Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Examining The Lakers Present and Future (Is "2027" Really the Plan?)

Starting point is 00:00:00 What's up and welcome to Locked-on Lakers for a Monday. What do we know and not know about the Lakers plans for the present in the future? We'll get into that more with special guest, Yovan Buha, coming up next. You are Locked-on Lakers, your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. And thanks for making Locked-on Lakers your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, always free, never behind a paywall. and for the sickos who like to watch.

Starting point is 00:00:37 Locked on Lakers on YouTube is a community of over 36,000 subscribers coming together to watch the show. Really fun, engaged, active, smart group of Laker diehards, often leaving comments, which we try to implement into the show. We want our audience to help shape the show that we provide for them. However, you watch, listen, or both to Lockdown Lakers very much appreciated. I'm Andy Kamenetsky. My brother and co-host Brian is wrapping up his vacation.

Starting point is 00:01:05 and in his place today, Yovon Buha, the host of the Buhas Block podcast. Make sure you are subscribing to his show as well. Yovon covered the Lakers for several seasons with the athletic, great work for years with the team. He is also quite possibly the tallest member of the Lakers local media, which is a nice honor. Can you confirm this, Yovon? I think so. I think among the main people I am. I want to begin with your take on the offseason for the Lakers in terms of the roster short of a trade, nobody seems to think is imminent.

Starting point is 00:01:39 You obviously correct me if you disagree. This feels like the roster entering training camp. How do you like or I guess dislike what Rob Polink has done this offseason? I think they've done an impressive job based on the limited resources that they had to improve this roster short of a trade. I think this is about as well as they could have done adding a player like a D'Andre Aiton, adding a market smart, a couple of buyout guys who I think, you know, were they prioritizing money could have gotten more money elsewhere, clearly. I think based on, you know, their markets and just I think both guys are closer to non-taxpayer,

Starting point is 00:02:20 either the full amount or just, you know, a little bit more obviously smart sign for the BAE with the Lakers. So I think getting those two guys and selling them on a vision of their role for next season and those guys taking kind of the chance of knowing that their NBA futures are kind of in the Lakers hands to some extent, right? Like obviously they have to deliver their end of the deal, but like they have to play well, you know, to earn their next contract. So I think you got that part of it. And you got Jake LaRavia, who I'm high on, you know, I was aware of his game. But after doing a bunch of research and talking to people and some film deep dives, like I'm really impressed with his skill set.

Starting point is 00:03:00 And I think he could do a bit more. at that. You look at Thero and just the way that he profiles in terms of his skill set. I think there's a lot to like with what they did. I still personally would like to have seen some sort of either trade to upgrade the roster or consolidation trade to open up some flexibility to add maybe someone else on a minimum contract. I think there's still some pretty good players out there that might end up. Like whoever's this year is Gary Trent of a guy who on paper is more of a non-taxpayer or taxpayer MLE guy who has to sign for a vet minimum contract because they're squeezed by the market.

Starting point is 00:03:36 There are some guys out there that I think could help this roster more than some of the guys that they could have potentially done a consolidation trade for. Like, you know, I'd probably rather have a Malcolm Brogden than a Gabe Vincent or even potentially Gary Payton the second than a Gabe Vincent, especially at that cost of a minimum contract. So I think like we quibble maybe a little bit with, I think they did the best they could in free agency. I still think this roster needed some bigger upgrades to truly be in the class of like an OKC or a Denver or a Houston. I don't think they're in that class. But based on

Starting point is 00:04:10 the limited resources they had to build a roster, I think they did as well as they could have. One point of detraction against Polika for this offseason is like, yeah, managed to get Aiton and Smart and La Ravia without giving up any assets, but two of them were buyout guys. Aiton steered to him presumably by Bill Duffy, Lucas agent, seen as something of quote quo, same with even Jake LaRavia, sharing Austin's agent. A, do you agree with this assessment that it's like less impressive work by Rob? And then B, how much does it actually matter? How impressive the work or, you know, creativity, genius level, wheeling and dealing?

