The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Is Kyrie Irving a good fit with LeBron & Lakers or another Russell Westbrook?

Episode Date: July 7, 2022

Jason Timpf discusses the moves he has liked and has not liked for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Later, he describes how Kyrie Irving would fit in with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the Lakers roster. #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Happy Wednesday, everybody. I hope all of you guys are having a great week so far. Today is my one and only calendar day, full calendar day that I'm in Tucson before I had right back out of town tomorrow to go to Las Vegas for NBA Summer League, which I'm very, very excited for a couple of massive games. I'll be at most of the games, but a couple of massive games I will for sure be at. There's a Orlando Magic versus Houston Rockets game tomorrow night, which will feature Palo Manchero and Jabari Smith, Jr.

That I will have an instant reaction video on. And then I believe either the next day or two days later, the Rockets play the Oklahoma City Thunder. So we'll get to see Chet Holmgren versus Jabari Smith, Jr. I will be at both of those games. I'll be doing live reactions. So make sure you, first of all, subscribe to the volumes YouTube channel, so you don't miss any of those videos.

And also follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason LT. I'll be tweeting out where I'm at. in the gym and stuff and where I'm at around town. So you guys have an opportunity if you guys are friends of the show, if you want to swing by and say hi, talk some hoops and hang out for a little bit. I also plan on trying to find at least one day where I can get to a gym and play a little basketball with some of the local people over there. So again, follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason LT.

So you guys can kind of see where I'm at. I would love to get to meet some of you guys, some of the people that have supported this show so much over the course of the last year and that I appreciate so much. So last night, as we were all waiting for Kyrie news or Kevin Durant news or really anything interesting, or Russell Westbrook trade, something along those lines. Instead, we got a very interesting Lakers-related piece of news. The Lakers managed to sign Thomas Bryant, who was a former Laker, very interesting young center prospect in the league right now,

who had a partially torn ACL about a year and a half ago. That's kept him out for a while, so that's why you haven't seen much of Thomas Bryant. so maybe not a big game, maybe not a big name, excuse me, not necessarily anything splashy, but I think a very, very solid player and a very interesting player as it pertains to the shape and essentially the identity of what this year's Lakers team is going to be. So I wanted to take today to focus in on the Lakers so far this offseason, the moves that they've made, things that I liked, things that I disliked, things that I expect later in the summer as well, it's going to be a Lakers theme day.

Now, remember, this show originally was under the name Lakers tonight. We switched it to Hoops tonight because that was always the plan. We were always going to cover the whole league. However, the Lakers, even though I know many of you, probably despise the Lakers. And I'm not a Lakers fan either. I've just covered the team over the course the last couple of years. I've become a fan of certain elements of the franchise, of course. But the Lakers will always be one of the prominent franchises in the NBA.

Hell, they have LeBron, James, and Anthony Davis on the team. I know it was really strange. that they didn't make the playoffs this year, but even with all of the disastrous things that they did, it was primarily injury-related. So if LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy this year, chances are they'll be right back in the mix. And this show, Hoops Tonight, will always focus on all of the league, but with a primary focus on the top teams. And that goes with big brands like the Lakers and Knicks. It goes with successful teams and franchises like the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors and teams that are contenders.

That's why we're going to dive a lot into teams like the Boston Celtics when they're really good, or teams like the Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat. We're always going to focus in on the best and most interesting teams. And the Lakers come hell or high water, because they have so much star power, because they have the dramatic ownership general management group that they have, it's always going to be a team that we spend some time on. So today is going to be a Lakers-themed show. I'm going to get into some positives from this summer,

some things that I didn't like, what I expect about the Kyrie fit, because I do still think there's about an 80% chance that he's a Laker when this is all said and done. And then I'm going to do deep dives into four specific players, Thomas Bryant, Lonnie Walker, Juan Tiscono Anderson, and Troy Brown Jr. Just some of the things that I've noticed on tape and some things that I'll be looking for from them once we get into the season. But I do want to start positive because there's a, there, I've been really hard on the Lakers. As you guys know, I've been really hard and Jeannie Bus have been really hard on Rob Polink. I've been really hard on everybody on the roster, including LeBron James. And you know what? I don't feel bad about it. They deserve it.

