Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Would Bruce Brown Help the Lakers? And Who Should They Cut When the Time Comes?

Starting point is 00:00:00 With Jonathan Camingo off to Minnesota, the Lakers are looking around for reinforcements, including a long-rumored player that they've got their eye on. So that is next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks, everybody for stop by Locked on Lakers, Brian Komenetsky, Andy Kaminetsky. Plenty to talk about as we kick off a new week.

Starting point is 00:00:36 creeping ever closer to the start of training camp and stuff like that. But, you know, the last week, I guess, was sort of dominated with the news that that Jonathan Camingo was going to head off to Minnesota, putting an end to that saga, Andy. But the Lakers are still kicking around for reinforcements, looking for places they might be able to improve the roster, including now looking at a name that has long. been attached to the Lakers in whether it's trade rumors, free agency rumors, whatever might be. Bruce Brown. Yeah, per Jake Fisher doing his regular Bleacher Report show, he said, quote, I think he's in the

Starting point is 00:01:24 mix for the Lakers, a team that has had some interest in him for several years. And as Brian mentioned before, they've been linked to Bruce Brown for a while, including most specifically a couple years ago where by all reports they went after him pretty hard but Indiana gave him a very unexpectedly to like the entire league two year $40 million deal. I believe the second year was either partially guaranteed

Starting point is 00:01:53 or not guarantee something like that but just it was a deal that was bigger than a lot of people were on the league expected but more important for the Lakers one they could not. match the CBA rules and where their cap situation was at the time. It's not, it was too big anyway, but that's not the, you know, it was sure. But even if the Lakers want to, even if they just said, screw it, we want Bruce Brown that bad, we'll go over the top and

Starting point is 00:02:21 overpay him that much more. They couldn't. He was off the table for them. Now this would be a veteran's minimum situation. That's the deal he was coming off last year with the nuggets and also all the Lakers can afford to do. So it's not going to be anything close to where it was before, nor would Bruce Brown command that type of salary anyway. Otherwise, he'd be on somebody's team already at a much larger number than this. Of course, you know, the good news for Bruce Brown is you can afford to take that kind of veterans minimum contract, having been given a $43 million deal by the Indiana Pacers a couple years ago.

Starting point is 00:03:00 So, I mean, it's an interesting deal for the situation for the, the Lakers because obviously what they are really looking for somebody who can slide into that starting for and what they're really lacking is a starting caliber four that is not Bruce Brown he played he's sort of I think a little diminished from like his his high watermark you know three four years ago certainly when the nuggets were winning a title and then you know a little bit before that it was building his reputation as a kind of a do everything defensive stalwart who could guard up.

Starting point is 00:03:38 We spent a lot of time guarding, you know, not just small forwards, but power forwards even at 6.5. He's got super long reach. Yeah, he's got really long arms. He's got super long arms and he's always played bigger than he actually is. Right. And so, you know, he developed a rightly developed reputation as both a reasonably versatile offensive player but certainly a very versatile defender and you know that that explains the

Starting point is 00:04:09 contract that he got particularly coming off what he did with the with the with the nuggets it what the lakers would do now if they were trying to pick up additional players it's kind of an interesting thing just because if they were to go get brown you signed to a veterans minimum deal you've got a wave now two players because you know the the the stretch deadline passed on Saturday, you know, across the league. It was actually a little quieter than I expected it to be. I believe the only name that I saw was John Conchar, who was just acquired by the wolves, was waived and stretched.

Starting point is 00:04:47 That was not unexpected. But I was expecting a couple more names perhaps to pop up just because there are so many teams that have extra players, but nobody did. And so now the Lakers were they to bring in Brown, we'd have to wave two players. not just one or figure out a way to trade guys and, you know, whatever it might be. They got to get rid of two players. Well, they need to get rid of two players if they're going to bring in Bruce Brown. They need to get rid of one player regardless whether they stand pat or not.

Starting point is 00:05:19 They're one player too many. When you mentioned before, you thought there could be more wave and stretch action around the league. A lot of that would depend on how many of those candidates are on expiring deal. as it is. Oh, for sure. And then teams just start weighing the pros and cons of stretching a guy versus eating the money or, you know, is the second year the deal partially guaranteed, fully guaranteed? All of those are, you know, devil in the details type thing.

