Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN Preseason Predictions: Will the Lakers Be the NBA's Most Disappointing Team?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Are the Lakers going to be the NBA's most disappointing team this season? ESPN has an opinion about that. We'll tell you what it is 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 stopping my Locked on Lakers, Brian Komeneski, Andy Komeneski. ESPN, every off-season does its pre-season predictions.

Starting point is 00:00:34 of individual awards, of team performance and all that kind of stuff. So plenty of stuff to dive into with that as we think about what the upcoming season will look like. Luca's name appears in there a lot. Other names that don't appear are somewhat intriguing, at least to me. But let's start with the team concept, Andy. We mentioned last week, I believe it was Lakers predicted in these early season, preseason predictions to finish with 45 wins. We both thought that was a little bit low relative to the roster strength and what the conference looks like these days.

Starting point is 00:01:12 But the newest batch, you could even argue even more negative about the Lakers. They are picked among ESPN's panel of writers. Got the most points for a team most likely to be very disappointing, the biggest disappointment of the year. Yeah, they led all teams with 32 points. among the voters, Pistons second with 27, Warriors 26, Miami Heat 22, and the Celtics at 17. And the summary of at least how the Lakers and Heat ended up here, Dave McMemann wrote the entire piece, but I'm just focusing on the part that has to do with the Lakers. I thought was interesting.

Starting point is 00:01:54 There's quote, there's no more potent formula for disappointment in the NBA than the weight of expectations combined with an organizational standard for perennial championship contention. That's the scenario facing the Lakers and heat next season with L.A. building out its team to fit specifically around 27-year-old superstar Luke Adonchich and Miami landing its next face of the franchise, Janice Anto Tukumpo. If L.A. can't build on its last 250 win seasons, the team's handling of LeBron James's exit will be called into question all over again. And there's a couple pieces of it that I found interesting. First, the comp between Miami and the Lakers.

Starting point is 00:02:35 I understand why Dave presented it that way, just because you're talking about Yannis, one of the biggest names in the game, one of the perennial MVP candidate, top five player, moving teams, and also Luca is in that top five conversation. And the Lakers and Heat being one of those organizations that always message championships.

Starting point is 00:02:58 Those are our goal. That is our standard. That's all we play for. That being said, I think the degrees of urgency and sort of setting for level setting for expectation in some ways I think is higher for Miami just because Janus is older.

Starting point is 00:03:17 So you're really only going to get, I mean, I realize this requires some degree of assumption that Luca will stay with the team for the next five to 10 years or whatever. But with an assumption that Luca is going to be with the Lakers for a reasonable amount of time, he's now in the early part of his prime.

Starting point is 00:03:36 So while there is urgency to maximize it, there is more of a runway. In the case of Miami and Janus, you really got to get this thing. If championship is the standard, you really got to hit the ground running and really got to make this thing happen much quicker because Janus is in his 30s

Starting point is 00:03:56 and I know Lucas had injuries, but so has Janus and these things generally don't get better as players age. So I thought that part of it was interesting. Also, too, the question of revisiting the LeBron of it all and the Lakers, I guess, not doing whatever they could to keep him beyond last season, we don't have to revisit everything that happened. I think Dave is correct that if the Lakers bow out in the first or second round of the

Starting point is 00:04:30 playoffs or if say they're on pace for 48 wins or 46 wins as opposed to last year's 53 or whatever. I do think that the question of LeBron is going to come up. I don't think it necessarily should because for all the reasons we've talked about before that at some point this needed to happen and frankly I think it was long past due. But nonetheless, Dave is correct. That is going to be a very loud talking point that if nothing, else the Lakers have to be prepared for with the noise, even if it's just a matter of a slow start

Starting point is 00:05:07 or a four-game losing streak or whatever. Well, yeah, I mean, that part for sure. I look at, you know, the thing with Miami and the Lakers, it's like, you know, you're correct that the, the Janus thing makes a difference in terms of their age. And, you know, I think there's the perception that the Janus thing was kind of Miami's last big swing that they can really pull here and they're, you know, whether it's in the Pat Riley era or the Eric Spolster or however you want to frame it.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Like this was the big push. Like in, you know, they're pretty limited in what they can do going forward. And, you know, that makes a difference. But I do think, you know, your assumption was based on the idea that Luca was just going to stay. And like they do talk about like, which Luke is not. listed, we'll get to it on the, you know, the players who are expected to demand to trade. But they had a whole question about whether, you know, Luca would be playing with the Lakers next season. And overwhelming, the answer was yes.

