Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - What Trades Can the Lakers Make at the Deadline? Is Improvement Possible?

Episode Date: January 9, 2026

It's only early January, but we've already seen the first big deal of the year, as Trae Young was sent to Washington. Giannis says he's not asking out in Milwaukee, and the Bucks are reportedly trying to find ways to improve. Yep, we're in the thick of it. For the Lakers, it's a tricky proposition. With 23 wins, they're among the league leaders. But their 12 losses have all been by (famously at this point) double digits. So their flaws are pretty clear. So what's available to help address them? ESPN on Thursday put out a few hypothetical deals for teams around the NBA. One included Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III, a player the Lakers would love to have. Would LA have a shot? What about defense-first guard Keon Ellis, who is expected to move from Sacramento? Could the Lakers put deals together for either? And what kind of trade would the Lakers make? Would they be willing to take on salary? Would they be too tempted by the very potential of getting someone like Giannis in a summer or two? Would the Lakers prioritize flexibility? Would they take a risk on a player they'd have to commit to financially, even if it's not at a huge salary, even after getting burned by contracts for Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt? Keep in mind, the Lakers don't exactly have a treasure trove of assets. Only one tradable first rounder, only one second round pick, and a few swaps. The only remotely appealing expiring contract (meaning a player that other teams would deem useful) is Rui Hachimura. No slam dunk young assets to offer. So it's a tough assignment for Rob Pelinka. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky  SEGMENT 1: It's tradin' time!  SEGMENT 2: What can the Lakers do? Is Keon Ellis an option?  SEGMENT 3: What would they be willing to do?  Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyLet Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONBetterhelpBetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist.Sign up and get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA. QuoMake this the year where no opportunity — and no customer — slips away. Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to https://Quo.com/lockedonnba.Quo — no missed calls, no missed customers.  GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA and NFL seasons are here, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now. 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.

The Lakers have one of the best records in the NBA. How much better can they get before the deadline? Let's talk trades. 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 Lockedown Lakers,

your first listen to every day, no matter how you get the podcast. You might get it through Apple iTunes or Spotify. Maybe, Andy, you're one of the 37,000-plus subscribers, to the Lockdown Lakers YouTube channel, no matter how you're doing it, you're part of making the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one podcast network, a sports podcast network in this or any other known universe,

probably the unknown ones too, because we're just that big. Brian Kemenacki, Andy Kaminetsky, longtime coverers of the Lakers with the Athletic, with the SPN, with the Los Angeles Times. It is an important stretch. of schedule for the Lakers, not just because of the games.

We talked about it, Andy. They've got five games coming up against sub-500 teams. They need to continue to make hay against those teams as they have. But they've run up a 23 and 12 record as we head into the weekend, Andy. And it's strange because they both feel like a team that's 23 and 12 and won a lot of games. but they also feel like a team that's lost more than 12, probably because they lose those 12, they've lost those 12 games by a lot of points.

They are a good team. They're not a great team. The reason they're not a great team is their flaws are incredibly exploitable. That's why they've lost every game by double digits. That's why they're 13 and 0, I believe, clutch time record is both admirable and also features a lot of teams that you would figure a clutch time win would not be necessary because they're sub 500. All of which, by the way, leads to why so many Laker fans are wondering about the trade deadline,

what could be available for the Lakers because it's pretty obvious, as is this team is not constructed to win a championship. So you start to break it down and you try to figure out, okay, well, what exactly can the Lakers do? It's pretty clear what they need. They need, you know, obviously like most teams, they could use a true 3-and-D wing. Okay. But we'll take one that's maybe a tier down from that. A shooter, a defender.

They could use ball handling. A 2.5 in C-plus? Yeah. Instead of 3-D, like not a full 3-D at 2.5 in C-plus. That actually is a great way of putting it. Like, you know, something like that feels almost like a T-shirt. Yeah. Or it could be like a two and an E, like a two and E defender.

Like really good defender, the shooting's okay. Or they're like a four. They're like a four and B. Some combination of these things. They can use certainly more depth, I think, at the guard position and guys who can handle the ball, move the ball. You know, Marcus Smart is a bit of an adventure as one of your secondary. But it's weird because when everybody's healthy, the Lakers have three really excellent guys to put on the ball in LeBron, Austin Reeves, and obviously, Luca Donchich.