They were the second leading favorite in Vegas. And then they missed making the playoffs in a field that allows 20 of the 30 teams to get it. It was embarrassing. And heads needed to roll. And heads basically have rolled over the, have been rolling over the course of the last couple of months. It's been kind of a funny start to free agency so far, right? Like it kind of feels like Rob Polinka is making decisions based on public percentage. rather than what the league is kind of trending towards, right? Like they lose to the suns and then they load up on offense and shooting. And then they can't guard anybody and all their old guys are hurt.

And then the criticism becomes, oh, well, they didn't have any defensive-minded players and they were too old. Well, every player they've signed so far this off-season is in his 20s. They've now become super young and super athletic and very defensive-minded. And a lot of the role players that they've picked up are players. that have severe offensive limitations. So it's kind of funny to see the pendulum of public perception kind of drive Rob Polinka's decision-making rather than just kind of focusing in on specific team needs.

But we'll get to that later. Like I said, I just undercut myself because I said I was going to be positive and I just was negative. But I do want to try to start positive. So let's start positive with the Lakers. First and foremost, I really, really like the Damien Jones and Thomas Bryant signings. They are modern NBA centers. again, like you think about

if we go back in a time machine 20 years, the game played it in a gruelingly slow pace, so transition footspeed didn't matter at all. Right, like the game was primarily three out, two in, meaning there was primarily two centers clogging things up and two defensive centers, clogging things up on every single possession. So floor spacing wasn't necessarily a concern

because everybody was dealing with it, right? and with the way that the game was officiated at the time where contact was allowed pretty much all over the floor, you were better off going to one of your bigger players to try to get them to bully the ball closer to the basket. But a lot of things have changed in the two decades since. Looking right at the physicality, the post-up is basically the only place on the floor

in the regular season where you're allowed to be physical. So it no longer makes sense to post players up unless you have a significant size advantage because defensively the refs allow you to do just about anything there. Whereas everywhere else on the floor, it's like you put your hands on somebody, it's a foul, you bump somebody, it's a foul, you come up underneath a shooter, it's a foul. It's extremely tic-y-tack everywhere else on the floor and then very loose and just kind of

free-for-all underneath the basket. So post-up offense is particularly centers banging on centers, you just don't really see much value in that anymore. You'll still see your LeBron's posting up a small guard or a big guard posting up a small guard, but it's few and far between, and it's not a very smart way to run offense anymore. Then we ditched the power forward, and we basically added a fourth wing slash guard perimeter player. So as a result, spacing now is a concern. If you are running some sort of three out two in type of attack, or if you have two really,

if you have two non-shooters on the floor, then things really will get clogged up, and it's no longer a, an issue of competitive, or becomes an issue of competitive advantage, because the other teams you're playing don't have that problem. And so as things have gotten spaced out more, and as we've ditched that four-man, the traditional four-man, having that big lumbering center has become more and more of a problem. And then last but not least, the game just plays at a much faster pace, and a lot of teams play a five-out style of basketball.

So your ability to get up and down the floor in transition and your ability to cover ground in rotation is much more important now than it used to be. And so essentially a big lumbering center like Dwight Howard carried a great deal of value 10, 15 years ago, right, when the game was like that. But now it's like you almost want a guy that's a little bit smaller, a little bit thinner, a little bit faster, and a guy that doesn't rely on post-up touches. Ironically, Dwight Howard having a tiny bit of a late career renaissance there with the Lakers in 2020

came with him slimming down a lot and ditching the post-ups and probably. primarily being at least the best version of that that he could be. So I did think it was impressive for Rob Polinka to notice that trend that I just laid out into target centers that are younger, faster, that will actually be able to get up and down the floor, especially since Darvin Ham has talked a lot about how he does want to play fast. And so you're going to need a specific type of center to be able to do that, and Thomas Bryant and Damien Jones give you that. So I do like that a lot.

