Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Lakers Quiet on Day 2 of Free Agency. Are They Chasing Deandre Ayton? Al Horford? Trades?
Episode Date: July 2, 2025After promising a flurry of activity heading into the offseason, Rob Pelinka and the Lakers have been very quiet over the first two days of free agency. They signed forward Jake LaRavia on Monday, and... Tuesday came and went with zero changes to the roster. There are rumors, for sure. The Lakers are still connected to guard De'Anthony Melton, and (more importantly) centers Deandre Ayton and (in a new development) veteran Al Horford. Getting both would require someone, likely Horford, to leave money on the table, but it's growing increasingly more critical for the Lakers to land at least one of them. Certainly in terms of upside, and a skill set the Lakers need, Ayton fills the role better. But man alive, there are red flags. Horford, meanwhile, offers a higher floor and more predictability, but is that enough to move the needle for the Lakers, who have to make up ground on conference rivals? Plus, Horford, pushing 40, is coming off a down year. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: No movement on Tuesday. SEGMENT 2: Are the Lakers really trying to make changes, or is the move to prioritize flexibility next offseason, or for '27? SEGMENT 3: Ayton or Horford? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first yearGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL 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)
Hey everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Wednesday, Brian Kaminetsky, Andy Kaminetsky,
day two of free agency.
Nothing for the Lakers will break down what is or more specifically is not happening for L.
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when the Lakers are going to do something as the stick figure meme, you know, poking at the thing,
you know, it always asks, day two, after a relatively quiet day one, day two, the Lakers are
even quieter. They do nothing. Nothing happens today. Still no center.
Still no big movement anywhere, no nothing, no even.
Not even really any any any big rumors to speak of.
It was a quiet, quiet Tuesday.
There's been a little bit more talk about potentially the Lakers being connected to Al
Horford, who before there had been much more chatter about him, if not being a done deal with the Warriors, I think more connected to the Warriors than the Lakers.
Sam, Amy and Dan Wojke from the athletic reported that the Lakers are taking, I think, pretty hard looks at both DeAndre Aiton and Al Horford.
It was not clear whether they meant as a possibility of getting both, whether through different exceptions, vet minimum, whatever.
but it seems like those two are on the radar right now,
and I think Mo Wagner is still somebody they're going to be keeping an eye on in terms of free agent centers.
And we can talk about all the different, or I guess the different ways that the Lakers could be looking to acquire a center.
But as far as looking for one through free agency and using up whatever remains of that full mid-level exception, those are basically the only guys left that I,
think you could even kind of picture
Laker fans being excited about, and they all come with,
by the way, some degree of
if not red flags, pink flags,
whatever flag is the color
of I'm not so sure about this.
Well, not green. Yellow.
Caution yellow flags.
Yeah. Whatever it might be.
Hopefully not white flags.
Yeah, for just giving up.
So I, you know, I, just as a, that would be re-signing Jackson Hayes.
That's the white flag.
No disrespect to Jackson Hayes, but I think that would really feel.
If you resign Jackson Hayes and he is the, you know, the best guy that you're bringing back, then yeah, I mean, that is kind of a white flag.
The idea is that not even that Jackson is on the roster.
I don't think Lakers fans object to the idea of Jackson Hayes being a Laker next year.
I think they object to the idea of Jackson Hays being the best center on the rock.
Yes.
If Jackson Hays returns as the not even penciled and frankly penned in starting center for the
- Is there ever anyone else?
Unless they made some deals in the interim for some pretty nice wing upgrades, yeah,
that's going to feel like a white flag.
We'll talk about the Horford-Aidton thing here in a second.
Like, as a sort of a clerical matter, I don't think there's any conceivable way that the Lakers could get both of those guys.
I don't think, I don't think that any of the reporting was meant to indicate, I mean, obviously, if they could, they would.
But Aiton almost certainly would need the eight million or so the Lakers have left to give.
There is a little bit of competition out there.
Indiana now suddenly needs a center after a shocking exchange in which the Milwaukee Bucks
wave Damien Ler stretch, I should say Damien literally and which is waving him as well, wave
and stretch.
They're going to have 22 million in dead cap money for five years, I believe it is, four
years.
And then they use that space that they got because of it to sign Miles Turner away from
Indiana.
The Pacers didn't apparently want to go into the luxury.
tax. What a day to be a pacer fan.
