finances with Monarch Money, use code locked on MBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. So before we get deep into really like what the finals matchup shows the Lakers, what the teams that lost show the Lakers in the conference finals and all that, there is the matchup itself which I get why because I'm not dumb and it's not my first day in this in this universe.

Starting point is 00:01:35 But I find it very frustrating, let me say, that people seem to think this is like the worst finals ever and that the NBA is doomed because Oklahoma City and Indiana are playing for the title. I think, first of all, this could be a really entertaining series. You've got two teams that are really, really fun to watch. I think the Thunder are a really, they're a really exciting team for the now and for potentially the future. You've got the league MVP in Shea, who I think is just a really exciting player that in a lot of ways for people who prefer the league was a little bit more like the one they grew up watching. If they're of the MJ era or even the Kobe era, Shea is a guy that lives in the mid-range. I mean, that is one of the places that he is that he goes after more than maybe anywhere else on the court.

Starting point is 00:02:33 and that's a part of basketball that is now described as completely missing, that the game has become for the worst because of this development where everything is either at the rim or behind three-point arc. However you feel about that, Shea is doing something that I think is different. I think that's really awesome. I think Tyrese Halliburton is a really fun player that also the story that he's had in a, basically from last summer to this summer, going from the guy that could not get minutes

Starting point is 00:03:07 on the 2024 Olympic team and had to be a very good sport about being seen as the participation metal guy, even sent out a tweet and a photo and a meme mocking himself. But he's admitted that it bothered him to some degree. It did as it would any competitor in that situation, that high profile, to have that guy go from that situation to the leader and best player on a team that is now in the finals, that's an awesome story.

Starting point is 00:03:43 And the Pacers, by the way, are just in terms of sheer entertainment, they're towards the tops of the league, man. They're fun to watch. They are. And look, I look at this a couple ways. It's like, I don't think they're going to beat Oklahoma City. I am among the people who think it's, you know, it's a five-game series, a six-game series. I do not think it's going to be long, and I really don't think Indiana is going to win.

Starting point is 00:04:06 But I don't think the Knicks would have had any better shot against Oklahoma City either. But the Halliburton thing, I think, for example, it's a great example of kind of what this whole series and the way it's being marketed and talked about is a great example of what the basketball sort of chattering. public gets wrong about everything. It's like Halliburton not being able to play on Team USA because not everybody gets minutes. You just you can't play everybody. Turned sort of into like Halliburton sucks. He was on the illusion.

Starting point is 00:04:43 He was named the most overrated player by a player poll for the athletic, not by fans, not even by GMs like his peers. And I think some of that has to do with Halliburton is a pretty well-known renowned bleep talker and I think that can get under the skin of many of the opponents that he plays. He's coming off a down year because of the hamstrings, right? Yeah. Injuries and all that.

Starting point is 00:05:10 And he didn't play in Team USA. And it's like, but like you're on Team USA. It's like how bad could you be? But, you know, so there's that. And then I think with with Shea, the foul merchant stuff I don't want to get into. But like this to me is. where the league has been done a disservice, to be perfectly honest, by most of its major media partners, because they have, they reinforce this. They reinforce the idea that if, you know,

Starting point is 00:05:39 New York or L.A. or whatever, you know, aren't there, that the big stars of LeBron's not there, that Steph's not there. It's like, this is, I mean, it's your league MVP is in the finals. Like, in theory, that should be a good thing for a league. And you're right. If you can't figure out how to market our league MVP is there. you know, this idea of two small markets. I mean, Kansas City shows up in the Super Bowl every year for the last half decade. It's okay. Do you know why?

Starting point is 00:06:04 Because they make, they don't get worried about the market. They talk about Pat Mahomes, who is obviously, you know, a marketable star, one of the greatest. And he's the quarterback. I get it's not totally apples to apples. It's just, you know, the league needs to feel. fix how it talks about itself and demand better from its media partners. And that is big in this series. I'll take it a step further.

