Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Why Dorian Finney-Smith is a Great Gift from the Lakers for LeBron's 40th Birthday

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Tuesday. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Keminetsky, LeBron, James turned 40 on Monday. The Lakers have a new rotation and another Jared Vanderbilt health update. Lots to unpack 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 first listen to every day,

Starting point is 00:00:35 Monday through Friday, no matter how or where you get your podcast, so it's always going to be free, never behind paywall, Andy. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you go hang out with over 27,000 subscribers getting close to 28. All of whom Andy are celebrating the birthday of LeBron James, he turned 40 on Monday. We didn't get a chance to get into it for a Monday show on account of the big trade, which is something else that we'll talk about on today's show, because those guys were at practice on Monday in El Segundo and are expected to be available for the Lakers tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:01:12 I'm sorry, tonight I should say, against the Cavaliers. So a big day, a big week, lots going on. Things are feeling good about the Lakers. You know, they're piling up. So wins, Andy. Their stars are aging gracefully. What's not to like? I mean, it has been a.

Starting point is 00:01:32 to put it mildly crazy for the calendar year for the Lakers. A lot that's been up, a lot that's been down, a lot that's been chaotic, unpredictable other than the fact that they fired a coach because that's just what they do. That's maybe the most predictable thing.

Starting point is 00:01:52 It's a tax right off. You have to do at least one year. That's the most predictable thing that happened in 2024. But as of this recording, 2024 is closing out on a very promising and intriguing and exciting, at least potentially, note for the Lakers. There is a lot to like right now at the moment. I look at the standing. Which makes it, by the way, an appropriate vibe for LeBron turning 40 because it would really suck for LeBron.

Starting point is 00:02:32 be turning 40 and it feeling like everything with the organization had gone to poop, which by the way, not that long ago, there were questions about whether everything had gone to poop. So you look at the standings, Andy, and they're 18 and 13 heading into tonight's game with a, you know, a couple of winnable games to come a very January heavy schedule, even with when the game. January home heavy. Right.

Starting point is 00:02:59 That's what I mean. It's not January heavy in January. That's just January. January is filled with January games. You're right. That wasn't well put. Let me tell you, but something about February's schedule. It is very February after.

Starting point is 00:03:16 Your edit is noted and it is accepted. But, you know, the Lakers really do have a chance to make a little bit of a move here. At 18 and 13, they are in the five spot in the West. the Mavericks who the Lakers will see shortly are going to be without Lukut Danschich, who knows if Jha is going to be healthy for the Grizzlies, although they've shown themselves to be quite resilient. So an opportunity to, if nothing else, get themselves deeper into that top sick is there for LeBron.

Starting point is 00:03:52 And you see where the team is going. They made a nice trade, which I'm sure LeBron James appreciates the value of adding a guy like Dorian Finney Smith. to the rotation and what that means really, in a lot of ways, for him and what he's going to have to do defensively and the load he needs to carry. DFS is going to make a big difference in his life, to say the least. And it's why I think, you know, LeBron, his vibe at practice was pretty loosey-goosey on Monday, you know, feeling good about the age thing, talking about Andy, the idea that he could play at a high level physically for another five to seven years.

Starting point is 00:04:32 Made it clear he's not planning on doing that. But like that's as a barometer of where he feels to say, yeah, yeah, I got another five to seven years in me. Even if he's a little, if you consider that a goofy thing to say, it still reflects, I think, an idea of how he feels. We've mentioned this beyond the defensive engagement, which is just been night and day. The defensive effectiveness has been great. He also noted, too, that LeBron, his plan is to finish his career with the Lakers. He said that he would love to end it here.

Starting point is 00:05:14 Hopefully he doesn't have to go anywhere else. And first of all, it's been plainly obvious to anybody really paying attention and not trying to doomscroll, whether for engagement or just that's just sort of their nature. LeBron does not want to leave the Lakers. It would take a lot for him to decide to go because frankly, he's had many opportunities to leave. And while there could, I'm sure there is urgency in the sense of I only have realistically

Starting point is 00:05:50 so many years left to play and I'd like to be playing them under the best most competitive circumstances possible. the reality is if he really truly prioritized a championship as the number one thing, not that he doesn't care, but that if it was truly the number one thing, he'd have left by now. And he's not leaving because he doesn't want to leave. He doesn't want to uproot his family. His family, I think, has no desire to leave whatsoever.