We'll get into those two guys.
I mean, what difference, by the way, the Halliburton injury makes?
Because I think if even if they don't win at all, but Halliburton remains healthy, I think
there's a far greater chance.
There have been a lot of reporting that the Pacers were going to make that pretty rare for
a into the tax pay for whatever, even acknowledging that Miles Turner, his finals was pretty
up and down. But once Halliburton is in all likelihood out for next season, I think that changed
the math dramatically. Well, I mean, you would talk about just broadly speaking, these three Achilles
injuries in the Eastern Conference between Lillard and Jason Tatum and Halliburton have had a
profound impact on what has been going on around the league in terms of the Celtics and how
they've made some moves to read. It's not a, it's not a, it's, it's,
not a coincidence that two of the most aggressive teams, forget in the East, just in the NBA,
have been the Hawks and the Magic. That is not a coincidence. Not at all. And so, you know,
we'll talk about that in a bit like, you know, that would require, assuming Aiton needed the
$8 million the Lakers could offer, $8 million and change, whatever it is, that would only leave
the biannual exception, which is somewhere in the neighborhood about $5 million. That is, it appears,
less than Al Horford could get on the open market.
So maybe they could end up with both,
but would require someone to take well below what they could get.
I mean, Horford's made almost $300 million in his career.
So maybe that plays a role.
Maybe that's enough.
Sure.
Maybe it is.
Don't know.
It's not inconceivable.
It just requires someone to take less money than they could otherwise get.
Absolutely.
So we'll get into Aiton versus Horford here, who you like, who you don't like.
We didn't really get into the Jason Quick story at the Athletic and some of the red flags around Aiton, and they are numerous.
They're like the son of Krypton, man.
That thing is it doesn't get much redder.
And Jason Quick, for those unfamiliar with him, he has covered the Blazers forever, the Oregonian, now the athletic.
I feel like he was there when Walton was.
on the team. Yeah, I mean, Jason Quick is, if you are looking for a writer who is
sourced to a particular team, Jason Quick is as source to the Blazers as any beat writer
is to any team out there. It was interesting to just watch today the reaction of Lakers fans.
The big thing that happened on Tuesday was the Turner to Milwaukee. That was, I mean, I think a couple
other, you know, Jericho Sims, I think, re-upped with, was it Milwaukee?
Yeah, he stayed there.
Like, he was a guy.
Maybe the Lakers kind of had an eye on his potential backup, things like that.
But the player movements and the player action was pretty low on Tuesday.
Most of the big stuff happened on Monday.
And so the Lakers didn't necessarily lose out on anything, really, on Tuesday.
The two guys that they are most tightly connected to,
DeAndre Aiton, De Anthony Melton, as a back court player.
And then, you know, let's throw in Horford.
They didn't go anywhere on Wednesday on Tuesday.
Aitin clears waivers, assuming nobody claims him.
Aiton clears waivers on Wednesday, so today.
Nonetheless, the feeling that the Lakers are bystanders
in this off-season is quickly growing in ways that, quite frankly, aren't necessarily fair.
It doesn't matter when you finish baking the cake. The cake just needs to get baked.
The Lakers have time. By the time we tape for Thursday and record Thursday show,
they could have a center and Melton. If they end up with Horford and Melton,
or Horford and Aiton or Aiton and Melton,
given the money that they had to spend,
that's not a terrible outcome.
Until you had $19 million to spread between two or three, four guys,
and you end up with La Ravia, Melton, and D'Andre Aiton,
that's not a terrible outcome.
But Andy, the confidence, I think, from fans that this is going to end well
for the Lakers this offseason,
it doesn't feel strong.
Maybe that's just me making assumptions.
No, and coming up,
I want to get into the reasons why
I understand where Laker fans are coming from,
but it's also important to remember
that without in any way caping up
for Rob Polinka and, you know,
the three people in the front office,
to some degree, this is what you should have been expecting.
And definitely to a large degree, it is what Brian and I have been saying could be the case.
But, but that doesn't mean hope is lost.
Get into that coming up next.
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So the other thing, Andy, there are a few things.
I do want to point out there's one victory that Lakers fans have had this offseason already.
Before we even get to the season, the Lakers have gotten rid of the black paneling on the sides of the purple jerseys.
So we are already winning.
