Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Is Deandre Ayton Set Up To Have a Big Year for the Lakers?

Episode Date: September 16, 2025

Context is everything in sports. The Lakers have imported Deandre Ayton to be the new starting center, and it's an opportunity for him to change the conversation. Viewed by many as anywhere from a di...sappointment to a major disappointment to a bust, Ayton arrives in Los Angeles with a totally different set of expectations. Nobody in LA will look at him as a failed top pick, taken ahead of Luka Dončić. None of that matters. With the Lakers, he needs to stay engaged defensively, rebound aggressively and be maybe the fourth or fifth best offensive player on any given night. Sometimes he can pop off for 25, but the Lakers shouldn't need it all that often. And if Ayton stays healthy, he'll certainly be better than what they had at the end of last year, which was Jaxson Hayes. But remember, context matters. Ayton may seem disappointing, but had his best season playing with a great point guard in Chris Paul. Now he has Luka, who has made a career out of boosting the stats of his centers. Meanwhile, if Ayton wants another big NBA payday, it behooves him to stay as dialed in as possible this year. His skill set should match well with Luka. Ayton is good in the pick and roll, has a midrange game, and can get above the rim. There's every reason to believe that Ayton will be a very positive contributor, even if sometimes he falls short of the championship level expectations everyone on the Lakers has to carry.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: New environment for Ayton. SEGMENT 2: Why context is king. SEGMENT 3: What does the O look like with him?  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYEnough with boring, flavorless caffeine, it’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold and try something new in-store and online at https://www.5hourENERGY.com or Amazon today. OpenPhoneStreamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/lockedonnba Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first yearFanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.comto get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to the Locked on Lakers for Tuesday. Brian Komeneski, Andy Kaminetsky, just what kind of DeAndre Aiton are the Lakers getting this year? That's next. You are Locked on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.
Starting point is 00:00:26 Thanks to everybody for making Locked on Lakers, your first listen to every day Monday through Friday, or how to get your podcasts. We are never going to charge you for this. this thing. It's never going to be behind a paywall. Lock the Lakers on the YouTube, Andy, on the YouTube. I want something like Mom on the YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 36,000 subscribers to the channel, many of whom are leaving us things like mailbag questions, which we will be incorporating into this very episode, including our very first segment
Starting point is 00:00:56 about DeAndre Aiton, where we talk about the new Lakers Center and what he might be bringing to the team this year. First, though, we've got to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Right now,
Starting point is 00:01:09 new customers can bet just $5, and if your bet wins, get $300 and bonus bets to use across the app. Download the app today. All right. So,
Starting point is 00:01:21 you actually put DeAndre Yaden who I like, kind of, at this point, it's sort of fine, fascinating. When we did our network rankings, top 100 players in the NBA.
Starting point is 00:01:35 You actually stuck DeAndre Aiton right there at 100. Yes, I did. I did not have him in my top 100. It would have been to my 150, but not my 100. It was a bit of me calling, I guess, my shot, or specifically calling my shot by calling DeAndre Aten's shot. But it was me predicting that this was going to be a year because of the environment that he's in
Starting point is 00:02:01 and also the teammates that he has, and also contextually how much this season means to DeAndre Aitin for the course of his career, and also acknowledging his actual talent. I feel like this is going to be a big year for DeAndre Aiton, one of the biggest that he's had in several seasons. And with that in mind, I thought he could be in the top 100 players. And the way I did my rankings was, to be honest, in some respects, a combination of what I think of players right now,
Starting point is 00:02:33 but also what I think, particularly with some younger players, or I guess some older ones that may be in regression, looking ahead to the end of the season. It was much about how I think things will look in April of 26 as I think they look in August of 2025 when we turned into rankings. So it was a little bit of...
