Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LeBron, Redick: Lakers Have No Margin for Error. Can Rob Pelinka Change That?

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

After the loss to the Clippers on Sunday, the Lakers spoke frankly about the reality of their situation. "We don’t have a huge margin for error. Nor can we create that margin organically,” said J...J Redick. "That’s how our team is constructed. We don’t have room for error — for much error," said LeBron James. From a practical standpoint, both agreed that because they lack any wiggle room, simply can't afford to have breakdowns in execution. They can't afford turnovers, or bad shots, or lapses in focus. And as Redick notes, it's something that's baked into the roster. "We don’t have a guy on our team that’s going to necessarily always draw two to the ball. We don’t have a guy on our team that’s going to be able to get past his guy one-on-one and get to the paint and spread it out to the perimeter. Like, that’s just not our team. So we have to do it through connectivity, through execution."When they do? Redick says they're really good. Except clearly they don't do it enough. Meanwhile, LeBron went as far as to say the Lakers need to play near perfect ball to win, in a game that is "never perfect." So what's going on here? Are LeBron and Redick putting out a call for more help from Rob Pelinka and the front office? A bit of CYA from both the coach (there's only so much I can do with what I've been given) and star (you can't expect me to carry these folks in year 22)? A moment of blunt talk at a very challenging moment in the season? Yes to all of it. And while, particularly regarding Redick, the talk will draw more attention to his coaching (if the roster is deficient, scheme becomes that much more important), it's ultimately going to put the focus on Rob Pelinka, a thing he tends to enjoy much more in good times than bad.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: No margin for error. SEGMENT 2: What LeBron concedes in this conversation. SEGMENT 3: What this means for Pelinka.  Your favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and league coverage delivered right to your in box. Sign up for free now, at lockedondaily.com.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizepicksNow’s the perfect time to join.Download the app todayand use codeLOCKEDONNBA to get $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup! That’s right—no need to win to get the bonus, it’s guaranteed. PrizePicks—Run Your Game! TALKSPACETherapy is a game-changer. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com/LOCKEDONNBA and enter promo code SPACE80 to get $80 off your first month and show your support for the show.GametimeDownload 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.FanDuelFrom the first whistle to the final drive, FanDuel makes the NFL Playoffs even more exciting! Right now, new customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get THREE HUNDRED BUCKS in BONUS BETS – if you win your first bet! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. Make this playoff season unforgettable with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. 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
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Tuesday, Brian Kaminetsky, Andy Kaminetsky. Words of the day for the Lakers, margin for error. We'll explain next. You are Locked on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making Lockdown Lakers first listen to every day. Monday through Friday, no matter how or where you get your podcast, this one's always going to be free, never behind paywall. and Lockdown Lakers on YouTube
Starting point is 00:00:36 is where you can go hang out with over 27,000 subscribers to the channel. All of him, Andy, I hope, are signing up for the new Lockdowneakers newsletter. You go to LockdownDaily.com and you get all the coverage from our podcast and around the league from the network, other shows on the network,
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Starting point is 00:01:11 No need to win to get the bonus. It's guaranteed. Pricepics.com run your game. So it's an expression, Andy. You and I have used a lot on the podcast over the years, margin for error. And man alive were those words spoken and uttered and said many times after the game,
Starting point is 00:01:33 against the Clippers on Sunday. Oh, my. Yeah, that was a theme in terms of just the Lakers. They have a record well below 500 against teams above 500. And in a lot of cases, they've lost to those teams by 20 plus points. And the idea of how much can the Lakers withstand in terms of adversity over the course of a game and still come out on the winning side of it. And the answer is, as we've talked about a lot on this show, not much. I mean, this is a team, they're not bad, but whatever you think their ceiling is at their
Starting point is 00:02:16 absolute best, we've seen enough evidence to know that the floor is not as high as it needs to be. And this is not a team that is steeped with either a lot of talent or a lot of athleticism or just a lot of different ways that they can completely overwhelm you. And they're not a team that is able to force tons of mismatches, like things like that. And as we've talked about, it's one of the reasons why their focus and their energy and the general commitment needs to be really high. They have to try to win a lot of games through execution because they're not going to be
Starting point is 00:02:55 able to just lean back on other inherent advantages to paper over their weaknesses. And this was something that came up with JJ Redick and LeBron after the game. JJ said, quote, we don't have a huge margin for error nor can we create that margin organically. It has to be emphasized daily to touch the paint, to play paint-to-paint mentality, to make the extra pass. We don't have a guy on our team that's going to necessarily always draw to the ball. We don't have a guy on our team that's going to be able to get past his guy, one-on-one and to get to the paint and spread out the perimeter.