Also, they shifted towards defensive-minded guards. Juan's a Gano Anderson, Troy Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker. They kind of fit into the existing mix of players that the Lakers signed late last year, right? Austin Reeves, a defensive-minded guard, Stanley Johnson, a defensive-minded wing, and Weng and Gabriel, a defensive-minded kind of like forward-wing hybrid, right? And so now you have a bunch of really defensive-minded young players. The reason why that's important is you've got to look at the LeBron James and Anthony Day. problem.

You know, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the reason why everyone got so excited when they originally paired up in 2020 is they were the consummate modern NBA front court. They brought all of the physically imposing stuff that came from your old school power forward sender combos with all of the malleability, versatility, and foot speed that comes from the modern front court combos, right? And then you combine that with LeBron James being one of the most dominant. offensive forces of all time. And Anthony Davis, at least during the first year of his time with the Lakers being

the hyperversible offensive forward that he was, you kind of was like the perfect foundational front court for an NBA team. That's why it wasn't a coincidence that for two straight years, not only did they win a championship, but they won damn near 80% of their games when the two of them were on the floor together. That was the foundational piece of this whole thing. But in 2020, I don't know if it was because of Frank. I don't know if it was because of LeBron coming off of the most embarrassing season of his career. I don't know if it was Anthony Davis thriving under all of the enthusiasm from joining the Lakers.

But LeBron and Anthony Davis were thoroughly and entirely bought in defensively. Then we went to 2021. LeBron stayed bought in defensively. Anthony Davis bought out defensively. Then we moved forward one year and LeBron James buys out defensively. too. Now suddenly LeBron James and Anthony Davis are a pretty bad defensive front court compared to what they used to be. Obviously Anthony Davis's poor defensive effort still brings a lot of positives, but they just weren't the same. In the 2021 year, they still had a ton of defensive-minded

players to pick up the slack for Anthony Davis. Dennis Schrooter, Danny, not Danny Green, excuse me, Contavius-Callwell Pope. You know, Kyle Kuzma, that was the year he blossomed into an excellent defensive forward in this league. They had players. that were committed defensively to kind of pull the weight for what was going on with Anthony Davis backing down. Alex Cruz, so I left him out. He's another great example of that. They had awesome defensive-minded players.

Then you get to 2022. Yes, you basically trade out all of the defensive-minded players for offensive-minded players. You combine that with LeBron James and Anthony Davis buying out defensively, and it turned into a disaster defensively. They were one of the worst defensive teams that I've ever seen. And so from that standpoint, I'm hopeful that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are bought in this year. I'm hopeful for the sake of the Lakers that they kind of recapture some of that 2020 vibe.

But if they don't, or if it's something less than that, like let's say they buy in for the big games or they buy in for stretches, but they have extended stretches of the season where they're kind of checked out, that's where it helps to have all of these guys that love to play defense because that will help carry you during those stretches. Most importantly, it will make it difficult for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to buy out because it's just hard. You guys know, I mean, look, I played in college, I play pickup now. I go through days where I don't really feel like bringing it. But if I'm on a team and I have three or four guys next to me that are really defending, I'm probably going to defend

because you start to get the side eye. You start to get those little bit of dirty looks. You start to feel guilty for not playing defense when the guy's next to you are. And there was none of that accountability with the Lakers last year. There was none of that guys holding each other to the same defensive standard.

And so I like the direction, even though I feel like it was reactionary, even though I don't even necessarily know if Rob Plinka's mind or heart was in the right place, I do like the shift back to defensive-minded guards. We talked about this earlier, and I got to give some credit to Rob here. I talked about this about a month ago, but really like the Darwin-Ham sign. Awesome, defensive kind of transition from what he was doing in Milwaukee to the Lakers.