Starting point is 00:06:11 But really- 20 out of 24 votes said, Luca will be with the Lakers at the very least beyond this season. Right. But that's really not, that's the wrong question to ask. The question is really isn't going to be here in two seasons, not this one. And, you know, so I do think the sense, you can, you know, can make the comp as I think you were doing there with the sense of urgency if you put treat that sort of second year you know deadline similarly to what you might Janice's age. I think the part

Starting point is 00:06:47 that stuck out to me in the framing of the disappointment aspect of this was not even I mean, yeah, we're going to talk about LeBron. And I like I've said, I think they have, but, you know, they're probably going to be a little less good. The ceiling is a little lower because you don't have, you couldn't replace 27 and 7 or whatever was, 26 and 6 or when, and then plus will LeBron put up in the playoffs when things like, that's a lot of production that's gone. But that's not the framing for did the Lakers do the right thing or the wrong thing.

Starting point is 00:07:20 That's how are they setting up the Lucidantian future? That's what they should be graded on. And, you know, that's not the, the criteria that was being used here. It is based on legacy and perception and all these other things. And the idea, you know, so I think similar to what we were talking about earlier in the week, the Lakers are being, are going to be graded if this is the standard by the wrong standard. And I think that was what stuck out to me. Yeah, I get the expectations.

Starting point is 00:07:56 thing. But that's that's kind of window dressing and, you know, talking points that are related to the team that you know, it's, it's what it's sports. I mean, in a lot of ways, it's it's, it's, it's whatever. It's, you know, get up. It's whatever. Like, oh, the Lakers. It's like, you can only be that disappointing if you really think the Lakers are set here to win a title. or if you were even trying to win one this year. I mean, look, I think they're trying to win one in the sense that they want to be, let me finish, that they want to be as good as possible,

Starting point is 00:08:35 and they are looking to compete, and they're hoping some breaks come their way, and they're looking forward, I'm sure, to another transaction cycle or whatever. But that's not what it means. No, no, I understand that. But the point being, it is a goal. I do think, though, the more correct question is, do you think that they actually were in a position to legitimately create an inner circle

Starting point is 00:09:03 contending team this offseason? Like if you're going to grade them on championship expectations, at least for me, and I think you're the same way as well, part of that grade has to be based on what was legitimately viable, like what actually was realistic to do. And the truth is, I don't think they were going to be able to do that in this one-off season, regardless of whether they kept LeBron or not. And in the meantime, I think the path that they went down, and again, I'm not looking to revisit it all.

Starting point is 00:09:35 We've done many shows on it. But I think creates more opportunity to build with a larger vision than just this upcoming season around Luca. But the truth is, I think anybody looking at this realistically could not have expected the Lakers to be able to build an inner circle contending team in one off season. Even though the Lakers love to message that stuff all the time, and you and I both said, they often get themselves in trouble doing that. I've also, for a few, and for many years actually in covering this team, I've tried to tell our listeners and viewers and our general audience,

Starting point is 00:10:17 I don't listen to what they say anymore. As far as that stuff, I just don't because they say it every year. Like, we heard that stuff when it was like the kids or like when it was Kobe in the post Achilles era where it's like, guys, this is clearly not a championship team. I don't care if you won the Carlos Boozer sweepstakes. Like, this is not a championship team. Like, I've just stopped listening to that stuff anymore. and I grade it.

Starting point is 00:10:48 I grade it all and I evaluate it all based on my expectation and my perception of the moves. I don't grade it based on what they say anymore. A couple of, and they even really said at this offseason. A couple more thoughts, but just in general. They did, but not really. A couple of things. I said they didn't, but in general.

Starting point is 00:11:07 Right. A couple more things on this. And then we'll get into some of the predictions for the individual awards, which are also, I think, quite telling. So all that coming up next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Fandual baseball fans. If you think you know who's hitting a homer today, Fandul is giving you a free chance to call your shot with Daily Dingers.