Starting point is 00:03:29 Like, that's just not our team. So we have to do it through connectivity, through execution. And when we do that, we're really good. And this speaks to also something, I know I've been harping on a lot over the last couple of weeks, run your effing offense. And the reason I keep bringing this up is that's part of the execution and part of the steps and part of process that will hold. hopefully allow you to get the things that you're looking for, but it requires patience. It requires being methodical. It requires like a commitment for 48 minutes that to be honest, we don't see enough of
Starting point is 00:04:09 with this team. And I think it also requires, and I think this is a place where people, you know, particularly people who are really sort of charting all of this stuff, get a little concerned, is that it also requires the capacity to. counter what defenses are doing to you. And if you're getting heavy, significant ball pressure, what do you do? If they're taking away Anthony Davis in the post with a double,
Starting point is 00:04:38 what do you do? Like all of these things that the Lakers just aren't responding to when the defense, the opposing defense, is presenting them roadblocks. Because I think a lot of the, a lot of the different. difficulties they have. To me at least, it seems like come when what like plan A is sort of taken away. And you know, when you don't have, you can't punish people with just the, you know, the guy you can just break down people off the dribble and get to the basket.
Starting point is 00:05:12 Like LeBron isn't that guy anymore. He doesn't stand at the perimeter and blow past people the way he used to. He can, he's terrifying in transition when he's in the move. When it's against a set defense, LeBron has trouble beating guys off the dribble. We can all understand why, but that's where they are. That's not Gabe Vincent's game. That's not Rui Hachamuro's game. That's not Max Christie's game. That wasn't DeAngelo Russell's game when he was there.
Starting point is 00:05:42 He was maybe a little bit better at it, especially coming off screens and getting into spaces than some other guys. But again, you don't put D.Loh on an island, just have to break down people and get to the bucket. That's not his game either. And so, you know, you combine that with kind of a lack of athleticism by NBA standards and all the stuff. And they become a much more one-note offense that, like you say, has to not just execute against whatever sort of base defense, step one defense the teams throw at them, but steps two and three and four and five. That's really to me where they seem to get about getting buried. It's not just though. I mean, I think you're totally correct that they often don't react well to either adjustments to what they're doing and those counters that you mentioned or just general adversity.
Starting point is 00:06:33 But sometimes I feel like they're looking to take the easy way out on a lot of things before the adversity even presents itself. Like they're a team that sometimes feels like they're looking for knockout blows like in the second quarter. there was an example in the game and I don't remember exactly when it happened but there was a there was a possession where the Lakers played pretty good defense and they ended up getting a defensive rebound. LeBron took it up court and put up a transition three with at least like 18 or 19 seconds left on the on the clock and he missed and the clippers I believe. came back and scored on the next one. And that to me is like one of those, it's just a terrible shot. Like even if he made it, it's a bad shot. And I feel like they will often take some of these bad. And I know it's not unique to the Lakers. All teams take bad shots. But bad shots don't affect all teams in the same way. And there are times where it feels like they jump to those
Starting point is 00:07:45 openings because they don't have the patience to do everything you're supposed to do. Or because they're not, I mean, this might be psychoanalyzing LeBron specifically, but you're not as invested in the whole 82 game of it all. And you're not, you know, I'm not saying that he's sleepwalking through it. But we've talked before, look, we talked before for somebody like LeBron. and I think in some respects, Anthony Davis as well, this bleep ain't all that exciting, man.