Starting point is 00:05:48 You know, with Bruce Brown, I think in a lot of ways, he fits what the Lakers are looking to do offensively as far as a guy that, you know, he's coming off a good season shooting from 38.5%. His two best seasons, or two of his three best seasons, I should say, from behind the arc coincided with his time in Denver. So I imagine there is some type of corollary between effectiveness behind the arc and dudes setting them up. And when you've got especially nuclear yokeach, but also Jamal Murray, you're going to get some good looks. You mentioned that because if you look at his Brown's percentages broadly from behind the arc over the course of his career, they're not that good.

Starting point is 00:06:38 He's not a particularly reliable shooter, but like you say, 38 and a half percent last year is pretty good. They're up and down. I mean, you know, his best season ever was in Brooklyn where he shot 40 percent. In the last several years, they've gone up and down. I imagine, again, they're dependent in a lot of ways on who is setting him up, And with that in mind, Luke Dodgich, Austin Reeves, that's a good foundation for that. He is, you know, he's not a high assist playmaking type guard, but he is somebody that can keep the ball moving and somebody that I think could contribute to the blender style offense that I think the Lakers are looking to build.

Starting point is 00:07:21 And then defensively, I think he's lost a step or two in terms of his effectiveness. but he is he's somebody that I think you could put out there for 15 minutes that probably would probably would fit in a lot of ways of what they're trying to do, you know, length, disruptiveness, that sort of thing. He is an imperfect addition to this team where he added, but at the same time, if you're looking around for veterans minimum options, they're all going to be imperfect. I think he would make sense, or at the very least, I understand. why they're interested in him if they're looking to make additions at all.

Starting point is 00:08:01 Like I think he is, I think he is somebody that could fit what they're looking to do. And whether you're talking about his type of player, you know, that player type or addition, you know, other positions around the league, if you look at the free agents available, he's arguably the best one out there. Like if you're going to look to add anybody at all,

Starting point is 00:08:25 in terms of who is available. He is arguably the best, just pure player that you could still pick up. I think the hard part here is sort of what do you do? It's on the one hand, it's like, is there a harm in taking on Bruce Brown? Probably not. I mean, you've got to figure out the money. Like, who do you, you know, when you start to now have to cut two players, just one what does that look like it's probably hearty and probably brawny if i'm guessing i don't know

Starting point is 00:09:03 about that i don't know like there there are a lot of way there you probably i guess i mean you're keeping whoever you want really i think because the money's dead anyway um so like you know to keep going we'll talk we'll talk about that after the break too that the money's dead regardless but i don't think all potentially dead contracts are created equally i think that's that's fair Sure. I'm just saying like you know, you have some flexibility, I guess, in what you want to do. You're eating the money. You're up against, you know, your aprons and all that stuff, regardless of what you do. So my bigger question would be whether or not Brown, for example, would you be better off adding another player

Starting point is 00:09:49 who can play in the front court? Because Brown, last year at least, spent all of of his time guarding backward players. First time in his career. And as guys get older, sometimes actually they do better guarding up than guarding down. So, you know, if he loses a little bit of a step, but retains a lot of the strength, perhaps actually he would be more effective against certain small forwards. And even earlier in his career, he would sometimes guard all the way up to power forward. Like that guy would be potentially useful, but he's only really defensively oriented towards

Starting point is 00:10:25 guards, then I wonder if the Lakers might be better off using a roster spot like that somewhere else. We can talk about that next. Blocked on Lakers is brought to you by Indeed when workplace chaos hits and you need the right hire. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps connect employers with candidates who match specific needs like skills, certification and locations, so less time is spent, searching more time spent finding the right fit. People are finding quality hires on Indeed right now. the minute I'm going to be talking with you. Companies like yours have made 27 hires on Indeed,

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Starting point is 00:11:49 Terms and conditions apply need a need a hire. This is a job for Indeed, sponsored jobs. I wonder, you know, a lot of what I would say. say is, you know, the, the Lakers, you know, this is a perfect time for the team to look around. Like I mentioned, you know, there are going to be some guys who are going to be cut off of rosters that have too many players or late camp, you know, sort of heading into camp or coming out of camp, opportunities to add players via trade or something like that. Guys, Andy, that you've scouted, that you've scoured the earth.