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Starting point is 00:12:24 swing for the fences on Fandall, an official partner of MLB. You know, I mean, I think if you're going to, you know, sort of hold teams to the standard of, like, you know, championship aspirations is like, then, you know, the team that is most likely disappoint is not the Lakers. It's a team like Philadelphia. Like, they are clearly going all in to win a title. They've done great work. I mean, I like what they did with, you know, with Jalen Brown, with acquiring, you

Starting point is 00:12:54 you know, the, the, with getting LeBron on that contract. Like it's just, that is good work on their part. They improve their team significantly. That's a team that's going all in to win a title, you know, San Antonio, Oklahoma City. Yeah. So the Lakers had they kind of, their options to a large degree were run it back with some tweaks here and there. Or get on with the work of rebuilding the team around Luca. and like it's coming up with something that you can do that's sustainable and

Starting point is 00:13:28 lasts more than year to year. Even beyond the how is the relationship look? Are we kind of at the end of this? Or is everybody tired of it, whatever? Like those are really your two choices. The Lakers went with the second choice. They got significantly younger. Austin Reeves is not like the oldest player on the team, you know,

Starting point is 00:13:47 aside from Kavanaugh-Luny, because the oldest players expect to be part of the rotation. And, you know, they got significant. younger, they got significantly more athletic, I think they probably took a overall step back in terms of their ceiling, but in terms of the future map and the clarity with which they can go forward, they're in much better shape than they were before. And for, you know, when it comes to retaining Luca, it's actually more important to have the clarity and the idea of being able to go to the vision. Now, you can argue that they may not have enough stuff to get, um, you know,

Starting point is 00:14:23 through. Like I thought, you know, one of the interesting categories, team most likely to make a big move down the stretch. The Lakers didn't get a vote. And the reason isn't because teams think they're, you know, to use the Rob expression, keeping their powder dry, it's because I don't know any stuff. You can't, you know, when you think about big transformative moves, it's very hard to do when the best things you can offer are like a pick swap, three second rounders in Cam Car. Like, that's not going to get you the transformative player that you're looking for.

Starting point is 00:14:59 And so, you know, we'll see where this team is ultimately where the ceiling is. I mean this year, but I mean just down the road, this, you know, what they're trying to do here. But at some point, they had to get to this place. Well, the ceiling of this team in a lot of ways is going to be determined by Luca Donchage because he is a transformative player. He is a top five perennial. I think he is the best one-man generator of offense in the entire league. And ESPN, their writers predicted that he will go back to back as scoring champ.

Starting point is 00:15:35 It'll be his third scoring title in the last four seasons. And as far as the MVP race goes, Wembe is the heavy, heavy favorite for ESPN's panel. He had 102 points in the voting. I don't remember off the top of my head if it's like first place, second place, third place. But he had the overwhelming chunk of points through votes. The next closest was Yokic with 31. But then Luca was third with 28, followed by SGA 26, and Janus with eight points. So, you know, obviously there is just this massive expectation that, yes, after the Spurs got to the finals,

Starting point is 00:16:18 It's Wemby's league now and everybody else is just going to have to deal with it. No surprise. Wemby is also the overwhelming favorite to win defensive player of the year, as he should be. It feels very much like if he stays healthy. That is going to be his trophy for as long as voters just don't get bored by it. Right. But the MVP will be interesting, A, just because as much as there's this expectation with Wembe this year, those expectations can also lead to being judged quite harshly and sometimes more harshly than

Starting point is 00:16:55 is merited. But it also raises the question of just, were Luca able to make a serious MVP case and race for himself? What does that entail? I think this is where the questions about the rest of the team. Like, you know, we were texting about this the other day before we got one one more day of Jonathan commingan news to sustain us through this offseason but like it was interesting to me that Walker kessler didn't get a vote for you know potential defensive player of the year guys and if you're looking for a way for Luca to um to to find himself the top of an MVP vote um it's the idea, you know, Walker Kessler

Starting point is 00:17:51 is probably having a great season and will garner defensive player of the year attention. I even suggested, like, you know, because you've made correctly, I think, made a point about how much Austin Reeves needs to ascend. We're talking about a guy who needs to play. The Lakers are expecting

Starting point is 00:18:09 to play. I'm not saying he's guaranteed to make an all-NBA team, but he's a guy who they expect to be like at that level. Certainly an all-star level, you know, a guy you can talk about second team, third team, whatever it might be. May not make it, but like, hey, do we have to consider AR for that? Like, that's what the Lakers need from him.

