Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - How (Yet Another) Dennis Schröder Trade Impacts Jonathan Kuminga and the Lakers

Starting point is 00:00:00 What does Dennis Schroeder's 948th roster move since leaving the Lakers have to do with the rest of their summer? We'll explain next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for stopping by Locked on Lakers, Brian Komenetsky, Andy Kaminetsky, get into some fan reaction, viewer mail, things like that, about the impending sales. of the Lakers and what people think of the new ownership. But Andy, if there was a really a great benefit to the news last week of this sale, a shocking sale of the Mark Walter Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Eiger, if there was a silver lining, it's that it allowed us to not have to talk about Jonathan Camingo for a few days. But I'm afraid, Andy, our time has run out. Well, in fairness to us, the conversation with Kaminga this time around is actually sparked by real news,

Starting point is 00:01:19 as opposed to us, quite frankly, trying to kill the offseason and running out of things to get into. Dennis Schrooter, and by the way, this is being recorded in mid-August, 2026, just to make sure you don't think you accidentally landed on a repeat. Dennis Schroeder has been traded again. This time from the Cavaliers to the Charlotte Hornets. He was traded with some cash for Trey Mann. The reason that this matters is that it put the cavaliers in more of a flexible position to make moves going forward. They are not second apron.

Starting point is 00:01:57 They're about 30 mil below the first apron. And they obviously have to now figure out the, the impending deal that's been off to the side with James Harden for a while. He opted out with the very widely assumed and understood intention of eventually opting back in, but this was back when also the Cavaliers were in the LeBron James business trying to bring up. Side note, this might also explain why LeBron's in Philly. Yeah, well, there's. LeBron is not spending the last two years, year or two of his career playing next to James Hart, not doing that.

Starting point is 00:02:33 Didn't feel likely to either one of us. Rich Paul even intimated without coming out and going scorched earth on James Harden. Rich Paul intimated in his podcast with Max Kellerman when he had his whiteboard and was breaking down the entire league for the best destination for LeBron. Did note that Hardin and LeBron might not be a great fit. But anyway, this opens up some economic and roster flexibility. for the Cavaliers moving forward, which theoretically could perhaps create some movement in a sign and trade deal for Jonathan Cominga,

Starting point is 00:03:14 who has been linked to the Cavaliers, as well as the Lakers and the Bucks, and seemingly half the Effin League as we wait this thing out. But this actually, while Chris Fador from the Cleveland Plain Dealer in Cleveland.com said, quote, While sources say the Schroeder deal is not specifically a prelude for another imminent move, either for Jonathan Kaming or Peyton Watson, both of whom the cabs remain interested in, it provides the kind of financial flexibility and optionality to help in that sign-and-trade pursuit.

Starting point is 00:03:48 Sham Sharania from ESPN tweeted out, The Cavaliers remain in constant communication with James Hardin and his agents on a new contract to return to Cleveland while they strongly pursue two free agent forwards, restricted free agent Peyton Watson and unrestricted Jonathan Cominga made more viable with Friday's trade. So yeah, I mean, it's it is important. Remember this is it's two people that they are theoretically in the business for here. It's not just a matter of Jonathan Camingga, but if he can't go to Cleveland, it's one less place for Comingga to land. And theoretically changes the the outlook for him potentially.

Starting point is 00:04:30 ending up in Los Angeles, it is worth noting just as a fun sideline. Since leaving L.A., he has played for, and I apologize, I may get some of this wrong because I might have the return engagement and the original one transposed. But he's played for Boston, Houston, Toronto, Brooklyn, Golden State, Detroit, Sacramento, know, Cleveland and now Charlotte. You forgot. You forgot the second stint with the Lakers was sweet. No, I said, I may be getting the second stints and all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:05:11 Okay. So I did acknowledge that sin. That, and this is all since. Well, to clarify, that was actually in that mix that string of, that string of teams that you laid out included Schrooter's Viperino. That's what I was saying. I was saying I get some of the return engagement. But all of this is since the 2021 season,

Starting point is 00:05:35 which is just an extraordinary amount of player movement over a few years. So that is saying something. A guy, by the way, that with his international career may end up in the Hall of Fame. Dennis Schroeder has a, because of his play overseas with Germany's national team, He's one of the best players in international basketball history. Like there are a lot of people who... I'd have to look that up. No, no.