Starting point is 00:12:28 You know, you got a little, you got a book on this guy over here who you know is being undervalued by this franchise. Got another guy over there that you know is being undervalued. This G-League gem. Of course, these are the sorts of things that scouting departments do. And I don't know if Lakers have one. And so I am worried, perhaps, they might be a little bit less prepared to take advantage

Starting point is 00:12:50 of some of the potential opportunities that come with this weird. Maybe some of the 15 new hires on the business side spend time, you know, scouring the league, like, as a hobby. They watch a lot of G-League games. Maybe that's right, exactly. So it's like, you know. I hear Lon Rosen loves the deep cuts around the league. I do think there is kind of a weird opportunity kind of brewing around the league where I'm not going to call it a flurry of activity.

Starting point is 00:13:19 But there's going to be a little bit of moving around a little like, you know, the end of NFL training camps over the weekend. And you always see this guy get cut here and teams kind of shuffle around the last guys who get cut from different rosters and guys land somewhere else and so on somehow you know that Aaron Donald guy managed to land on the on the Rams good for him but like I don't think the Lakers are going to be well prepared for that I just do I wonder like in a perfect world at least would you be better off adding a guy who could play give you minutes at the three and the four or the four and the five even more than adding another wing-ish you know player in Brown who is more adding to a position,

Starting point is 00:14:06 an area where they've got a few guys already, rather than adding to an area where they are thinner. That would be my big question about, I mean, Brown on a minimum in a vacuum is fine. Probably, again, as you mentioned in the first segment, about as good of a player you're going to find on a minimum right now. But I just wonder if you're going to bother doing that, if you'd be better off doing it in a different position,

Starting point is 00:14:32 In a perfect world, yes, you would be correct. The problem is right now, at least insofar as free agent fours and fives that the Lakers could go after, as you mentioned, some guys could end up getting cut by their rosters and maybe the Lakers scoop them up. But for the time being, that's a wait and see. It's not a something they can do right now. The options out there at the four and five are not good. it's guys like Dwight Powell, Kelly Olenic, Bismack, Biombo, Drew Eubanks.

Starting point is 00:15:06 I do have a soft spot for Kelly Olinic. But he's not going to help you defensively. No, no. Actually, he is not going to help you defensively at all. It would be a hilarious commitment to the offseason bit if they brought in Kelly Olinick, another white dude. But insofar as what he actually does for you as a defensive center, the answer is probably nothing that Bruce Brown can't do for you.

Starting point is 00:15:32 Plus it costs more because of the Canadian tariffs. Yes. So you can get them for a minimum. Yeah. And, you know, Xavier Tillman, Mason Plumley, Kevin Love, like, these are not great options. Like, I think Bruce Brown is a better player than all of them. And if I got to choose, and to be clear, you don't have to choose any of this. But if you are debating bringing in.

Starting point is 00:15:57 somebody new off the street. I would rather bring in the best player available, all being relative, but best is best, and just lean more into playing smaller, which they're probably going to have to do a lot of anyway, rather than bringing in somebody specifically because they're tall or they're just bigger, but they're not very good. Like, I mean, you know, the whole, what do you do if Walker Kessler gets hurt? I can promise you the answer isn't play Dwight Powell 30 minutes a night. I don't look at the backup center position as a what do you do if Kessler gets hurt. That's the answer is prey.

Starting point is 00:16:40 It's more of a you want to have a backup center who, especially in a situation, I'm really sure what the allotment is with Mamu. like if you had a if you had a stronger starting four i think you could then slot mamu into very comfortably into backup four when you know with sharing some minutes with kessler and then back up five when kessler's off the floor um and that would be but like they don't have that guy and so in theory i don't think i don't think mamu will start but he at least could be i hope person. I don't think he will, and I agree with you. I hope he doesn't. But I just think you need a better

