The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - How JJ Redick SOLD Lakers on vision, why LeBron James & Anthony Davis will thrive

Episode Date: June 22, 2024

Jason Timpf is joined by Jovan Buha of The Athletic to break down how JJ Redick wound up as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Jason and Jovan discuss what occurred behind the scenes to bring Redick to LA, the impact LeBron James and Anthony Davis had on the hire, and how interested the Lakers were in UConn head coach Dan Hurley. Later, the guys share their thoughts on the impact Redick will have on the Lakers' schemes next season as well as what LA must do this offseason to return to NBA Finals contention. 6:00 - How Redick wound up with Lakers 11:00 - Was Monty Williams considered? 12:30- Was Dan Hurley Lakers first choice? 22:00 - How Redick sold Lakers at interview 28:30 - Why Redick will help LA turn around 34:00 - Getting Anthony Davis more involved 38:00 - How Redick will modernize Lakers offense 45:00 - Lakers defense must improve 48:00 - What was LeBron James' involvement? 54:00 - Lakers view Redick as Pat Riley / Erik Spoelstra? 57:30 - Did Redick/LeBron podcast come up in interview? 58:00 - Who will assistant coaches be? 01:01:00 - Lakers offseason plans 01:11:30 - Check out Jovan's work! (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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21 plus age varies by jurisdiction. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. Deposit and eligibility restrictions apply. See terms, eligibility, and responsible gaming resources at DKNG.com slash MMA. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at The Volume. Hope all of you guys have had an amazing week. Well, we had the JJ Redick News come down yesterday, and we went for about 10 minutes,

just giving my initial impressions on the hire. but I've had another day now to kind of sit down and think it all over. And I can think of nobody better for us to get into the weeds of the JJ Redick hire than my friend Yovon Buha covers the Lakers for the athletic and also has been doing some work for us over the course of the last year. We're going to get into every single angle of this. We're going to talk about the hiring process. We're going to spend a good amount of time on the X's and O's side of things. I really tried to sit down today and think about all the different areas of improvement for this particular Lakers team and how J.J.

can help and Yovina and I are going to go back and forth about that for a little bit. And then at the tail end of the show, we are going to talk about the off season and what direction we think the Lakers at this point are going to be looking to go in terms of personnel, which in my opinion is a way bigger deal than anything having to do with the coach anyway. Real quickly, before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason LT. So you guys don't miss show announcements.

Don't forget about our podcast feed, wherever you get your podcast under Hoops Tonight and then keep dropping mailbag questions in the YouTube comments. All right, without any further or do, let's bring on Yovan. So, Yovan, this has been kind of a while, a couple of weeks for you, I would imagine. Why don't you just kind of let us under the hood a little bit, tell us about what the last month or so has been like as you've been tracking this process. How did we land with J.J. Reddick as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers? Well, Jason, it's been a wild seven weeks for me dating back to May 3rd, the Lakers fire Darvinham.

I'm on my way to a wedding in Mexico and I thankfully, like I done my prep work of had the story ready, had my YouTube video ready, but from that point all of the

chatter that I was hearing from talking to people within the Lakers and around the league was J.J. Reddick. And that was all the buzz for basically all of May. And the, when you fire a coach, you do so with at least a couple candidates in mind. So for the Lakers, that was J.J. Redick and Tailu. Now, the problem with Ty Loo was he was still under contract with the Clippers for another year.

He also had the whole situation with the Lakers back in 2019, but the Lakers were trying to make amends. And if he somehow was in a lame duck situation and could get out of his contract with the Clippers, the Lakers were going to pounce on that and make him a big offer to, to be their head coach. So through like early to mid-May, the buzz was Tailu, JJ Reddick. Then it started to be the actual interview process with guys like Sam Cassell, James Borego, Mike Anori, David Alwoman.

Tyloo ends up coming to an extension with Clippers. And it's clear that maybe from his side, there was a little bit of negotiating tactic where if you have interest from another team, now a sudden there's some onus on the clippers to get something done a little bit quicker than they had initially, wanted. So interview process starts. JJ Redick meets with Rob Polinka for nearly two hours in Chicago at the pre-draft combine. And it is a sort of an informal meeting technically, but two hours is a long time to talk with someone. And I think you get a pretty good sense of someone and their background and their philosophies. And they did touch on some of those things. But so that's about like mid-May now.

And then rest of the month, it just continues to be the buzz growing of JJ Reddick is going to be the guy. The one thing that is holding this process up is that he's set to call the NBA finals for ESPN and ABC. And in the middle of the season, ESPN and ABC lost Doc Rivers, who was part of that top broadcast crew. So you then promote JJ Reddick to that spot and you don't want to lose him right before the pinnacle of the season. So that was a bit of a holdup, according to multiple people, just, you know, JJ's going to have to ride this out through the finals. And if he ends up being the Lakers head coach, it's going to have to be after the finals. Then early June, it starts to really beat JJ, JJ, JJ, JJ.

Then this Dan Hurley situation comes out of nowhere seemingly. And all of a sudden, you know, there's like he's flying to L.A. There's a meeting. Lakers make him an offer. Now the offer, people can quibble about how strong of an offer it actually was. clearly it was not strong enough to get him to leave Connecticut. And he even said, and he did multiple interviews. And in the Dan Levittar interview, he says, like, there was a number.

I don't know exactly what it was, but I'm sure there was a number that would have got me to leave. Clearly, the six years, $70 million deal was not that. So then the Lakers have to circle back with JJ Redick and some of the other candidates and then do some damage control, bring him in officially for an interview in between game. four in game five of the finals on that Saturday. I was told by multiple people. He crushed the interviews. It was incredibly impressive.

One person told me that his personality was electric. And it was just like unlike anything that compared to all the other candidates, it was just like J.J. And we knew JJ was going to crush the interview. I don't think that's a surprise. But like he really stood out from just his communication and his personality and like his ability to talk through different scenarios. So he crushed the interview on Saturday.

on Monday, he has an important conversation with Anthony Davis, the two talk on the phone. And that was important because Anthony Davis had sort of been backing James Brigo, who he overlapped with in New Orleans briefly after being drafted. So when he talks to JJ, they get on the same page that they talk through the offense and sort of what the vision is for AD being more involved in fourth quarters and crunch time. And then on 30, you know, so then a couple days. So the finals on Monday. JJ gets a couple of days to decompress, be with his family, think over the situation.