Starting point is 00:04:50 Does it matter assuming you like the final results, at least so far? I don't think it matters. I think it matters more for NBA Twitter or Reddit and the segment of the fan base that likes to discuss the moves and why hasn't Rob done this or that. And to be clear, I'm not like defending him not making. I think, you know, to be honest, I think it is getting to the point where like, you know, they've not made an offseason player specific trade since August 2022. I think that is pretty ridiculous to be completely frank. Like I think the fact that it's about to be probably a third straight summer of not making a trade when I think there's some excuses around why they haven't or why they haven't been able to do it that I don't fully agree with of just I know trades are hard. I know the new CBA makes things more difficult. But I think that it is a bit of an excuse to just kind of say there's nothing out there. Like if you put, I'll just say, if you put Rui Dalton and a first on the table, you will get something that I think is an upgrade. Now we can debate whether that upgrade is worth. that price and how much of an upgrade, even if it's a 5% upgrade, a 10% upgrade.

Starting point is 00:05:58 But if you put that package out there with the current cost of players and like you see first round picks are not really moving and these player prices are often being multiple second round picks, I think if you are willing to put that on the table, you can get in the conversation for guys who are maybe a little bit better than I think some of the reported stuff that's out there. But that's an aside. So I think in terms of like whether it matters or not, I think we'll see with the results, right? If they're the three seat again, if they win 50 plus

Starting point is 00:06:30 games again, if they go further in the playoffs, then obviously whether or not it was Quid, well, Quo Pro, or whether it was favors for whatever, like, it doesn't really matter. Or stuff dropping into your lap. Or stuff dropping in your lap. Yeah, but I still think you have to close, right?

Starting point is 00:06:46 And we've seen them struggle with that I think in previous summers where it hasn't been, they haven't gotten the buyout guys or they've been in the mix for a certain and they haven't been able to pull it off. So you still have to sell the Andre Aiton on him being your starting center for at least next season, if not the foreseeable future. You still have to, like, there was other teams that could have used Marcus Smart and potentially

Starting point is 00:07:06 could have even offered him a bigger role. And you still were able to convince him with the help of Luca to come to your team. So I get like, I think the trade stuff, I get the criticism, right? but I think I don't know how much it matters. Like I think this is more of an April or May conversation as to like, where are they at in the standings and how far do they end up going to playoffs? I'm going to put a pin in the idea of the what you could get for Rui, Dalton, and a first theoretical.

Starting point is 00:07:38 I want to get into that in probably the next segment a little more detail. But at least a piece of that with Dalton and his potential either trade value or opposite end of it, actual value for the roster, how problematic was his Summer League showing? Because he is considered, or at least was considered, among the more valuable Laker trade pieces. I still think he is, but certainly the value has dropped from Summer League. And I think it's more so stemming from like the second half of last season. I think he started to fall out of favor with the rotation. And you saw I became more of like a one-shift player.

Starting point is 00:08:18 and then eventually when it came down to the most important moments of the season, he was not a rotation player in the playoffs, only played in garbage time. And then you also factor in some of the reasons why he slipped in the draft were his age and his defense. And statistically, he was one of the worst defenders in the league last season. And he's 24 years old. And I don't know if you've seen the meet. There was some memes going around during Summer League when he was struggling of like, he's older than Anthony Edwards.

Starting point is 00:08:45 He's older than Lamello Ball. And of course, like, you know, those guys are, it's not really a fair comparison, but like, there is a point of like he should be more NBA ready than he is. And he probably is closer to his ceiling than maybe we'd like to admit. I think he can certainly grow and get more comfortable on the offensive end. But I just don't know if he's ever going to put it together defensively. So, you know, in the conversations I had, and I said this on Buhaz block, like people I was talking to and these were not Lakers people. These were just people spitballing. You're having conversations about, you know, what can the Lakers do?

Starting point is 00:09:20 What have you heard about it? And if they are willing to put player X or player Y, and one of the people I would throw out was Dalton, it was like unanimously, you know, it was only a few people, but still, like, everyone I talked to was like, I would not give up a first round pick for Dalton Connect or like, I would not value him at a first round pick level. I think his value has decreased below that. Again, factoring in the age and the defense. So I don't know.

Starting point is 00:09:45 I think, like, for the Lakers, it might just be at a point where you want to keep him and hopefully rehab that value moving forward. You already traded him once and you ended up having to rescind that trade. So I'm not, I'm not sure how he rehabs his value, you know, based on the current rotation, because I think he's probably more so on the outside looking in. Like he projects again kind of, I think, is like the 10th guy maybe. So we'll see how that shakes out. But yeah, yeah, it was certainly a disappointing summer league.