Starting point is 00:17:25 center on the roster than Kavanaugh-Luny. I don't disagree that they need a better center on the roster than Kavanaugh-Luny. I'm just saying I don't know if the options out there qualify as that much better anyway. Like to me, if you're going to be looking to add that guy, then it may end up having to be by some type of trade, I guess after you get rid of the excess on the roster that you have to cut just to get down to the mandatory 15 players. But I don't think you are any better, to be totally honest, with like, with Drew Eubanks or without Drew Eubanks, as far as like a big man option. You know what I mean? Like as a big man option. Again, commitment to the bit. Well, I would admire it like if they really went performance art. But it, it,

Starting point is 00:18:14 you know, Bismac Bionbo, like obviously, it's a good leader, like those Spurs guys seem to pay attention when he talked, but like they, none of the options out there, I think are better players than Bruce Brown. So again, if you're going to do this, I would just bring in the better player and somebody that fits in stylistically would have, I think they're going to do a lot of anyway. I see a few people suggesting on the chat as we are talking live on YouTube. and again, you can subscribe to the YouTube, almost up to 40,000 subscribers. Of course, Locked on Lakers, you can find it on Apple, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast,

Starting point is 00:18:51 make sure you're subscribing to all of these things and liking and leaving comments and all that kind of stuff because it helps us help you. I've seen some people suggesting somebody like Cam Whitmore and like he came up recently. I get the appeal because he's on the, he's a street free agent now, having been released in the wake of the of the Peyton Watson sign and trade.

Starting point is 00:19:15 But like, I don't think this is the kind of play. I mean, he's a little longer than Brown. He's certainly much younger and, you know, more athletic and so on and so on and so on. I just don't think this is the right setup for him to be able to come in. You're, you're signing into the back of the roster. You want guys, the Lakers need guys who can come in and play.

Starting point is 00:19:44 I think if they want Cam Whitmore, just play Jaden Hardy in all honesty. Like just keep Jaden Hardy if you want that type. I don't think Cam Whitmore has done anything Jaden Hardy hasn't done. Other than be a couple inches taller. And I see some people saying, you know, brown might be washed and all of that. All of those things may be true. Even a washed brown, though, the biggest difference. between Brown and say Whitmore or guys like that is Brown is going to come in and provide

Starting point is 00:20:15 incredibly predictable minutes for Redick. And that ultimately, for a player that you're bringing in as your, you know, he probably wouldn't end up being your 12th or 13th guy. He'd probably end up being your 7th or 8th or 9th or 10th guy. Ultimately, that's what you want. If they're going to be picking up somebody now, chances are that they're aren't looking for another developmental player. They're looking for somebody that can do something specific for them. And I don't think anybody knows what Cam Whitmore can do specifically. And he's not going to get the minutes, I think, to kind of spread.

Starting point is 00:20:54 It's almost like it's a it's a comminga problem with a lesser player, with a player that's, you know, is accomplished. Cam Whitmore has not shown that he can play a role on a team like the Lakers. So I would say no thanks to that. Lakers already have Cam Carr. They already have Aduthyro. They're still trying to develop Brony for the time being like, the developmental spots I think on this roster are relatively spoken for.

Starting point is 00:21:25 And were Whitmore to go out and play really well, Lakers wouldn't be able to keep him anyway. So it's like you don't get to, it would be harder to keep him. So you don't get even to kind of take the fruit. of your developmental labor in that way. So I would just pass on that. We can keep talking about this because like the question of what you do, if you, you know, how should the Lakers get rid of the player that they need?

Starting point is 00:21:51 They obviously didn't stretch anybody over the weekend. Why didn't they do that? Did they make a right choice? But if they have to do two people, what do you do there? So we'll talk about those things next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Square. the system powering so many of the places we already know and love, whether you're running a packed game day spot, a local restaurant, or a growing business, Square gives sellers the

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Starting point is 00:23:24 Run your business smarter with Square. Get Started today. So Lakers chose Andy not to make a wave and stretch move over the weekend. Again, very few teams did other than the only one I saw was Minnesota with John Conchar. There'd been a couple earlier, and so it's not like nobody did it, but right up to that deadline. And so at this point, they are going to have to cut someone. It's not a will, they won't they? They have to.