And then Thursday morning, he gets the contract offer and they agreed to terms. So that is the sort of timeline of the last seven weeks. And there was lots of twists and turns with the Dan Hurley situation. James Brigo was technically the first candidate to get an interview in person. So like there's some detours along the way. but from the beginning, most of the buzz was JJ, and this ended up playing out that way, ultimately. Yeah, the timeline seemed pretty simple to me in the sense that, like, yeah,

you don't want, I think JJ would have honored ESPN and gone and hovered the finals, even if he had taken the job. I mean, obviously, we know behind the scenes he kind of thought it was his to have anyway, you know, but at the same time, I could see why ESPN wouldn't want the broadcast team, like, just naturally disgusting. Justin J.J. coaching the Lakers while they're trying to cover the finals. So it made some sense on that front. And then Dan Hurley is one of those guys, too, where, you know, if his name comes up as an option, you just have to explore it. You can't just be like, nope, we already have our guy. Like,

go, you know, there's a certain due diligence you have to do there, even if it was a long shot. And it all seemed pretty standard and natural. There's definitely some, some drama on the reporting front. I thought it was bizarre how Adrian Morginowski was just kind of covering it as though JJ was never in the picture and it was always about Dan Hurley. It was kind of weird. It seemed pretty natural flowing to me that JJ was their guy. Another option came to the surface. They explored it.

It didn't pan out. They were patiently waiting for the end of the finals. And then JJ became the option. Now, before we kind of get back into JJ, I was wondering, I have a couple of quick follow-ups. First of all, was there any consideration for, for Monty Williams after he became available the other day? No, I've been told no.

There had been some Monty Buzz in May of it was trending toward him potentially being fired. And there was a sense of, you know, similar to Tai Liu, Monty Williams was someone the Lakers previously pursued in 2019. He was the number two choice behind Lou. And had he become available, I think like a month ago, I think he would have been interviewed and had a legitimate chance to win the job. But I think at that point, they were too far along with Reddick to seriously consider that. And I mean, if they had pivoted to, no, let's stall.

Like, I mean, first they're running out of time. The draft is in, you know, five days. But also it's, you know, I think at that point had they spurned Reddick a second time for another candidate, that might have been a deal breaker. Yeah, I, like, I view Monty Williams, too, as like the old guard of NBA coaches. It kind of fits into that like, like, Doc Rivers kind of mold where, It's there's just, it almost seems like they're disconnected from where modern basketball is going. And their own personalities almost become bigger than the team. It almost just seems counterproductive.

So I feel like they, you know, made the right decision to not look down in that direction. So just really quickly before we move on, how did you interpret the whole like Woj, Dan Hurley thing? Was that like, do you think that there was some gamesmanship going on there? Or was there truth to what he was saying about Hurley being the target the whole time? this part of the story is I will say like I've been covering the NBA since 2011 this is going to be my seventh season as a beat writer this was the craziest like wrinkle to a story I can remember personally because even coming like typically I mean there will be things that blindside you covering the NBA of be it trades signings firings hirings hirings like there's an element of secrecy for sure but this is still a situation where you talk to five different people with and around the team, and you will get five different answers, five different conspiracy theories,

five different perspectives as to what actually happened with this situation. So for me, my best read on it, I would say is there was legitimate interest from the Lakers end for Dan Hurley. Like they made him, they flew him out, they interviewed him, they risked losing J.

Because like there was a scenario in which this place, is out and JJ just says like, you know, peace. Like I don't like, you know, you guys were, you know, indicating one thing. Then you flip that and now you're interviewing Hurley and like I'm out and JJ could have. And then all of a sudden now there, it's James Sparago or maybe it is Monty Williams now that he's available. But like I think that the Lakers would have been on like plan C or D at that point. So there was some real risk for the Lakers in terms of pursuing Dan Hurley and having this come out,

the way that it did in being this spectacle. Like there was some real risk on their end. So I do believe that the Lakers had legitimate interest in Dan Hurley. Now, was it the level of interest that they were willing to make a godfather offer that he couldn't refuse? And the type of, you know, eight years, 100 million had been thrown out there? Like, had they put that on the table? I think he's probably the coach.

And they clearly were not willing to do that. So there's an element of like, you could want something, but not want it to the extent that you're going all. So I don't, it's still unclear to me if they were quite all in on Dan and Hurley. Like they clearly were very interested and interested enough to make an offer. But it seems to me it might have been a situation where it was more like, we want you and we're willing to give you this contract. But we're not going to go above this. And if you're not willing to accept this, we're fine with getting our first choice pretty much the whole way, which was J.J. Reddick. So as for like the Hurley communication, you know, my sense was they reached out to him initially when

they made the initial candidate pool, and he was not interested at that time. Since then, ESPN and the LA Times have reported that Hurley met with Polinka, apparently kind of secretly at the combine, and they had some conversations there. So, you know, if that's the case, then obviously, you know, there was maybe some interest around then, but still, you know, in talking to a lot of people around the Lakers, like this was something that was kept very internal of it, very tight-lipped. it might have only been three or four people who knew about it, including players not knowing about this.

So they did a good job of moving in secrecy with the move. And look, I think if Dan Hurley had been available from the beginning, I think he would have been the no-brainer for its choice. So it makes sense why the Lakers went after him. I think the thing that is less clear is how serious Dan Hurley was about this situation, right? Because really, if you look at who had the most of the gain here, it was basically Dan Hurley. And now he got elevated. Like, I don't follow college basketball.

Like, I knew who he was, but I don't follow college basketball that much. I know Yukon had one back to back. But it's like, now I know a lot more about Dan Hurley over the last few weeks than I had previously known. And like, he's been elevated to a certain status that, you know, he probably deserves because of his accolades. But like, I don't think you, I mean, he's clearly talked about way more now. And he just did a giant press tour after this situation. Yeah, 35 interviews. It's like, I don't know.