Starting point is 00:10:14 I think put the stats aside, put the shooting aside. Just to me, there was something with the vibe of how, like, it felt like he wasn't really into it in a way that, like, you would have liked to see him approach it. Like, I'm going to go kill everybody for two games and leave no doubt that I'm too good to be out there. And you could not walk away from that summer league saying he was too good to be out there. Like, that was just not true.

Starting point is 00:10:34 No, if anything, he looked like somebody who should have been starting for a summer league team, which is problematic. I want to get into the reported, 2027 plan that a lot of people are getting caught up in where you buy this narrative. We're texting about it. Yes, that the Lakers will be that they are largely projecting ahead to either this or the 2027 offseason with eyes on Janus,

Starting point is 00:10:59 Yokic, star player X, and basically unwilling to commit much of anything, you know, that gets in the way of flexibility. How real is this? How much of a plan A is this? Get into all that coming up next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you about five-hour energy drink. It is time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy transfusion. It brings the bold, grape, ginger, and lime flavors of your favorite golf drink into a quick, energizing shot.

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Starting point is 00:12:44 and they don't want to commit to players beyond those years, unless one assumes for a superstar because they're trying to line up possibilities for Janus, Yokic, flexibility, maneuverability, even if it means punting one or I guess two of Lucas Prime or not investing as much as they could. I have been since the beginning expressing some skepticism about this being as hard and fast a plan as often presented, and get into a little bit of why I think so, but I know from listening to Buhas Block,

Starting point is 00:13:19 you have as well. Why? I think there's a lot of nuance that goes into this plan and this approach. I don't think it's as hard and fast to your point as everyone has discussed or a lot of the discourse has been with it. I really think this is the post-Lebron plan. And when people hear that, it's automatically, you know, receive as like a pejorative toward LeBron or something. just like, no, like LeBron is going to be a Laker for another season, maybe two seasons.

Starting point is 00:13:51 Like we'll see what happens like summer. We'll see what happens ahead of the trade deadline. Like there's a lot of ways that this could all play out. But I think LeBron is going to stopping a Laker at some point within realistically like the next year or two. And the Lakers need a post-Lebron plan. And so I think this is them trying to figure out what is the best post-Lebron plan. And ideally, of course, if you could get a Janus or get a Yokic and pair that player with Luca, even if it ends up costing you Austin, but maybe you can keep Austin and have

Starting point is 00:14:21 something of like a pseudo big three or whatever, then that's great. That would be any team's plan A. Like the Warriors are trying to get Janus. The Clippers are trying to get Janus. Like everyone's trying to get Yonis. So I know like with the Lakers, there's always extra attention paid to them and pursuing stars and them being attached to guys and every Bavada, you know, related tweet that comes out is the Lakers are the favorites to get Robert Williams. and this player and this player, like, I get it. That's kind of how the content. They're the favorite to get the entire league.

Starting point is 00:14:52 Exactly. Anytime anyone's available, they're always attached to the Lakers. But the photoshopped memes. Exactly. And look, and they got Luca Dantre, so like, they have the knack for getting that type of player. So there's also some truth behind it for sure. But I think with this, it's more of them,

Starting point is 00:15:12 whether it's 2026 or 2027, having the flexibility to, execute a trade and going to next summer as of the 2026 draft they will have three first round picks that will be able to be moved in a trade so you could do something of a sign in trade with austin reeves and flip him at the new salary which is going to be you know 30 plus million plus some other you know additional salary matching and then three first round picks for a yannis or whoever is the the next star that becomes available that is getable so i think for from their perspective, like, there are multiple paths here.

Starting point is 00:15:49 There are multiple ways that this can play out. They're trying to have that flexibility of not tying themselves down, not giving up future assets if they don't have to. Now, I think if the right trade comes along, they will give up a Rui Hachamora, Adalton Connect, a first round pick. I don't think they've gotten close to finding that type of deal. And the market has been tough for them. But so I think that they are trying to juggle both.

