Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - What Centers are Good Enough to Make it Worth Trading Austin Reaves?

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

The Lakers, it is reported, would trade Austin Reaves for a "foundational piece." That doesn't have to be a center, necessarily, but certainly the five is LA's biggest need, and as LA's best trade chip, people are going to at least make those connections. But practically speaking, who exactly would that mean? Like, sure, the Lakers would trade Austin for Nikola Jokic or Wemby... but that's not a world we live in. So what names out there are even remotely possible? And of the guys that are even more possible, would any of them actually be worth sacrificing Reaves? It's a tricky place, for sure. Because the list of names worthy of Reaves isn't long, and the list of gettable centers includes many where Reaves would be too high a price to pay. It's a tough needle for Rob Pelinka to thread. Meanwhile, the league may get some clarity on the Giannis situation, as he and the Bucks are expected to meet this week to talk about his future in Milwaukee. A resolution to this doesn't mean he's coming to the Lakers - he's not - but would help keep offseason movement robust, which does favor the Lakers. If everyone is waiting around to figure out Giannis's future, that hurts LA. The Lakers need action.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: Who are the centers that might be available for Reaves?  SEGMENT 2: What does the rest of the market look like?  SEGMENT 3: Giannis and Milwaukee and how it impacts LA.  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!CarGurusBuy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.SKIMSShop SKIMS Mens at SKIMS.com/lockedonnba. Let them know we sent you! After you place your order, select "podcast" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED 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.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to Lockdown Lakers for Monday. Brian Komeneski, Andy Komeneske. The Lakers say they would trade Austin Reeves for a foundational piece, presumably at center. Who exactly does that mean? Who could that mean? 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. Thanks to everybody for making Lockdown Lakers first listen of every day, Monday through Friday, no matter how where you get your podcast, this one is always free, never behind a paywall and locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out. With over 35,000 subscribers, Andy, all of whom

are, they're getting themselves ready for the summer. They're looking at what's going on in the playoffs and trying to divine lessons from that. They're checking out Janus Anteco meeting with the bucks this week. Could that have a positive impact on the

Lakers? We will tell you that. before the end of today's show. But first, Andy, I need to tell you that today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code locked at MbA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first order. The second thing I need to tell you, though, Andy, is we went into, I believe it was Friday's episode about Alex Cruz. So he's been on the minds of a lot of people this weekend.

We may bring him up as we talk about team building about Austin. Congratulations, by the way, to Alex. Carruso as part of the Thunder now officially punching their ticket to the Western Conference Finals. Also, this is something that may come up during the week, but either way, congratulations to former Baby Lakers, Julius Randall and Josh Hart for also being a part of the conference finals, West and East. So I'm sure people will point out in the comments section that I did get my plucky white Lakers confused. Could happen to anybody. So it, you know, we talked about how Austin Reeves was on the trading, I wouldn't say on the block, but at least you could get in

there if you put the right quote unquote foundational piece on the table in return, this according to Dan Wojke in his newsletter at the LA Times. And so we talked about that for Friday. And it's an interesting thing because when you like you talk about, well, we need centers, what would you be? Who's good? You actually got to kind of sit down. You actually got to kind of sit down. to be like, if you were going to trade Austin Reeves for a center, who is that? How many people qualify as foundational that maybe Reeves could be part of a trade with? And fortunately for everybody across the network, whether you're getting it on YouTube, on the YouTube channel, Locked on Lickers, or Apple on iTunes or whatever, you've actually

done the work, Andy, you went in and you are now made a list of every center in the league, basically, and whether or not they qualify as foundational enough in a hypothetical Austin Reeves deal. Well, to be specific, I went through the starters for every team in the league, because I think we can all agree, like the third string center on the Hornets, probably not good enough to Merritt getting traded for Austin. But I really started thinking about the idea of what Dan's report actually means in terms of, what is a realistic possibility to even start thinking about Austin being a part of a trade, but then also what does it mean if you don't start landing on many scenarios that could

involve Austin to begin with, at least for Bigman. We will, I'm sure, start branching out towards other positions as the offseason goes along. Some of these trades could or could not involve Austin. But I really started thinking about Dan's report and what it actually means. So I took these starting centers across the league, and I divided them up into three categories. Category A, their team ain't trading them at all in any likelihood, much less for Austin Reeves. Category two, names, or guys that really qualify as names, that could theoretically be on the move for a variety of reasons. And then category three, everyone else. So I'm going to run through these names, the first set being the one off the table,