Starting point is 00:06:05 I'm 100% correct on this. No, I'm just saying I am unaware of... It's not like Germany is a international powerhouse, you know, but like I'd have to look it up. No, I'm telling you people who discuss the Hall of Fame and are more entrenched in this stuff than either one of us, it is a regular consensus. that Dennis Schroeder has a non-zero percent chance of making the Hall of Fame,

Starting point is 00:06:33 because it is a basketball Hall of Fame, not merely NBA Hall of Fame. So, you know, for the Lakers, obviously, they still need this backup center, like a viable backup center that isn't Kavanaugh-Luni. Obviously, they are looking at Mamu, Sandra Mamma Khalishvili, as a backup center and potentially a backup power forward if they can find somebody who slots in and allows Mamu to fill that backup role a little more cleanly than he might if they don't, where he is at least a much stronger candidate to start. That's why the Kaminga rumor, you know, Peyton Watson would be a great fit, but that's not

Starting point is 00:07:17 going to happen. But, you know, that's why the Kaminga aspect of this just isn't going to go anywhere into Caminga has a home because there really is a natural fit here for Cominga in terms of, and I will get in maybe in the next segment, we'll get into whether or not, you know, the actual Jonathan Cominga solves the need in the way that the theoretical Jonathan Caminga might. But like there is a hole for the Lakers to fill. There have been enough people who have talked about their interest in Cominga to make it so like, it's pretty clear they've got some interest in comminga um but and i'm sure we'll get into this

Starting point is 00:08:00 in the next segment the at this point there's it's it's almost really beyond the player at this point like the skill set the this that and all the waves arms around stuff that goes along with the lakers trying to bring him in because remember it's got to be a sign and trade if they do it And if people may have forgotten the details, you cannot give a guy, like a one-year deal with two-player options or something. It's got to be three years. The Lakers can take team options, but that doesn't help Jonathan Camingga at all. Well, not guaranteed years. Like it's somewhat of a distinction without a difference, but just so people understand.

Starting point is 00:08:45 Sure. You can have those. But Cominga's not going to seemingly agree to that. Caminga doesn't have any control in either scenario, whether it's a team option, a partial guarantee, whatever it is. Those essentially amount to team options and Caminga doesn't have control and could end up back on the free agent market without any guaranteed, without a big chunk of guaranteed money that he's looking at. And so with a different player, like Jalen Duren is not signed yet in Detroit. I think most people at this point figure, they're going to figure it out. They're going to come to a number that's somewhere between what Duren wants and what the Pistons want because what nobody wants is to go into the, you know, pick up the, whatever, the player can, you know, play out his rookie contract and go on from there.

Starting point is 00:09:35 The qualifying offer. The qualifying offer. Thank you. I couldn't come up the word. Same thing in Denver with, with Watson. Like, there is an assumption that if he is not traded, he's going to like, but comminga doesn't have that. Like, there is no, like, well, he can fall back to Atlanta. Atlanta's got 29 players on their roster and have passed up multiple opportunities to make comminga one of them.

Starting point is 00:09:57 So next, let's get into this question of the wisdom of comminga and Andy. I was at the Angel City game on Sunday, and they put Bob Eager on the big video screen, one of the owners along with his wife, Willow Bay, who NBA fans, I'm sure remember. I will tell you how that crowd at BMO reacted to Bob Eiger next. Tom Lakers is brought to you by Indeed when workplace chaos hits and hits and you need the right hire. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps connect employers with candidates who match specific needs like skills, certifications, and locations. So less time gets spent searching, more time spent finding the right fit.