Starting point is 00:06:20 And I also thought it was interesting, too, when he talked about how he could play another five to seven years, but he doesn't plan to do that. And he also said that once he retires, he will not unretire. He's not going to pull an MJ, he's not going to pull a Brady. And it's for very, I think,

Starting point is 00:06:38 similar reasons. You and I used to insist this all the time. When Kobe was on the retirement tour, there was always the question of, he's too competitive. You know, he lives, eats, sleeps, dreams basketball.

Starting point is 00:06:49 Of course he's going to be back. He's not going to be able to stand being away from the game. And you and I were both very insistent. He's gone, people. He's gone. And the reason, is because a Kobe plays the game, played the game for very specific reasons in a very specific way. And if he can't be the centerpiece of a truly contending team, not interested,

Starting point is 00:07:11 but also Kobe had a ton of things away from the game to occupy him, whether you're talking about Oscar, Oscar winning filmmaking or being a dad. He had plenty of other things that he was interested in passion. Multiple businesses, all kinds of stuff going on. Same with LeBron. LeBron has already started his post-retirement career in real time. He's got plenty to occupy him. When he hangs it up, he will hang it up.

Starting point is 00:07:43 Yeah. And I think too, Andy, like it's, there's also a difference, you know, you walk away in your 11th year, your 12th year, which is a long career. Don't get me wrong. And like, and you still got it a little something in you. It was why Aaron, people thought Aaron Donald would come back with the ramps. He's young. He's dominant. He's going to be away for a year.

Starting point is 00:08:01 He's going to want to come back. Maybe it happens. I don't know. It doesn't seem like it. But I mean, by the time LeBron's done, he will have finished very possibly a quarter century, like a full quarter century in the NBA. At the least, he's going to be, I mean, because I don't think next year, this year is not going to be his last year.

Starting point is 00:08:20 I think he'll be back next year. I think so. You know, you're talking 23 years at a minimum. Like, I feel like. you know, when you decide you're done after 23 seasons of something, there's less of that, that threat. I think the winning thing, the other thing that I find intriguing about all of this is, I agree with you that LeBron doesn't want to be on a terrible team.

Starting point is 00:08:48 He doesn't want to be on the Wizards, you know, play, you know, fifth games, fifth wins. Talk about your guys that aren't, you know, unretired. LeBron will not be fine. People talk about who's better. LeBron, MJ, oh, LeBron's just an MJ want to be. I can promise you, if he ever unretired, it would not be to come back to the Wizards.

Starting point is 00:09:06 A guy team will put himself on it. But I also think he understands that he's at a different place in his career, without saying these things out loud. And while saying, like, I still play the game at a very high level. And he is correct.

Starting point is 00:09:23 he doesn't play it at the level where he did before to where his presence on a team is enough to essentially guarantee at the least a trip to the finals. And so I think he understands like there isn't a place for me to go. If he went and teamed up with Steph right now in Golden State and you literally subtracted to sign there as an imaginary free agent, the middle of the season. The Warriors don't become title favorites with that. They become better and they, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:00 obviously much more of a real live playoff team and stuff like that. But they're not better than Oklahoma City at that point. Like they're just, you know, the point of his career where he can kind of get himself another title is sort of passed. And I think in the same way you and I have pointed out that trading LeBron, is exceedingly complicated. I think LeBron understands that joining another team is really complicated. And don't upset that. Give me a competitive team to play for here.

Starting point is 00:10:35 Something credible. And we're good. And that's what the Lakers have done. I want to continue, Andy, unpacking this idea, though, of what Dorian Finney Smith does, particularly for LeBron and whatever else it is, you're thinking in the next segment. We'll get to it next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Rocket RX.