Some of the stuff he can do with Anthony Davis and LeBron is similar to stuff that he did with Janice and Tenacupo and Brooke Lopez. So I loved that fit. I love that he's a tough former NBA player role player archetype and the way that he'll be able to look eye to eye with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and resonate with them in a way that a lot of the establishment coaches can't. I really, really liked that signing. The Lakers now have a great base of high motor players. We talked about this just a minute ago with defense, but that goes with the night and night out grind of the NBA season on both ends of the floor. Austin Reeves is a high motor player. Stanley Johnson is a high motor player. Stanley Johnson is a high motor player. Winian Gabriel is a high-motor player. Juan Tuscano Anderson, high-motor player, you know, Troy Brown Jr., Thomas Bryant,

these are all high-motor players. So this Lakers team will do better in the dregs of the regular season having this group out there in the rotation to just bring the night in and night out energy that you need, especially to pad your team in the standings with wins and losses. So last year, if you guys remember, that was a huge problem for the Lakers. When you're relying on Russell Westbrook

and you're relying on LeBron James and you're relying on Carmelo Anthony and you're relying on Anthony Davis and you're relying on DeAndre Jordan and you're relying on Camp Bazmore. It's like these are all older veteran players who don't really get up for the Oklahoma City Thunder in December. So what happens?

You end up losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder twice as a result. So I liked the idea of understanding your weakness. Your weakness is your two stars struggle with motors. sometimes. Let's target young players with high motors. It will help carry them through some of those stretches. And the last but at least in terms of positives, I think that, you know, Rob Polinka finally started to get it right in terms of the value of shooting. You know, and I kind of have like a combo opinion on this kind of thing. It's a combo of different things that I've heard and seen over the years when I've been playing and coaching and covering the league. The best guy that I've

seen explain kind of a variation of what I believe is Mike Trudell, who does an amazing job covering the Lakers for Spectrum Sportsnet. He also does the Laker Film Room podcast with Pete Zayas and Darius Soriano. They do an amazing job. Lakers fans, if you're looking for like a Laker-focused podcast, that's the best one I've seen. Got to check them out. But Mike Trudell always says that like the difference between a 38% three-point shooter and a 34% three-point shooter might be a dozen makes over the course of a season.

You know, if you're attempting, you know, three, 400 shots, right? like that it's not really that much of a difference and I tend to agree but more importantly I think percentage matters less than volume you know your it's it's the perception of your threat versus your actual threat so for instance you know NBA teams are going to sag off of players all the time to guard LeBron James and Anthony Davis that's just what you have to do if you leave the paint open and let LeBron James drive to the rim all day long, he's going to destroy you. If you don't double team Anthony Davis in the post and you let him work one-on-one against smaller players, he's going to destroy you. You make a decision when you guard the Lakers,

we're packing the paint and we're making other people shoot. So if Wesley Matthews shoots 34% from three, but you know, Troy Brown Jr. shoots 35 or 36, or I've just thrown out numbers for the sake of this argument, if there's a slight percentage difference there, That's irrelevant to the way teams will guard you. The way teams will guard you is the same, regardless of whether that's Wesley Matthews in the corner, or it's Contavius Colwell Pope in the corner, or it's Kyle Kuzma in the corner,

or Troy Banner Jr., whoever the hell it is, in the corner, they're ignoring that person. They're going to probably have a foot in the paint or near the paint to help on your LeBron James and Anthony Davis's drives. The only type of player that will actually warp the defense out to you is a gunner. That's a high volume three-point shooter. Has nothing to do with the percentage.

Has everything, or I should say, very little to do with the percentage and mostly has to do with the fear that you will shoot if you are open. For the most part, if you got a foot near the paint and there's a skip pass to Wesley Matthews and you close out on him, he won't even shoot it. He'll keep it moving. He might attack the close out a little bit, kick it to the next guy, and then reset the offense.