Starting point is 00:16:12 And I do think that it does compromise the present to some extent. because I think maximizing the present would probably come at the expense of the future just by sheer value of like if you are trading a first now, you're not going to have that first next summer or in 2027. So like it's a tough act to juggle in terms of trying to get the best roster possible now while also building the best possible roster next summer or the following summer. Again, I think they're trying to kind of like split that baby and they've done about as well as they could.

Starting point is 00:16:42 But if we're talking about like them building the best possible roster for this summer, I do think that their future plans have cost that a little bit, but it's tough to balance both. And I think they're doing the best they can for right now. Well, here's the other piece of this, though, of a lot of the 2027 hysteria that at least for me has seemed really unresolved. When I hear people upset about it and like what the Lakers could be doing instead, like, you know, all in moves they could make, should make, you know, Rui, the first, Dalton, any other expires, whatever and like, you know, they're theoretically just sitting on their hands.

Starting point is 00:17:20 What's the move they should be making that like actually is potentially in front of them? That was like realistically doable that like they haven't been doing. Like the opportunities they have turned down because they're prioritizing the future so much more in the present. Like as honestly dumb as I would find essentially sitting in neutral for two years of Luca's prime. because you want to try to lock up the possibility of Janus from age 33 to 36. Like, it's just honestly stupid. But there's only so mad I can get about it because, like, what does it feel like they've actually been turning down? Like in terms of opportunity costs.

Starting point is 00:18:05 And like, I don't want them to make some big performative move. Like that, you know, like cosplays, we're all in. We're contending. but in reality, you're not getting that much closer, and then you're losing the ability to actually build around the star that you're hoping is going to be there for like 10 years. I also just don't think that this roster feels like punting. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:18:29 Like it may not be the most maximized version possible, but again, it doesn't feel like they're turning down opportunities just to sit on for the time being like one first. Yeah. So I'm still a little bit more again, and I feel like I see both sides of it. So I'm I think like on the one hand, I am criticizing them a bit. And then on the other hand, I'm defending them because I agree with you to the extent that like I don't know what that trade is necessarily. Like I do think looking at the market and the cost of certain things that if you are willing to trade at first, that gets you into like a certain caliber of player that I think depending on the player.

Starting point is 00:19:13 of course like the context is everything here but but i do think there is a class of player that to me if you are willing to play ruy in the first like you can get a better player now again is that player worth the you know is the gap between that player and ruy worth the cost of a first round pick that's its own debate and like i think if you ask lebron james the answer is yes right if you ask lucca donchitch maybe the answer is no because luca's looking like he's like i like this roster but I also know that we're going to be able to make certain moves in 2026. And I think the big thing looming over everything is Luca and the extension. And all indications right now are that he is going to sign that potentially as soon as Saturday, August 2nd.

Starting point is 00:19:54 So that's like the big thing of, you know, if Luca is okay with the roster and they are cluing him in on everything that they're doing and all their plans and he's signing off on that. And he ends up signing that extension, which again, it looks like is going to happen. Then like we can debate it. We can have our issues with it. if Luca's okay with it, that's the most important thing. That's a point I've made a lot on this show. They should know how Luca feels. There should be open lines of communication and there shouldn't be any guesswork.

Starting point is 00:20:23 So in that sense, what they do this offseason shouldn't really affect Luca's extension, I think, unless they're just not communicating. Speaking of Luca, though, there have been a lot of picks, the latest round of Skinny Luca, floating around social media. I want to get into, A, your reaction, just seeing what appears to be a committed to fitness Luca, but also how you think it could affect the Lakers on the court, plus a little LeBron, get into that coming up next. All right, Yovine, I mentioned the skinny Luca mania going on right now. The latest pick that I've seen people going crazy about, he's looking rather fit in a sleeveless black shirt and hits a half-court shot.