likely to go anywhere. I'm going to give you the names. You just tell me, do you even do you disagree with my categorization? But otherwise, if we agree on those, we move on. And do you want me to tell you if I think, you know, if they're like sort of untouchable like or like could Austin Reeves be part of a package that could get him? Well, I would say for for category one, it's really more do you even it's about agreeing or disagree with your categorization. Okay. Go ahead. Category two, when I start naming guys that could theoretically be. on the move. That's where I think it starts becoming more applicable with Austin and then, you know, is he worth it from the Lakers perspective? Do we think the other team would do it?

But anyway, these are the guys that I think will be off the table in all likelihood for Austin or anybody else. Nikola Yokic, Wembe, Alpern Shangoon, Miles Turner, impending free agent in some time of sign and trade. I don't see a world where the nope, conference finalist, Indiana Pacers trade their starting center who's a life conference finals in a row by the way for Indiana life or with the organization. I don't picture that happening. Galen Duren, Alex Sar, and I can't believe I'm saying this name, but two conference finals in a row is two conference finals in a row. I think it might take a lot for the wolves to trade Rudy Gobert at this point. It's kind of crazy to say after all the bleep they took on the heels of that trade. No, you're right. Into the conference

finals two years in a row. They got something working there plus, you know, even if you want to start getting into, well, maybe for the right deal because Gobert makes so much money. The Lakers couldn't assemble the amount of stuff. They're certainly not going to do it for Austin Reeves. Right. So do you agree with my categorizations for all those guys in group one? Yeah, I don't think, you know, the Pistons love Duren.

Yeah. And, you know, obviously Wembe, Yokic, Sar, you know, is, was the second pick in the draft last year, I believe, and had some good moments. Like, you know, he was, they consider him a foundational piece. He's not moving. Yeah, I think that's a pretty good list. Okay. Now, here are some of the best names that I think could at least theoretically be on the move

for a variety of reasons, which could include team needing to go in a different direction, owners, contract, yada, yada. Jaron Jackson Jr. Would you put Austin in a deal for Jaron Jackson Jr? Without getting into the weeds, but just as a theoretical. My answer is yes. I would certainly consider it, yes. Bam at a bio.

Less so I would consider it. It's not even the giving up Austin part. I'm a little worried about Bam based on how he played this year, but I think next to Luca, a lot of things could change. I would at least consider. It's awfully good. would certainly, I would get deep into my BAM at a bio file and start making some calls. There's no question.

Vita Zubats. Yes. Done. Done. Absolutely. Done. Done. 100%.

He's become very, very good. And you also have to remember for these guys that I'm saying, done, it is harder to find Avita Zubots than it is to find Austin Reeves, even though Austin Reeves is very good. It is harder. to find someone at a Vita Zubots' size. It's not like he beats. And Zubat, Zoo is not like 38.

He might be younger than Austin. He's younger than Austin, but I am looking up his age right now. Jared Allen. Yeah, I would do that. I would consider it. I mean,

I, like, that's what I'm saying. Consider it. Walker Kessler. Yeah. I would, I would certainly.

I would consider that very heavily. I would certainly consider. Especially given Kessler's age. Zoo, by the way, is turned 28 in March. So he's two years older than Austin. Austin's about to turn 27. So one year and a half. Okay.

And then finally, Joel Embeded. Absolutely no. No. No. So it's clear. No. Embed is obviously the more talented player. Yeah.

No. But he's never, ever right. Not touching. I am not. I am concerned about Jaron Jackson Jr.'s health. That would be one of the big things. I realized Laker fans were like, oh, he's overrated as a DPOY guy, and he's not good enough at this, and he's not good.

He's really good. And, you know, he's an all-star level, all-star caliber type player. He's banged up a lot. Okay, so from this list that I've given you, because we're coming up against a break soon. So we'll get into the guys that I consider the others. But from that list, we've got Jaron Jackson Jr., Bam, Atabio, Walker, Kessler, Jared Allen, and Abiza Zubats, as all somewhere between would at least consider it to Dund Deal, get the paperwork in before the other team changes their mind. And this is independent of whether or not we think those players would actually be available.