Starting point is 00:02:56 As I said, I kind of did mine in a similar way. think you were a little bit more forward-looking with yours. But with Aiden, it was a hodgepodge, but, you know, as Stugatz would say, my ranking. Yeah, your rankings. And like I said, I think that's a good way to do it. I try to do something similar, assuming I remembered to put you in my rankings to begin with, because I wasn't going back if I forgot you. So the thing about Aiden is you have to, before we get into,
Starting point is 00:03:29 I think a number, some statistics that really back up what you're talking about with putting him in that 100. We'll get to that in a moment here. I think what you, you kind of have to decide what it is your ranking with DeAndre Aden. Are you ranking his career? Are you ranking his relative, his success relative to expectations when he's taken number one by the son? or are you sort of looking at him in a vacuum? If you just saw the guy play, saw the numbers that he put up, where would you put him on a list like this? And I think with Aiton, you saw it so much when the Lakers were able to make that signing.
Starting point is 00:04:16 And people like us were like, especially at $8 million a year, like, this is freaking amazing. Like, you know, compared to what they had, it is impossible for them in a world where Luke Cornett got 11 million. I like Luke Cornett, but I mean, he's not done a fifth of what DeAndre Aiton is done in the league as an everyday player in a world where Luke Cornett is making $45 million. To get DeAndre Aden for eight is an insane, insane level of value. And yet, Andy, a lot of the response was, oh, he's a disappointment.
Starting point is 00:04:57 He doesn't play like he doesn't play this. He doesn't do this well. He doesn't. And all of those things are true. Except that it still represents if even if he doesn't fix anything, a massive improvement over what the Lakers had last year to finish the season. He is better than Jackson Hayes, even with all of his flaws. He is a proven starting caliber center.
Starting point is 00:05:26 even with the things you wish DeAndre Aiton would do better, that represents a big time upgrade over Jackson Hayes, it potentially slots Hayes into a more suitable role as a backup or even third string center where if he's playing that, he's fine. With Aiton, it's interesting, first of all, number one guys always get viewed through a very specific and often harsh lens. If DeAndre Aiton was the exact same play, but had been drafted forth.
Starting point is 00:06:00 People would look at him differently, arguably better player than he is, but I do think that his flaws would be looked at less harshly or treated more importantly, particularly when you add the context of he was drafted number one overall in a draft class that included Luca Donchinch. Like that doesn't help his case either. You know, we've talked about this before when we covered Kwame Brown. Like, Kwame, both loudly and quietly, depending on how you look at it,
Starting point is 00:06:32 ended up with like a 12-year career in the NBA, made like $75 million. And had he been the fourth, seventh overall pick and, you know, most importantly, did not end up drafted by Michael Jordan. I think people would have just looked at Kwame Brown as a run-of-the-mill NBA big, who had a 10-plus year career. Sort of maybe underformed his draft position, but, you know, wasn't a bust, didn't wash out of the league. Do you think people look at DeAndre Aitin right now as a bust? Yes.
Starting point is 00:07:08 Okay. I do. Because he, I think it's a combination of expecting more from him and often the way he presents what he does. And the seeming disinterest that people have seen in DeAndre Aitin, that lack of passion, the lack of fire, the idea that he seems content to a lot of people to just cash the checks. And to be fair to those detractors, DeAndre Aten did himself very little favors over the years when he's talked about the importance of Max contracts to him and stuff like that. I don't think all of it is entirely fair to Aiton.
Starting point is 00:07:49 He did all of the work that was asked of him in the 2021 run to the finals with the Sons. and had been told, you know, you do all of these things that are less statistically popping, but really matter, and you're going to get paid. He did it all. And the sons then turned around and said, well, if you can get an offer, we'll match. I think that and that's a little disillusion of young. Yeah. And, you know, go out, do your job.
Starting point is 00:08:15 It's like, all of those things remain true. But I also think it's easy to, like, if you asked casuals, I guess, I'm creating a hypothetical here in which there are casuals who also take the time to think about DeAndre Aitin as a bust and whatever I understand these people may not exist but anyway, I'm too deep in, I'm going on.
Starting point is 00:08:41 If you ask... Go on. If you ask people like, because I tend to agree with you, people think DeAndre Aitin is kind of a bust. But if you ask them to like, what is this... If not a bust, they consider him a major disappointment. I think he's been... bust adjacent.