And so hopefully that momentum can be carried deeply into the rest of the free agency's season because at least, Andy,
I've sent out every year for the past like six years or seven years a tweet the first time the Lakers wear those purple jerseys with the godforsaken black panels down the side.
And those are gone.
And the Lakers actually the purple jerseys look really, really good this year.
I'm excited to say.
Well, maybe whoever's in charge of each year's city edition jerseys or this jersey or just the jersey in general, maybe that person should be leading basketball ops because that person's on a role.
They're making good decisions, whoever he or she is.
They are doing well there.
So the question becomes, like, should you be concerned?
That's sort of what you're getting at.
Like, is there hope here?
Are the Lakers setting themselves up for an offseason?
It looks suspiciously like last years where basically nothing happening.
Because, Andy, you may remember Rob Polinka predicting a flurry of activity.
The Lakers are going to be very, very active, very busy.
And then saying that they will not rest as a basketball ops department until, you know, everything is done like,
it is going to be insane how active and busy the Lakers will be.
This is what Rob Polinka promised to Lakers fans.
You'll remember at that press conference, which I attended, I said it caught my ear immediately that Rob, frankly, put himself on the hook like that.
Because it has typically been his style, I think, to either overpromise in very vague, ethereal terms
or underpromise in ways that are just totally non-committal.
He put himself out there, which with what essentially was a pledge,
we are going to be big players in what is going to be a very active offseason.
He got the active offseason correct, although should be noted, a large chunk of action heading into and during free agency has been teams just retaining their own players.
It's been, yeah.
That's been a big, I don't say this in any way to let Rob off the hook.
I'm just saying from a clarification of what Rob predicted, he was right, just not necessarily in a way that would benefit.
But there's been some crazy stuff going on and some, you know, some big movement and
sure, sure. And the Lakers are, you know, it's not quite like last year where they haven't made
any moves. They have made one signing. Well, there's a similarity though from last year to this
year. And we said this a lot heading into both free agencies. The Lakers are not in a position
to be active players during this period through free agency. Last year, because for a variety
of reasons. They had quite literally no open roster spots, like none, so there was nothing that they
could do without waiving somebody or trading somebody in the cap space, whatever. And this year,
they were really limited in terms of no real cap space other than exceptions and veterans minimums
and things like that, which again, we told all of our audience, do not expect them to be
major players. So in that sense, fans should have been expected.
this up to a point. We'll see who they ultimately end up getting in free agency. We'll see if over
time how the Dorian fifth, Dorian Philly Smith departure really affects the Lakers if they
F that up, whatever. But ultimately, you're going to be able to judge this offseason by the trades
that the Lakers make or don't make because that was going to be the only way that they could do
anything, I think, massively different. Anything really substantive would have to have been done
by via trade. And there's still time for that to happen and for what it's worth. For the most
part, Laker trades tend to happen without a ton of leaks leading up to it. So there may be things
in the works. I've heard both Dave McMeneman and Ramona Shelburne, our friends from ESPN,
say that they think the Lakers are actively working on some stuff.
So we shall see.
But ultimately, free agency was not going to be the way you were going to see,
I think, massive changes happen anyway.
No, I would agree.
And especially before the DFS moved to Houston, like they only had, you know,
one exception to use.
Like, it could sign basically one player.
DFS moving to Houston changed.
changes the calculus there a little bit.
Aiton becoming available, the buyout from Phoenix, I'm sorry, Portland, changes the calculus
a little bit. Suddenly there is a center that before, because like we talked about DeAndre
Aiton as a possibility before and kind of we're like, you know, in a vacuum, like would you
take a shot at Aiton? Sure, just on a pure talent level, he is quite talented, if not terribly
reliable, as Jason Quick at the Athletic noted in the article that we were referencing before.
But now they have an opportunity to get him without giving up any people and the money to do it,
because before they didn't.
And so I do think the expectations around free agency changed some, but I do agree that the only way
the Lakers are going to put themselves in a position where you could say, you know what,
they kind of, at the very least kind of kept up with the Joneses, so to speak, in the Western
Conference, was between a good free agency, which.
they could still have.
Good relatively speaking.
Good relative to realistic expectations.
Good relative to what they could do.
Right.
That's what I'm saying.
And a good trade season.
Like if you come through this with DeAnd,
if in the end,
when this is all over,
the Lakers have a viable starting center,
even one with problems like DeAndre Aden,
but still obviously a viable starting center.