It's just because this is the threshold that I understand. I can picture a world in which they are available. I'm not saying a likely world. And I'm not even saying it's a world that the Lakers could conquer with what they can offer. I'm just like the clippers, for example, with zoo bots. I don't think they're in any hurry to get rid of zoo at all. They might just realize we have come as far as we can get with this grouping. Some changes may need to be made. And we need to rebuild some draft capital.

We had Hawaii and Norman Powell and James Hardin all healthy, healthy-ish in the first round. As healthy as you get at this point of the year, and we didn't make it out of the first round. Right. So that's where I'm including someone like Zubots. Do I think the clippers are looking to move him? No. Okay. Let me tell you where I think your list kind of nails it next.

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you know what? We ran into injuries at the wrong time, maybe the gap between us. in Indiana maybe wasn't as big as we would have liked, what you think based on the regular season, we had a lot of guys banged up at the wrong time. I don't think you make foundational changes for that. But that said, I could see it. I don't think those guys,

it's not like the idea that the spurs might trade Wemby. That is not going to happen. The question of whether or not Austin Reeves could get those guys is separate from the question I was asking last week was, if you're going to trade Reeves, it needs to be for a guy on the level of Reeves. And I think all the people that you named are ballpark on the level. They've either been all-stars.

Or maybe they're better. Yeah, they've been all-stars. They're sort of all-star adjacent. They're rapidly improving like a guy like Zubots, criminally underrated in some ways. All of those players, I think you could look at and say, are on the level of an Austin Reeves, and then you start getting into fit,

you know, all that of those other things. But yeah, I think that I think the list you're putting out there is, is pretty good. Okay. So here are all the guys that I categorized as the rest. So then it really just starts turning into a question of, would you trade Austin for this player or not? Dremont Green.

No. No, me neither. I've seen too much of what Dremont looks without Steph and it's not nearly as good as with Steph. I'm not saying he's Steph's backpack. I'm just saying I'm not going to be the first team. That's not why I want to be doing that many emergency podcasts. There's that as well. Multiple jobs.

No, we're not doing that as well. Nikola Vucevich. No. No, me neither. I would stop. I would think about. think about it with Vouch just because he is good at certain things. But I think ultimately what you really need first and foremost is at least some aspect of defense.

Like people get, you know, like Jaron Jackson, he's not a good enough rim protective. He has he has good defensive qualities when you're like, but Vouch doesn't. And they don't need the offense. And he's not exactly a high flying vertical threat. No, I would not do it for Vucevic either. Christop's Porzingeris gets hurt. too much. Yeah, I wouldn't either. Um, Yonis Valanchunis. No. No, me neither. Nick Claxton. Notice, does Jonas Valenchunis seem to you to be a great pairing for Luca

Donchurch? Uh, he does not. No. And even, look, even before he does set a really mean screen. I will say that, but even before, even before we were in the Luca era when there was, you know, the whole report of LeBron being willing to take a serious haircut in order to get Jonas Valen chinas. I was like, I don't think this makes sense for the Lakers. Keep your hair, man. I mean, LeBron cannot afford to be willy-nilly with those type of hair propositions. He's got to treat this with the seriousness it deserves. Nick Claxton.

I wouldn't. I think you should be able to get Nick Claxton. I think you should be able to get it. But I will say, I saw a Nick Claxton sizzle reel that somebody. I've told you that he's better than you think he is. And it was a bit. I mean, but it was all the good place. didn't put it. Right, but it was like an eight and a half minute reel of like Nick Claxton being

awesome defensively. I was like, okay. I'm in truth now. We're going to do deeper dives into Clxton because God knows he's going to be connected to the Lakers. Oh yeah. For at least the next couple months or so until he ends up on the Lakers or somewhere else. I'm not saying that Nick Claxton is an elite center, but what I do think people need to remember is you need to really be judging him from when last he was on a good team. And when he was on a good team, like the Katie, Harden, Kyrie, Nets before everything fell apart, Claxton was a good player. He was a world leader.