Starting point is 00:08:57 Yeah. Right. Whatever might be. Yeah, he's been too successful to be a flat out bust, but I think the general consensus on him is disdain. But I think if you also, if you ask people, like, what are DeAndre Aiton's career statistics? And you just ask sort of people who kind of pass that maybe don't pay,
Starting point is 00:09:14 but I think most of them would underestimate what his numbers are. Certainly underestimate them what they were going into Portland last year, where they were dragged down a little. bit. His number's importantly actually lowered his career averages. DeAndre Aten over the course of his career averages 59% shooting, 16 and a half points a game, and 10 and a half rebounds a game. This goes along with the block and an assist in a half. So he's not been unproductive in the league. And to that point, Andy, there is a number, some statistical breakdowns of what Aiton does well
Starting point is 00:09:59 that really does lend to your interpretation of where Aitin could land by the end of this season on a list of the best players in the league. We will tell you what those numbers are and bust out the DeAndre Aiton-themed mailbag next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by five-hour energy drink. It's time to fuel up, turn it up,
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Starting point is 00:11:30 It does exclude the Masters Tournament. It ends October 31st, 2025. Okay, so we have talked a lot. Again, in the context, especially like these rankings, just to use an example over the last week or two, about why context matters and how context influences ranking something like this, particularly as you get down to the supporting cast of the players, you know guys in the 50s, the 60s, the 70s, the 80s,
Starting point is 00:12:03 who are not necessarily stars, but pretty good players. DeAndre Aden was not a top 100 player last year with the Portland Trailblazers. That is fair. But he is not playing with the Portland Trailblazers. He is playing Andy with LeBron James and especially Luca Donchich. And as Kevin Pelton at ESPN notes, and other people have with different numbers. Players who play with Luca Donchich,
Starting point is 00:12:38 centers, they tend to do some really good things. As Pelton pointed out during Luca Donchich's NBA career, players who have screened for him have an effective field goal percentage of 63% when they end up shooting on that play. The best of any ball handler with at least 500 such plays, according to Genius IQ tracking. Aiton must feed on those opportunities
Starting point is 00:13:00 and be a defensive upgrade on incumbent center Jackson Hayes. We've both expressed our confidence that regardless of the numbers that Pelton and over the course of the show, I will cite that DeAndre Aiton is going to be that upgrade over Jackson just simply because he's better met by a lot. Matt Moore a couple weeks ago for a piece that he wrote for FanCited that you and I talked about in describing the Lakers as, as he put it, overhyped but underrated. a piece from that, quote, don't think of the addition of Aiton as adding the former number one overall pick who was shipped out from Phoenix and then waived two seasons later by the Blazers.
Starting point is 00:13:40 Think of it as simply the Lakers added an elite pick and roll big next to Donchich. Aidan scored the six most points per game as the roll man in the pick and roll last season per Synergy Sports. He's an elite lob threat, a big body who can set a screen and navigate space with fewer major injury concerns than most bigs of his size and Miles logged to this point from both Pelton and Matt Moore. I looked up some of the numbers for D'Andre Aiton during that, I think everybody would consider career best season with the Suns part of that finals run when he was playing with, very importantly, Chris Paul. 109 dunks that season, nearly 17% of his field goal attempts, the highest of his career, by percentage points, but highest nonetheless.
Starting point is 00:14:27 He also shot 75% in the restricted area, 52% in the non-restricted area paint, 84% for Alleyoops of all kinds, 94% on Alleyoop dunks, 48 to 51, 96% on dunk attempts, 67% on tip shots, and taking into account the full effect of a high-end point guard like Chris Paul,
Starting point is 00:14:51 63% of his two-point field goal attempts came from passes from Chris Paul. And remember, too, that affects him in the way he'll work in the mid-range as well. Like he doesn't only work at the rim. So high-quality feeds will help him with those percentages. In 2021, 97 shooting fouls drawn, number the highest of his career, 30 and ones, highest of his career. The point guard that you're working with makes a difference there because they spot when you are about to get fouled and they make sure you get the ball. These are all areas where we've seen D'Andre Aiton flourish with an elite point guard.
Starting point is 00:15:30 Chris Paul in 2021, Luca Donchich is at that level in 2025. So you start to put those things together with, you know, the already available evidence of the effect that Luca has on the centers he plays with. He, you know, what he did with Derek lively, what he's done with other guys. He's just, he is a player that if you can set a screen and DeAndre Aitin can, and if you can roll the basket, and DeAndre Aten can, he's a good pick and roll player. He's not a, he's not a high flying vertical threat. I mean, he can get up, take a lob and dunk. But he's not, you know, but that's not the only way. He's not bouncy the way Jackson Hayes is.