Starting point is 00:18:27 He's never made an all-star team. So, like, is that the kind of leap that could get you most improved player consideration? And I understand all the arguments as to why it wouldn't. But these are the things that have to happen for Luka to get an MVP, because if those things happen, then the Lakers are going to be 52, 53, 54 wins and some of these preseason predictions about 45 wins, about disappointment or whatever, are suddenly going to be turned on their ear and work in Lucas favor. Yeah, with Austin and most improved player, I mean, I've been beating the drum loudly that

Starting point is 00:19:04 he has to be better at everything moving forward. I've said that not just since the moment he got his contract, but since last season, when it was evident the entire year, he was going to get this contract. So the idea of just the expectation and bar for Austin raises by a lot when your salary is tripled and also your station on the team is elevated. I don't think he will get regardless of how, unless he plays at like an MVP level or like first team all NBA conversation level. I don't think he's going to get most improved player. I don't know, most improved player love just because. I think he is considered too established of a player.

Starting point is 00:19:49 Oh, you're probably right. Yeah. And he's, most improved players is a very weird trophy and a very weird award, and it's very difficult to figure out year by year what people are looking for. But the fact that Austin has never even received a vote, like even like a third place, he's never showed up in the voting for most improved player, despite his assent from undrafted free agent,

Starting point is 00:20:16 to where he is now. Like the fact that he's never gotten a most improved vote on that path, I think just means for whatever reason he is not seen that way. I think the better judge for Austin is going to be how close does he come to making an all-star team if not making it? Oh, for sure. Yeah. How many?

Starting point is 00:20:35 It's sure. 100% agree with that. My only point with that is, you know, like where are certain guys going to appear? I mean, Austin's not going to get MVP voting, but like, you know, but like where, What performance level? Oh, he won't either. I'm just saying I think it would take Austin playing at an MVP level, say for stupid reasons to be considered for most improved players.

Starting point is 00:20:59 I'm not even sure then. I'm not even sure then, Andy, people would be like, you know what, we should vote for him for most improved. But my point is like, you're right. It's a weird award, although we are getting away from, people are voting about that a little more smartly than they used to, or it used to just be very nakedly, guy who was playing 12 minutes a game before is now playing like 29 or 30 or 32 and is putting up much bigger numbers.

Starting point is 00:21:26 Isn't that neat? But like the point is like isn't is Austin really going to get awards is not? The point is can can he play at a level where if I came back on this podcast or we were guesting on locked on NBA across the whole network and we're like hey guys Austin Reeves should be getting most improved player love and everyone the other hosts were like that's ridiculous and we could break it down and change their minds that's kind of what they need from Austin is and and you know I think there's no sixth man of the year coming from the Lakers but like could we live in a world where everybody stays healthy because Colin Sexton is very, very well suited, I think, to be,

Starting point is 00:22:18 we can talk about this after the break, but like, part of the reason the Lakers have had trouble with six men of the year in the past, it's like, I've really had a really defined six man, but Sexton this year fits that profile really. It's not going to start. It's going to be a very well-defined bench role, and it's going to be about scoring, which is what people like from six-man of the year. So maybe next, let's talk about that. Let's talk about JJ and coaches.

Starting point is 00:22:43 the year. That was another one I thought was interesting. I also want to mention something about Walker Kessler and defensive player the year because you noted, I think correctly, Walker Kessler is going to have a role like his level of play in a lot of ways, Lucas viability for MVP. And I looked at a few numbers with that. So you get all that coming up next. Lockdown-Lakers is brought to you by Odo. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together, one app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales, and somehow none of them talk to each other. That's where Odu comes in.

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Starting point is 00:23:47 Like this past off season, the Lakers radically changed their roster and the construction by all appearances and reports. Group effort between Rob Polinka and the new front office brain trust. We'll see how long that remains in place, but whatever. And with Luca Donchich in concert with him, there was regular communication, that type of synergy. And this is the type of attitude and approach that leads to success with your business. organizations win because operations matter. And that's why you should get Odu. Odu is a,

Starting point is 00:24:22 Odu is one platform to manage, grow, and scale your business. Try for free today at Odu.com slash locked on. That's Odo.O.O.com slash locked on. Point you want to make about Kessler? Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned how Walker Kessler was not in the defensive player of the year consideration.

Starting point is 00:24:43 And I don't think there would be any reason to expect that just because he is coming off a five games. season that was otherwise missed with injury and he has spent his entire time playing in Utah a team nobody pays attention to other when they're pointing other than when they're pointing out just how much they're tanking so and if you think the lakers are going to be middle of the pack team barely you know fighting their way out of the play in um then you know you're not going to get loved in particular because you think their defense won't be good enough all all of those things will get in the way of DPOI predictions and love for Walker Kessler.