You know,
you've changed your bench dynamic with Jake Lerre
who I like that signing.
I don't think, I think it's a relatively neutral pass between him and DFS,
better in some ways, worse than others.
There's more potential for upside, if nothing else, with Leroy.
Whether it happens or not, he is young and hopefully ascending.
DFS is still a very good player, but we've already seen.
He is in some physical decline.
Yep.
And, you know, I like DeAnthony Melton, assuming he's healthy as a guy who can change
the dynamic for the Lakers in their back court, especially in terms of who and how they guard.
I think that would be a very good upgrade.
Do you then rearrange some of your expiring contracts into a viable backup center,
another wing?
Because with DFS gone, you do need another wing.
La Ravia, I think like a lot of people, I've seen this out there saying it's less about
DFS than it is makes trading Dalton a little easier.
There's still moves out there for the Lakers to make,
and I, as frustrated, as much as I want to have stuff to talk about,
am not going to call this a bad off season until avenues for fixing or addressing as well as they can,
what is going to.
But the problem, I will say, until they do it,
and until they do it in a way that shows they are actually interested in winning now,
the persistence of the idea that the Lakers are holding back,
not being smart, we're being wise with what we do,
because every team should be wise with what they do,
but legitimately holding back from things that could help them
over the next season or two because they are interested in finances
for next off season or for two off seasons from now,
until they actually make moves that show that they are improving what they have,
those, that chatter is not going to go away.
They're allowing for the perception of every Laker fan's worst fear.
Right.
And that doesn't ultimately, it ultimately doesn't matter because if in three weeks they've solved the problem,
you know, you can't rush because fans are panicking.
I'm just going to say it.
It's just not going to be a good week of discourse or two weeks of discourse for them.
Look, there had been a lot of do something, Rob, in the period between even like acquiring DFS
and what ended up with the what the hell just happened trade with Luke, you know, the century
with Luca.
You and I talked a lot about the perception that the Lakers were stuck, you know, with LeBron
and, you know, in a place where it's essentially like a holding pattern.
They're a good team.
They're not necessarily a great team.
We don't know.
We don't really see any avenues for them to get better.
And it seemed like they thought so as well.
And therefore, they were unwilling to commit to anything.
And then all of a sudden, the world is shocked because they have Luca.
And like I said, the Lakers tend to operate in silence when it comes to trades, as we've talked about many times.
It's one of the advantages of having like a three-person front office.
there's nobody to tell, therefore no gossip spreads.
Yeah, I will say after the break, I can have another example of, I think,
how that might happen in a highly relevant way for the Lakers.
And then we will answer this question, Andy, of Aiton or Horford,
you can only pick one, which will you pick?
We'll do that next.
Tell me if you think I'm wrong about this, Andy, because we've talked to, you know,
the LeBron chatter in terms of like what he's like,
Rich Paul sort of diffused a little bit on Tuesday, some of the conversation that was there on Monday following the announcement of James picking up his option.
The one thing, you know, you talk about trades, whether or not, and Rich Paul said, like, LeBron's not trying to get traded.
We're not asking to be traded.
Nobody's doing that right now and made it seem very clear.
like they are interested in having LeBron stay and that's where their minds are right now.
If LeBron gets traded, I think this will be one of those situations where we won't hear about it until it's done.
Because the last thing I think that LeBron James wants is to declare that he wants out of Los Angeles and then not be able to find a market.
because I you know and we talked about a lot trading LeBron is very complicated the amount of teams that can trade for him that are a place that he would want to go because remember he's got that no trade clause are limited Cleveland for example just because of apron world and things like that would be hard pressed to make a trade for LeBron right now just mechanically is very difficult for them to do it I feel like this would be a trade that happens that when LeBron
decides he wants out, it will be after Rich Paul and gang have basically laid out as much of this as possible
and the destination and the terms are basically set.
I suppose it's possible.
The only reason that I have my doubts about that is just because this is essentially a three-team deal between the Lakers, Team X, and LeBron because he has no trade clause.
So you're essentially negotiating with LeBron.
and I think it's going to be very difficult for something that complicated to happen completely under wraps.
We shall see.
It would be tough.
I totally agree with you.
I think that would be the, at the very least, I think that would be the effort.