There's like, so that part of the. doesn't necessarily pass the smell test to me, but I know from the Lakers, like I'm not as plugged in on the college basketball side or the Hurley side, but I can't say from the Lakers side, there was legitimate interest. It's just,

there's also degrees of interest. And clearly they weren't willing to go past that 670. And that to me indicates they were fine with JJ. If he didn't work out with Hurley, they were fine, you know, picking JJ. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

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follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

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wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamania Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS.

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Listen to how hard can it be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Coutura. network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents Soccer Moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school.

Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar.

Why? Did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white color or something here? Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones?

Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you believe? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky.

I'm not a drug addict. You are. You are. I'm not an alcoholic. You are. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team,

and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I appreciate that JJ didn't take it personally, too. Like, again, like, I'm excited about what JJ can be as a coach, but he doesn't have any coaching experience. Dan Hurley is one of the most respected and accomplished coaches in the country right now. You know what I mean? Like, the volume was looking for an NBA analyst, and they had been talking to me.

and then suddenly JJ Reddick came available, it'd be stupid for me to be offended that they would consider JJ or probably hire JJ over me. He's JJ Reddick. He's arguably the best in the world at what he does, you know, right now in the sports media space. And so, like, I appreciate, to your point, there's some risk, but like I appreciate that JJ didn't take it personally,

because, again, that's just an avenue you have to explore if it becomes available. You know what I mean? So I want to move more to the basketball side of this, which is to me the far more fascinating side. just tell me a little bit about the interview, the formal interview when JJ came to L.A. If you were to kind of like explain, like if you had to just kind of like translate J.J. Reddick's pitch for how to take the Lakers to the next level, how would you word that for us? Yeah. So J.J. met on Saturday with, you previously met with Rob Polinka, spoken with him multiple times over the course of multiple weeks.

But this was his first chance to meet with Jeannie Bus, Joey Bus, Jesse Bus, and the real stakeholders in the Lakers and have conversations with them. So my understanding was he met individually with each person. And then there was also some group conversations. But each person had their own set of questions and different parts of the organization and just basketball philosophy that they wanted to break down with him. And again, I was told he was incredibly impressive, the most impressive of, I mean, they only met with three different candidates, Barago, Hurley, and Redick in person. All of the other interviews were done remotely, you know, primarily with Rob Polinka. So I guess among those three candidates, I was told JJ was the most personable, what was just the most detailed. and he had multiple answers for any hypothetical that they were throwing at him.

So one thing that he really pitched himself on was like, I know I don't have any coaching experience at the professional level, but I'm going to be adaptable. I'm going to come in with an open mind. And I'm not coming from a certain coaching tree or a certain coaching philosophy. Like I'm going to be establishing this in this position and I'm going to adapt. to the roster and the season and how things are going. And I think coming from the situation with Darwin Ham and how that unfolded, there was an element of stubbornness with a lot of his mistakes.

And that was really the biggest gripe with Darwin Ham was just the lack of adaptability with the rotation, with lineups, with his coaching philosophies, be it pick and roll schemes or how the offense was being run, that Darwin Ham was married. to his philosophies. And JJ Redick came in and had basically the exact opposite approach of I'm willing to adapt and continue to adapt and continue to tinker and try different things. And then the other thing, which I think is arguably like it's not X as and O's, it's not

basketball strategy, but his communication skills and the ability to effectively communicate with players and command the locker room and get a level of buy-in was something that really appeal to them, especially coming off of Frank Vogel lost the locker room in his final season. Darvin Ham lost the locker room in his final season. And part of it was, you know, with Frank, I think he's on the nicer side. He's a bit soft-spoken. With Darwin, there was elements of that, but there was also some elements of disorganization in terms of a game plan and strategy. So I think JJ, not only having a certain level of adaptability and coming in with an open mind of like, I want to collaborate with the office, collaborate with the players.

and really make sure everyone is buying into the same vision of how we are running this team. There's that element, but it's also the element of effectively communicating with players and making sure the plan is going to be the plan and you're going to know where you are in the pecking order, where you are in the hierarchy. And if that changes, we will have an open and honest conversation about that instead of, because I would hear like and stuff starts to trickle out, but you would hear stuff of like, you know, with Darwin. And this isn't the pile on Darwin.

This is just to kind of contrast it. But with Darwin, there might be like a certain plan at shoot around. And then in the pregame meeting, that plan changes. And guys would feel like, I don't really know why this is changing or I'm not given a reason. I'm just kind of told like, hey, you're out of the starting line tonight. Or hey, we're going with this look tonight. And with JJ, I think like, and he certainly, I'm sure knew some of this stuff and was able to properly cater to the audience. And that's part of his skill, you know, clearly.

but I also think if we're looking at his strengths coming in from day one, I think it is his adaptable mindset, and that's based on just listening to his podcast, listening to his basketball philosophy, but it's also his communication skills. And he is far in a way a better communicator than Darwin Ham or Frank Vogel. And I think that that's going to be an asset that from day one, he's able to communicate with the players in a direct way,

and even a confrontational way, but I think a way that's going to benefit them where they're going to have the hard conversations early. And it's not always going to be pretty, but I think that's one of his clear skills from day one. Yeah, I think specifically with the younger roster, too, like, if we look back last year, now, I think they will bring in a vet or two this year to try to kind of balance that. Because I would venture to guess if you asked LeBron on some truth serum, like, what were your thoughts on the roster last year?

One of the things he would say is he'd probably say we were a bit too young. And that I think reflects in some of just the lack of attention to detail. that you saw on a possession by possession basis. You know, JJ, I think, is going to have a relatively easy time bringing the certain amount of, you know, presence or aura to communicate with a young player and get him to kind of like listen to what he has to say. But I think it will be contingent on LeBron kind of backing all of that and AD backing all of that.

And so as long as LeBron and AD kind of stand behind JJ early on to help add, you know, legitimacy to the things that he's saying, I think that a lot of JJ's, communication will resonate. You know, when I think about, and bear with me here for a minute, because I'm going to kind of go through my thought process on this. But like, his love for the game and his competitiveness,

I give him like an A plus. You just don't make it to the NBA as JJ Redick. If you're not just a crazy, a crazy MFF, for lack of a better word. And like, I actually think that JJ, we see this JJ that we see in the media,

but I think he's got a nasty side, which I think will serve him well as a coach, because I think there's a, I think there needs to be an element of that. You were talking about Frank Vogel being a little soft-spoken. Like, I think JJ's going to be an animated coach. And I think that's going to be a good thing. I mean, when I look around the NBA, and I think about the best coaches, Spolstra Popovich, you know, occur, Tailu, you know, Michael Malone.