And he fits the profile. Like he, he's not a, he's not going to be a guy you can rely on to do everything. But if he was, he wouldn't be available potentially without even giving up Austin Reeves. He's a good above the rim guy, shop locker, things like that. They should be able to get Claxton without giving up. I agree with you. these two guys kind of split time for their team so I'm presenting them together Wendell Carter Jr. or Goga Potazzi from the magic.

I don't think you put Austin Reeves into it. I'm interested in both. I'm interested in both. I'm Goga curious. I'm very Goga curious. Goga Patazi is a much better athlete that I think people understand because you A, he plays in Orlando. He's the sort of a backup center in Orlando.

You don't necessarily pay a lot of it. I wouldn't expect. I haven't seen the guy play a ton either. Plus, Goga Batadzi sounds like a big, hulking, slow person. And he's actually quite an athlete.

So I am, again, he is somebody we will be dialing up locked on magic to get some additional intel on. Okay. On Yaku, on Kongwu in Atlanta. Yes, absolutely.

I actually would have put him in the category, though. I think you haven't been the wrong category. Atlanta's not trading him. Well, the only reason I thought not in the others. He's definitely not in the others. You're probably correct. I probably put him. The only reason I put him in the others is simply because Atlanta is such a weird team

with what they're doing. It felt hard to peg what they would do with anyone, but you're probably right. That's true. But the answer is yes. I agree with you. I wouldn't do. Risha Say and probably, I mean, I think they'd trade, Tray Young before barring something totally ridiculous.

I think they trade Young before they trade a Congo. He was a difficult one for me to peg, but you may be right about that. Jakub Pertil in Toronto. I would not. I don't think he's a good enough fit for Luke to do that. Yeah, I think that's the difference here. Is he sneaky close to Reeves on the level?

I don't think he's quite as good, separating everybody's job, but I think it's the fit. I don't think he's a great fit with Luca. Not a bad fit. Not a bad fit, but I think if you're going to give up Reeves, you need to get to be kind of all of it.

Yeah. Right. This guy, I just realized may also be in the wrong place, but I'll just throw him out of there anyway. OK, see Isaiah Hartenstein. Wrong category. I would very heavily consider.

He's so good. very heavily considered all well. He's a good lob threat. Like he's now good defense. You know,

he showed in New York when he had those time in New York where he really was a frontline player that he could do it. I would seriously consider it. I would consider it. DeAndre Adonre Aden.

No. Absolutely not. Daniel Gafford. No. You should be able to get Gafford without. Well, you should be able to, although now,

if I'm okay see there's like I'm asking for Luca I'm not trading with the Lakers for anything that doesn't return Luca to the team that's probably true I'm not doing it my my my is so outrageous at that point

Eve Misi in New Orleans no you know what he feels like to me right now Eve Micey feels like the answer now is no But in two years, you're going to wish it was yes. That's what he feels like tonight. I don't know what.

I don't know what the hell is going on down there. I know. I'm just not. I mean, he had a great rookie year, but it's so like, again, if I'm trading Austin Reeves, it needs to be for somebody that I know can play. Sure. In the, in the environment and with the stakes that the Lakers are putting. Absolutely.

I'm just saying he feels like someone that in a couple of years, you'll wish that you said. Oh, yeah. I mean, there's a potential there for him to be one of the better centers in the league in a few years. Either Mason Plumley or Nick Richards and Phoenix. No. No. And then finally, just because it's no plummlies. And also just finally because it is hilarious and also in this particular case, if you want him, it's going to require Austin Reeves given the backstory, Mark Williams and Charlotte.

I will say, here's the guy that you absolutely. positively have in the right category because it's very clear Charlotte will trade him. Right, but I'm just saying it will now require Austin Reeves and the answer of course is no. I, I am, I am real interested to see what happens there. But I will say, if they, we'll go on, you know, we'll react to some of this in the next segment, but I will say, Claxton and Gafflin. ultimately might be better fits for what they're trying to do because while they are both more limited offensively, they are both better, certainly Claxton is.