I think they would totally agree with you that LeBron will not want the perception of I asked out and nobody offered to take me up on my offer to join your.
team. Like, I totally agree with you there. The last thing he's going to want is egg on his face.
We'll see where this goes. I mean, look, it's feeling like one way or another, this is going to be
LeBron's last season with the Lakers, whether because he retires or he plays somewhere else.
I hope that however this goes, it just, however it ends, when it ends, whatever, I hope it is on
good terms because I think that's what's best for the Lakers. I think it's what's best for LeBron.
Like it doesn't do LeBron any good, I think, perception-wise, particularly as somebody that I think it's pretty clear, is going to be spending the overwhelming majority of his post-NBA career in L.A.
It doesn't do him any good to be on the bad side of Lakers fans, which is more or less being on the bad side of the city.
Like that doesn't help LeBron.
It doesn't help the Lakers if in any way this feels like them.
doing LeBron dirty on the way out or not helping him or whatever.
And you want people to be happy because you want him to be happy and LeBron deserves to be happy.
So now being happy doesn't necessarily mean getting everything that you want.
And I don't think the Lakers owe it to LeBron to give him everything that they want at their own expense,
particularly at a time where at least in theory, they should be trying to be situating themselves
as best as possible, as quickly as possible
for what we hope will be the Luca Donchich.
Short of massive swings anyway, the Lakers,
the goals of LeBron to win and play meaningful basketball
now with the Lakers really do align with the goals.
Assuming, again, the Lakers and the youth movement
and the clean cap sheets and all that stuff
for two years from now, whatever it might be,
then maybe with that also...
I'm skeptical of that.
I'm very skeptical.
I understand.
And that also creates potential complications with your relationship with Luca as well.
Let's talk about, though, before we're done here, this question of Aiton versus Horford.
I really hadn't had Horford on my board because there hadn't been much connection between him and the Lakers.
That's certainly changing just the way the market has played out and reports from Tuesday.
If you could pick one guy, you only have one of the two.
Who do you want?
I would want DeAndre Aten because I think, A, he's got a higher upside if things go well.
And also, I think he is a better fit for what the Lakers are going to be trying to do moving forward.
Like I understand the risks and the red flags and the potential for locker room disharmony.
And I don't know if I would give him more than one year.
I don't know if I would sign him to multiple years, even acknowledging it would be for seven figures a year,
because that's all the Lakers can do.
Like it wouldn't, it wouldn't be an onerous contract.
I just wouldn't want to be handcuffed to D'Andre for more than a season before.
I really get a better idea of who he is.
You know, he, to be fair to Aiton, the last time he was part of a team with any type of definitive plan that season in Phoenix, they went to the finals.
So whatever issues that come with him, whatever.
baggage he has played on teams that played winning basketball.
Right, exactly.
Like he has at minimum not prevented winning from happening in all stops.
And assuming he cares at all about his career, I think he would recognize if this upcoming
stint with the Lakers or whoever doesn't work, his options are going to start becoming
exceptionally limited.
He's somebody who's talked about himself before as a max player.
good luck ever getting anywhere close to like a full middle level, much less a max.
So there are a lot of stakes for him, assuming he gives a damn.
But I also think that in terms of the way the Lakers seem to want to play in some of their needs,
I think he can fill them better than Al Horford on paper.
It's a better starting option, I think, than Al Horford on paper,
even though I think Horford could help this team in certain ways as well.
and he does certain things better than Aiton beyond just professionalism.
I mean, Al Horford is a pros, pro.
Yeah, he's going to make all your team flights, for example.
Look, if I'm choosing between guys on a one-year deal trying to make the most of this season,
I would take DeAndre Aten because I think, assuming his head is on straight and he's
consistently interested, I think he's going to be a more productive player.
I agree with you.
I mean, what's interesting, too, is like, Horford is actually coming off a quietly
meh season.
The two seasons he had before
were significantly better than one he just finished.
He's actually playing more games than Aiton.
Which, you know, from a durability standpoint.
But, you know, he is, I agree with you.
He is undersized for what you want.
He's 6.9, you know, not really a center.
He's on a rim protecting center.
Stuff like that.
He's not athletic.
He's not getting above the rim.
What he is is still a very reliable defender.
He's the kind of.
guy I think as a coach, you could conceivably look at you're like, okay, we got to close
games with Al on the floor.