Like, those guys are pretty animated and active and involved with what they're doing, right? The experience side, to me, experience is like one of the more overrated things, you know, when it comes to this sort of thing. I'd rather have a talented, inexperienced person over a mediocre experienced person any day of the week, especially when it comes to these kinds of overly competitive professions. So the real thing that I think is fascinating is the actual basketball organization piece. And so bear with me, I'm just going to kind of go through some of my thoughts on where I think JJ can really help. So I want to start with offensive organization.

So one of the things that frustrated me last year was the Lakers took some massive leaps in their five-out offense. and just seemed to have awesome ball and player movement for extensive stretches and got a lot of really high quality looks that manifested in them being one of the best offenses over the tail end of the season. But I thought that there was a lack of value on individual possessions and a kind of a tendency to get away from that from time to time. You know, one of the guys that I think did a really good job of breaking this down this year is Tim Cranjus, Tim Cranjus, who does stuff just a lot of X's and O stuff,

but he focuses a lot on the Lakers. And he was crazy enough to sit and chart like every single damn possession that the Lakers had this entire season. And he did a really nice job of kind of demonstrating the difference between when the Lakers ran set offense versus when they ran freelance offense. And freelance offense has a very important part in the game of basketball. And it needs to be, think of it as like five out motion. It's just kind of like read and react basketball that you lean back on

after you've run a set action or after you end up in the half court. but I think the Lakers could be served well by being more deliberate about getting to a set early in the possession and then playing in the flow out of that. And there are too many possessions where they would try to push in transition to run early offense, which is good. You want to push up the floor when you can because if you can get the defense and rotation without having to run a set, that's great. But there were too many of those possessions that when the transition push was kind of cut off, that they would flow into just like some base. ball screen or ISO or dribble drive and the possession would fall apart early instead of pulling out running a set and then getting into action from there, getting into your five out motion from there. And so just simply increasing the percentage of possessions when the Lakers actually run a set

play versus in kind of cutting down on the possessions where they push and transition and then just kind of get into the flow before getting any sort of advantage. I think the attention to detail valuing each individual possession more will help. As Cran just pointed out so well all over the course of the season, and as you can tell just by watching the film, when the Lakers would run their sets, they got great stuff all the time. There's just too much talent on the floor.

There's too much basketball IQ in terms of the ability to read and react out of it. The weak link was Rui at the start of the season. And by the end of the season, he started to feel when he was supposed to cut along the baseline, when he was supposed to flow into the next action. and they have the talent to be a truly great offense, as long as they value each individual possession. A couple individual things to, like, cutting down on pull-up twos. They took 12 per game last year and shot just 40% on them.

That was 0.8 points per shot. Delo took a ton of them that were really bad shots that he was barely hitting like 39% of. Austin Reeves was the only player on the team that actually got more than one point per pull-up jump shot. And so I think like just cutting back on some of the, those, especially the ones early in the clock, the getting Anthony Davis more involved piece is really interesting to me. And we can get, let's just, let's bounce back and forth on this for a minute,

and then we'll come back because I do have some thoughts on JJ on the defensive end of the floor. But with getting AD more involved, I 100% agree as it pertains to the overall or the overarching 48 minute game. Like there were way too many stretches where it'd be like a big third quarter run for the other team. And AD hasn't touched the damn ball for for two and a half. minutes. You know what I mean? Like that sort of thing happened way too often. However, Crunch time, you know, AD has his own issues in those situations. You know, he can struggle to read the floor from time to time. His inability to hit a jump shot can be an issue from time to time. The crunch time offense wasn't an issue for the Lakers last year. They were top 10 in the league.

They had a 119 offensive rating in the clutch and they had a 121 offensive rating in the clutch in the three postseason games where they ended up in clutch situations. So like, again, I'm not necessarily opposed to it. I just don't necessarily think that's the strong suit of AD's game. I think the bigger thing is just sticking with the, like JJ's a big believer in three man action, making sure that if LeBron has the ball in these clutch time situations, that AD is not just standing in the corner spacing or just setting a basic ball screen. Because if AD just sets a basic ball screen, most teams are going to switch that. And then AD is just going to go stand in the corner or stay into the dunker spot. Three-man action makes it so much harder to switch.

And there were moments, especially in the Nugget series, where the Lakers run a bunch of stack pick and roll down the stretch of the game with Delo back screening for AD in those ball screens. And they got great stuff out of it. And they can, that I think is great. Keeping AD involved in three-man action at the end of games is great. But I don't think just force-feeding AD in the clutch is going to solve the problem. And then the last thing I'll say before I bounce it back to you, they've got to invest more at the start of the season and throughout games in Anthony Davis's jump shot. I think especially as Jared Vanderbilt gets reintegrated next year, especially if they end up having some sort of big look where AD's at the four, I think they're

going to need AD to take at least five, six jump shots a game and be willing to take three point shots, especially out of the corner. And if, I shouldn't even say just out of the corner, too. He's got to take pick and pop jump shots too because those are open in the offense. But like there was way too often during the regular season where that just disappeared from AD's game and he'd take one or two jump shots a game for a month. And it's like no matter how good he is as a jump shooter, if you don't invest in it so that he can build rhythm, that won't reap rewards down the end. And so I really want to see him just be more invested in over the course of the season as a jump shooter as well. But in general, I agree with getting AD more involved in the

offense. I just don't necessarily think force-feeding him in the clutch is going to solve all their problems. Do you agree? Yeah. Yes, I do. And you mentioned the three-man actions. That's something that we heard during this process of reporting was the Lakers and now JJ Redick are looking forward to these three-man actions with LeBron, AD, and Austin Reeves. So I think you are going to see some stack pick and rolls and Spain pick and rolls with those three and a lot more three-man actions. And I think the framing has been interesting. where it's been, you know, obviously, you know, at some point, LeBron is going to retire and it's going to be Anthony Davis's team.