And so that's what allows that defender to sit in the paint, knowing he doesn't have to chaotically psychotically panic chase you off the three-point line because you're only going to shoot if you're completely wide open. Having a shooter out there that is a gunner, someone that has a relatively quick release and never sees a shot he doesn't like, that's the type of guy out there that will cause the defender to have a little bit more hesitancy. to pull further and further away from him. I accidentally listed him earlier,

but I intended to use him for this example. A guy that fits this mold perfectly for you guys to understand what I'm talking about is Kyle Kuzma. Kyle Kuzma has been shooting the ball a lot better in the last couple of years, but for his career has been a low 30s three-point shooter. But he's 6' 9 and he's a freaking gunner. Every time he's open, he shoots it. And so Kyle Kuzma has a better spacing effect than a 40% shooter that's hesitant or a 38% shooter that's hesitant.

I always liked Kyle Kuzma's fit as a role player next to stars because you never have to doubt whether or not he's brave enough to take the shot. And he more than likely will take a few more than you actually want him to take. Every coach will tell you they would rather have a player that they have to convince to shoot a little bit less often than a player that they have to convince to shoot a little bit more often. It's just a simple matter of confidence at that point. So ditching the Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony archetypes of players,

Mello actually is more of a gunner. He was actually a better fit, and I wouldn't hate to see him back in a Laker jersey. But Malik Munk is a good example of what I'm talking about. He's kind of got a load up on his shot. He's a little bit shorter, needs a little bit more separation. His value as a spot-up threat, is he pretty much has to be open, right?

He's not a guy that's going to make you pay for, you know, helping off of him just a little bit. So shifting away from high percentage three-point shooters, if you guys remember last year, all those guys that they signed, it's like, oh, Kent Bazmore, over 40% from three with Golden State. Like, that's impressive, right? We've got to bring that guy in. You know, it's like, oh, you know,

Avery Bradley shot the ball really well from three last year. We got to bring that guy in. We got to bring these guys in because their percentages looked better. than the guys that we had last year, but then they all came in and no one guarded them anyway, and they didn't make that many shots. So again, it's, and if you look at the Malik-Munk-Karmelo-Anthony archetypes, this is the other side of this thing.

The Malik-Munk-Mello archetypes give up a ton on the other end of the floor on defense. And so it's like, at least if you've got to want Tuscano Anderson and Troy Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker, and Austin Reeves, Stanley Johnson, they're not going to shoot over 35% from three, right? They're not going to make a ton of shots. They're going to present the same shortcomings as spot-up threats from just about any other Laker that has played in this era. But they're competing down on the defensive end of the floor. So the moral of the story is, if you can choose between a guy who's a good shooter who doesn't defend

and a guy who's an okay-to-average shooter that does defend, take this guy. Unless he's an absolute gunner, like a guy that absolutely forces defense. to contort his way. Those are the only guys that bring enough significant offense to value that you can make up for some of their defensive shortcomings. Which is why Mello

is one of the guys that I had considered as a potential player to sign. As we move to the negatives. So, I like the idea of going younger. You probably will have guys more available. You probably won't have to deal

with lineup turnover as often as you did last year. But you do need some veteran role players. You do need some, some wise experience, you know, guys who've been around the block a few times, you do need some of those guys in the locker room, especially as role players. One, they can help coach up young role players in a way that the LeBron's and Anthony

Davis is the world cannot because they can't relate to them, right? They can be, you know, mentors to them in a lot of ways. Two, they're usually more reliable in a playoff series. We've seen this so many times, but having a guy that you can trust. to not make mistakes in a big moment carries a great deal of value, especially as a fifth starter, especially as a guy that is surrounding your higher-end players. You know, that's not to say that you'll use them often, but you like to have them as an option. You know, typically when you're dealing with young players, you deal with volatility.