Starting point is 00:16:16 Right. But that's not the only way you can be effective. And he is a lob threat. It's not that he's not a lob. threat. He's just not as, like you say, bouncy as some of these other guys. Luca has made a career out of making centers who can do those skills, who have those skills, look phenomenal. And so is Aiton, should Aiton have been ranked in the top 100 going into this year? No, I don't think so. I don't particularly care. But like, no, it's fine.
Starting point is 00:16:47 He was 126 for what it's worth insofar as those who also received votes. And so, and that sounds about right. Sure. But it doesn't, what matters is what he looks like with the Lakers. And there is every reason to believe that even if he keeps some of the imperfections that he's had, most of which, to be perfectly honest, are defensive, not offensive. His numbers are going to be really, really good with L.A. And, you know, that leads to a bunch of other questions, which we'll get here to in a second. But, I mean, among all the things that I am both optimistic about and fairly confident,
Starting point is 00:17:34 like, I actually think this is not that big, a bold statement, DeAndre Aitin's going to look good for the Lakers. Assuming he can stay healthy, which has been an issue, if he's on the floor, he's going to look good. He's going to put up numbers. He's going to rebound, and he's going to fill an important need offensively. I also think, too, I mean, we've talked about if Aiton fixes nothing that the detractors point to, he will be an upgrade simply because he's better than Jackson Hayes. But I do think that it is possible that he may focus more on those areas of detraction. We talked before about how he did do this stuff in Phoenix.
Starting point is 00:18:12 And, I mean, there was a lot of reporting that he really did not get rewarded as promised, which checks with the Robert Sarver era, era with the sons, although the Ishbian era. I know. The Robert Sarver era that Fiener actually now kind of looked back on with... Where have you gone Robert Sarver? Words that I never
Starting point is 00:18:35 expected to say yet. Say what you want about Balmer and all the trouble he's got with the clippers. He's not making anybody look back and go, God, I miss Donald Sterling. Not yet, at least. Not yet. But... Come on. It's not that. No. I...
Starting point is 00:18:49 No. And for what it's worth, Matt Isbio does not seem like as terrible a person as Robert Sarver. No. Just perhaps as terrible an owner or as Robert Sarver. And the former, should be the former matters. Right. The former does matter a lot, particularly when you're talking about someone. Robert Sarver seems like just an awful guy. Yes. Yes. It does matter. But coming up, before we get to the mailbag portion of this, I want to bring up one other example of why I think specifically. DeAndre Aiton may find some of that motivation and find it specifically with the Lakers. So that's coming up next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Fanduel.
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Starting point is 00:20:48 And I think it is widely seen as if this doesn't work out for DeAndre Aitin with this setup. and potential stakes that you're playing for, that he's not going to fall out of the league, but the idea that DeAndre, the idea that DeAndre Aten will ever get anything more than like mid-level exception money, I think, is done. But the idea of just finding the internal motivation and I guess the exterior factors that would make that happen,
Starting point is 00:21:17 where it's about more than just getting paid, I think it's important to remember that when Rui was first traded to the Lakers, He was seen as kind of a disappointment with the Wizards. He was a top 10 pick. He had been considered a guy that pretty much was just interested in offense and nothing else difficult to motivate. He had some personal issues that were never really reported out fully in terms of details that were happening while he was with the Wizards. And to the best of my knowledge, they didn't have anything to do specifically with the Wizards. but he eventually asked to be traded.
Starting point is 00:21:55 He ended up with the Lakers. And ever since then, I think Rui has turned himself, I'm not going to say into a fully complete player because we all know the flaws that Rui has. But I think he's become better at the things that he already did well and has become, if nothing else, more conscientious in the areas where he had been lacking. And again, it doesn't make him a perfect player.