Starting point is 00:21:14 the kind of short of the shot that, by the way, we see him during practice or after practice hitting pretty regularly. Practice that all the time. Also should be noted, black is a very slimming color. So I'd like to see him maybe like in a white tee or some stripes to know for sure. But Luca looks good. Everything we've seen, Luca looks pretty good. How confident are you or do you think you even can be that this is a sign of Luca dedicated to a new approach to fit? I'm confident. At least going to next summer, like I have in talking, you know you guys

Starting point is 00:21:52 just had his talk Franco on and I've had him on my show a couple times and talking to him and someone who's covered Lucas since he was a teenager, he did say like there are times he goes through these phases where he takes his conditioning and just being in the best shape possible very seriously. And that seems to be more of like a seasonal thing of some summers he does it, some summers he doesn't and that's where you could sometimes see the weight fluctuation or or just the conditioning and shape fluctuation throughout his career so I but I think coming off of like the way that he left the Dallas situation the shock of it all but also then the way that they spoke about him and and leaked stuff about him and why you know trying to justify why they

Starting point is 00:22:33 traded him dealing with that and then the early exit with the Lakers and then I think like for a lot of people he's probably lost his spot as like like I was saying before the Luca trade if you go back to earlier booha's block episodes whenever I would talk about like players in the league I had Luca second in I thought he was a second best player in the league behind Yokic and now I think Shea winning MVP and winning a championship you could certainly make an argument for him over Luca yannis is always in that mix and that would be the other guy who I had kind of is like the top three but for some people I mean we're we're going to see soon the top 10 lists and Luca's probably going to drop to five six seven for some people and like that's just too low. So I think the taste in his mouth with Dallas

Starting point is 00:23:15 and then the early playoff exit and him getting some criticism over the past few months that he hasn't really dealt with earlier in his career. Like I think that has been something that has been igniting him. And if you look at the way that he's looked recently, like that dude looks like a guy who can go out and win MVP next season. And if we want to bet on the Lakers exceeding expectations and outperforming whatever roster constraints or limitations that they currently have, it's Luca just going crazy next year, averaging 32, 33, 8-9 rebounds, 7-8 assists, and going out and winning his first MVP and that team winning like 55 games, because that is certainly within play.

Starting point is 00:23:53 We've seen that from him in Dallas, that level of play. And with this roster, if LeBron could still be an all-MBA type guy, like, that's certainly possible. Yeah, like this version of Luca, slimmer-fitting, more fit looking Luca. How much of a difference do you think this could make for him defensive? Like, Luca's offense is his offense. And honestly, as long as his body holds up, the guy could be 400 pounds. And I think he would still just generate insane offense because he's just that good at it.

Starting point is 00:24:23 But defensively, there feels like a change at least could be theoretically possible in terms of how he could be implemented, different assignments he could be more capable of having. just the ability to play both ends. Do you think if this fitness takes, it could actually affect them on that end as well? I think so. I don't want to overstate it, right? Just because I think we have a sample size now

Starting point is 00:24:49 of the last seven years where he's largely a below average on ball defender. I think off the ball, he's actually been pretty good. And, you know, as a help, like it's kind of similar to Yokic where like those guys, despite not being the quickest or the most athletic, like their basketball IQ translates to the defense event. So I thought with Luca in particular,

Starting point is 00:25:11 like his hands on that end, his ability to read plays and sniff out what they're trying to do and then stop it and react. Like I think if you add in a little bit better lateral mobility and a little bit more quickness and if he is like 10, 15 pounds lighter and can move a little bit better defensively, that probably helps with that part of it. But it also probably helps with him on the ball.

Starting point is 00:25:33 Because I think on the ball is just where, Like we saw it, especially in the Minnesota series where he's closing out to guys. And regardless of who it was, like they're just blowing by him. And there was all the stuff about the blow by rate and whatever, like the noise with that. But I think if he gets into better shape and has a little bit better mobility on that end, that could pay, you know, dividends for the Lakers defense. Because they're going to need it. Because I still think that despite the improvements with DeAndre Aiton, I think in general being a step up over Jackson Hayes, and then Marcus Smart being added in.

Starting point is 00:26:04 I think La Ravia is going to be a pretty useful bench defender for them. I still think this group is going to thrive mainly on being a good team defense rather than a good individual defense. I still think if you compare their best defenders to the top of the West in each team's best defenders, they're at the bottom of the pack, frankly. So they're going to have to get by by being a good team defense. And I think that plays more into Lucas strengths. How would you align the starting lineup right now if JJ asked your advice on how to do this? Yeah. So I've talked about this a couple times.