So there has been a focus and an onus on how can we get AD more involved. How can we continue to funnel things through him a bit more? But the three names that we've heard over the last few weeks as like, you know, focuses for the Lakers in terms of player development and how they fit with the roster is Austin Reeves, Rui Hachamora, and Max Christie. And I think that's kind of interesting with you. I mean, you still have Jared Vanderbilt there. You still have Gabe Vincent.

You have Jalen Hood, Chafino, Maxwell Lewis. So like some younger players. But like those have been the three names that the Lakers have been sort of treating as the foundation of the team in addition to LeBron and AD. So I think elevating Max Christie will also, you know, that's a whole other conversation that we've had at various points. But like I think he can step in and potentially be like a top eight guy next season for them, uh, Rui either as a starter or as like a six man type.

It's like microwave forward off the bench. Um, so I think the Lakers, I mean, like it seems to be an acknowledgement of like who the best players on the roster are or who the better players on the roster are and the different ways to empower them. But yeah, and I think like the Lakers would, I remember with Frank Vogel, they'd run those pin down actions for AD that, uh, where he could curl or he could pop, uh, from the, the left side of the floor. And like they would occasionally do that with Darwin,

but they didn't do it consistently enough. And I think that's the other thing is like, you know, and this was something that we reported out during this process was like, JJ's meticulousness and his attention to detail. And he's a guy who's very, I mean, honestly,

borderline OCD in some way. Like you talk about doing his 342 shots from the same spots on the floor every day during the off season. And like he's very routine based to, you know, which is everything he does. And I'm sure. I'd love to pick his brain on the podcasting side as to like how he improved as a podcaster

because I'm sure he was very routine oriented with that and probably would watch back to film and take notes and like break it down almost like breaking out basketball. So like that's just how he's wired. That's his personality and that was not. And again, it's not to keep bringing up Darwin Ham. But like that was something that the Lakers struggled with last year. And I think JJ coming in and I think he is going to be tracking some of these things. And that's another thing that JJ is much more pro-analysis.

than any coach the Lakers have had, like ever. And the Lakers have kind of always, like, you know, they were one of the last teams to send an analytics group to the Sloan MIT sports conference and they were one of the last organizations to beef up their analytics staff. So like the Lakers have always kind of been behind the curve with analytics and modern basketball. Even, I mean, even the last few years, like they've been among the league, you know,

among the last place of three point attempts. And last year they shot the ball much better, but they were still 28th in attempts. So it's like they have to modernize their offense as well. And I think one of the things that JJ has constantly talked about is like he has a good relationship with Joe Missoula. And, you know, it is, I don't think Laker fans do love this, but like his son's favorite team is the Celtics. And like, so he consumes the Celtics a lot. And what do the Celtics do? They take 40 plus threes a night.

And there's obviously ways you generate those threes. You're not just taking threes to take them necessarily. But I think for the Lakers, like modernizing the offense. and actually like and everything was rim-based and I think there is an element of like yes you have LeBron you have AD you should be living in the rim you shouldn't be making those guys take like you know 10 plus threes a night but there's also a balance to it where I just think in 2024 and beyond you can't be 28th and three-point attempts per game and expect to actually contend for a championship so I think unless you you know have you're dominating all the other categories which

the Lakers weren't necessarily doing either. So I think for them, part of it's going to be, to your point with AD, like getting AD's jump shot going and potentially more threes. And that's been a talking point every preseason for like the last three years. So it remains to be seen if I'll actually do that. But even if AD isn't taking more threes, if they can find ways to just generate five to seven more threes a game and shift that away from some of the pull-up jumpers, some of the mid-range stuff and just modernize their offense, I think that could go a long ways.

I mean, they were, again, second in the league from February on, that can be first by a bit, right, over the course of a full season, potentially, depending on how they reshape the roster. So I think JJ is going to come in with a very organized, very analytically driven. And I think he's going to bring an element to the Lakers offense that they have not had really ever, you know, since the league has shifted over like the last decade. Yeah, you hit the nail in head. Like, if you could turn those 12 pull-up twos into seven. pull-up twos and those five all become either rim attempts or three-point attempts. Like that's the thing. It's not so much the number of threes because, you know, it's more efficient than three's rim attempts. So it's like as long as you're just trying to

tilt your offense towards those two types of attempts and away from the lower value attempts in the middle. Now, some of it's unavoidable like LeBron James is 40 next year. So like he's not going to stop taking pull-up twos, at least not to some sort of dramatic extent. But like if you can get it, like if Austin's taking them and LeBron are taking them, but no one else is taking them, and they're primarily in rescue possession situations, meaning like late clock need to get something going, you know,

just to kind of get something up on the rim before the end of the clock. I like your mention of kind of JJ's focus on analytics. Like I like that he specifically mentioned in the reporting that I saw, the focus on empirical evidence, which is basically like being able to, again, there's always two sides to this because you don't want to overreact to evidence, especially in a small sample size, if you have an overarching basketball philosophy that you're trying to build out. So for instance, like the Laker early five out results were bad. And so if you

actually just listen to the evidence, you'd be like, we were a better offense last year when we were running these spread pick and roll, cleared side pick and roll, just kind of like old fashioned four out brute force type of offense. If you bail on five out, you'd beale on five out, you don't get the results that we got in the tail end of the season when everything clicked. So it's always a delicate balance, but at the same time, it's like there was abundantly clear evidence that the Torian Prince of the three stuff wasn't working for the majority of the first part of the season. And they never bailed on that until it was too late. And then they were in some massive hole in the standings. And so I think just a better relationship

with the data, a better understanding of how it works and a better like willingness to listen to it will go a long way towards. helping the Lakers kind of avoid some of those pitfalls. I think the defense event is where that could be really useful. So, like, I was looking through the numbers today. The Laker defense was pretty bad, especially bad in the regular season after their offense started clicking. Now, they had some moments in the playoffs where they defended really well.