Gafford is a little bit harder to read as a total team defender. He's better shot blocker. But Mark Williams is not great on that side of the ball. So let's wrap this up. And let's also like this Janus meeting has the potential to, to impact the Lakers and we'll explain how next. So before we get back to this, this sort of discussion of Sanders, and I think the way you broke this down was really,

really good. Like it's just at some point you start putting names to things and you start to see how complicated some of these things or how few people there really are. Like that was, we're picky about Nick's Claxton, but like, okay, if not him, who? That's one of the reasons I wanted to do this. as we will get into, I fear that it could be setting up a standard that you knowingly won't be able to meet so you can keep the player you want to keep. Well, and it may be the right. That may be the right play.

It's like, because I think most of the, most of the players in that second category, for example, are probably not going to be on the market. And if they are, I agree. You're probably going to struggle to put a deal together. Sure. That works. Because even beyond Reeves, the Lakers don't have a lot of stuff. But that said, I think your point, though, is right. It's like this, it's a little like when people, you get quarterbacks in the NFL.

This guy isn't good enough to lead a team to a super. This guy, he's not, he's not a $50 million place. So they should just let him, you know, get a different. If you don't, okay, the next question is who? Because if you don't have a good quarterback, you can't win. Maybe it doesn't matter. Your team doesn't, isn't going to win anyway. You know, in the next couple of years, it's the right time to cut bait on a quarterback.

you don't want to. But if you're a team that wants to go somewhere, you have to have that guy. And for the Lakers, they have to fix this center problem. And hopefully it doesn't mean they overpay. But it could be a little deer trying to, you know, get this thing solved.

Right. You otherwise end up with you're throwing darts at the dartboard again, hoping one of those guys. hits going next season. And I don't think that's a great idea. Well, to put this in perspective, here are the seven players that we agreed we would trade Austin Reeves for, the seven centers. We agreed we would trade Austin for. Jared Jackson Jr., Bamadabia, Walker Kessler, Jared Allen, Evita Zubox, Akongwu, and Isaiah Hartenstein. By the way, those are just the seven that we can sort of

picture a world where they might be available. Different guys that have to think about it a little bit or whatever, but like I'm, you've got my attention. If you say, Hartnstein for Reeves or something, it's like, do I ultimately do it? I don't know, but you've got my attention. Right. Again, and this is a world.

These are seven guys that we're not even a hundred percent convinced would be available to begin with. A hundred. I'm not 10 percent convinced. And a couple of these guys, I'm zero percent convinced they'd be available. But they're at least, they're one rung below the, they're definitely off the table. Why are you even calling us centers? And we're not even sure they're going to be available at all.

We're more convinced they wouldn't be than they would. And those are the seven that met the standards. Everyone else around the league, we agreed, you don't trade Austin for that center. So it puts the Lakers, at least in terms of using Austin, potentially, to get a center in a very difficult place where you ultimately may not be using Austin to get a center as a plan because that plan doesn't exist. You know what I mean? Like in a tangible real world, that plan is not real. I, um, yeah, I mean, they have to be really careful with how they do, whatever. whatever it is they do. And, you know, Rui is an interesting trade piece. But you have with every step

in this reconstruction journey that they're going to be on, you got to make sure you're, you're at least addressing or replacing or acknowledging what goes out the door. Like if you can get Rui and bring back a really good center or something like that, you're probably coming out ahead. But you also have to understand, especially since Your rotation now, if you found a really good center and you still have Rui, it's getting complicated to figure out who plays where and when and all that kind of stuff. Because I think they're going to bring back a guy like DFS. And I think he will ultimately be back with the team next year.

And if DFS is back and you have a center and now LeBron can play power forward, which makes much more sense than having him on a wing as much as he was last year, But you still have to acknowledge like 40% three-point shooting, a pretty good volume is on its way out the door. You got to just be able to all of those. This is something to do. I've heard the guys, Pete and Darius over a Lakers film room podcast, which we say all the time, y'all should be listening to. You know it's a good podcast if we're sending you to the competition, but it's really good. But one of the things they talk about a lot that makes this complicated and they're correct is that between Luca, LeBron, Rui, and DFS.