Starting point is 00:23:58 Or upload someone in a trade. Right. You have to move a player. Yes. They are, you know, if they can't put a trade together, that does not bring back other humans or humans that they're more willing to cut. Maybe you trade one guy making a certain amount of money for a player who makes less money. So you're cutting,

Starting point is 00:24:18 you're creating less dead money in that exchange. That could be a value to the Lakers. But if you're not able to trade someone, you've got to cut someone. And by the way, this is an option too. like, I don't know who's out there that they get, but if you, my first choice would be maybe you use a second round pick to find a player that might be more useful than a Bruce Brown. If you're going to use that right, if you're interested in finding a roster spot and improving

Starting point is 00:24:51 a roster spot, it could be worth using some of the limited equity that you have to do it. I don't know who's out there, but, you know, we'd have to see. Were you first two questions? Were you surprised they didn't stretch anyone? And when you think about who would need to be cut, who would you start with? And then if you added a second player, who would be next? I was not surprised that they didn't cut anybody.

Starting point is 00:25:17 Three of the candidates that I think are the top three logical to be cut, either Brony, Jaden Hardy, or Dalton. They don't have to be committed to those guys at all past this season, whether because Jaden Hardy's contract only runs through this year or because they have team options on Dalton that they've yet to exercise or like, I think it's like a partial guarantee with Brony or whatever for next year. But the point being, it's cutting them is fairly simple and the money isn't massive to have to eat it.

Starting point is 00:25:53 And then Vando, I feel like we're starting to reach a place now where A, you're getting close to where he could be an expiring deal. and a $12 to $13 million expiring deal could be useful in a future trade moving forward. Although I did learn something when I was looking up some numbers for this conversation on Spotrack. I did not know this. Vando is currently extension eligible, but it has to be worked out by September 16th. And I honestly have no idea which direction the Lakers are going to go on this. I have heard nothing about a Vando extension in the works,

Starting point is 00:26:31 but Rob tends to work in silence with this stuff. It tends to be a surprise. So just keep an eye on September 16th. He's got new bosses that he's trying to do. Well, just that's the last day before, before they can no longer extend Vando. So just be aware of that. But like, can you imagine?

Starting point is 00:26:52 My goodness. Yeah. That's when. That's when Rob just says, I got a guaranteed extension. They can't take that away from me. I'm done. I am done with this job. They're probably looking to get rid of me anyway.

Starting point is 00:27:08 I'm going to send them out in a blaze of glory. Rob, but anyway, this is how you know Rob secretly hates JJ. Yeah, but anyway, I was not surprised that they did not stretch Vando. I think at this point,

Starting point is 00:27:23 it makes more sense just to play it out with him. maybe in a what I hope will be and I suspect will be a different defensive setup JJ finds more utility for Vando but regardless I just I don't think it's worth a few years worth of dead of dead money 100% I agree plus too Andy they only have like they the only have like two guys who play that position right like I mean they do kind of need somebody who can play powered forward yeah on the roster yeah I mean as much as JJ's seems loath to play him thus far. They do need the player type.

Starting point is 00:28:00 As far as who, I mentioned before, the guys most likely to get cut would either be Hardy, Brony, or Dalton. The Rape is an expiring deal, but I think Jake has too much utility to get waived. If I had to choose, first choice would probably be Dalton. Second choice, Brony,

Starting point is 00:28:22 although you could flip them either way. My third choice would be Hardy. A, because Jaden Hardy is the most proven NBA player of the three. Like the guy has played about 240 NBA games. He is a proven outside shooter. Like he can actually do that. It's not fluky. He's done it every season he's been in the league with decent volume.

Starting point is 00:28:43 He also two of those three has the biggest contract. And that could be most useful in a trade, like if you're looking to match salaries. So I think you can make. an argument for Dalton I think you can make an argument for Brony you know with with Dalton it's largely they don't seem interested in playing him anymore and unless you're going to trade him he probably it doesn't seem like he's going to bounce back with Brony it's the least clearly other teams around the league agree because I it's not a secret that the Lakers not only are willing to trade Dalton connect

Starting point is 00:29:20 but willing to trade him for anything like anything. So clearly there's just not a lot of market for the guy. Right. And then Brunny, you know, I still have a lot of questions about whether or not he's actually an NBA player, but it's the least amount of money to eat. Like he's got the smallest salary. So if you're thinking about this just in terms of the least painful contract to eat, it would be Bruny. I would probably eat Dalton's contract first just because combination of, of lack of faith from the coach. And most, they've got so many players now who I think can replicate in one form