But at the same time, they've been thin at that spot through a lot of the year. They just need, they need more depth throughout the rotation. So how exactly do you get it, Andy? Because first and foremost, what do you have to work with here? Not a lot. We've been through this. At present, they have one first round pick. They have one expiring contract in Rui Hachamora that has value of any kind as a player.

Then they have the hopes and dreams of what Dalton Connect could turn into. They have the glimpses. And I do think the glimpses actually would be interesting of Adu Theoro, but he is. Those are glimsy glimpses. Right. That's what I'm saying. Like glimpses of glimpses. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, it is purely speculative.

I could just understand why teams would find them intriguing. And then expirings, like purely expirings in Gabe Vincent, MaxiClaev, and one second round pick. Luca Dantius is not getting traded. The Lakers clearly are not looking to trade Austin Reeves, who isn't even that easy to trade for a variety of reasons we have covered. LeBron has a trade, no trade clause. That's basically it, unless a team, I don't know,

is dying to get into the DeAndre Aitin business. And they don't have a lot of it. lot of draft capital. You know, they have one draft pick, one first rounder that they can trade heading into the deadline and they have a second round pick as well. They got some pick swaps, little stuff like that. I do want to let people know that today's episodes brought to you by Fandil before tip off check out check out. Check Fandul the app and see what's dropping during NBA happy hour every Friday from 6 to 7.30 p.m. Eastern. So with that in mind, it was it was interesting. The ESPN. The ESPN. ESPN put out a

story on Thursday. It was, you know, kind of their insiders got together and put together a list of six trades that they would like to see teams make. And the Lakers, not surprisingly, pop up in here. But in some ways, I found the first deal that jumped out to me isn't the one that actually included the Lakers, which we'll get to here in a second. It was the one with the Warriors and the Pelicans because that's the one where Trey Murphy goes to Golden State.

And I mentioned this because Murphy is one of those guys that you hear people talk about. Like, would the Lakers pull the trigger if, you know, on a Trey Murphy or something like that? Because he's a long-term commitment and the Lakers may not want to make long-term commitments. I am here to tell you two things. Sandy. The first one is the Lakers would absolutely make a deal for Trey Murphy. The third, if they, if New Orleans would, would do it. I mean, would you agree? Like, I mean, I'll say this, if they would not do that, Mark Walter should really get into the firing business with fire. Everyone. I mean, because at that point, basically what you're saying is we will commit to

nobody but superstars. And that's just a terrible way to build a team. It is. I would like to think that the dude that just torched you for 42 points might have peaked Rob Polinkas. One of the best pure, young, pure shooters in the NBA is, I believe, 25. Like, if this, if that's not interesting to Rob Polinka, he should find new hobbies. Right.

So would the Lakers use that first round pick to get? Tray Murphy the third. Of course they would. The problem is there is a zero percent chance that New Orleans would trade. Traymer, who do they do not need to trade for somebody for a first round pick and Dalton Connect and Rui Hachamura and whatever, you know, you could throw in there to make it look nice enough. In this hypothetical deal, the warriors are giving up not just Cuminga and Moses Moody, but three, three first round picks. Now, I don't, that's probably something along the lines. What it would take to get the Pelicans to trade a young star that they don't need to trade? But the point of this is the Lakers aren't in the sweepstakes for players like that until the summertime.

When they, when more things open up. Now, if your argument is we're going to hold on to our stuff because including by the way, really, really quick. So yeah, go ahead. I understand. It's not just players and possibilities around the league open up. The Lakers at that point have access to three first round picks. Correct. So the Lakers can offer more things for somebody like Trey Murphy. So if the Lakers' argument is we want to save our stuff at the deadline because we can know we can make that type of impact trade over the summer, that's a different discussion. If it's, eh, Trey Murphy's just not quite tall enough to ride this ride, then again, again, I reiterate, fire everybody.

So the deal in there, Andy, and we can set this up and we'll talk about it after the break. But the deal in here that does include the Lakers is one that is definitely more modest. It is the Lakers trading Dalton Connect and a second round pick to the only one they have, which is 2032 for Keon Ellis, the guard, would you call him a wing? He's more of two. He's like a two, but I think he can guard up a little bit in part because he's a pretty strong dude. And he's also just, it's a good defender. He's a very good defender.

Shot 45, 44% I believe last year from three point range on decent volume. But has never really, it's not been a long time well-established player in the NBA. His numbers are down this year. The Kings are a train wreck. He's been in and out of the rotation for reasons that nobody seems to nobody seems to understand why. It's probably why Matt George left locked on Kings. He just couldn't stand to watch this anymore.