Starting point is 00:08:20 Like, it's kind of a drag. But then you're, you are sort of saying that they're not taking those games as seriously and kind of sleep. Well, I didn't say, well, I didn't say that I want to make it clear. I'm not saying that it's always a question of not playing hard.
Starting point is 00:08:32 I'm talking about just your overall investment in it. Just to make sure people understand what specifically I'm talking about. Sometimes I don't think they're playing hard enough. I'm saying I don't think it's, I just don't think it's always that, but I don't think it's, we'll get to LeBron's comments on this as well, because he very much, you know, mirroed JJ. And I have a different take on some of what I think was being said. And some of Redick's other comments too, but I don't know if, I mean, I think there is
Starting point is 00:09:06 some of that. I think, I also think a lot of their impatience or plays like, that. And sometimes guys just take terrible shots. Like you get, you know, basketball players. It's not unique to LeBron or the Lakers, nor by putting last night's loss on that one shot by LeBron. No, I mean, LeBron of the big three, so to speak, played the best game. I mean, it was, you know, of those guys, he was the best one. Sure. And I think what they also have is a massive, massive confidence deficit. Like they just aren't sure. of what they're doing. And when things are going poorly,
Starting point is 00:09:48 guys don't hate the expression. They don't trust the process. They cut corners. They try to do things themselves. They don't make the extra pass. Or sometimes guys are missing from where they're supposed to be and it throws stuff off. When you have to execute at a high level all the time,
Starting point is 00:10:03 when one person doesn't do it or somebody's laid off a screen or whatever it might be or JJ doesn't send the right play in or they don't call the right stuff or whatever it is, it breaks everything down or the rhythm gets thrown off because there's too much ball pressure. I mean, there's so many things that go into it that suddenly can get you to abandon the plan, even if when you pick up the ball off the glass, the plan was the plan. This question of margin for error got into roster construction, which, of course, as we get closer and closer to the trade deadline, touched off all sorts of, of, uh, of chatter and I'm not entirely sure people are getting the right point from it.
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Starting point is 00:11:42 So inherent in every discussion about margin for error, Andy, is a notion of how do you make that better? How do you increase your margin for air? And often that's with, if not better players, different players with different skill sets. And when JJ says we don't have a huge margin fair, nor can we create that margin organically. He's saying, like, we don't have the players to do it. It's not like a different strategy where we can unleash our guys who can, you know, again, you use that example, break guys down off the dribble on the perimeter late in a clock or something like that
Starting point is 00:12:17 or, you know, just dominate in other ways. LeBron talking about that same margin for error question, said that's just how our team is constructed. We don't have room for error for much air. We don't have a choice but to execute at a high level. That's the way our team is constructed, and we have to. We have to play close to perfect basketball, and we know the game is never perfect.
Starting point is 00:12:36 So it's never going to be a 48-minute perfect basketball game. And of course, Andy, that got people talking about, well, are they going to improve the roster? Is this LeBron taking shots across the bow of Rob Polinka and Jeannie Bust to go out there and do what needs to be done? You know, we go through this dance every trade deadline. Tradition unlike any other. Is this another example of that? That seemed to be the most common interpretation of what we were seeing the other night from LeBron.
Starting point is 00:13:16 Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we... I mean, I mean, yeah, I'm just, you know, I, do you think that's what he's doing? Because I'm, I mean, I've an alternate theory, but I'll leave it to you first. I suppose it could be. I mean, at this point, it happens so often.
Starting point is 00:13:34 I don't even know how to distinguish what is hard messaging versus media messaging versus soft messaging versus resignment to your fate. Like, I honestly, I don't know. LeBron is known for never saying anything without reason. And I want to say, I want to say it was Yovon Buha on his podcast, Buhas Block in front of the show. People should be listening to Yovon as well. But he had noted, I believe it was Yovon,
Starting point is 00:14:09 that LeBron said this at a Lakers Clippers game, which is significant because it means a lot of L.A. media there. meaning in other words, there are maximum microphones and mouthpieces repeating this in all sorts of different spaces, which would give it a lot of attention. At the same time, LeBron knows anything that he ever says gets a ton of attention. He is a master of making sure that his words are heard. it also could just be him being pretty dead honest about this because again, it's nothing that you and I have not been saying pretty much all season and in a lot of ways about this roster for the last couple of years because it's been basically the same roster.