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Starting point is 00:12:20 Assuming he plays versus the Cavs on Tuesday, and I cannot imagine a scenario where he doesn't, he'll be the first player in NBA history to play both as a teenager and in his 40s. I don't think it is a coincidence. I know it is crazy. I also don't think it's a coincidence that LeBron's first game as a 40-year-old is against the Cavaliers, the team that he started his career with. That does not feel like an accident. Good on the schedule planners, by the way.

Starting point is 00:12:51 I always be aware. LeBron is a 20-time All-Star, 20-time. all MVP per Micah Adams. I believe Micah is now with the sporting news. LeBron has played against 1,750 different players. 4,975 players have appeared in at least one NBA game all time. LeBron has played against over 35% of all players in league history. LeBron made his debut October 29th, 2003.

Starting point is 00:13:29 It was a road game versus the Kings. They lost that game. But in a sign of a lot to come, LeBron played almost 43 minutes, most on the team, 25 points, 12 of 20 from the field, six rebounds, ninis, four steals. Put some of this in perspective how long ago it was. Number one movie of the week when LeBron made his debut,

Starting point is 00:13:49 Scary Movie 3. Remember that franchise with the Wayans? scary movie three the number one movie of 2003 year of lebron's debut finding nemo number one song of the week when lebron not dory not dory no nemo nemo the first one number one song of the week when lebron made his debut baby boy by biance featuring sean paul the latter's a name i've not heard in a while the number one song of 2003 in the club fifty cent Been a minute since that was bumping. Top five shows of 2003.

Starting point is 00:14:29 CSI, the first one, the original one. CSI. CSI. American Idol Tuesday night, followed by American Idol Wednesday night. Friends and the apprentice, back when Donald Trump was just a game show host, this edged out ER. This was nearly two years. years before the Batman franchise with Christian Bale

Starting point is 00:14:56 began two years they were probably casting it right now. When LeBron entered the league, the reigning champs were the San Antonio Spurs, the second of the Tim Duncan David Robinson titles. They took out a Nets team

Starting point is 00:15:13 coached by Showtime great Byron Scott, the reigning MVP Tim Duncan, reigning rookie of the year, Amari Stottamire, reigning defensive player of the year, Ben Wallace, reigning six man of the year, Bobby Jackson, reigning coach of the year, pop. Talk about some guys with longevity. First team all the NBA that season, Kobe Shaq, Duncan, K.G. Tracy McGready.

Starting point is 00:15:37 Reigning Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots, Brady's second title, the co-MvPs of that year, Peyton Manning and Steve McNair. reigning world series champs, the Florida Marlins with Pudge Rodriguez and Dantrell Williams, MVP's Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez five years before Clayton Kershaw debuted with the Dodgers. George W. Bush was in his first term as president. LeBron will have played basketball under a grand total of five different presidents, three of which, counting incoming President Donald Trump, will have served two terms. That is effin nuts.

Starting point is 00:16:25 That is crazy. You mentioned Ben Wallace. Like if you see pictures now of Ben Wallace, he looks like modern Larry Fishburn. It does not look like somebody who's a contemporary in LeBron's. I'm not saying I'd mess with him. I'm just saying it is, it is impressive. This is why if you want LeBron to perform it this way, he says I can keep going at five.

Starting point is 00:16:55 He's like, you've got to put the right infrastructure around him. And one of the things that, because the one thing we do know, he's never going to try to win an NBA Cup again because he has found this rest over the not making the NBA Cup is so much better for LeBron than making the finals. It's not even close. but if you're going to put him as the centerpiece of a team, like we talked on Monday's show about like the downstream impacts of acquiring Doreen Finney Smith.