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Starting point is 00:11:32 by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply need to hire. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. So the reason I mentioned the contract structure, obviously, is because the Lakers, by all reports, interested in, you know, even setting aside the mechanics of how do you do the sign and trade, how do you execute it, you know, who goes where and all these, put all that aside.

Starting point is 00:12:08 And it's a significantly more complicated as we talked about on the show a few times since Atlanta acquired Lou Dort from Oklahoma City. So the mechanics of a comming a sign and trade are a lot more complicated. Set that aside. Even just coming up with a number, the Lakers, the reason this three year deal thing minimum matters is because so much of the last few years, Andy of Jonathan Kaminga's career has been centered around, I am unhappy with what I'm being paid. I am unhappy with the structure of my contract, whether it's the amount of money, the amount of years, or the amount of money and the amount of years at the same time. So like the Lakers theoretically, if they try to get a number that they are comfortable with,

Starting point is 00:12:55 And it's one that Cominga isn't comfortable with, could very well have a surly reluctant guy who's not super excited to join their team. And I can see why people would be nervous about that. I just feel like if Jonathan Camingo really wanted to be a Laker, he'd be a Laker by now because the Lakers had put out feelers for him for more money than seemingly he seems able to get right now. Maybe things change with Cleveland. Maybe Milwaukee decides to just go in that. direction, bring in a young player, he's been linked to them. But it just feels like right now, the opportunity has been put in front of Cominga, and he doesn't value it nearly enough to, I guess, prioritize it at the level of the money, if nothing else. I also just don't think Jonathan

Starting point is 00:13:47 Kaminga is really worth all of this efforting and cajoling. And to be clear, I understand what people seeing him in terms of flashes of talent. Like there were times in the Hawks playoff series. Most recently, a couple games where Kaminga looked fantastic. There were times with the Warriors where he looked really good. But it always seems to be something with him. And maybe this is unfair on our parts to judge this from 5,000 feet. But after a while, even if it's not entirely all Kaminga's fault,

Starting point is 00:14:22 because I do think Golden State played a role in kind of shaping what appears to be not just comming his worldview towards all this, but maybe like a defensiveness or like feeling like he has to look out for himself at all cost because nobody else is whatever. I hope, I sincerely hope he gets on the right career path. I just don't think that this team with as much uncertainty as it already has and as, And by the way, a team that you and I both think will be good this coming season, but it's uncertain in the most literal sense because it's a bunch of new faces,

Starting point is 00:15:02 an extreme amount of turnover. We have to see what it looks like. I just feel like injecting a guy who is another level of unknown that is completely different than all the other factors of unknown with this team. I would rather either fill it with make a trade for somebody like PJ Washington who may not have the upside. At some point, should he become available? I was going to say, should he become available or somebody like Washington who does not have the theoretical, I think even in reality, upside as comminga. But I know what he is and I know who he is.

Starting point is 00:15:43 this just if this team had more of a set culture and a set roster and more continuity and more established leadership and then it was really a matter of bringing in jonathan comminga like similar it's not apples to apples but similar to what the lakers did in two thousand not for the 2009 10 season when they brought in ron our test and ron artest had a lot of questions about him in terms of fit and effect on team culture. And he'd already started moving in the right direction. But he was still run our test.

Starting point is 00:16:20 Right. But that team had just won a championship. Most of the roster carried over. Obviously, you had guys like Kobe and Fisher and Lamar Odom and Phil Jackson, like a culture was there. And by the way, Ron Walker was, you got a guy who was desperate to get on the roster. He was trying really hard to get there. And that's the difference.

Starting point is 00:16:44 Like guys showing up in locker rooms and showers trying to get in. You know, so when Trevor Reza kind of balked on the number, like Ron was ready to take that. And so I just, I just, but like to your point, there's also. And like it's whether it's not even so much the uncertainty or this way. It plays into it though because there's a certain amount of oxygen now. like after all of this, especially if it'd be one thing if you had him for one year, but Lakers can't get him for one year. They got to get him for multiple years or on a contract that he's almost certainly not going to like.