Starting point is 00:06:33 I think the league should look at this as an opportunity because you are not going to be able to rely on LeBron and Steph and Katie, you know, the OGs as they were referred to in that interview around the All Star break not too long ago. You're not going to be able to rely on them to carry interest for this league. much longer. Like the odds that all three of them will never play in a finals again are much greater than the idea that they will. And that's just because there is uncertainty around all three of the teams that they play on. Like I don't think the Warriors are terrible. I don't think the Lakers are terrible. But they're not front runners. And who knows where Kevin Durant is even

Starting point is 00:07:18 going to be next season. But they're all on the very back ends of their career. So they're only going to be playing so much longer anyway, and it's hard to make the finals regardless. The league needs to find ways to move past these guys being their automatic fallback, and you've got, again, the showcase put in front of you right now, whether it is, you know, inject Adam Silver with truth serum, the matchup that he'd truly want. I'm sure it isn't because all these guys look for what is easiest. to market. But I, but like I said earlier, this should not be super hard either. And even if, let's just say, these ratings for this series, these finals are not great. A, they've already got

Starting point is 00:08:12 the TV deal. They've already got the money. So promote the heck out of it. Use again, you're right. Use it as an opportunity. Promote the hell out of it. It doesn't matter. Right. But you are also now, especially if the thunder become what a lot of people think they can in terms of longevity. And the Pacers, by the way, have an opportunity also to be a pretty good team for a while. This is your building block series to start generating more interest in other teams around the league and other players not named LeBron, Steph, or KD. Like, again, it's an opportunity, especially when the money's already banked. You're not going to lose anything on this. So there are a couple things both with the Thunder and the Pacers and then obviously, two,

Starting point is 00:08:58 with the teams that lost, including a tweet that I saw that they didn't write down, but I do remember who sent it, but I do remember the sentiment that I think directly relates to how the Lakers have to think of their roster. And we'll get to all that next. But not before I tell you that today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. We've all done it. We've checked our bank account. We wonder where the money went.

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Starting point is 00:11:06 Like you can build higher end talent. You can build roster depth, but it's going to be really hard to do both. For the Lakers, the way they're constructed. But I think at the very least, there is going to be every year, a new thing kind of comes in vogue based on which teams advance farthest. and I think two things of this one, size, length, but obviously depth as well. Depth is going to be a huge, huge issue that is talked about in the offseason. And I wonder how that changes the market, you know, like teams, you know, how teams think

Starting point is 00:11:44 about the players that they might want to keep, the players that they might need to move on from which players they try to pluck from other rosters and all that kind of stuff. if there is a belief that you actually need seven, eight, nine, ten guys to really make it through the playoffs. That changes how teams behave in the offseason because before it was you really only need six. You really only need seven. You only need seven and a half, whatever it might be. Well, that was also when it was easier to stack three or four, you know, somewhere between B plus to All Star to all NBA to perennial MVP candidate players. on one roster and that's your foundation.

Starting point is 00:12:26 And then from there, you find three role players who are good enough and, you know, take the court. It's this new CBA is specifically designed to prevent that from happening. It's frankly specifically designed to, I think, induce parity in way we can maybe talk about this at some point to later show to induce parity in ways that I'm not convinced as particularly good for the league. League? Well, it's going to say this. It's not good for the league if the league insists on always, you know, getting upset when the same three players don't make the finals. It's good for the league in the sense it keeps interest. It's bad if you think, if you if you treat Oklahoma City in Indiana getting far in the playoffs like it's a disaster, then yes, parody is terrible. Well, it's also, it's also bad too if this new CBA. I heard Ryland Stiles, the host of Locked on Thunder and he's going to be busy for the next couple weeks. Talking about this on. an episode of, he was one of the hosts for Lockdown NBA and for, I believe it was Saturday's show, either Saturday or Sunday, but he was talking about the parody that this league wants. And the question was, the question was presented to him about whether or not the Thunder could potentially be, you know, dynasty might be an overused word, but you understand the point of what's

Starting point is 00:13:48 being discussed. Like, can they put together a long sustained run of winning championships or being in the mix? Right. And, you know, everybody says now the second apron comes for everyone. Right. And, you know, for what it's worth, there's been a lot of reporting that the Thunder, beyond, you can just look at their cap sheets and see they're pretty well situated for this stuff, that they are going to be more willing to spend into the tax than a lot of people think they will. But anyway, Rylan's comments on this, and I thought it was pretty spot on, was if the thunder, with the way they're set up now, if they can't maintain sustained excellence barring injuries, then this CBA just went too far. Because if a team like that designed that perfectly for theoretically what the CBA restricts against, if they can't even work around it, then honestly, you have to ask yourself, what was accomplished?