Starting point is 00:17:24 And I saw a lot of people in the comment section who are not believers in the trade saying like, oh, you know, you guys are freaking out. They acquired a bench guy. And he did. J.J. Redick said on Monday, the plan is currently to bring Finney Smith off the bench. And I think they'll do that for as long as it is effective. and Rui is playing very well. And I think to take him out of the starting lineup for this

Starting point is 00:17:45 would kind of mess with the vibe and the chemistry that the team has right now. And Rui hasn't done anything to deserve being taken out. There's no reason to take him out. But Finney Smith can get a lot of playing time. And I think he's going to get a lot of playing time in particular with LeBron because making LeBron's life easier defensively, whether that's with Max Christie,

Starting point is 00:18:11 whether that's with Doreen Phiney Smith, or anybody else that can get out there and find, is monumentally important both for keeping him fresh, but also making it so that you can rely on him to put up the kind of numbers, the 26, 8 and 8 that he's done like a metronome throughout his career, to finish at the rim, and to have some juice in, you know, in March and April that it didn't look like he was going to have in mid-November, early December.

Starting point is 00:18:46 And so downstream impacts of this trade, one of the things I think they're trying to find a benefit for, it's going to help Austin Reeves now who has to do a lot more point guarding. It's going to help LeBron because now he is going to be even one step further down in the defensive responsibility flow chart. It's going to make him a lot more effective. he's likely going to be playing 25 to 30 minutes. Once you start getting into that range of minutes, you matter. Like it really does not, it's really not much of a consideration whether you start or come off the bench in terms of importance. That's really more about floor combinations.

Starting point is 00:19:27 You know, I could see also DFS closing games. And closing games is much more of a sign of your importance and where you are, whether in the pecking order or the trust meter of your coach than starting. You know, I don't think he's like a lock to close every game, but he's going to close many games. Like Dorian, Dorian Finney Smith is going to matter on this team. Like he was the centerpiece of that deal. You know, we'll see what comes of Jake Milton and how much playing time he will or will not get. But they made this deal to get DFS. Like, that's why.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Yeah. The Lakers don't have enough stuff to sort of necessarily count on transformative trades where just the sheer power and talent of the players they acquire is enough to boost their ceiling. I just don't see that out there. They still have their first round picks available that they can use in a trade. but the market of guys like, you know, making the salaries work now because to do the math to trade for a guy who makes $35, $40 million a year, you're talking about Rui, you're talking about Gabe Vincent, you're talking about, you know, maybe Jared Vanderbilt. Like basically anything that isn't nailed to the floor, if the Lakers are going to try to get to $45 million or $40 million, it's going to cost a lot of human capital because they just, they need to make them the money work. So what you're left with then are how can we make smaller trades that have an impact that is outsized to just the quality of the player they're getting back?

Starting point is 00:21:10 And in Finney Smith, they're obviously making a tradeoff with playmaking. There are going to be times when fans might find this hard to believe. There are going to be times when they miss what DeAngelo Russell brought to the table. But I think especially when you consider the playoffs and when they consider, Dilo's playoff shortcomings and the fact that he gets harder to play in the postseason, what you want to substitute that with is a guy who actually gets easier to play in the playoffs. And I don't, maybe you disagree. I feel like that's what Finney Smith is, is a guy who is easier to play in the postseason,

Starting point is 00:21:50 not harder. Yeah, definitely. All right. So let's talk a little bit about the money because that is a, you know, the Lakers are going to do something in the next few weeks. One of the things that will make it easier, the financial impacts of this trade, so we'll get to some of that stuff next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by Rocket Money.

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Starting point is 00:22:29 And Rocket Money was helpful. It was like a personal assistant with finances. And it's a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel unwanted subscriptions. It monitors your spending, helps you lower bills that you can help grow savings. And it's all together in one place, subscriptions, spending habits, even the goals that you want to hit for the year. It can help you save hundreds, maybe even thousands yourself. It has helped over 5 million users save a total of 500 million in canceled subscriptions. if that's you individually, my God, you need to really get a grip on things.

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Starting point is 00:23:36 The Lakers, Andy, had been existing very close to second apron land. And this trade knocks them back from like, you know, whatever it was, like $34,000. That was the savings they got from LeBron. Right. No, it was. I know it is. The LeBron savings, it just doesn't sound like that much when you think about it that way. But now there are a few millions, like three and a half million, basically, underneath that apron,

Starting point is 00:24:03 in which, you know, they're still subject to a lot of rules about how you can put a con, you know, what players you can add and all that kind of stuff. But it does give them a little bit more wiggle room in terms of the amount of money that can go back and forth to not be that close to the second apron. That's something from a cap sheet standpoint that was a really nice little play in this also saves them a lot of luxury tax money, which I'm sure the even higher-ups definitely appreciate. We've talked about before. I mean, the bus family, they are billionaires, and nobody should ever lose sleep about their future finances moving forward.