I say this all the time. Young players struggle to identify what's working for them and to replicate that and to identify what they're struggling with and to find ways to cut that out. They've always struggle with that. That's not just a basketball thing. That's a life thing. It's the reason why, like, I swear every young person I know gets in some amount of debt when they're young, and then they have to learn the hard way that that sucks,

and then you get out of debt, and you realize you don't want to do it anymore. You're young. You don't understand the mistakes you're making. You can't actually perceive consequences in the future, and so you do stupid stuff. This is the kind of thing that I'm talking about here. So, like a guy like Lonnie Walker, he'll have nights where he looks amazing, but he'll also have nights where his head's not in it, and he's making a lot of mistakes.

That's where it helps to have a veteran option to plug into that spot for 12, 15 minutes in a second half one night when Lonnie doesn't have it. Or the same thing if a Juan Tuscano-Anderson isn't fitting in well in this specific night in his spot in the rotation. I'd like to see a little bit of a veteran role-player presence. This is why I liked Mello. Again, Mello as a guy that has to play 30 minutes a night,

as a guy that you need for significant amounts of offensive creation, as a guy that you need 82 games a year, that can be a shortcoming on a team surrounded with other old guys. But if he's the one old guy, if he's the one veteran presence, if you never need to post him up, if he can take a night off on a back-to-back, if he can be the veteran mentor to some younger players,

he can bring great value there. And again, he was the one true, legitimate spot-up threat that actually contorted defenses for the Lakers last year, and that manifested in their net rating stats, if you look at him when he would play alongside LeBron James, good things would happen. And so I like the idea of bringing Mello back as one of the handful of older veteran players on this roster

who brings one truly elite skill in his ability to spot-up shoot. A lot of the criticism directed towards Mello over the course of the last couple of years, has a lot to do with the fact that he's been in bigger roles than he really should have had. In Portland, they needed him to score a lot. With the Lakers, they needed him to score a lot, there was no expectation for him to play defense because neither of those teams played any defense.

This is actually a much better fit for Mello than even just last year's Lakers team was. Second negative, the lack of wing size. So first thing that came to my mind when I saw Thomas Bryant, second thing that came to my mind when I saw Thomas Bryant last night, I was like, oh, Thomas Bryant, quality signing, really liked this guy, Damien Jones made more sense as a backup center anyway. I like this. Second thought, oh, they're going to go big again this year. Now, they've never really truly leaned into 80 at the 5, and there's been a lot of reasons for that, particularly this last season, they just didn't have the

personnel, they didn't have enough wing size to successfully play Anthony Davis at the 5. But the thing is, I always thought that the best version of this team was Anthony Davis at the 5, because of the offensive spacing that it creates. You know, again, in the modern NBA, especially when you're playing top-tier defenses, when teams are allowed to be physical, when they start ignoring your non-shooters, floor spacing becomes a premium.

It becomes one of the most important things in the game of basketball. And so the problem with having Anthony Davis at the four and putting someone in the dunker spot all game long is even though it helps you in some other areas of the game, like on defense, rebounding, things along those lines, it vastly hurts the confidence of your slashing stars because they just don't see the driving opportunities

that they normally see. And so when I saw the Thomas Bryant signing, the first thing I thought was, okay, if they have Thomas Bryant and Damien Jones, chances are they plan on playing Anthony Davis at the four. So at first I was a little irritated. But the main reason why I think this might be okay, and the main reason why I think this could work,

again, just could, is because when you don't have the wing size, you have to play big. Now, the whole league is going towards wings. But there was a team in 2020 that won the title largely without wings, and they did it with guards and bigs, and it was the Lakers. Then there was a team in 2021 that won the title, largely without wings, primarily with bigs and guards, and that was the Milwaukee Bucks. They were exceptions to the rule, though. I know they won, but the reality was is they won because LeBron, James, and Janus were so unbelievably good. You can functionally run a team like that. It's not the way that I think you should

in today's day and age. But as the Bucks and Lakers have proved, it is doable as long as everything breaks right. So with Rob Polinka still having not signed a single player that is over the 6'6, So I am as tall as every wing on the Lakers roster right now, except for Stanley Johnson. Because we haven't gone that route for the Lakers, you have to play big. And so I like that at least if they're going to play big, they're doing it with the right kind of centers.