Starting point is 00:17:26 The amount of oxygen. Actually, really quick, I'd be more concerned if he got a contract that he loved because if he gets that deal that he loves and this doesn't work. Right. Absolutely. Good luck moving him. Good luck moving him. And so like there is a scenario in which.

Starting point is 00:17:42 Cominga comes in, he gets a number he's comfortable with, he gets to play a role that he's like, you know what, I'm going to be here for three or four years, I can help this team elevate. I'm not going anywhere. They believe in me. They want me on. But I think to some degree that ship has sailed because the Lakers have, they've kind of put a monetary value at this point on what they think he's worth. And that's not a criticism of the Lakers.

Starting point is 00:18:05 You, you, you center, like, how much time did they have to spend? in Warriors media talking about Jonathan Kamenga relative to Kamenga's place on the team. And the answer is it was way outsized. Now, maybe it should have been, you know, you can have that debate all day long about like, and in Warriors people, I'm sure will, whatever, but like the bottom line was so much oxygen was sucked out of the room to talk about a player. and ask questions about a player and do things with a player who just wasn't a big part of the rotation. It wasn't a big part of what they were doing.

Starting point is 00:18:51 And I don't know if the Lakers want that. In fact, I am pretty sure that was one of those rhetorical. I don't think they. I'm pretty sure they don't want that. And so even if this thing falls through, and let's say Cleveland ends up with Watson. No, Watson instead of Camingo. Or neither.

Starting point is 00:19:13 There's a very good chance that, you know, Cumminga stays on the market still doesn't end up in L.A. Or still may not end up in Cleveland. Because I think at some point, he's done a lot of damage or his agent has done a lot of damage to his reputation. And like you say, if it doesn't work and you're... Particularly with the Lakers.

Starting point is 00:19:36 It will be so noisy if it doesn't work with this. particular team. But I think any, certainly the Lakers, but even honestly the Cavs with the championship aspirations, it's just there's a reason this guy is still on the market and it's not because people don't think he's good. It's this they don't think he's that good. And there are a lot of questions. They don't want to be paid like there are a lot of questions.

Starting point is 00:20:03 We were given a lot of comments and things like that about the new ownership, including some interesting comments from. from a guy named D.A. Baracas and we'll get into some of that next. Plus, I'll tell you, what do people think when Bob Eiger was on the big screen at Angel City? That's next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Wayfair. Whether you are refreshing one room getting ready for a new season or finally replacing the piece of furniture you've been putting off, Wayfair makes it easy to find something that fits your home, your style, and your budget.

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Starting point is 00:22:09 updated on Lakers News or aren't following the NBA. Before Bob Eiger made it to the big screen, DeAndre Jordan was on it. Got a nice hand. People liked DeAndre Jordan. Bob Eiger, it was like this sort of, you know, clapping for the owner or whatever, but also kind of like for the owner of Angel City,

Starting point is 00:22:29 but also kind of like, you could see kind of like a little murmurs in the crowd. Like, so not a big, not a big round of applause for the guy who just bought the Lakers. And it gets to just some of these questions that people have about. about him and Josh Kushner and what's coming.

Starting point is 00:22:51 And I'll read some comments from DA Barakas who left his comments on the YouTube channel, which of course you can subscribe to so you never miss a live show, of course going live on Sunday night, but also make sure you subscribe to the audio product on either Apple or Spotify, however get you, however it gets your podcast.

Starting point is 00:23:10 So he says, by net worth, Josh Kushner would be in the bottom half of NBA owners. He doesn't have the FU money that Balmer or Patrick DeMont or Dan Gilbert has. So that's one of the questions that people have. He has made his money in investments, which makes me feel he'd be a little more bottom line oriented. And so he goes on to say, you know,

Starting point is 00:23:29 you're kind of pointing out some of the distinctions between this ownership group and what at least we thought we were getting with Mark Walter, most of which related to the sort of perceived unlimited resources that Walter and his group had. to improve the Lakers infrastructure, if nothing else. So VC guy, those guys are more concerned about money and not as much money, perhaps, as some of the owners. Those are, I think, common concerns