Starting point is 00:24:47 I mean, frankly, if there are problems, it's all on them. And there really is no reason. Like, when you've got the foundation we call the Lakers as your nest egg, if you're hurting for money, the problem is really you. That being said, though, not all billionaires are created equally. Not all billionaires owning teams are created equally. And the Lakers compared to other teams billionaires and owners around the league, they are one of the less liquid at the very least.

Starting point is 00:25:19 Yeah, that's the thing. The billionaire-ish part of it is the team. Right. Their equity is, you know, their, they're, and their work. is tequila and her Netflix deals and stuff like that.

Starting point is 00:25:34 It's the franchise and the tequila. But it's good tequila, but the franchise great tequila. It's the bigger portion of that is in fact the the Lakers franchise.

Starting point is 00:25:45 Side note. Side note, there are two tequila barons inside the Lakers, Jeannie Buss and LeBron with his Lobos tequila. They're both very good tequila. Like unsolicited,

Starting point is 00:25:57 unsponsored plug, although if they're listening, we're open for business. They are both excellent tequila. I, side to the side, no, we live in a real golden age of tequila. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:26:11 It's not hard now to find just like delicious tequila that you can drink, that you can mix, that doesn't have to cost you, you know, $300 and stuff like that that won't make you wake up in strange places with strange people. And like, it's just like,

Starting point is 00:26:26 this is a real great age for tequila. So, you know, kudos to big tequila, medium-sized tequila, small tequila. In a lot of ways, what you're really saying is kudos to big celebrity who decided to get into the tequila brand, you know, the tequila business because, you know, the George Clooney's. And if you start getting into tequila's cousin mescal, the Brian Cranston's and Aaron Paul's of the world, the rock has gotten into keel, LeBron, Jeannie Bus. MJ as a Sincoro partner with Jeannie, I believe also the owner of the Celtics. A lot of big money

Starting point is 00:27:04 and big names behind big tequila. But as somebody for whom tequila is their favorite liquor, I very much appreciate the progress with tea. And you consider it as a food group. I do like tequila. I don't drink it nearly the way.

Starting point is 00:27:19 I don't drink anything nearly the way I used to. But man, do I enjoy? the taste of tequila. I am wondering what the Lakers do from here. I think that, you know, I love that they made

Starting point is 00:27:36 this move as relatively early in the trade process as they, as possible. Obviously, it wasn't the first trade of trade season, but you know, if you, when you get these things done well over a month before the deadline,

Starting point is 00:27:52 that give, the luxury here is the Lakers now have another 15 games or whatever it is to look at what they have and see where the next hole might be. Like, look, maybe there is a, you see how Finney Smith fits in and there's a justification for saying, you know, we can, we can get by without Rui because we're going to get this guy back and that guy back or whatever it is, and you construct something bigger. But if they had done this on January 20th instead of December, 28th, they wouldn't have had that time.

Starting point is 00:28:30 And this is the kind of thing that actually, you know, taking DeLo off the roster, adding Finney Smith onto the roster, that does change what you're looking at a little bit, particularly if Jared Vanderbilt is able to come back to that, and any, we could note that the progress report on Vanderbilt is that there is progress of not a lot of specificity,

Starting point is 00:28:54 AJ Reddick says he's progressing. And, you know, it was only... Did some non-contact work. Monday during practice. If, you know, Vanderbilt is sort of back on the floor doing stuff. Christian Wood is... All these guys, they're hoping are back.

Starting point is 00:29:09 Jackson Hayes is available now. All these guys are hopefully back in uniform within a month. That gives the Lakers something to look at because they're going to actually... They're going to go from having sort of no wings and no bigs to a full compliment of guys if everybody else stays healthy. And the roster could look very different than what we expected it to be earlier in the season just by making this one change. For sure. I would not, if I were them, count on Jared Vanderbilt to ever be a fixture, even if he returns.