Starting point is 00:30:02 another, what Dalton does, unless he just crushes it in training camp, I think we're going to go back to not playing him anyway. And unless you can find, I don't know, a way to use his contract to balance a trade number or something, they're not likely going to get any use out of him anyway. So that's the guy whose contract I would eat. It's interesting, you know, you're raising a good point. I am willing to bet that the coaching staff probably, if they could just set everything aside,

Starting point is 00:30:32 you can pick one player, you know, brawny, you can have Jaden Hardy. I am guessing the coaching staff would probably take Brony, but just based on, you know, the familiarity of the relationship,

Starting point is 00:30:44 the, you know, the development curve or whatever might be. But you're, the point you're raising about the economics of later in the season, like what contracts you have available to you to trade I think are important because like that look I I think Bronny has a chance to be you know a you know reasonable lower end rotation

Starting point is 00:31:09 player in the league if he can figure you know he's got if he can make his shot consistent and continue to refine his point guard skills which are going getting up and going higher but I think he's got a chance but in terms of prospects. He's not a high ceiling prospect. Like they hope Thero is, you know, higher up in the rotation. They hope Carr is higher up in the rotation. And so like, I would love if he, you know, I would love to see that story kind of pay off because I have a lot of respect for Bronny as a player and a person. You very much are rooting for the story. Right. Absolutely. But, but, but I mean, I'm rooting for the story. Like the royal view, but also me and.

Starting point is 00:31:54 I think it's just an easy story to root for. Yeah. I'm rooting for Brony as a person because I've been impressed in the time that I've been around him and from what other people have spent more time around him say. I think I have a lot of respect for how he goes about trying to become a better NBA player. I just, I think I have less optimism, even relative optimism. But even as somebody who's relative, you know, has some, you know, more optimism, at least that he's got a chance to, because I think he's got.

Starting point is 00:32:24 But good instincts, I think he's, you know, I think he's a solid defensive player, albeit undersized and all that. Right. And so he needs a couple other skills to be able to compensate for that. But even with an optimistic viewpoint of it, I don't look at him as somebody that will develop into a mid to, you know, high end rotation player, starting caliber player. like the Lakers hope Cameron Carr can become a starting caliber player. Heck, Adu Thero could start this year for the Lakers, whether he's starting caliber or not. But like, you know, they believe he has the potential to develop into something with a little higher end. So if you're going to cut a young player, you cut the one with a lower ceiling.

Starting point is 00:33:16 And then it also allows you to keep larger contracts. So, you know, Dalton, for example, I think he's going to make four-ish. I thought it was a little more than that. No, next year's. Next year's in the six. Okay. So he makes a couple million more than Bronny. That's probably not enough if you think Brony is a, you know, a better player to keep around.

Starting point is 00:33:42 Or you want another point guard as opposed to another shooting guard because Dalton's not going to help you defensively along the wing. Brony is a better defensive player than Dalton is. you say that Hardy at six though becomes a much different process like that's a different deal when you have a six million dollar contract so I suspect if they have to cut one player I agree with you they'll cut Dalton first if they have to cut a second player I actually I agree I think it would be Bronny who goes before Hardy it should be for that reason yeah well just it should also be brawny because jaden Hardy's better player than him and jaden Hardy's better player than him and jaden Hardy also is a young prospect. I mean, like, you can't make that argument for Brony and not make it for Jaden Hardy. Like, you know, Hardy's pretty young and again, has been at this point has shown to be more of an NBA player than. Oh, this. Hardy.

Starting point is 00:34:36 I think he's like 24, something like that. Hardy is 24. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's hard to make that argument for Brony and not make it for Hardy. I think the only thing you would say is, you know, which, which, which. skill set do we need most? Brony, theoretically, the skill set is

Starting point is 00:34:56 Defender. Hardy, the skill set is shooter. Which one do they think they need more? I guess. The answer better be neither of them or else there's going to be a lot of time. I think ultimately the answer is one guy makes $6 million. The other guy makes 2.3 or whatever it is.