Starting point is 00:14:48 Like what are you really trying to do? Because it's not, in my opinion at least, it's not good for a league. It's one thing if you feel like teams like the Bulls or the Showtime Lakers or Kobe Shaq, whatever, like, that they become, you know, the warriors of the last 10 years.

Starting point is 00:15:08 Like they become such an inevitable feeling that it drives down interest. I don't personally think that's the case. But if you feel like them being so inevitable reduces suspense. It makes you feel like your team can't possibly win, whatever. But at the same time, if nothing ever feels sustainable, then... There's a balance.

Starting point is 00:15:28 I think what they're hoping happens eventually is the automatic max comes down, like the idea that everybody's just, you know, you have to pay that guy. Like in the next five years, whoever the next equivalent of Joe L.M. B'd, well, of course, you have to max him out. Not so sure. You know, like the idea like these, you know, now the, you know, $65, 70 million contracts guys, you know, taking up 35, 40, 50 percent of your cap. I think teams are going to have to be more careful about that.

Starting point is 00:15:59 And it's going to, it's not even necessarily going to bring the prices in the middle class down, although I think it could. It's, I think they're hoping it actually brings down some of the automatic max contracts. And so like when you hear a guy like Reeves, for example, you know, say he wants to make 30 million. It's obviously a lot of money, but it's 12 or 13 million short of what he could make. And so I think those are, I think those are places where people are going to have to start drawing lines, but I agree with you. Like you want a deal where you don't want certain teams big footing everybody.

Starting point is 00:16:32 Like you see in baseball, it is starting to become a thing. Like if you're not in the top 10 in payroll, it's really hard to compete. Like one team sneaks in there sometimes, guys, but it is really, really hard to compete. You know, football has got great parity in the sense. It's a different set of playoff teams every flipping year. But it's also sort of driven differently in football is its own thing. I mean, for all the talk, though, about parity in football, like the last 15 to 20 years has very largely been driven by either Brady winning a Super Bowl or Mahomes winning a Super Bowl. Because that's, and I was about to say, that is, I think, exactly what the league wants, where you have a different mix of teams in every year.

Starting point is 00:17:15 every year there's always two or three teams that did make the playoffs the year before who were in it there and so everybody shows up to training camp but you also have somebody to take down and i think that's i think that's what the league may be preventing from happening you want the stars to have a bit like the super bowl you you know you want those star players there and it's also you know it's a quarterback driven league and one player can it's and people you know preseason football games draw better than and, you know, World Series games or NBA playoff. It's just the world we live in. And so, yeah, you're right.

Starting point is 00:17:51 You don't want to have to break up good teams, but you also don't want two or three franchises to big foot everybody. And I think they're, they've not quite gotten the hang of it yet. But I think generally speaking in league's parody is good. I also think, too, some of this CBA is owners trying to create artificial induced mechanisms to give themselves the excuse not to spend, to not put together the team that they could. And I'm sorry.

Starting point is 00:18:23 Well, it used to be because you're cheap. It used to be because you're cheap. Now it's because there are legitimate competitive disadvantages to life in the second apron. Right. Except the life in the second apron was created by these owners. I think ultimately what will need to happen is you develop mechanisms to, different rules. Like are you keeping your own player versus signing someone else's?

Starting point is 00:18:46 Maybe there's, I don't know exactly how you would do that, but is there some sort of sliding scale where you can do that? It's like, that's the one I want. Right. There's got to be a way to make this work. But next I wanted, like I mentioned this tweet that I saw.

Starting point is 00:19:00 And it was a pretty common sentiment when the Knicks lost that, that not even because he played poorly, because he didn't, The Knicks have to look into trading Carly Anthony Towns. And the logic of that sort of of that chatter on NBA social media got me thinking immediately about something with the Lakers. I'll explain that next. So the thinking is it's not, again, Kat didn't have a bad playoffs. I don't think.

Starting point is 00:19:37 I mean, he's not a, you know, he's not yokech. He's going to have a little bit of ups and downs and whatever. But overall, I think he played pretty well on a Knicks team that went to the West, the Eastern, conference finals. But the basic premise of this line of thinking was that it's not the cat sucked. It's that Kat and Brunson don't work together. You need a different kind of big when Brunson is your catalyst because he, you know, he has major defensive liabilities. Kat's not a good enough defender to cover up for Brunson because Katz not considered a very good defender, period. You know, a good rebounder, but not a really good difference maker, rim protector.