Starting point is 00:29:41 Nope. It has just been such a slog to keep him on the court. Ditto Christian Wood, assuming he does return sometime this season. I would not count on him being back. But you, I'll finish your point in a second, but do you think it makes a big difference for the Lakers if Vanderbilt does come back,

Starting point is 00:30:00 that they can compress what he might need to do on a night-to-night basis into 15 minutes, as opposed to being a guy who, like, if you're going to go somewhere, you need Vando to play 25 to 30. I feel like you might be able to get more out of him by saying, okay, go play hard and do what you need to do for 15 minutes a night,

Starting point is 00:30:19 10 minutes a night and it's okay if you're not all the way, all the way back because we're not leaning on you for 30. Well, I think it needs to be somewhere in between 10 and 30. Like 10 to me feels like two few minutes. Like you actually start. Whatever it is. But like go play hard. Like right. But it's okay. Absolutely. But I mean, it matters in terms of how long you're on the court. Like 10 minutes I think becomes more disruptive for the rotation. and Vando not really being able to find a flow. And I just say that just because I think there's a baseline for minimum minutes you can play while still being effective.

Starting point is 00:31:00 I also think the front court guys coming back in some respects could lessen that load or need on Vanderbilt. The flip side, though, is his real utility is being at that size, being able to guard more. three through one, you know, like guards and smaller, small forwards, just true small forwards, as opposed to, I think a lot of the guys that, if nothing else, Dorian Finney Smith has been guarding more lately, you know, like he, Finney Smith is more of a true wing size, but defensively at least, he has been guarding more often fours and fives than threes or certainly guards. it's not that he can't do it or never does it. No, threes and fours and small fives.

Starting point is 00:31:49 Right. So it gives you more options. And it, but in a lot of ways, I feel like Max Christie's continued effectiveness or what you are getting from reddish, lessens that direct load from what specifically makes Vando important than DFS's arrival. Vando coming back just compliments DFS. I think in the sense that you're just adding more size and length and more forward options, period. Yeah, I was just thinking in terms of stuff that we've spent so much time talking about how it's not just getting Vanderbilt back on the floor, but getting him back into the kind of shape where he can contribute big minutes on a team that needed him.

Starting point is 00:32:33 Moving Christie, adding Finney Smith, it makes me feel like, you know, it gives him some cushion. It gives the Lakers a little bit of cushion. That's really what I was getting. I think your point is well taken about the rotation. And I think ultimately you're going to end up in a situation, knock on wood, where Redick has more players, particularly three, four, and five than he has minutes for. And that is a, the Lakers have been oddly thin at different positions ebbing and flowing over the course of the season. they are a risk to be very thin at guard if, you know,

Starting point is 00:33:14 if Reeves gets hurt for a few games, if Vincent gets hurt, I think that's why the Milton acquisition was a really smart piece of this, as he's a, you know, a serviceable player who can be pressed into kind of playmaking duties, but at the very least is a good secondary ball, mover and creator and can certainly come in and score some points off the bench.

Starting point is 00:33:34 I, they have the makings now being a pretty solid defensive team, like a team that really can be top 10 to 15 for the rest of the season. And that, as much as anything, if they can get their offense back to something average, is going to make them look a lot different in the West. Yeah. Like I said,

Starting point is 00:33:52 2024 is ending on exciting notes, and I'm very excited to see what 25 has in store, including the results of tonight's game against Cleveland. Yeah, and hopefully it does not involve firing a coach. But we'll see. Maybe that guy in South Bay will qualify. Sorry, somebody has to be sacrificed. Just how it works.

Starting point is 00:34:14 Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 26,000 subscribers to the channel. Please sign up for the newsletter, locked ondaily.com. Go click on Lockedon Lakers. We will see everyone after the game tonight. Have a great and safe New Year's. We'll see everyone in 2025, baby.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Why Dorian Finney-Smith is a Great Gift from the Lakers for LeBron's 40th Birthday

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