Starting point is 00:24:01 that a lot of Lakers fans are expressing. Yeah, I mean, some thoughts on this. Kushner, you know, I was looking up the net worth of the owners across the league and the general consensus that I landed on is that Kushner's net worth, which is estimated in the five billionish range, it may be towards the top end of the bottom half of the owners, but bottom half does seem accurate. And Bob Eiger, the other main face, he's not even a billionaire. You know, it's jarring and concerning. I imagine for a lot of Laker fans to see a team seemingly go from

Starting point is 00:24:42 super deep pockets to pockets that are merely average by these standards, much less totally untested and undisplayed in terms of spending power and the willingness to spend in this world. However, as it turns out, and maybe this is some cold comfort or a glass half full way of looking at it, Mark Walter may not quite have had the money that everybody assumed anyway. Well, sort of. It depends. I mean, it depends on what happens, what we actually learn with this investigation. But I'm just saying it may turn out, A, because of what's going on right now in this investigation and the question of how much true liquidity he has as opposed to the value of all these

Starting point is 00:25:30 companies that he just keeps kind of gobbling up, gobbling up. But even then, though, like I was surprised. I looked up his estimated. net worth. Cushner. No, no. Mark Walters. Mark Walters.

Starting point is 00:25:48 And it was, to be totally honest, nobody landed on an exact amount. Like it varied, but it ranged anywhere from six to seven to maybe 12. But the six to seven range, if that's what it's at and for what it's worth, it was the more common number that came up, basically put him at the same level as Josh Kushner. And kind of middle of the pack for the league. So the point being, I think in retrospect, like I highly recommend, by the way, people read a piece from Katie Baker over at the Ringer,

Starting point is 00:26:26 breaking down a lot of Mark Walter's financial history and bringing the light how he's done a lot of business, how he built himself up, the fact that this is not even close to the first time, his finances have been investigated or that partners at the top of his businesses or Guggenheim have also been investigated. And as an example, you know, the amount of deferred money that the Dodgers have done for Shohei Otani and other players at the time it was spoken about as genius.

Starting point is 00:27:06 And who knows, maybe by the time the dust settles on everything, it'll still be seen as genius. In retrospect, however, it might feel like more of a reflection of not quite having all the money that has been represented or all the financial stability that has been represented. I am, yeah, I mean, I've read a lot of things as, you know, sort of much as I can. A lot. I mean, it's obviously incredibly dense and there's a lot going on. I think, you know, there's, I am not going to ascribe. to you know kind of carelessness what could be fraud I'm not going to ascribe to fraud what could be carelessness or combinations of the two and it's also there are different kinds of fraud I mean there's you know for example some of the

Starting point is 00:27:56 stuff around you know the some of these loans the Dodgers and this and that whatever like there's no like some of what he might have used some of the money for us to buy appreciating assets like the Dodgers and it's like it doesn't appear at this point like he's sort of like burning made-off style, jeopardized investors in that way. That doesn't mean you can trick regulators if that's what they're doing. I have no idea.

Starting point is 00:28:20 But regarding Kushner and Eiger, I think one of the things that people should find comforting about Eiger, if nothing else, he is a huge, Clippers, Knicks fan, Clippers fan, huge basketball fan. The guy loves the NBA. And you want your owner to love your sport.

Starting point is 00:28:38 There are a lot of owners who really, don't seem to have that much interest in the sport of the team. They might be competitive people. They might say they want champion. This guy genuinely loves the NBA and has for a very long time and wants to, I think, be a winning NBA owner because he loves the sport. And so I take that as comfort. The money aspects of it, though, it doesn't, I mean, first of all, Kushner's going to be

Starting point is 00:29:09 the lead investor, but he's not going to be the only one. need to get more capital in there to do this. So the total package of the money that they have should be plenty. The issue, there are richer guys than Kushner who don't want to spend on the health and wellness aspects of it. You don't need to be the richest guy in the league to make this successful. You just need to be rich enough. You need to be rich enough and willing to spend. And the, you know, they've tell you know, in his, I'm not sure people saw it, but it's out there. You can find it. His memo to investors of his venture capital fund that is the front facing part of this talks about this as a long-term investment, all these other, you know,