Starting point is 00:15:04 My theory here, and I'm wondering if there's at least some of this. And you're kind of getting towards that with what you're saying with LeBron there is it's less. LeBron's not going anywhere, I don't think. And unless he demands a trade, the Lakers aren't going to trade him. There's really nowhere to trade him. And trading LeBron isn't going to net you some sort of awesome rebuild. You trade LeBron as part of a basically do right by your stars. ethos because you're not going to get three first rounders and, you know, a young player
Starting point is 00:15:47 and all that kind of stuff for LeBron. You're not. You might get a, you know, a decent young player a couple, maybe a first or something. You're not getting tons of stuff for LeBron. No team is going to sacrifice their future to bring in LeBron at this point. I don't think. It could be wrong, but I don't think. Unless they are a team, here's the problem. LeBron makes so much money and he has no trade clause, meaning you're essentially negotiating with LeBron, if you're this other team as well as negotiating with the Lakers. It's similar to you and I were covering the team when Kobe demanded a trade, and Kobe also had a no trade clause. And among the reasons Kobe never got traded was it was too damn difficult. Because Kobe had to sign off on this trade as well. And
Starting point is 00:16:30 typically the players, the Lakers wanted in return for Kobe were the ones that Kobe wanted to play with. So you can't work that stuff out very. easily. In the case of LeBron and the amount of salary that has to be matched, it's hard to find a team that has that many spare players, you know, ancillary players that you can add up those salaries and still be good while also giving the Lakers anything that they'd want. It's just really different. Because the Lakers would be better off letting LeBron walk away than taking on bad contracts and stuff like that because this rebuild when it eventually comes can be hard enough as it is.
Starting point is 00:17:10 But so you trade LeBron because he says, I want to finish my, we're not getting it. I appreciate it. I know you guys were doing your best. It's not going to happen here. I got one year left, two at the very most. And I really want to try to win a championship one more time. And I just don't think I can do it here. I mean, it wouldn't make him popular around town.
Starting point is 00:17:31 He also might not be wrong. But if that's his approach, then you do it too. the request and you hope you can get something decent back. I think what we're seeing and I think you see it from Redick as well is a little bit of C-Y-A kind of talk. Cover your, I can say, your ass, right? Yeah. Cover your ass.
Starting point is 00:17:59 Do you not listen to our own podcast? I just want to have just been said like a billion times on this show. I, you know, I forget our rules. Are you not one of the, are you not making this show your first listen every day? I, you know, I already did it. I did it the night before. I expect our listeners not to be paying attention, but you're another story. Because we, well, I don't pay attention to you.
Starting point is 00:18:22 That's something our listeners have noted. It explains a lot. I, I think especially when you see it from Reddick, explaining what this roster is, because we are starting to get into, and I don't mean this even necessarily in a negative way to JJ, he's sort of saying what is obvious and true and also sending a message publicly to his team about how we need to play. You guys might think it's A, B, and C, but look, it's X, Y, and Z and if we're going to do anything, everybody's got to be pulling on every possession in exactly the same way all the time, no lapses in focus are allowed. But at the same time,
Starting point is 00:19:02 It also is a defense against the, well, JJ Redick, how come you can't get it done? JJ Redick, look at your offense. It kind of sucks right now. Like the performance of this team doesn't look that much different than Darvin Ham. What's, you know, why. Talk a big game on your podcast there, buddy. Yeah. It's so easy to be a coach, ain't it?