So two questions here. First, I'll ask you the first one before the break and I'll ask you the next one after. Would the Lakers, well, I mean, would you trade Dalton Connect? I can tell by your face. This is a silly question. Would you trade Dalton Connect in a second round pick in 23rd? for Keanu Ellis, who is a free agent, and you would have to resign over the summer.

Not only would I make that deal, I would, A, turn in the paperwork so quickly before Sacramento realized they could probably do better. B, I would wonder if I was, like, getting punked for some type of viral clip that I actually thought Dalton's second round pick could make this happen. It's almost the same reaction that we both had when the Lakers got Luca.

Like, what do they know that we don't? Is he, like, going to lose a leg? Like, what's happening here? All right, two follow-up questions to that Keon Ellis scenario that I will ask you next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Fanduel Fridays. Like, feel different during basketball season. FanDul is making them even better every Friday night before the games tip off Fandul gives fans a new way to kick off the weekend with NBA Happy Hour.

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with Trey Murphy is related to the pursuit of megastars like the hypothetical availability of Gianna Sanctiompo. He says he's not available. He's not going to ask to be available either. He's never going to be asked to leave Milwaukee. Well, he can't really because he's just an employee. He let us, he let Sam Amick from the athletic. No, I mean, he's just a guy wearing a name tag clocking in and out.

It's ultimately up to management to move him. They're the ones with all the juice. We'll talk about this. But Janus wants everyone to know, man, he's just a guy with a W-2 like the rest of us. So there's that. the Trey Young deal, which I think is relevant. Obviously, he wasn't trade to the Lakers, but I think it's relevant to landscape here. I don't think Trey Young solved a lot of their problems.

But he sure would add to some. Can you imagine add Trey Young to the starting line? So you go, Young, Reeves, LeBron, Luca, and poor Dianne Hayden in the middle. Well, that could be the worst defensive team of all time. If the Lakers are having buyers remorse about DeAndre Aiton are hoping he'll opt out, that's one way to do it. But like, I mean, like, I honestly don't think you could construct a worse, a weaker defensive team of real legitimate all-star, four all-star caliber players, guys who have either made all-star teams or could this year. And then, you know, an Aiton who's pretty good. Has he made an all-star team?

I don't believe so. I don't think so. And like a still pretty good player, like you couldn't construct a worse defensive team. But all right. Let me get back to this Keon Ellis thing. So I asked you if you would do it, Keon and a Dalton in a second for Keon Ellis.

That's a no-brainer, I think. Yeah. Do you think the Lakers would do it? I'd like to think they would. I mean, it's Dalton Connect, who they've already lost the value that they could have for him. they've already attempted to trade him once and a second round pick for a player that is clearly better than Dalton Connect and fits needs on this roster.

I'd like to think they would. Right. Even if you feel like, you know, okay, this offseason, we got to re-sign Ellis, it'll probably cost us, you know, eight or nine million or something like, okay. And just for people understand, his cap hold would be minimal. they'd be able to do all their business and then bring Ellis back because you'd obviously want to do that having spent any assets on it. Do you think Sacramento would do it?

They would have to really like the prospect of Dalton Connect. I think they could do better. I think more people think they could do better. So I say this again as a, I wonder, and I'm not rooting for this, I'd love for the Lakers to be, you know, to be active at the, the deadline. I'd love for them to improve this team because I think, as JJ Redick said on after the loss in San Antonio, that they're not, you know, at some point, they hope that everybody's going to

be back and they think they can be a really great basketball team. I don't think they can win a title without stuff happening to some of the teams that are better than they are, but this is a good team and they have a chance to have a really fun season and something with at least a little bit a potential in the playoffs if they can get a little bit better. But I also don't want to sort of lie to people and make them, you know, you and I are not Rob Polinka stands, but at the same time, it is important to kind of lay out the landscape of what the Lakers are dealing with here because it's hard to make moves in a universe where, you know, if Keon Ellis is a prime target and you can offer Dalton Connect and a second,

and that's probably not going to get it done. I would not do Dalton Connect in a first for Keon Ellis. I would maybe that I would hold on to. I would consider, I would consider a protected first, something like that. I would consider it very protected. Or maybe it turns into Dalton and a do Thero, like something like that. I would consider sweetening it to the degree the Lakers can do it realistically or maybe taking back and I'd have to look at Sacramento's Ross

or I don't know this off the top of my head, but maybe taking back another contract, you expand this thing a little bit to where you take some money off Sacramento's hands, as long as it is a player that you are okay with moving forward. And this gets to the larger reason that someone like Keon Ellis, forget the could it be possible to get him? Somebody like him is the type of player that I think the Lakers should be targeting. He is somebody that fits whatever you want right now,

but more importantly, he fits what you would look to do around Luca moving forward. He can defend. He can shoot the three. He's young. These are all attributes. The Lakers should be looking for in terms of the deals that they make. And I am hopeful, I am hoping that Rob Polinka is prioritizing more of the big picture with any moves that he makes than something for this season.