Starting point is 00:29:59 and I think broadly speaking, certainly Iger. And I would think also Kushner, You don't want to buy the Lakers and be the guy who won't do what it takes to make the Lakers good. That is a, especially again for Bob Eiger, who is a Los Angeles resident. It's a really, and they're going to be the front man for all this. It's a really bad way to kind of go about your business in L.A. So we'll see how that goes. We'll see. I mean, I don't know.

Starting point is 00:30:32 I got to be honest, I don't know how much that will really affect his ability to do business in L.A. And I don't even know what you is. It's not a question. It's whether or not you care about your perception. People are going to deal with Bob Eager. That's what I'm talking about. We'll find out if he is. I'm saying I don't think the perception will matter. That's what I'm saying.

Starting point is 00:30:51 I don't think it could matter to him in this regard because he has tried so hard to be an NBA owner. And so we'll see. But I also think, you know, all I care about, I don't care if Josh Kushner is the fourth richest owner or the, you know, 24th. I care about whether or not he's got enough money and the willingness to spend it in the ways that make the Lakers the most competitive team possible. And that is not an answer we can possibly know until two or three or four or five years into his ownership.

Starting point is 00:31:34 You know, I mean, obviously there's the, you know, if he comes in and just stops the, the spigot on all spending right, okay, fine, we get it. But the chances are he's going to come in and do normal owner stuff and we'll find out over time. But I don't get the impression that he doesn't have enough money to do what needs to be done to make the Lakers good. The question, I mean, I don't think that he is, you know, doing the VC thing where you buy it and you strip down the parts and you,

Starting point is 00:32:02 wait and try to flip it and sell it. Now, I don't think that does not seem to be the goal here. Not even from a PR standpoint, but from the actual mission of the portfolio that he's building for non-AI businesses. And so like, there's nothing we can do at this point but read T leaves. We're going to keep doing it. But I just, I'm not worried about the absolute amount of money that Kushner and this ownership group are going to have at their disposal to, you know,

Starting point is 00:32:38 make the Lakers the type of franchise we were all anticipating Mark Walter would try to do. We'll just have to wait and see if they're willing to spend it. I mean, yeah, obviously there's a wait and see, but I'm just saying I understand the impetus for DA's question. When you're talking about a guy that has, that does not have a track record that you can lean on for comfort when he has a background that can be very bottom line oriented. And frankly, I mean, I understand that his business is about brand enhancement and long term, but the truth is the Lakers are kind of the business.

Starting point is 00:33:18 The business that that Kushner is engaging in is about businesses that are not, they're sort of as AI proof as things. I understand that. that are AI proof. That's not a PR thing. I didn't say that's, I didn't say it was a PR thing. You said you talk about perception and branding and things like that. That is that from their own mission statement. They're talking about extending Tiffany brands and making them better. That's them, not me. Okay. I misunderstood. I misunderstood what he meant. So the point being he's you're talking about a brand that is basically

Starting point is 00:33:51 unreckable. The Lakers are basically an unreckable brand. And you know that the minute you decide to sell this franchise, just like every other franchise and basically in sports now, you'll be able to turn a profit on it. So in that sense, it doesn't really matter. I understand, look, so it's clear, I'm not saying that I think this is going to be a disaster moving forward. I don't know enough to say it's going to be a disaster. But I understand where fans are concerned about it because you're talking about somebody who is a complete outsider as far as like for the time being in Kushner, the main money guy who has no connection, real connection to this city, has no proven track record in sports, seems to just want to acquire things in sports, as we saw in the essentially failed