Starting point is 00:25:22 I would have been actually shocked if he had popped up in here at all. But something I thought, though, that was interesting about that is I looked up some, you know, Wendy, the reigning defensive player of the years I mentioned earlier, it's going to be his award for a while, I think. I looked up, though, some numbers from Walker Kessler's last full season, 24, 25, and I compared them against Wemby this season when he won defensive player of the year. A lot of these numbers are via synergy unless they're just very easily countable or semi-countable one-click stats. Overall field goal percentage against them.

Starting point is 00:26:03 Wemby 39.1% Walker Kessler, 40.6. Overall effective field goal percentage against them, both at 47%. Points per shot against him. Wemby.0.94. Kessler, 0.94. percentage against either at the rim. Wemby 56.1, Kessler, 55. Percentage against him on layups. Wemby 52.6. Kessler, 50.6.

Starting point is 00:26:28 Blocks per game, Wemby 3.1, Kessler 2.4. Defensive rebounds. Wemby 9.5, Kessler, 7.6. Deflections per game. Wemby 2.6, Kessler 1.6. And like, Wembees are better overall, which should not surprise anybody, because he's better than Walker Kessler. And he is, Wemby.

Starting point is 00:26:46 Yeah, I mean, he's, he is clearly a better defensive player than Kessler. He's a better player than Kessler. I am not trying to make the case that Walker Kessler is low-key, the same player as Wemby. But a lot of these stats are comparable to Wembe's, and they're respectable when compared against Wembe's. And in Utah, Kessler was doing this with worse defenders around him, like, way worse. The point being, if. If Kessler performs at that level with the Lakers, regardless of where it places Kessler

Starting point is 00:27:21 in the DPOY voting, I think it pretends well for his effect on the team, which in turn portends well for Lucas MVP candidacy. Yeah. And I think just to kind of dial it back to what we were doing, what we're talking about the off season, you know, about the off season, like the Lakers made their big push for Kessler. And, you know, I think as the off season is going on, the, the, you know, I think as the off season is going on, the parameters of that deal are getting, I think are a little more digestible to people.

Starting point is 00:27:51 They gave up a lot. But a lot of, I think, the discussion about how much Lakers gave up to get Kessler is framed, not in the context in absolute terms. Is it an outrage? If you think Kessler is good and the numbers you just discussed are why people think Kessler is worth it. His defensive metrics are and have been, especially since getting Utah, excellent.

Starting point is 00:28:16 Not like, hey, like there's something, like, we didn't talk about comminga. It was like, look how athletic he is. He's big enough to be able to guard, you know, power forwards. And he's mobile enough to be able to guard wings. But like the actual numbers behind that are, okay, he can, but is he good at it? Kessler, it's like, oh, my God, he's huge and all these other things. But basically from the moment he got into the league, his defensive metrics by most

Starting point is 00:28:44 measurements are excellent to elite. And that is why the Lakers made that investment. And if he is the player that they're talking about, then what they gave up to get him in absolute terms is reasonable. It's just that the Lakers didn't have that much to give up. So people are looking at it through the framework of what the Lakers have. But any player of Kessler's caliber would have cost them something like that. you know, I will go to my grave, hopefully, 50 years from now, saying, actually, I won't

Starting point is 00:29:19 because I won't be thinking about it at that point. But like, the Lakers would have had to give up more than Cleveland did to get Peyton Watson. Like, that's just how it was going to be. I'd like to think, I'm an obsessive enough Laker fan, that 50 years from now, you know, maybe even on my deathbed, I will be thinking about the particular. 73-year-old Peyton Watson has been out. out of the league for 35 years. And you're still upset by the Lakers not making a run at him.

Starting point is 00:29:48 I still think about trades that the Lakers made in the 90s and stuff. I mean, you know it's true. No, it's true. And I will go to my friend wondering exactly what they were thinking when they pulled the trigger on the Westbrook deal. That will always be like, you know, Citizen Kane, my rosebud. It'll be. Yes.