because short of a truly unexpected turn of events, the Lakers are not going to be in a position where they can make the type of move or moves to transform this team into championship caliber. They're certainly not one player away from that. Again, it doesn't make them a bad team. They're a good team. They're a great team.

I don't know if they can be great. But what ultimately matters is how they can build around Luca moving forward. To me, Keon Ellis is somebody that you can use to build around Luca moving forward. He's not going to cost you a fortune to retain. Like if you are afraid of the money on the books with Keon Ellis, again, like find somebody new to do this. It's funny. Like I don't, I actually don't think they're afraid of the money on the books because they, you know, they, you know, Keon Ellis is not going to be a $25 million dollar player. That's my point.

We're talking about an $8 million, $9 million, $10 million, $11 million, whatever, something like that. I think at the high end. And I don't think it's a matter of like, oh, we need to keep our books clean past next summer for Yannis. I actually think. Well, he's not leaving. Right. Because he's just a guy punching a clock.

Unless he's going to be traded. Unless Milwaukee calls the Lakers and says, says, we want to trade Janus for now. We'll get into some of his quotes with Sam Amick. for now he's 10 toes down. I think the problem, the bigger problem that Rob has is he there, I think they're scared of those mid-range guys. I think the, you know, after the, the difficulty that they're having in making something out of Jared Vanderbilt, out of Gabe Vincent, out of, I mean, to a lesser extent, Maxie Claibow, because he kind of came along with the, the Luca thing. I don't think they really, they're maybe cross their fingers, but I don't think that, but even, you know,

even Rui, I think to some degree, I, I don't know if they love that sort of flexibility of that contract. They feel like maybe they've been able to dangle him out there and get the kind of return that they are hoping for. I think it's, he is worried about more low to mid range albatross contracts that are really, really hard to get off of, because. because the players don't pan out. That to me is, I think, what they're scared of at the low end with a guy like Keon Ellis because they've been burned by the last few that they've done. And, you know, they use, part of the flexibility talk, we can go to break here.

But like, part of the flexibility talk in my mind is keeping your, your powder dry, so to speak, for that big fish that might be coming along. Okay, cool. That's how the Lakers have always operated. It's a bit of a cop out. It's a bad way to try to build a team and all that other stuff. But it's not just that it allows you to stay in the hypothetical sweepstakes for players like that. It allows you to avoid making more challenging decisions around rotation caliber players.

Guys, because K&Ls for a second rounder is easy. Trey Murphy for a first rounder is easy. It's when you have to really decide, okay, we've got to use some real stuff here to get a real player And we just have to believe that we've scouted this guy and are picking the right guy to put on our roster. That's where I think the Lakers are super duper gun shy. Well, this is why I assume that Mark Walter is going to put an actual scouting department and more front office people around Rob Polinka that's not been traditionally that being that gun shy or that conservative is not how Mark Walter or the teams that he's owned have operated. And I'm assuming that unless they start doing a better job of pinpointing the guys, worth that sort of money. Again, you'll find somebody new. But the rest of the league

pays these players. You're not going to be able to build a team unless you also do it. All right. We'll get to a little bit of more on the most recent deals stuff that Yana said. And if we have time, a little bit of reflection from JJ Raddock, all that next. Lockdowne Lakers is sponsored by Better Help as we roll into the new year. There's a lot of pressure to chase a finger quotes new you. But sometimes it isn't about reinventing yourself. It's about feeling a little less weighed down. Therapy can help you understand what has been holding you back by giving you an outside perspective on your emotions, motivations, and relationships. I can personally attest and speak to how much therapy help me and my

family during a really difficult period. And that's why Better Help can be such a helpful place to start. Their therapists are fully licensed in the U.S. They work under a strict code of conduct. They can help match you with a therapist based on your needs and preferences, so you're not doing all that legwork on your own. BetterHelp has served over 5 million people with more than 30,000 therapists and live sessions average a 4.9 out of five rating across more than 1.7 million client reviews. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com slash Lockdown MBA. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com.