Starting point is 00:22:20 but I think Rui has become, among other things, just a better professional since joining the Lakers. And I think that you can look at that as if nothing else, a potential comp for what D'Andre Aiton can discover and then act upon with the Lakers. Let me give you one more that I think matters here contextually because they also think it applied to Rui, less so because he wasn't a number one,
Starting point is 00:22:48 but he was still a high pick. and all that kind of stuff. DeAndre Aden is going to arrive with the Lakers as a guy they're paying $8 million for to be the fourth or fifth best player on the team on any given night. Like, you know, on both sides of the ball, however you went on.
Starting point is 00:23:11 Nobody expects him to be the best player. Nobody expects him to be the second best player. Nobody expects to be the third best player. Go out there, be one of those guys in the next tier. Nobody in L.A. is going to judge him by the standards of you were the top pick in the draft drafted ahead of Luca Donchich. That is not going to happen here. Or they shouldn't if nothing else. At this point it's irrelevant.
Starting point is 00:23:35 Right. We have the guy that you were drafted ahead of that you shouldn't have been. It doesn't matter. It's not like we didn't lose out. We got the guy. That kind of thing. Because when he was traded to Portland, it was still with this sort of, you're that guy. We're acquiring the somewhat disappointing former number one pick to see if we can, you know, help him reach his potential. And obviously, Portland just kind of fell apart a little bit there and made that environment a challenge. Traditionally a tough place for centers to flourish.
Starting point is 00:24:11 It sucks, but it's true. And so he comes to Los Angeles with none of. of that baggage and none of that expectation. And even if he plays really well, he's not going to get a max contract somewhere. Like what he can do here is recast his career in a way that, okay, you're not a disappointment. You can play in, you know,
Starting point is 00:24:39 on good teams with meaningful games and be a dependable part of a playoff rotation and stuff like that, but not have to live up to those expectations. and that the context change, I think, could be very liberating for him. And that is a reason that I, another reason that I'm optimistic is just, it doesn't have to be that guy anymore. Like, that moment is no longer. So where do you want to begin with a couple of the mailbag questions that we got regarding
Starting point is 00:25:08 Aiton? Well, I think we covered, we kind of covered a little bit of like what Joseph Glover talked about with some of the things with Aiton in terms of how he might play. But he does ask a question, I think is interesting. Joseph Glover, 3992 on YouTube, asked the question about, like, where do the shots come from? He writes, salary cap-wise, as well as roster-wise, the dynamics not fully understood.
Starting point is 00:25:36 Like, who is shooting less so he can take his 20 to 25 shots a game, which translates into who's scoring less? Does LeBron's average drop to 18? Does Reeve drop to 15? and there's a lot of on and off court and stuff and all that kind of stuff. But then I think he's off by about a factor of 10 shots in terms of how many shots eight would take under the best of circumstances. He's never he's never averaged.
Starting point is 00:26:01 I'm looking right now. He's average 17 shots. His career high for shots. No, no, for 36 minutes. For 36 minutes he's never had it that high. But shots per game, his second season, he was a 10th under 15. Last year, he averaged 12. He's going to get about 8 to 12, I think, a night in L.A.,
Starting point is 00:26:22 sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. It's not going to go anywhere near 20. But it is an interesting question. Like, if the Lakers get more consistent 10 to 15 out of their center this year, which I 100% think is the expectation with the idea, too, that every sixth game, fifth game, Aiton pops off between 15 and 20. And every so, you know, he'll, DeAndre Aden's going to have a couple 25 point games this year.
Starting point is 00:26:54 I don't, I think better. He better. I'm just, just because of the way the team is going to operate and easy looks. I just mean he's better because he's expected to have at least a couple 25 point games. Sure. But like Gabe Vincent had like a 25 point game last year. I, so like the, but he's not going to take 15 shots. He's not going to take 20 shots on average.
Starting point is 00:27:18 So the answer actually, who takes less shots than maybe they're used to or reputationally? The first answer to that question is actually DeAndre Aiton. He is the one who shoots less. He is the one who is less of a focal point. And that's, I guess, something he'll have to get used to. But I don't think the offense is going to come away from Luca. You might see a little bit less scoring from LeBron if things go well, which I think is fine with LeBron. you might see a little less from AR, little less from Rui.