Starting point is 00:26:42 And I don't think this is, I think it's straightforward, but I'd love to hear your perspective on it. I think Marcus Smart should start over Rui. And I, yeah, so I think a lot of times people look at the duplication with Austin and Luca and LeBron. and I know that's a big talking point for a portion of the fan base. But to me, I think you have to look at the duplication on the defensive end. And Luca and LeBron have to guard forwards. Like neither one of those guys is capable of guarding guards. Or even if LeBron can muster the energy and his athleticism to guard guards,

Starting point is 00:27:17 like you are now taking away from his offensive end and you're just putting him in a position. You should not be putting a 41-year-old in year 23 to be in. So like those guys are best as helpers and off ball defenders and you don't want to be putting them in situations where they have to guard down. Rui is also a guy who is best at the four defensively and who they have put in that position to guard threes and guard twos. I think he's held up as well as he physically can and he has improved on that end. But that's not his strength. And you are setting him up to fail by putting him in that position. So I think bringing in a guy in Marcus Smart who I think can guard one through three can even guard some fours in watching.

Starting point is 00:27:54 defensive film. I do think guards up more, which is where like I think some people are thinking he's just going to come in and be like a lockdown back court guy. I still think they have this issue where like they don't have a great back court defender. I guess Vando is probably the closest. But even Vando, I think, has kind of shifted some of his defensive assignments recently to also being more of like a wing or the Lakers have used them as like a small ball center at times. And it's like, you know, maybe that's just a deployment issue. But I still think they have this back court problem. where whether it's Gabe or Smart or Vando in like a limited role, they don't have a 30 plus minute a night guy.

Starting point is 00:28:32 You can go out and check the quickest most athletic guards. But I would go Marcus Smart just because I do think he is their best. I would say like high minute perimeter defender because again, like I mentioned this with Vando, he played 36 games last year. He only played over 20 minutes six times. And in five of those six games, a starter was out.

Starting point is 00:28:53 So there was a reason. why he was playing more minutes. So I just think if you look at the way that JJ used Vando and the way that JJ believes in Vando, he views him as like a 12 to 18 minute a night guy, maybe even like a 12 to 15 minute a night guy. That's not changing. So I don't see him starting. I don't see him playing 30 minutes a night. Even in the playoffs, he didn't play 20 minutes in any of the games. So it's like he just views Vando as like an eighth or ninth man. And with that constraint, I think that puts a lot on Marcus Smart defensively. So I think Marcus Smart like, yes, you're probably taking a step back offensively going from Rui to Marcus Smart, but you're taking a step up defensively in a big way.

Starting point is 00:29:28 He's a versatile defender. He could do a lot of different things. And I think you're getting a bit smaller, but like he does guard up pretty well. And I just think the Lakers really need a good perimeter defender out there. And to me, he's the one that makes the most sense. Yeah, I agree with basically everything you said. Just they're first of all cutting down on the defensive redundancy, even acknowledging that Marcus Smart's best days as a point of attack defender.

Starting point is 00:29:53 maybe behind him. You still have to get into who is relatively best for the job, even if nobody's perfect. And Marcus Smart, I feel like falls in the category of the best option for the tough as assignment one through three, even if he's not perfect, unless JJ is going to,

Starting point is 00:30:12 I guess, believe in Vando more. I think find more utility for him offensively. And some of that is Vando, I think, in particular becoming a better finisher. Like for all the focus on the lack of outside shot, I think the real problem is it's pretty inexplicable how much.

Starting point is 00:30:31 I was going to say Ben Simmonsish. His inability to finish around the rim for somebody as athletic as he is, as good of an offensive rebounder, as aggressive as he is around there, it's kind of bizarre and maybe a healthy offseasonal help. I also don't like how JJ deploys Vando defensively. I think he should be more like a guy guarding guards and small wings, but I can't get a vote. But I agree with you that you cut down on the defensive redundancy as much as realistically possible with the roster by putting smart in place of Rui. I also think you're going to get more utility from Rui as actually as an offensive player coming off the bench.

Starting point is 00:31:16 I know there have been times where his focus has waned coming off the bench. but I just feel like if he's in a lineup with, forget just LeBron, Austin, Luca, you've now got DeAndre Aiton in there. Like, Rui struggled sometimes to get enough shots when he's playing alongside Jackson Hayes. I think like you're going to get more utility from Rui, like consistently coming off the bench. And if you don't at that point, then I think that's really when you need to trade him. And I know there are people who will say play Austin off the bench. I understand the argument for it.