If you presume these guys are all going to be back next year, you have four guys that you could argue their best position defensively is at the four. That in and of itself indicates a roster imbalance, even if in a vacuum, all four are guys you would want on your team. A, those guys are always really smart. And they're really nice people. But it's just the job they have in front of them. And I want to talk a lot this week about how important is. is to really lean into this season with what we anticipate coming back, which would include LeBron,

although we should probably at some point also cover the, at least plausible LeBron Leave scenario. So we'll get to that this week. It is important, like I think the reporting is, was it from Shams that Janus or was it? That was Chris Haynes. It was Haynes, right. Reporting that Janus and the Bucks are going to meet this week.

and this isn't important because Janus is coming here to the Lakers. What matters here is clarity. The faster that there's clarity around Janus, I think that will make it more possible for the amount of activity that I think the Lakers are going to need to happen to actually happen. And so everybody will understand what the playing field looks like. I think a more active NBA is better for the, the Lakers, constricted movement, given how little the Lakers have to work with, I think is bad

for them. And if people are waiting around all summer for Janus, that's going to slow things down. Yeah, I remember when news first broke a couple weeks ago, that I believe that was from Choms and also from Howard Beck at the ringer, that Janus was at least mulling over the possibilities of finally telling the bucks. I appreciate everything you've done, but I would like to be moved to. a contender. I remember at the time you brought up the idea that this could maybe drag out throughout the summer. And if it dragged out throughout the summer, it would grind a lot around

the league to a halt because until there's clarity with Janus, even the teams that don't expect to get Janus but think they could be a part of the deal sending Janus, facilitating Janus to wherever they would want to potentially be a part of it. It's a part of it. It's a much better for the bucks. If the writing is on the wall or you have an idea of where this is going to go, it is far better for Milwaukee to have agency in this upcoming draft and to have, say, the spurs or whoever else could be involved in the draft drafting for them and to start this thing over right now or to trade them the picks for whatever. It is much better for. It is much better for, for Milwaukee to get this figured out soon rather than over the summer.

And I think it's reflective of Janus too, that like, me, onus is 30, which isn't ancient, but you know, he's, that injuries in the last few playoffs. Right. He's had injuries. He is not, you know, he doesn't necessarily have tons of years left to be Yonis. And I think the idea here isn't that I don't like Milwaukee anymore.

I think the organization has treated me poorly. He's not forcing it. It's one of these things where he's, the organization, if Lillard hadn't hurt himself, the organization's a really tough spot. You know, they appear to be being passed by multiple teams in the, in the,

in the east. They took a huge swing on Lillard, used up a ton of capital. It didn't work the way they went. needed to really work this year. And it didn't. And needed to work last year. It did.

But like if you're wanting to work last year, really needed to work this year. And it's, it's not going to get better from here. No. You know, Lillard's injury affords the bucks and opportunity to be like, you know, it's very similar to what Boston is. Boston's a little different in the sense that they can keep working around their stars, move some pieces around, have a down year, whatever, and come right back and be really good the year following. Milwaukee is much more likely to slide into that perpetual 6, 7, 8 area.

You know what it is? And if Janus is just like, you know what, that's bad for everyone. I'll tell you what it is. I think it's okay. It reminds me of when Russ and the Thunder finally agreed it's time to part ways. There was no bad blood on either side. I mean, we've seen in the games where Denver has played against OKC in the semifinals. Like Russ gets huge applause every time he checks into the game. I think Russ has still genuine, sincere love and affection for that organization. They, I think, did each other right. But I think they both realized this has run its course.

We can't do for each other what we need. And I think that's the situation, Milwaukee's. I'm sure Janice has no hard feelings against, he'd have no reason to have. Pretty clear they've done whatever they could. And, you know, they, they won there. It's like, yes, exactly. It's, it's, this happens. Like this is, this is part of it. Um, and, um, I, I feel like everybody is handling this in the best way podcast. It's to be hard for Milwaukee to genuinely say, you know, what we can, we think we can fix this in a way that isn't. going to make you wait until you're 33 or 34 years old.

I just don't. They're out of moves, man. I just, you know, and we'll get into this, this team building question that if you're watching on YouTube, you see at the bottom of the rundown, didn't get to for Monday. But what we saw this weekend with Denver versus OKC, what we've seen throughout the playoffs, is this question of how you put teams together, what you value, how aggressive you have to be, how long your window is, if you can put something together. All really important questions the Lakers are grappling with,

and we will grapple with them over the course of the week. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you know hang out with over 35,000 subscribers to the channel. Send us questions. Send us your comments. We use them for the show. We'll see everyone Tuesday.