Starting point is 00:20:26 He's not one of these guys that intimidates in the lane and things like that. That got me thinking, obviously, of this conversation, this running conversation that we've had about Austin Reeves and Luca Donchich. It's not that Austin is a bad player. He's actually quite good. And when you break down the number of people who have put up the numbers that Austin has, put up the numbers that Austin did last year around the league, it is very small. And most of them are, many of them, I think all but one or two are significantly older or significantly older than Reeves. That's not totally the issue, though, because it's not what Reeves does by himself. It's how Reeves fits with Luca. And so the question the Lakers have to answer, similar to what the NICS have to do with

Starting point is 00:21:18 Towns and Brunson is figure out, does this combination work? And if the answer is no, you have to fix the combination by moving one of the people or figure out a formula around them that works. And in the case of the Nicks, it's a little harder because they've got Josh Hart and, you know, know, Anonabe or Ananobe and Bridges. That's about as good as you're going to be able to do with wing defenders and stuff to protect those other. You can't. Plus Mitchell Robinson is a backline. McBride is not a terrible defender.

Starting point is 00:21:58 There's only so much you can do. And I'm not even sure defense was what crushed New York. I mean, but like, there's a limit as to what you can do. And so do you have to replace Kat? And the Lakers are in a similar situation with Reeves. And it's funny because you said that that tweet got you thinking about this. And to be honest, I don't even know what tweet you're referencing it, although it doesn't matter. It was a tweet that said the Knicks have to look into trading Carly Anthony Towns now.

Starting point is 00:22:29 And it was as soon as game six was over. Sure. But again, I forget who sent it. But my point is without even knowing that you had seen that tweet before you and I started talking about what we were going to get into for this show, but we were sending each other rundown ideas. I brought this up independently. And I last week expressed some concerns I have about Luca and Austin as a foundational duo just because they have duplicative weaknesses.

Starting point is 00:22:57 But once you really start looking at the two teams that are left, Thunder and the Pacers, some of the teams that went furthest, and just the overall composition of teams that are finding success, I am increasingly becoming convinced that they're going to need to at the very least seriously explore trading Austin because in this new CBA world that we just discussed and the restrictions that are there, it may be, if not impossible, really damn hard to build a contender when neither of your two highest players are two-way players. Like not just for the Lakers, but period. Like if you look at the thunder, Shea is in my mind pretty close to an undisputed two.

Starting point is 00:23:40 two-way player. I think he's good enough defensively, but even if you don't think he's a great defender, he's nowhere close to a bad one. And once Jalen Williams gets paid, he's absolutely a two-way guy. Chet Omgram, absolutely two-way guy. Pacer's have Pascal Seaccom, who's absolutely a two-way guy, and Miles Turner two-way guy offsetting Tyrese Halliburton, the Celtics, when they're healthy, they're two-best guys, Tatum and Brown, both two-way guys. If you still believe in the calves, Evan Mowgli, who is basically paid the same as Darius Garland alongside Donovan Mitchell, he's a defensive player of the year who puts up nearly 20 points a game. Contrast this to the Knicks, like we just talked about,

Starting point is 00:24:21 the struggles of your two biggest salaried guys, both being defensive liabilities, I'm sure it would be the same if they were both offensive liabilities. You need one guy at least who's legitimate two-way. Like the Warriors, unless Jimmy Butler starts aggressively, looking to score again and maybe finds a time machine, I think the warriors are going to be stuck as fine, but never great again. Like maybe Denver could overcome this, but that's only because Yokic is so effing good,

Starting point is 00:24:53 but good luck finding another Yokic. And it's like Austin works hard defensively and like his best moments he can be effective, but he's never going to be a true two-way player. Like he's not fast enough, he's not big enough, he's not athletic enough. You need to position him in a place where you are protecting him and allowing the stuff that he's good at. And you and I both don't think Lucas is as bad as his reputation, but he's at best at defensive neutral.

Starting point is 00:25:23 Like that's your best thing you're hoping for. I think where I will say the difference is between the Lakers, for example, and the Nicks is that the Lakers, you know, with the Knicks, Cat sort of is the problem of lane protection of, you know, of there isn't enough protection for Brunson because this guy who is the one behind him, the other form, you know, big formation or not who he is. And so I think with the Lakers, the argument could be made that if you can create better paint protection, especially over the long term.