I thought they defended the Nuggets pretty well for large stretches, but then they really struggled in crunch time, but I thought that was more personnel-related. And there's this, I want to be clear before I go any further on this, there is a personnel element to this that has to be factored in. The Lakers do not have a starting caliber player that is an excellent perimeter defender and a plus offensive player. That doesn't exist on the roster. And that's something that they absolutely have to address going into this postseason,

which we're going to talk about here in just a minute. But the Lakers gave up the third most three point attempts in the league per game. They allowed the sixth highest opponent three point percentage. They allowed the 10th most points. in the paint per game. They allowed the fourth most second chance points, and they allowed the fourth most fast break points. So, like, they were,

there wasn't a phase of defense where they were great, except for not fouling. So there's, which probably had a lot to do with everyone getting easy buckets on them, right? So, like, I think there's an analytic approach to, uh, to defense as well as it pertains to like, you've got to find out what you can protect for sure.

In this case, in all likelihood, protecting the paint is probably going to be the goal of this particular team, but we don't know what the roster looks like. But there are certain things that regardless of your personnel, you can clean up through coaching in terms of preaching attention to detail and focus on fundamentals. So like this team has to be a good defensive transition team.

You can't be giving up as many points in fast break situations as they did last year. This team has to find a way to at least take away either the rim or the three point line. It can't be neither. If it's neither, you have no chance to be an effective defense. So like, again, if we come out of this and Max Christie's the best perimeter defender on the roster going into training camp, then that probably needs to be a roster that loads up the strong side and shuts down the paint. That has to be like at least somewhat of the fundamental strong point. Or if they're more built around taking away the three point line, then there needs to be a focus on that in terms of not overhelping, staying home on shooters, giving up rim attempts at the expense of taking

away those three-point shots. What it can't be is what Darwin-Ham built out last year, which is a defense that is good at nothing. And so again, like, just identifying whatever direction he wants to go with this roster when it's all built and just kind of constructing a game plan that at least tightens up some of those areas. Because at the very least, you have to be, like, if this is going to be an offensive-oriented team, like let's pretend they go in on a offensive-minded, you know, trade piece that they bring in. And it's Austin LeBron A.D. and some other great offensive player. And we're the super high-powered five-out offense and we're top five in the league in offensive rating, blah, blah, blah. That's great. You still have to be

at least a mediocre defense. They have to be in that 10 to 15 range at a minimum if they're an elite offense to be a legitimate threat. And that can be done, just like the Denver Nuggets did last year, as long as you polish up all of those details. and you're great at least at some things. And so, again, just paying attention to the data, the attention to detail, holding players accountable, I think that's going to go a long way. All right, before we get into the offseason, I have some rapid-fire questions for you surrounding the JJ hire. What is LeBron's involvement been with on the JJ Redick front in terms of him getting the job? Apparently, it's not been involved.

That's been what we reported at the athletic. that's what we've heard from sources within the organization and also outside of the organization. I mean, Rich Paul came out and basically had a statement to Shams about LeBron not backing JJ. And basically just because their podcast partners doesn't mean he wants him to be his head coach. So I think really this traces back to the Russell Westbrook situation and some of the fallout with that and the blame game from that. So I think ever since then, the, front office and uh,

LeBron have, have not been, um, they've not been working as closely as they were up to that point. So, uh, I think that it's, it's been a little bit more of a separation of church and state,

so to speak. And I think with LeBron, it was sort of like, like you're, I'm probably going to get the blame here. If JJ, if they hire JJ and, uh,

it doesn't work out like I'm going to get some level of blame here because we have this podcast together. So I'm just like I'm, I'm, I don't have a say in this. I'm removing myself. So, to my knowledge, zero. I mean, of course, on some level, like, him having a podcast, we can't ignore him having

a podcast with JJ and then seeing eye to eye on basically everything, excuse me, everything basketball wise. Like, there's some level of like, okay, well, you got the cosign there. But from my, to my knowledge, he was not involved in this process. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier.

We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you give you. It's your podcast. Will Farrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms.

So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider.

This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you believe? I would buy it.

Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on.

Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, You go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So what do you think the Lakers mean when they say they view him as Pat Riley or Eric Spolstra? Well, Pat Riley, I think there's a clear, you know, it's not just like the way he dresses or the hair. It's more so like making the jump from being a player to the broadcast booth to the coaching chair in a matter of just a few years. Now, Pat Riley did, you know, he was an assistant coach for a couple years. So he at least had a little bit of experience before becoming a head coach. So that is one key difference.

It's also in late 70s, early 80s, they had one assistant coach. So it was like a much different process. And it was probably like a slightly easier process. or even very much easier. So that's one thing, but they see like the charisma, the gravitas, like him having that tough,

competitive spirit. They see a lot of the traits that the Lakers saw in Pat Riley that made them want to elevate him to being their head coach as traits that JJ Redick has as well. So nothing like basketball X's nose necessarily, but more so like just the personality, the charisma, the competitiveness, the desire to win at all costs. They see that in JJ Reddick.

And the Lakers, of course, they tend to compare things to their past and the glory days. So, like, it is, you know, it's kind of funny that, like, that was the comparison. Now, the Eric Spolstra, Steve Kerr is more so, like, they want JJ to become a program builder. a culture setter, like those are the terms that they use and have a coach in place for the next 10, 15 years. And it is interesting to me that he only signed a four-year deal compared to the six-year deal that was offered to Dan Hurley. But they're viewing this as like LeBron and AD probably have two more years, maybe three max together. And then there's going to be the next era of Lakers basketball. And can you build something sustainable here and be a stalwart and be a stalwart and be,

you know, an iconic coach that transcends this era of Lakers basketball, that transcends maybe multiple iterations of Lakers basketball. And, you know, Steve Kerr obviously has been fortunate to have Steph and Draymond and Clay together for that whole time. But like looking at Eric Spolstra, when he came in, I mean, he came in right before the Heedles. And then, you know, so he had that version of like the Wayne Wade going out, getting 30 and 10 every night, but they were a pretty bad team. Then they get the Heedles. Then they have that kind of down period.

And then they rebuild and get Jimmy Butler and Bam out of bio. Now they have this iteration and now they might be going in a different direction, potentially this off season. So like Eric Spolster has been there for multiple generations of heat basketball. And I mean, it's a very high bar for JJ to be coming in. It would be compared to those guys. But he's about to turn 40 next week. And he, you know, he's incredibly young.