Starting point is 00:27:50 I think Rui is the main guy that I look at, and this is the reason why I think Rui should play off the bench. I think once you add D'Andre Aten into this mix, Ruey's going to get lost in that shuffle as far as scoring goes. Because even if a little bit, there's a little bit less in terms of volume from LeBron, he's still LeBron. Luca, you know, particularly this version of Luca and a fully acclimated healthy, if anything, I think his shot attempts could go up. And I'm not expecting much, if any, less for Austin for a variety of reasons, including contract year, trying to really get a look at the long-term possibilities for Luca and Austin, his age versus LeBron's age, stuff like that.
Starting point is 00:28:37 Rui is the guy that I think if he stays in that starting five, he could become a bit of a ghost, which is why I think it makes sense to play him off the bench, because if nothing else, he may have fewer opportunities alongside all four of those guys, but Ruey is who immediately jumps to mind to me. I think the important thing to remember, too, is like there's going to be a little bit of rebalancing in a good way,
Starting point is 00:29:04 I think, for the Lakers roster, because the one player that they removed from the rotation in Dorian Finney Smith was not a high volume guy. So like you're not going to, like that doesn't impact the Lakers offense other than you want to be able to replace that perimeter shooting because it's an important part of the offense. But it's not like, you know, what did he take, like eight shots a game?
Starting point is 00:29:28 Like six, you know, I forget the exact number. But like that will be easily replaced between D'Andre Aiton and Jake LaRavia. and Marcus Smart and, you know, Luca's more comfortable. Like the Lakers have more overall talent, I think, particularly offensively, throughout what is going to be considered their regular rotation. Like I'm pretty bullish on Jake La Ravia. I think offensively, he will do most of what DFS did last year. Because I think DFS is sort of on the decline a little bit.
Starting point is 00:30:01 La Ravia has got a little bit more bounce than DFS does. DFS probably a little bit more of, at least has a longer track record of being a reliable shooter and certainly a longer track record of being a reliable defender. But that said, I think Loravia can get, you can get most of the offense from Loravia on a permanent basis that you got from DFS and maybe even better than what DFS gave you later in the season when he wasn't healthy. So I just think that there is going to be a feeling out period where the Lakers who are very talented offensively, have to figure out how to make everyone comfortable in the
Starting point is 00:30:43 offense, and as is suggested by the question that was being asked here by Joseph Gover, excuse me, there is no hell. Everybody's got to, you know, kind of give a little bit, but I think that's what good teams do. And I'm not, you know, there's a JJ Redick here question in the mailbag and maybe we'll save for tomorrow. But this is one of those things, that JJ is going to have to help everybody do is feel like they're involved, but also give. We talked for Monday show when we were weighing the pros and cons of a Rui for Andrew Wiggins trade. One of the things that I brought up is the idea that if, say, Rui was traded, and even if you weren't thinking about it in terms of a traditional sixth-man role,
Starting point is 00:31:31 like a Jamal Crawford type role, but just sources of Ben, scoring, where would it come from? Because in the world I was envisioning, Rui would be playing off the bench, you know, Marcus Smart, for example, you don't want that light getting too green. Because with Smart, you know, under the best of circumstances, Marcus Smart's shot selection will at times bug the ever-living bleep out of you. Like, it's going to happen. I think the positives can outweigh the negatives and I think they will. But that's part of, the deal. It's similar to, you know, I had been a proponent of potentially looking to add Dylan Brooks in terms of balancing the roster, you know, when it seemed like he could be made available.
Starting point is 00:32:17 He eventually was and went to Phoenix. But, you know, Dylan Brooks can offer some stuff on both sides of the ball, but there will be nights when his shot selection is just flat out irresponsible. And that's part of the package. It's going to be that way with Marcus Smart. I mean, that's something that, you know, JJ, the reason I bring this up is it's something that JJ is going to have to figure out the best way to make Marcus Smart feel involved enough without it being too involved because too involved could be a problem. So we'll get into all that stuff for tomorrow over the course of the rest of the week. Keep sending us questions.
Starting point is 00:32:53 Keep sending us comments. We do love to use them in the show, particularly these mailbags as we get closer to the beginning of train camp, which is not that far away, a couple weeks away. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is we're going to head. out with over 36,000 subscribers to the channel. We'll see everyone tomorrow.

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