slash locked on NBA. Quick reminder about the Everydayer Club. If you want to experience Locked On without commercial interruption, the easiest way to do it. Check out the show notes. And you can go subscribe to the Everydayer Club, $5 a month, $50 a year. And you are getting a feed that,

no matter how you get the podcast, Apple, Spotify, however you do it, that doesn't have ads. And you also get an invitation into the Lockdown Liquors Discord channel so you can talk to all the compadres that are also part of this Lockedong Lakers family. So check it out in the show notes. It's the Everyday Club for Locked on Lakers. The Yonest thing is, it's silly to me because, I mean, obviously he's desperate to avoid looking like the bad guy.

and we'll see if, you know, ultimately Milwaukee, what they do at the deadline, you know, another one of these deals that ESPN put out hypothetically would be one that sends Michael Porter Jr. to Milwaukee who unlike, I think, the Miles Turner thing, Michael Porter Jr. actually, I think, would make a pretty significant difference for that group. But like, the bigger thing is, like, are you really going to get back into this cycle of waiting for superstar X to either demand a trade or hit free agency that almost never comes and put your franchise into this sort of, you know, like bugs trapped in amber like in Jurassic Park. It's they've done this before.

It's a stupid way to build a franchise. And I hope they don't do it again. I would like to think that they're already moving out of that direction given it had been reported that even if Yannis won it out, he wasn't particularly interested in the Lakers. He told Sam Amec actually Wednesday, just so people know what we're referencing, quote, I am not going anywhere. I am invested in this team. I want to turn this team around.

I want to play good basketball. I want to be healthy. I want to help my teammates. I want to win games. The last six games we play were four and two. By the way, as a side note, the Lakers are going to be playing the bucks on Friday. Rui Hachamora and LeBron James both questionable. I am assuming LeBron is actually going to play.

If he doesn't, I'm kind of concerned. But anyway, just as the housekeeping, continuing the quote, we have a lot of games in front of us. I am locked the F in. I'm locked in. My priority is just staying healthy. My plan is to be here for the rest of my career. If they don't want me, I'm not the one in charge. I'm an employee.

He also then later noted how, you know, this is the relationship he has right now with the Bucks. As of today, tomorrow, John Horst, their general manager could wake up and decide he's not feeling this with Janus anymore. It is both him, I think, sincerely wanting to stay in Milwaukee if he's given the reasons to stay, but also not wanting to be the bad guy. What is interesting about this is the potential domino effect. If it seems like at least leading to the deadline, the bucks are not going to move Janus. Does, and now with Trey Young, to whatever market he had, which seemed to be small, move to the Wizards. Does this make Anthony Davis the biggest name who could potentially move?

The Hawks reportedly are very interested in trading for Anthony Davis. Does it make John Morant, the guy that could move? Zach Levine, Jonathan Comingga, Lamello Ball, like, who are the biggest names now that could move, particularly if Janus is signaling, I'm not going to ask for a trade. I suppose things could change over the next couple of weeks, but it could affect the way teams beyond the Lakers and the prison we view everything through, how they approach the trade deadline,

which could affect what the Lakers can and cannot do. Yeah, and, yeah, I mean, the Lakers aren't going to be in the sweepstakes for any of these big names, but, you know, half of them make no sense for them anyway. Sure. And, you know, so it's really more this question of what would they be willing to do with what they have if they are dead set on Janus or superstar X, Y, or Z over the next couple summers. The Young thing is interesting to me, too, obviously doesn't involve the Lakers because

you know, the reason, Tray Young was traded to Washington for two players. No draft picks were exchanged in this whole deal here. And a few years ago, the idea that you could trade Trey Young without giving up a draft pick, even a second rounder or a swap or anything would have been kind of crazy, even with some of the reservations that people have about Trey Young as a player. And the reason is, Trey Young makes $46 million a player option for next year for $49 million that call me crazy. I think he is going to, in fact, pick up. Unless he can work out an extension with the Wizards. Well, that's what I'm getting to. He wants not just.

an extension reportedly once a max extension. Part of the reason that Anthony Davis is kind of back on the block isn't just because he doesn't quite fit the Cooper flag timeline and because the Mavs are a steaming hot mess right now. It's also because ultimately, do you want to be the team that gives Anthony Davis the max extension that he wants. It's after next year, I believe, correct? I believe so. Yes.