And so like this is, I mean, if he wants to, he could coach till he's 65, 70. And whether that ends up being with the Lakers or multiple teams, like only time will tell. But they want that type of guy of like just a smart person who's going to adapt to how basketball is changing. And year over year, change their coaching philosophy, change like how they view things. And that is something that JJ's pitching that he's going to do. And so I think those comparisons are more like a modern version of that. But the Pat Riley one, I think it's more just like the glory days. and just the path that they follow to becoming coaches.

Yeah, there's a lot of pressure there, but I think that JJ will handle that kind of pressure well and use it to fuel him. Two more quick ones before we get to the off season. Did the podcast get mentioned at all during the interview process? Not to my knowledge, but I was not in those conversations. So I can't, I mean, I would guess probably, but not to my knowledge. If you had to quickly list off what you expect the assistant coaching staff to look like, what do you think?

Yeah, so the four names we reported at the athletic are Sam Cassell. The Lakers would love for him to be a lead assistant. Scott Brooks, Reginald Rondo, and Jared Dudley. I don't expect all four of those names to be on the bench next season. I would expect maybe a couple of them. Sam could be in line to be promoted in Boston with Charles League going over to Charlotte. it, Scott Brooks was recently let go by Portland, and then Rondo's dealing with some off-court legal stuff.

So that's a potential hold up there. And then Jared Dudley, I mean, he was on Dallas's bench and they just made the NBA finals. So he could potentially be in line for a promotion there or just staying there because of the state that that team is in right now. So I like Stanman, this is just pure speculation here, but Stan Van Gundy is a name that to me, I think would be an interesting one of just, you know, he's calling games for T&T right now. But JJ has said that that is the best coach he's ever played for.

And I think he would make a lot of sense either as an offensive or probably more of a defensive coordinator. But like either way, kind of being that lead guy if the Lakers can't land Sam Kassel. So pure speculation there for those who are about to aggregate that. But I think Stamanguddy would make a lot of sense. So Lakers, I've heard, though, they want at least one former head coach, if not too, on this current staff, or on JJ's staff, as kind of a buffer with experience and just to help guide him through his first year. Yeah, I'm most concerned about them giving him somebody to help with just like the personality dynamics and navigating just the flow of an 82 game

season and some of the postseason highs and lows that can take place after wins and losses. In terms of the tactics, I actually get really nervous about former head coaches because like Some of them tend to be a little bit stuck in their ways. The NBA is very different than what it was when Stan Van Gundy was last coaching at the NBA level. So like, but I don't worry about JJ with the tactics at all because he's just crazy. He's crazy, competitive. He loves the game. That dude will, that dude will be buried in basketball ideologies for the next month,

like for the next three, four months prepping for this season. I have no concerns about his ability to handle the tactical side of things. it's just will he be able to handle the personality dynamics that are very different being a coach versus when you're just in the locker room as a player. And so like getting some head coaching experience just to help him navigate that, I think would be really useful. All right, we're just going to spend about five, ten minutes on this, but obviously it's been what, seven, eight weeks since you and I last chatted. What do you think the current ideology is at the front office in terms of the direction you think they'll go this summer in terms of

of player personnel. So what I've been hearing the last few weeks and what I've been reporting out has been the team leaning more toward small to medium upgrades to this roster, likely in the form of a couple of separate deals with role players. So the mid-sized contracts that they have are Austin Reeves, Rui Hachamora, Jared Vanderbilt, potentially the Angel Russell, if he opts in, and Gabe Vincent. So some form of trading, some combination of those guys, either packaging a couple of them together or doing a couple of separate deals, and then using your picks, maybe using a Jalen Hood-Shafino to get a couple of upgrades, be it. Primarily, like, they need a wing upgrade.

They need, ideally, like, Rui Hachamora and Jared Vanderbilt have, like, a basketball baby. And, like, that is the starting small forward for the Lakers. That player is hard to find. but I think not having to do sort of like offense defense with those two and having to pick and kind of give up one side of the ball. So that's going to be a point of emphasis for them is trying to find that elusive 3&D winning,

which they had multiple of them a few years ago. If you remember, KCP, Kyle Cousma, and Alex Caruso, and now they've really struggled to find two-way talent over the last few years. So that is like priority number one for them is figuring that out. Now if DeAngel Russell,

opts out and leaves or ups out and is sign and traded somewhere, like all of a sudden you have that point guard hole and you only have the non-taxpayer MLE to replace him with. So DeAngelo Russell really is the pivot point here. And I haven't got a great read on what he's likely going to do. I mean, I thought the Malik Monk contract was pretty interesting. It was a little bit lower than I was expecting for Malik Monk. And that could just be a sign of with the new second apron rules and even the first apron rules, teams are going to be more conservative with their spending.

on non all stars and superstars. So a guy like the Angel Russell, in theory, you couldn't maybe make the case of, could you get 20 million from a team or 25? Maybe on paper, that could be his value, but in actuality, like it might not be the case. So a guy like Dilo has to pick between do I want the 18 million for one year and then test for agency the following season or do I want maybe a smaller annual value deal for multiple years. So, but my sense in all this is the Lakers have been leading more toward smaller moves in part just because it gets really difficult to build out a good roster in 2024 when you have three guys making $40 plus million.

I mean, look at the Phoenix Suns. Like that ultimately was, I think what, you know, did them in was just. And there was a limitation there, I think, to how those guys fit. I think there'd be a more natural fit between a guard, LeBron and AD. Like, I think positionally, it kind of makes. a bit more sense and like you could you could see the vision there but after the russle westbrook situation with the new second apron rules and the limitations with building out the roster and the limitations that come with just even crossing the first apron i think they're leaning

that way uh now i will say i like the day and early thing it shook me a little bit in terms of like their ability to uh sort of misdirect so i i want to add the caveat of like there's certainly the possibility that like the the buzz coming out has been supporting cast upgrades and and you know more minimal to marginal upgrades but maybe there is a you know something that I work but the problem with that though is we just don't even know who's available like right now Atlanta has not clarified who's going to be available between trey young and de jante Murray it could be both could be neither it could be one donovan Mitchell has not signed his extension yet with cleveland so like that's a big one uh darius garland uh is going to be kind of like the the fallout guy with with that

that if Donovan stays versus if Donovan asks out. So like there's still a lot of uncertainty as far as like which stars are even available right now. But I would not be surprised if like the Lakers kind of pull a smoke screen and all a sudden it's like, well, they trade for star X that we were not expecting. But as of now, everything I've been hearing has been more. Let's upgrade like the starting small forward spot, maybe the point guard spot if DLO is gone.