Starting point is 00:19:25 And so while I don't think we're at the point where a person is started like, you know, JJ is doing like what Frank did when he knew he was getting fired, which was basically double middle fingers to all of this. And so LeBron, though, to finish the point, like LeBron, I think is responding to a little bit of that. Like I, you know, it's a little bit of what do you want me to do? Like there's a limit as to what can be done with this. And I'm being realistic.
Starting point is 00:20:00 there's some admission in there that I can no longer carry the group. I think there is a little bit of that admission in there in what LeBron is saying. Like we, LeBron used to be margin for error. Yeah. Like by himself, LeBron was margin for error. Any team that had LeBron on it had a reasonably significant amount of margin for error just because LeBron could do superhuman things. Particularly when he was in the East.
Starting point is 00:20:29 So to say that we don't have, meaning the Lakers, any margin for error, is to some degree an admission of, you can't, my presence is no longer enough to elevate a team to something bigger than it ought to be. LeBron of 2025 ain't dragon Eric Snow to the finals. You know what I'm saying? And so I think there's a little bit of that in there of, I don't know if it's a come to Jesus moment necessarily for the team, but a reminder from everybody that like this is how we have to play. And it's not necessarily as fun. And it says something about us as a group that you know what?
Starting point is 00:21:16 None of us are quite as talented as whatever. And then like the one guy who sort of is in Anthony Davis can't necessarily. do these things by himself. Like we need to execute around him for AD to be as good as he can. We need to execute the gameplay. We need to get in the ball. We need to coach better. We need to.
Starting point is 00:21:34 But everyone has to do it on. LeBron even says like on every single play. We can't combat it on multiple possessions in a row for turning the ball over. We have to do a better job on stuff like that. Like these little things that you do, AD pointed out stupid files on James Hardin, bad offensive rebounds, little. mistakes that take all the wind out of what they're trying to do. They just can't afford them.
Starting point is 00:22:00 This also, though, gets to the potential front office reaction to these comments because many people are guessing that this is LeBron and JJ trying to light a fire under the front office's collective asses. Will that end up happening? Talk about that next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by prize picks. basketball season heating up. There's no better way to get real money action while watching your favorite NBA stars and with prize picks, whether you're a diehard fan or just love.
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Starting point is 00:23:17 exciting with prize picks. So now's the perfect time to join. Download the app today. Use the code locked on NBA to get 50 bucks instantly when you play your first. $5 lineup. That's right. There's no need to even win to get the bonus. It's guaranteed. Prize picks. Run your game. We hit on before, Brian, one of the elements of this that I think is interesting in terms of the front office reaction to this if there is one at all. As long as they have no indication that LeBron will either ask for a trade or opt out this summer because for better or worse, depending on how you feel about it, that is the last thing this organization wants. As I've said before, LeBron could be taking his call with the starting five while using a
Starting point is 00:24:06 walker. And this team will keep him on the roster because they don't know what to do with themselves without a superstar. So as long as they don't get a sense that LeBron will leave over this, to some degree there is no threat. Like, the words carry no real threat. Like, I don't, I don't think they're going to frighten the front office into doing something. Like the idea that LeBron and JJ are saying these things all of a sudden, it puts more pressure on the front office that they feel like they have to do something. Like even if it jinns up the fan base, like I doubt Rob and Jeannie are so insulated that they don't know the fan base is not happy
Starting point is 00:24:51 with what's happening now. I will give them enough credit to believe they don't live in that type of bubble to think everybody's satisfied. It's been basically a hamster wheel for the last few years. And it hasn't led to any big moves other than correcting the Russell Westbrook disaster. So in that sense, what LeBron and JJ are saying, I don't think amounts to much in terms of external pressure. I just think I keep throwing into the in the same bucket of like everyone knows the problem. And it's it's easier to ignore that they've had stretches where you could look at it and say, hmm, okay, you know what?
Starting point is 00:25:41 Maybe this group doesn't need tons of help, a couple little tweak, Dorian Finney Smith, you go get another player. You're like, we have limited assets here. but if we kind of use them correctly, we might be able to put something together and make a run without having to do something really crazy. And, you know, everybody, the Lakers kind of get to have their cake and eat it too. They get to make some moves.