And so like what I think is starting to happen here is that the market around max players is shifting. I think more teams are going to be reluctant to give All Star-ish, Near All-Star, you know, one-dimensional players, probably players who are getting a little bit older, whatever it might be. We saw it with Hardin in the Clippers, for example, over last summer. I think those, the guys who used to be automatic, you just have to extend them for the max and just understand that.

I don't think that's going to be true anymore. And I don't know exactly how that's going to impact the way the Lakers can approach free agency, whether next summer or the summer following. but I do think there's a bit of a landscape shift that's coming because teams are actually, I think, prioritizing the capacity to draft young players again. I don't think draft picks are nearly as disposable as they used to be. And certainly,

Did you hear that, Rob Polinka? Right. And they're certainly not going to be disposed of in the same way of trading for Paul George, or, you know, throwing a bunch of picks at a 30-something. Yonis might be the exception here. I would hesitate. But there's, you have to be Janice to trade for a 30-something year old or Yokic, who's going to be, you know, pushing 30 by the time.

Nobody's doing it anymore for Trey Young. Nobody's going to do it again for Anthony Davis. And so that is going to have an impact on the market for the Lakers. It could be good. It could be bad. I can see both scenarios. But it's something that the Lakers need to prepare for because who is available. to them and at what price.

I think there are going to be some surprises over the next couple summers. Well, especially too, because these players that we're talking about, you would theoretically want them because they're superstars or all stars, all NBA caliber players. But because they are that level of status, they are also very expensive. And in this very punitive CBA with these contracts now becoming so expensive, annually, you have to be dead-ass sure about who you are bringing into that mix because if all a sudden you have a player that's making $50, $60, $70 million a year and they're a risk, if not frankly, an inevitability to miss 30% of the season, it starts making it very difficult to

actually build yourself into the team that you want. it becomes super prohibitive and complicated to put the pieces around those players. Like, you know, I've talked about this many times. My concerns about having enough money left over for a team built around Luca Donchich and Austin Reeves at maybe a combined close to $100 million or 100 mil, the athleticism and defense and speed and youth you'd need around them. And that's what someone like Austin Reeves, who is not going to get into the 50, 60, 70 million conversation closer to where Lucas, I mean, frankly, the Lakers got lucky

with not just that Luca got traded to them, but by virtue of getting traded, they didn't have to pay him the biggest superist of supermaxes. They would have, but it was prohibited because he was traded like that in and of itself. Just people, if, let's say Austin got 35 next year, which is, I think, pretty possible. Pretty reasonable. I mean, he was, we were talking. We were talking about 30, 35 before the season started. Sure. And, you know, he's certainly played to that level. That's about 88 million. So, because Luke is going to make about

54 next year. So 88, 90 million in those two guys. So, yeah, I mean, it's something to think about the order of how these things matter, but it, I just, you know, at least Reeves. And we got to, you, the catch is you have to sign

someone. And like, good, good players. And Rui Hachamura, costs you close to $20 million. Now, maybe in his next contract, he won't, but that's what guys,

and he offers you a lot less than some of these. The trick is it's when, you know, if you're going to take up 30% of your salary cap on one player, like you say, it's got to be someone who is either, you know, so good offensively that you can get by with them

as a liability defensively, or is, you know, like a two-way guy or some of, who's young that you know at the very least from an actuarial standpoint has a chance to be healthy. You just, teams have to be careful.

Yeah. The analytics are so much, and I know you're not advocating for letting Reef, that's not the point. I'm not trying to make this about Austin. All I'm saying is, it's just, you know, we have so much data now on how a player that looks like they put up really

impressive numbers fits into winning. And, you know, it's why Cam Thomas, Cam Thomas 15 years ago would make bank in the off season. He's going to have trouble finding people to pay him. I brought up Austin and Luca not as, not as advocating against this with Austin. I've talked about my concerns about the complication.

My point was it can be complicated with two guys that are relatively speaking. on the lower end of what we're talking about, much less the type of money that reportedly Tray Young and Anthony Davis won. That's my point. Yeah, for sure. And, you know, there's a lot going on there, which we'll have plenty of time to talk about over the next few weeks and months. But Lock the Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out in the meantime

with over 37,000 subscribers. Of course, be back after Friday night's game against Milwaukee to break it all down. Big stretch of games coming up for the Lakers. We'll see you next time.