And then let's go into next season with some measure of continuity and then a couple of upgrades. I like that strategy within the context of LeBron and AD being healthy. Like if I just knew they were going to have another season like they did last year, I like that strategy just simply because like I thought LeBron and AD both played at a top 10 level through the entire season and especially in that first round. I thought both of, I thought both LeBron and AD just they straight up outplayed Yokich and Murray head to head. I thought AD kind of more or less met Yokich's level and LeBron was better than Jamal Murray

outside of a few clutch jump shots. but down the roster, Aaron Gordon, KCP, Michael Porter Jr., those dudes just absolutely d'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachamura group. Like, they really struggled. And so, like, Austin Reeves was pretty good. Once again, shot 55% on pull of jump shots. He's at 21 playoff games now, 17 points per game on 61% true shooting, which is awesome. And so, like, I kind of like that idea within the context of what we've seen in recent

NBA history too because like Dallas misses the playoffs last year make a couple of personnel tweaks like here's a good point of attack defender and Derek Jones Jr. Here's a Ford and PJ Washington here's two vertical spacing threats and lively and Gafford. Bam all of a sudden they're in the finals. So like if your top two is as good as LeBron and ADR and your third best player is as good as Austin Reeves is, then subtle tweaks can go a long way. Golden State, 2021, they're mediocre, missed the playoffs, you know, bring in a, you know, an Audoporter Jr., bring in, you know, Gary Payton, bring in the, you know, Andrew Wiggins kind of buys into his role. Clay Thompson comes back. All of a sudden, they end up winning the championship. So like, again, I don't, I think it's a little bit more complicated just with how talented the top of the league is. But the reality is, is the DeLo Rui piece was the weak point last year. I was actually the morning watching a bunch of film just kind of getting just reminding myself what the laker offense looked like because it's been so long since I've watched it and like ruy ruy turned out to be the

weak point on both ends of the floor too many possessions were ending with him getting wide open corner threes that he couldn't make too many driving closeouts into the lane where he'd smoke a layup or take some sort of bad mid-range pull-up jump shot not tracking michael porter junior on the other end of the floor, losing track of him, not battling enough physically underneath the basket. Like, Rui just had a bad series, but Rui, to me, is a bench player who's masquerading as a starter for the Lakers. DeAngelo Russell is a redundancy next to Austin Reeves. And so if I believe, I genuinely believe this, if the Lakers could get two high quality starters, not stars, just starters that play at the two and the three between Austin Reeves,

LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that just automatically puts them into a different tier as a basketball team. I think that would put them up in that group with the teams that are out of the play in that are towards the top end of the Western Conference. But it's hard. Those are the two most desired positional archetypes around the league in terms of role players, are the two and the three, guys that guard opposing perimeter players and that are, you know, offensive threats off the ball when teams throw extra attention towards your stars. So, it's a lot to ask to go out and find that type of player. But like, as long as LeBron and AD are healthy, I like that strategy.

My main concern is, what do you do if AD misses 30 games? What do you do if LeBron misses 30 games? If AD misses 30 games, you absolutely have to have some kind of legitimate center that can play and defend the rim and win contested rebound battles. Jackson Hayes and Christian Wood aren't those guys. So they have to find a legitimate backup center option because chances are AD will have to miss some chunk of games this year. And then on the LeBron James front, if he misses time,

the Lakers ball handling takes. And that's where it could be an issue where if you did have just role players and you didn't bring back, let's just say for the sake of argument, a Dejante Murray. If you had a Dejante Murray in a legitimate backup center, you just have more fortitude to deal with LeBron and AD injuries. But then the flip side of that is like you're not winning the title unless LeBron and AD are healthy anyway. So like I understand that perspective in the sense that you're

basically betting like our best version of ourselves is healthy LeBron AD playing at a top 10 level. Austin being the mainergenobly of the team and two starting quality two and three that all come together for a postseason run. So like again, there's just a certain amount of risk when you're building around a 40 year old LeBron James and an Anthony Davis who's had a propensity to deal with injuries from time to time. But I am curious to see, and to your point about them coming out of the woodwork with some sort of random deal,

it really just matters what's available. That's really what matters. If you have a phone call with somebody and it's like, oh shit, we can get this guy or that guy, then yeah, you got to explore it. But like, if those aren't available and these high quality role players available, you got to go that way.

It's not worth it to just invest in too low quality starters either. right so like again it's it's really hard to make a call on these things just because we're so disconnected from it but anyway yovan we've already taken too much of your time i really appreciate you making this work on short notice it's good to see you again it's been too long uh i would imagine you and i are going to have a lot to talk about over the course of the next month isn't it isn't it funny how the NBA season works where it's like it's just it's like oh here's the trophy on monday it's the Celtics are our champions and then it's like j jratt gets hired the draft is on wednesday free agency starts that weekend or whatever.

Like, it's just, it just never freaking ends, man. Before we get out of here, why don't you tell us about what you're working on over at The Athletic right now and on your YouTube channel? Yeah, so I will be reporting out the JJ Redick press conference

whenever that likely Monday or Tuesday. He actually turns 40 on Monday. So I wonder if he gets the day off from doing the buzzsaw of media that's going to be waiting for him, asking about podcasting and all that stuff. But yeah, so we'll be reporting all that out. at the athletic so make sure to subscribe and then also make sure to check out my

YouTube channel you can just search Yovon Buha or Buhas block that is my video podcast on there so we'll be also reacting and uncovering you know everything that we're reporting out so be on the lookout for that thanks again Yovan everybody get over there and subscribe to Yovan's YouTube channel as well supporting his workover at the athletic we are going to take the rest of the weekend off on Monday we have Sam Vassini also from the athletic coming on the show We're going to break down the NBA draft. Everything I talked about at the end of this week in terms of the five biggest takeaways from the postseason

and the mailbag, thanks to the JJ Redekhire, we are pushing that to Tuesday, Wednesday next week, and then we will be reacting to the NBA draft on Thursday morning. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show, and we will be back after the weekend on Monday. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends,

me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast,

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Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast.

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