Starting point is 00:26:02 They get to look active, but they don't completely mortgage the future. They don't have to do anything super risky. Say what you want about the Angela Russell trade. It might work out the way they want. We talked about it some for Monday's show. Both of us think DFS needs to play more. work to kind of make this trade work. And we are seeing the downside to trading DeLo in the form of how their offense is operating.
Starting point is 00:26:31 It's hurt the offense. There's no question. But that's not a risky trade. That wasn't, you know, you're talking about trading a guy who wasn't going to be part of the team, probably next year. Never rule out DeLo in the Lakers. I'm not even ruling it out as this summer's big offseason signing. Do you imagine?
Starting point is 00:26:54 Mid-level exception, DeAngelo Russell? I would never rule it out entirely. They need a guard, Andy. They do need. How many free agents? Like, if you could get DeLo at like $6 million, that's a bargain. They actually, they could use a guard right now a lot like DeAngelo Russell. What I do.
Starting point is 00:27:11 So, like, I think what they were hoping for was the easy decision that the team collapses and it's just like, I'm sorry folks, like Lakers fans. We just, we're seven games under 500 in a super competitive West and there's nothing. We just can't, it would be stupid to try to rescue this by trading for Zach Levine or something like that. Ironically, all the teams behind them on Monday as we're recording, they all lost. Like the opponents of the Mavericks, sons, warriors, and Timberwolves all did the Lakers of favor. Even the Hornets who played the Mavericks did the Lakers a favor all those
Starting point is 00:27:56 teams behind the Lakers. And I think that was done specifically to troll Rob Polinka. It's collusion. But, you know, so you want that answer or like the easy one I described before of like, you know what? Hey, like look at us. We're the four seed. We don't need a massive influx of talent.
Starting point is 00:28:15 A couple good tweaks around the margin. We trade a protected first rounder for this guy and whatever. Where they are right now is the squishy middle, which is like, is there like a home run deal out there that you could look maybe to say we are truly going all in on the LeBron and AD era? I think they're in the same box they were in before and have never been in a position where they're really going to be able to make a super meaningful trade in the market with what they have. But the every time LeBron plays well, an AD or whatever, and they either squeak out a win or they barely, it's like a cry for help. and Lakers fans are reacting to it, I don't think they want to do anything big. I really don't think they do.
Starting point is 00:28:56 What's funny about this, though, is when you talk about the squishy middle, I think in some ways that's the space that they prefer, because the squishy middle allows them to do the least amount possible with the most possible cover. When you had mentioned before, like the idea that LeBron and JJ are acknowledging not just the roster limitations, but in the case of LeBron, I don't know if LeBron meant it this way, but even indirectly, the idea that I can't carry a team the way I used to,
Starting point is 00:29:31 say even when the Lakers first brought me in, you know, now seven seasons of the Lakers. I can't do that the way that I used to, you know, and LeBron recently said, you know, the Nets game that they barely got by, our best player was missing the players. the player being Anthony Davis. On one hand, that could be just a straight up acknowledgement of the situation right now, but it may also reflect how the front office, you know, when they're talking amongst
Starting point is 00:30:02 themselves and making sure that, you know, the room's not miced and nobody can hear. How do they talk amongst themselves? Is it Rob like a sock puppet? It's Rob the Rambi and Jeannie. They sit down together. Should we trade for someone? No, we shouldn't trade for someone. It's just Rob talking to himself.
Starting point is 00:30:21 I don't picture any of those four people doing funny voices the way any of them operate. What I think is really interesting about this is I think they internally, there's a ceiling on their confidence with this group. But the problem is there's an even bigger ceiling on what they're willing to do about it. Because like I said before, they don't know what to do with themselves
Starting point is 00:30:52 without superstars on hand. And I think in a lot of ways, as much as it will be disappointing for fans, disappointing for the players themselves, it is easier to just kind of exist as a six to 10 seed, finger quote relevant with stars on the roster easily marketed and no investment that hurts in terms of what you're giving up.