Starting point is 00:31:51 I don't think it solves. I don't think it's solved. I mean, forget the small, the small P politics of it. I also don't think it actually addresses the issue as directly as playing Rui off the bench, even though I understand the argument for Austin. And if,

Starting point is 00:32:09 if this roster had some different players, I think you could actually make a really strong case for it, but they don't have those players. Yeah, I think, like, if you, because I get this question a lot and I'm vehemently against the whole bench Austin talk just because I think there's a sizable gap between him and whoever you want to consider the fourth best player on this team. Frank, I mean, I would probably lean Rui, but it's probably close between Rui and Aten. Maybe you want to lean Aiton on the track record. And if Smart can bounce back,

Starting point is 00:32:43 like he gets in that conversation as well. But whoever you want to pick as the fourth best guy, I think there is a notable gap to the point of like, I don't know any other team. And I know we could cherry pick examples and go back in like San Antonio. Okay. Yeah. Genobley brought off the bench. But in 2020, in Lamar Odom did it. But like, I think the league was a little bit different back then and the way that teams

Starting point is 00:33:09 kind of function was a little bit different. But like looking at the current NBA landscape, like I don't see a player of Austin's caliber coming off the bench for any team regardless of like the fit right so i mean you can correct me if i'm wrong i know i'm kind of putting you on the spot with that but if you kind of go through like the third best guy on any good team uh most of that especially if they're more of an offensive-minded guy like those guys start that's just like how it goes and then comes to mind off the top of my head and may not be apples to apples in terms of third versus fourth best but i think just in terms of sort of where they are considered in the NBA hierarchy,

Starting point is 00:33:51 kind of, and what they do. Maybe Nas Reid with Minnesota. Like he's one of the only guys that pops to mind. But even if he's a good example, he's kind of exception that proves the rule. And yeah, I think there's a little bit,

Starting point is 00:34:04 like my put, just pushback would be like there, there's a limitation of, I think, to playing like two centers together, right? That isn't there. Like you can, Luca and Austin,

Starting point is 00:34:12 actually, without LeBron, had a pretty good net rating together. And like, that, you know, it's something that's still a work in progress. But I think the other thing to like put aside whatever Austin status or like him

Starting point is 00:34:23 elevating to a certain level, I think when we talk about the redundancy defensively, I look at you still need a second backcourt guy. So even if Mark, like if Marcus Smart's defending the best one through three guy, if that's a two, you still need someone to guard a one. And I, you know, for all of Austin's defense limitations, I think part of that's been overblown. Like I think he's largely fine against guards. And I think he's actually done decently well against like,

Starting point is 00:34:47 some all-star level guards. It's really when he gets switched and picked on by the Julius Randall types or like if he and because the Lakers switch so much like you can manipulate those matchups. But when he's going up against bigs or big wings, that's where he's in trouble. We're going up against guards. Like he chases well around screens. He's got good footwork. He's quicker than, you know, I feel like people like want to give him credit for. So I feel like he actually holds up fairly well. And if he's your second back court defender, I think that's fine. But the issue is if you're playing Cleveland and you have Marcus Smart on Donovan Mitchell, do you want Rui chasing Darius Garland around or LeBron or Luca?

Starting point is 00:35:24 Like that's a mismatch. So, I mean, now you could start Vando, I guess, but that's completely changing the starting lineup in a different direction. So I think you still need Austin for the back court matchups, whereas Rui, because of Luca and LeBron, he becomes more of a redundancy and makes far more sense off the bench. This is the type of analysis that you get all the time. on Buhas Block, which again, everybody should be subscribing to, listening to, watching on YouTube, Buhas Block.

Starting point is 00:35:52 You can also follow Yovan at Yovan Buha on all of the different social media platforms, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, whatever. As always, man, appreciate the time. It's always fun. I volunteer as tribute for whenever you need people on Buhas Block. I am there. So just let me know because that is fun as well. coming up for Tuesday, I think Brian is back in town.

Starting point is 00:36:17 If he's not, I need to find another guest quickly. But until then, appreciate everybody watching, listening, and we will see you on Tuesday.

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