Starting point is 00:34:40 takeover of FIFA to turn it into the type of business model that the entire world rejected and that he had actually want, originally they had been looking to purchase just an expansion team and then it turned into the Lakers and I get why anybody would want the Lakers more than expansion team. But the point being, if fans are concerned about an impersonal connection to this, combined with an owner that is coming into the gate sort of mid-level in terms of personal wealth, which I understand will not be the entirety of the money-fueling the team, but it's still, there's a reason that when everybody thought, there's a reason that when everybody thought Walter would be bringing in gobs and gobs of money, particularly following an ownership group in the

Starting point is 00:35:27 bus family that was often strapped because it was their personal worth affecting their willing to spend. All of this makes sense for their concerns. I'm not questioning the concerns. I'm addressing them. I think that, you know, you brought up, for example, his status, like where he ranks among owners. My point is I'm not worried about that. Well, I, I think he's rich enough. I'm addressing. some of the concerns that you raise and that fans raise. And so obviously, there is no doubt. He could be, these guys can be terrible owners.

Starting point is 00:36:02 They could be terrible owners because they want to strip the thing down. They're unwilling to spend it. They could be the, you know, Jerry Rinesdorf with the Bulls and just like clearly unwilling to invest in the product, like in any meaningful way, not just on the floor where, quite frankly, there is not wanting to spend it in the second apron and all this. They even always just about the tax. It's about it's hard to build a good team when you start doing that too often, just based on the current CBA.

Starting point is 00:36:31 But like there's up where can you spend money are you willing to do it? They could be terrible owners because they won't do those things. No question. They could be terrible owners because they could be like Vivek Rana Deva in a in Sacramento who who is trying really hard and is willing to do stuff. He's bad at it. Like he's just he's not good at being an NBA owner. They could be bad because of that.

Starting point is 00:36:56 But the the initial concerns about does Kushner have enough money? My belief is yes, I think that group will have all the money they need, assuming they're willing to invest it, in making the Lakers, you know, keeping them a Tiffany franchise and helping them win. you know, I think, you know, some of, you know, what was the, the, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, you know, the, the, you know, they're going to be, you know, we don't know if they're going to be good at the job. We're going to have to find out. I mean, Bob Iger is a pretty good track record in business, but as we've learned in a million different ways in, in and out of sports. Yeah. Being good at making money in one, and one. place does not make you good at running something else. And so I am I'm not worried about them stripping it down.

Starting point is 00:37:54 I'm not worried about them, you know, trying to just maximize the capital of the Lakers over the, you know, the short term or whatever it might be. I just, I think they're going to try to be good owners. And we just have to find out if they're good at it. But that's a very different thing than making the assumptions because the guy's a VC guy, it's going to be run this way or because Bob Iger

Starting point is 00:38:19 is or is not you know a guy who grew up a Laker fan they're going to you know that piece of it we've already addressed that those are different things like I'm just I am not concerned about those things I think those

Starting point is 00:38:33 things are going to be fine that's that's my feeling about this stuff like some of the the questions that that he raised in his comment, which, by the way, we appreciate everybody leaving.

Starting point is 00:38:49 It is going to be really interesting, though, to find out as this Walter thing unfolds how it impacted the way, how we got here. I know there are some questions that we can say for tomorrow. Yeah, absolutely. Just about ways that this might have potentially influenced the sale which are interesting to think about. I have a theory on this. Increasingly, the more I read about this and the more I think about this, I have a theory insofar as, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of narrative about Mark Walter being strong armed into this sale.

Starting point is 00:39:29 I think there could be a strong arming that happened. I think people maybe they'll be looking in the wrong direction in terms of who actually twists. It's the wrong arm. They're looking at the wrong arm that was doing stronging. think the arm was being twisted by somebody different than a lot of people assumed. Without question, I think this is related to the investigation. I think at this point, you'd have to be a fool to think that it wasn't. But I think it was clearly not just, oh, it's two and a half million bucks.

Starting point is 00:39:59 No, this was done for purposes. But we'll get into it. I think the arm was being twisted by somebody different than was initially assumed. Looking forward to that, Locktown Knickers on. YouTube is where you can hang out with over 39,000 subscribers to the channel. We will see everyone tomorrow.

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