Starting point is 00:31:26 I said before when they traded for DFS, what I liked about it, aside from the fact that I thought for the playoffs, it could be a good trade for them, is it represented the beginning, potentially at least, of picking a lane. because they've been working with this group for a long time, and you've got LeBron at 40 and Anthony Davis on the back end of his prime. If you're not going to invest in it for whatever reason, in some respects, I don't even care what the reason is.
Starting point is 00:31:56 If you're not going to do it, unless the point is, again, just putting asses and seats and surface level relevance, there's no point to keeping this together as it. Like it's pointless. Well, yeah, I can see, like, I think that is more than anything. In terms of actually accomplishing. You're right. And I think...
Starting point is 00:32:18 Substantative that matters. I don't even mean winning a championship. I mean just doing something that takes you down a path to anywhere. Because before you know it, it's not just a question of did you waste the time you had with a braun? It's what do you have to show for Anthony Davis's prime? There's no question. And I think that's why they're looking at trades and saying if it helps us stay.
Starting point is 00:32:40 good for three years down the road. And you just may not be able to do any of all of those things at one time. And so, I mean, I think really where, two points to make. I'll make this one quick. I mentioned what I think Redick was getting at. The downside to Reddick pointing out like some of these limitations in the roster is also, it points much more of a spot. The only thing, if there's no flexibility in the roster to improve what they're doing,
Starting point is 00:33:06 the only avenue is execution and coaching. So it does put a greater spotlight on what Reddick needs to do. And that spotlight, I think, is getting brighter. And I think we're seeing some of the problems that come with having a guy. I was never coached before. I don't know. I mean, I see what a lot of people are writing about, how they respond to things and this and that. And I fully believe that if observers breaking down tape,
Starting point is 00:33:34 the coaching staff is seeing most the same stuff. And like, you know, I know disrespect to the people online. But that's the avenue to improve right now. Generally speaking, you can't coach your way purely through a talent deficit. That's not how the NBA works. So I think that, you know, that's, you know, the upside and the downside to what Redick is framing as it does put a little bit more of a spotlight on him. But I think fans for, you know, we can quit here, but fans, I think the problem with what you're saying is like don't treat us like a mark.
Starting point is 00:34:09 Like you say pick a lane. Absolutely. Go all in. Maybe it's maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. This rebuild's going to be super painful as it is. And maybe this makes it worse by a lot longer. I think people are really underestimating the horrible position the Lakers would be starting
Starting point is 00:34:26 over from. But that's a conversation for another day. But you're right. I think there are a lot of fans at least who are like either do the thing that gives us the best possible chance, even if it's low, or do the thing that confronts the reality you're in. But by doing neither, you're just kind of, and then get every training camp saying, you know, we think we can do it this year. You're treating us like remarks. And nobody likes that. This is a fan base. And you and I, I think, know this fan base very well. They are reasonably
Starting point is 00:34:58 unreasonable, if that makes sense. Like, they are not stupid. And if you, if you see a, if you, if you you explain to them and they can see a plan, are they going to enjoy the period of the rebuild? Not necessarily, but I think they can accept it more than I think the front office believes they will. And that's what leads to a lot of times again, taking the squishy middle, which is the worst possible path in terms of any big picture that you can go down. And there is also the other question of whether or not, if they decide to rebuild, you know, if you get to that point where you feel like you need to blow it up is Rob Polink of the
Starting point is 00:35:35 guy who would still be in charge of that. I'm not sure Rob wants to start the timer on his own gig, but we'll see. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with... Question regardless of what they're doing. With over 27,000 subscribers. We will be back. Of course, didn't even talk about tonight. Lakers versus the Wizards.
Starting point is 00:35:54 If the Lakers do not win this one, it'll be torches and pitchforks, I think, across Laker Nation. But we'll see. Anthony Davis, questionable. as he is for most games now, but we'll see how he responds to treatment and all that stuff when he plays. But either way, we'll be back after the game.
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