Starting point is 00:30:09 But I would just, I would like to think that my. my life will be rich enough that I won't be going to my deathbed wondering about, I don't think it's, I don't think it's going to be, the Lakers would have had to give up more than one first round pick. I want to make it clear. I don't think it's going to be the only thing I'm thinking about on my deathbed. But I wouldn't rule out that something Laker related,

Starting point is 00:30:31 if not Kessler specifically, will be something I'm thinking about on my deathbed. Fair enough. I know myself well enough. But if, like, if he puts up those. numbers the Lakers are going to like all the low expectations awards are you know narrative based things and then people like stories and all of this other stuff and you've made the point i think you're right it's i don't think there's an anti-lakers bias in the media but i do think

Starting point is 00:30:59 the media doesn't want to look like they're fawning over the Lakers all the time because like they get it annoys basketball fans because when the Lakers are bad then you know the the morning shows are about what are the Lakers going to do to be if the Lakers are good, it's like, hey, look, the Lakers, it's like, because they're the Lakers. And so, you don't want to look like you're kind of

Starting point is 00:31:25 pumping that up unnecessarily. You want to look like your objective and all that. I mean, talked about this before. You see this in the media landscape and it's with a lot of, I mean, it's with a lot of people who cover the league that I genuinely respect and think they do a really good job.

Starting point is 00:31:44 But there is this tendency to not want to look like you are leveraging the Lakers for clicks and eyeballs and attention. But often you'll hear podcasts spend 10 minutes explaining why they're not going to talk about the Lakers. And in that time, they do talk about the Lakers and it's not difficult to see through. But again, and these are people that do a great job covering the league. I'm not going to get in specific names or whatever. Like they do a really good job.

Starting point is 00:32:13 But I just, I think especially as media has really become about attention economy, because when you and I first started doing this, nobody was shy at all about trying to leverage the Lakers for attention. I mean, they did it in ways that it was often nakedly obvious. But I think now, other than, you know, like the first takes of the world where I mean, you know, you got three hours. kill you're going to need the legs. Oh, right. It's first take again. I'm one show in behind.

Starting point is 00:32:44 No, no, get up. Does it get up? No, there's two different shows. There's first take and there's get up. I don't work for the network anymore. And they're both daily and they both they're both daily and they both have to kill a lot of time. And I get why those shows will leverage the Lakers

Starting point is 00:33:01 regardless of what's going on. But I think among NBA media specifically as there's been more awareness, of attention economy and not wanting to look like you're a slave to attention economy, there will be a lot of people who cover the league who want to make it seem like they're not trying to leverage the Lakers, even when they kind of are. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:33:26 So, yeah, I mean, I guess I understand how all this is going. And look, I understand why the people don't think the Lakers can be as good as they were last year. Like none of this bothers me. It's like we're all kind of killing time until the season starts. speculating and having fun with it or whatever none of this means anything but what the one thing that it does do is sort of crystallize the idea that the lakers aren't supposed to be that good and so if they are there's at least a chance that that because it happened last year where the lakers were sort of consistently better than than people thought you look up and there were three

Starting point is 00:34:03 seat at the end of the year and it they didn't the perception was still that they were were kind of overrated based on the early season, soft opponents, whatever might be. The tendency to get their asses beat by 25 to 30 when they lost. Yes. But like if they can come out this season and quickly establish themselves as one of these teams that is, you know, among the best teams in the West with the expectations that everybody seems to have going in, I think part of the reason that that's going to be true, we didn't really get into it,

Starting point is 00:34:43 but we can get into it maybe for, you know, start of the next week. It's, it's, is JJ because there's a lot of parts. I mean, I think maybe, maybe Monday, assuming, you know, no extra news breaks or something,

Starting point is 00:34:58 and we should talk to about like, okay, this is the team, like what are they going to look like going to camp and all that? But I think this is just going to be a tremendous showcase season in one way or the other for, JJ. And if the Lakers win 52, 53, 54 games, it's going to be because

Starting point is 00:35:14 Redick figured out how to use these guys who put the pieces together for a very new roster, put the pieces together very successfully. Yeah. I mean, JJ has, I think, overachieved insofar as what a lot

Starting point is 00:35:32 of people thought when he was first hired, which is just he's LeBron's podcast partner, and it's a flashing name. The Lakers love flashing names. Yeah. Lock on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 39,000 subscribers to the channel. Please make sure you're subscribing to all the different ways to get the show, whether it's ESPN.

Starting point is 00:35:52 Actually, no, it's not on ESPN. We've just been talking about them. But Apple, iTunes, or Spotify, however people get podcasts these days. Or, of course, on the YouTube channel, you don't want to ever miss a piece of content that we're putting out. We're putting on a lot of them, especially as the season starts cranking up again. Everybody have a great weekend. We'll see you Monday.

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