Starting point is 00:35:12 And six million is more useful. Last question I would have with this is just if the two ways they would make room for, say, Bruce Brown or free agent X that they want to bring in for whatever reason would either be to, in this particular case, eat two contracts or use the seconds that they have. I mean, Cameron Carr or do Thero might end up sweetener in a different deal, but not what I'm describing. No.

Starting point is 00:35:40 You use the seconds to offload two of the three guys. So you create one more roster space for Bruce Brown or street free agent X. would you be willing to use the seconds for that type of thing? I wouldn't be willing to use it. If I'm going to use the second rounders, like I said before, it would be if I'm understanding it correctly. If I'm going to use the second rounders, it would be for a scenario like I was talking about before,

Starting point is 00:36:06 where you're making a substantive improvement in those crossers. Like I, yes. You are understanding me correctly and that is the correct answer. Then yeah, like if I'm going to let's, some of my hesitation with Brown even is like, if I'm going to do that and cut two players, one of which at least is a bigger number contractor, maybe it's a player that you think,

Starting point is 00:36:27 you know, you kind of want to hold on to for development purposes or whatever it might be, I'd certainly be inclined to look around the league and see if there's somebody who I'm really, you know, fills a bigger need or I think it's a better player at this point. But if not,

Starting point is 00:36:42 if like, do I think Brown is worth signing if it costs me Brown? Bronny, yeah, I think Bruce Brown's more likely to help him this it would ultimately have to cost you Brony and Dalton Connect because you would have to eat I'm cut and connect anyway. Okay.

Starting point is 00:36:58 You know what I'm saying? Like I think somebody's got to get cut at this point unless they can make a trade. Right. And so I, you know, I again, as people are pointing out, like, you know, they have Thibel, they have Williams. They've said like they've got guys.

Starting point is 00:37:15 He's like, you know, so I, I think, think, you know, brawny is probably the next guy you cut. Brown is probably, I think, going to be, you know, and probably, it would almost certainly be on a minute to minute basis significantly more valuable as a rotation player than Brony would be. And so I would be willing to make that exchange. I would love to see them upgrade, though, like legitimately more upgrade. But, you know, Soul Cage 2025 in the chat makes a really good point. One that I've actually raised before. You're doing Brony a favor by letting him go, if we're being

Starting point is 00:37:48 honest. His development doesn't fit this team's timeline anymore. I agree with that. I don't, I think if for where Bronny, if Brony wants an NBA career, like if he really is trying to develop into, you know, a six, eight year career,

Starting point is 00:38:07 something like that, I think he needs to go somewhere where the minutes are right in front of him. Yeah, it would help. I actually think Bronnie I don't know where that is. I mean, I think, you know, Bronie would benefit from being on a two-way somewhere where he, you know, kind of automatically gets a lot of the where Bronny gets hurt. I think with the Lakers is when is in those situations where they need him to be with the big group, with the big club just in case, but he's not going to play. You know, so like a situation where he's

Starting point is 00:38:39 not expected, you know, you only get 50 games like that might have. help him more. I agree with all that stuff. And I think there's a, if I had to guess, is Brony James in the league in five years? My answer is no. But, and I see with the Lakers, definitely no, would be my guess. But, you know, so I'm not attached to, you know, like they have enough players that they, if they need Brony this year, either Brony has made a bigger leap than either of us are expecting, or things have gone in a direction that you're not particularly. particularly happy with because guys have probably gotten hurt. So, you know, they don't need, the Lakers aren't a position where they need to, like,

Starting point is 00:39:24 come hell or high water, try to develop a player like Brani, particularly now that LeBron is in Philadelphia. I mean, like, those two things are related. So it is an interesting setup to figure out what the Lakers are going to try to do. We'll see how live some of these rumors are about adding another player to the roster. Because if they are, that gives you an idea of what they think, you know, how they feel about potentially eating some money over the course of this year. So it's something to keep an eye on through August and in a training camp. Locked on Liquors on YouTube is where you can hang out with nearly 40,000 subscribers to the channel.

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Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Would Bruce Brown Help the Lakers? And Who Should They Cut When the Time Comes?

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