Starting point is 00:26:06 Because like, let's say, again, LeBron supposedly opts in this year. Maybe it's his last year. Or maybe it's his last year in L.A. or whatever it might be, you have, even if like, I don't want to say you have more money to spend, but you have another position to fill. And so with those guys, you know, maybe you can make your power forward and your and your center positions, places that give you the kind of. robust defense behind Luca and, you know, allow you to kind of send Luca and Reeves to do their thing in places of relative strength. So I think there is-

Starting point is 00:26:46 I had a trade suggestion for it. You did. There is a formula, I think, that is there. And then look, I mean, the flip side is, even if you don't think Reeves works with Luca, a long, you still have to find a, I don't think, you got to be real, I'll put it this way, you'd be real careful with this idea of thinking you can do addition by subtraction with Austin Reeves, you know, not to sound too much like his agent, but, you know, you can't be throwing him in every second string center, not those Lakers are, but like this. Not that we would. No, but there is a major difference, at least in my mind, between saying, you have to think about it for X, Y, and Z to you have to take the first thing that qualifies as,

Starting point is 00:27:37 well, here's a big and here's a wing or here's whatever and assume that as much as, you know, I believe in fit. And, you know, that sort of fit talent question, that fit is probably underrated. Talent is not necessarily overrated. So you just got to be careful. It's not easy. None of this is easy. Here's the other thing, though, that I think is going to run into issues for the Lakers and why I think they may one way or another have to consider, again, seriously consider writing Austin.

Starting point is 00:28:10 Andy, the guy wants to get, you know, wants LeBron to retire, Reeves out, you know, faster than he can do it. He's just dismantling this team quickly. I think it might require dismantling. But the other, because other option for the Lakers, if they wanted to suffer, supplement Luca and Austin at their presumed salaries as defensive liabilities, you know, that heavily paid defensive liability foundation, you'd want to supplement them with as much young two-way talent. That sounds, by the way, like the worst nonprofit organization ever, the defensive liability

Starting point is 00:28:47 association. Defensive liability association, please donate as much as you can. It's a difficult time for those with defensive liabilities. give what you can in this difficult season. Don't be embarrassed to see your doctor about it. The other option you would have would be to try to supplement Luca and Austin with as much two-way talent as possible. But in a realistic world, in all likelihood, that requires the Lakers to have access to the type of draft picks that they typically trade out, plus the patience to develop these young players, which they never do.

Starting point is 00:29:24 And if they were to make trades to stockpile those type of draft picks, the best way to do it, and maybe the most realistic way to do it would be trade Austin. Right. And this is the place where the Lakers are stuck because, you know, really what you want to do is add. Yes. You know, and, you know, whether this isn't about, just so it's clear, this is not about me wanting to trade Austin. This is just me looking at the landscape and wondering, are they?

Starting point is 00:29:54 they actually going to be able to build around those two particular players. If we talked about this for Friday's show, if Luca was, say, Anthony Edwards, who is a legit two-way player, I would be actually pretty geeked at the idea of teaming up Austin and Ant. Because I think those two, they offensively would play quite well together, but then defensively, one of them plays at a very high level. So at least that part of it is covered in terms of your overall economic investment. Or prime Jimmy Butler, the time machine Jimmy Butler that I talked about before.

Starting point is 00:30:33 What if Skinny Luca comes back and solves your problem? Is Skinny Luca a better defender? I mean, like, just because he loses weight doesn't mean he's going to automatically become like prime Rod our test. Doesn't mean he's not. We haven't seen it. But you know what I'm saying? I'm kidding. It's as much about Luca as it is about Austin.

Starting point is 00:30:56 The difference is I know they're not going to move Luca, nor should they. It gets to the grand question, which we'll be asking over and over again in this offseason of like, how do you, how do you approach you? You can't fix everything at once. Do you look at hold keeping your powder dry? Do you go as aggressively as you can, understanding that mistakes are going to be, you know, well executed moves will actually set you up better than I think just having cap space or whatever clean sheet will following next season, but mistakes will probably hurt

Starting point is 00:31:26 you worse. So, you know, do you feel lucky Rob Polinka? Do you? Locked on Lakers on YouTube. It's where you can go hang out with over 35,000 subscribers. We will be back tomorrow to talk about LeBron's suggestion with the postseason and an interesting note about Brony James and the rotation for next season. We'll see everyone tomorrow.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Do the Lakers and the Knicks Have Similar Problems With Roster Construction?

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