We know exactly what's going to be happening.
You know you're going to have that connective tissue there between him and LeBron and Luca.
It is a higher floor with a lower ceiling.
That said, I think the Lakers need to, especially in a season where like you're, you got to kind of
figure out how to make up gaps between you and teams that are better.
I think you need to have a couple swings at a higher ceiling.
And Aiton is unquestionably a higher ceiling.
And like you say, fills in needs better because you want somebody who can get up and finish at the rim.
You want somebody you can set a screen and roll hard to the rim and he can do those things.
And he is a good rebounder.
He can do those things.
He can get on the offensive glass.
You know, I do not question at all.
the the accuracy of what Jason Quick and others have said about him.
This is hardly new stuff about Eaton.
I mean, some of it is sort of is, but like, you know, the gist of it,
which is DeAndre Aten doesn't take things very seriously.
You know, we remember a couple years ago,
Aden would like couldn't get to the arena because he was like snowed in or so like
the street like was too icy so it couldn't get like there's just,
there's always sort of something with him.
But that said, he still put up four.
14 and 10 last year.
Durability is a problem.
Yeah.
You know, he probably,
maybe he could have played more on Portland teams
if they were still trying to win throughout, you know.
But the Blazers were happy to get rid of him.
And I think to some degree,
if you want to defend him a little bit,
you could say that this is the organization
unloading on him to partially justify paying,
you know, putting up $25 million,
essentially in dead money,
to get rid of this guy that they brought in.
And so, you know, look, it's not us.
It's him.
We thought, you know, he could be a professional.
He wasn't.
So there is probably a little bit of that on the way out the door.
It doesn't change the fact that all of this stuff has dog-gating throughout his career.
But I agree with you.
You need a swing here that's a little bit bigger.
Unless the Lakers just decide their best way to address the center.
position is to make a trade.
Correct.
Trade for Nick Claxton,
trade for center X.
Houston's got like 11
starting centers now.
Give them a call, see if you can get one of those
dudes. I mean, for what it's worth, we pegged
the annual for
Clint Cabella pretty well.
I didn't expect him to get.
I expected that he would want
to re-enter free agency
ASAP. It turned out he was
fine with a few years
at 7 to 8 mil years, some
Relaxing during the regular season.
And that's it.
Like we'll see you tomorrow when, you know, if Wednesday, if Thursday, if whatever,
the Lakers turn around and they signed DeAnthony Melton and a wing.
And I don't even know who that would be because quite frankly,
there's not a lot out there at this point.
But if they use their free agent currency on things that aren't a center,
then you're looking at it and you say they're either just not.
going to take this season very seriously or they are committed to figuring this thing out
through a trade and they do have some pieces but and the trade thing by the way will be the most
viable example that the the lakers are in fact willing to take on at least some money
because most of their assets that they have to offer assuming they're not going to throw
austin reeves in there in some sort of blockbuster that gets people you know takes people by surprise
almost all the assets they have are expiring contracts.
That's what you can offer someone.
And you're only really going to be able to trade expiring contracts to take on longer
money back because you can't, you know,
nobody's here are three expiring contracts for your one expiring.
I would like, we will have.
Yeah, we can get into more of this for Thursday as well.
Like I would I would like them assuming the price is reasonable.
And what it's worth, a lot of Brooklyn's former asking prices seem to have been going down in trades,
whether you're talking about DFS, Cam Johnson, whatever.
Price is right.
I'd like for them to at least try to make a reasonable deal for Nick Claxton.
It'll come out one way or the other how much the Lakers actually attempted to do this stuff.
And that'll, I think, really be the point where we can figure out just how good, bad,
or somewhere in the middle of work they did this summer.
Yeah, this isn't even one of those trust but verify.
So you, as a Laker fan, do not need to trust the Lakers front office.
But do we understand that the offseason is not over yet.
And as much as suspicious as we all might be and skeptical as it is reasonable to be,
we are not anywhere close to being able to declare the Lakers had a terrible offseason.
So we'll see what happens tomorrow.
We'll see what happens the day after that and the day after that.
And the day after that, summer league Andy is approaching rapidly.
Lisa will have some of those games to talk about.
Locked on Lakers on YouTube is we can go hang out
with over 35,000 suspicious and anxious subscribers.
We'll see everyone tomorrow.