And you can kind of see the team's identity starting to take shape. Defensive-minded guards, LeBron James at 3, Anthony Davis at the 4, super athletic centers underneath the basket to be rim runners and backline defenders. That was the 2020 Lakers. So I do like that they've tried at least to replicate something that has worked. It's not what I would have done. I didn't think it was right to use the mid-level exception,

your one large salary slot this summer, on a player that does not play the wing, on a player that cannot start for you necessarily in a playoff series. he might end up having to by virtue of the way the roster shakes down but I'm not sure that Lonnie Walker would have started for any of the conference finalists last year

and I like Lonnie Walker if they would assign Lonnie Walker for the minimum I'd be singing praises about the deal and he saw the guy who will fit in this rotation but when you had one slot to offer a player $6 million it should have been for someone who was 6 foot 8 and could play a little bit

of two-way basketball I disagreed with that strategy. I think that the best ultimate version of this Laker team that might never end up happening and really that we've only seen in the playoffs of 2020 was Anthony Davis at the 5, LeBron James at the 4, and big perimeter players. Alex Crusoe, Kyle Kuzma, and Cantavius Calvo Pope, 6-6669. Or swap out Danny Green at 6'7 for Kyle Kuzma.

That was always the best way to do this. Big perimeter players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the front court. So not having big perimeter players is an issue here. Now you might literally have to play big. And the ultimate reminder, if we go back to the 2020 Lakers, yeah, they've played big, but in the playoffs, 60% of their minutes, Anthony Davis was at center. When push came to shove, Anthony Davis was at center.

When they fell down one-over to the rockets, Anthony Davis played at the center. For specific matchups, like against Yokic, they went big. Got back to Miami, they played small, most of that series. So at the ultimate moments of that championship pursuit for the Lakers, Anthony Davis played center. And unless they can find another big wing, I'm not sure they can this year. Now, a lot of stuff is still going to happen. So for instance, Kyrie Irving is probably going to be in this picture somehow.

But that doesn't solve that problem, right? let's say Russell Westbrook ends up being the fulcrum of the Kyrie Irving trade and one first round pick. That means you have Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton Tucker, so a 6-2 point guard who's left-handed, and shifty, not great defensively, but okay. And Taylorton-Tucker, who, like, depending on which night you catch him, he looks like a future All-Star or someone who shouldn't be in the league, and he's only 6-4. We have those two guys, and we have one more first-round pick. those three assets have to somehow bring back somebody who's 6'7, 6 foot 8 can guard multiple positions and do a little bit of something on offense.

That has to be the target here. Because if you're going to try to recreate the mold of the 2020 Lakers, you need to have some malleability. You need to have some ability to have the ability to downsize the way the 2020 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 what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Baker's did.

Step up to the T and take a swing at betting the PGA Tour on Fandall Sportsbook. Right now, new customers can bet the tour with a no-swet-first bet. If you don't win, you'll get up to $1,000 back in free bets. I cannot wait for the Open Championship next weekend. The two guys that I have my eyes on are Will Zalotaurus. You can get on Fandul right now to win at plus $2,200. and Justin Thomas at plus 1,400. I love using this app.

They have great promotions every day. It's safe and secure. And most importantly, you get paid quickly. So see for yourself by FanDuals America's number one sportsbook. Download the Fandall Sportsbook app and sign up using promo code Jason T to get started with your no sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's Fain Duel Sportsbook, the official betting operator of the PGA tour, promo code Jason T. All right, before we get out of here, I wanted to talk for just a couple of seconds about

about Kyrie's fit, and then I want to rip through some of these young players and just give you guys my quick thoughts, and then we'll get out of here. First of all, as I laid out with that roster, a lot of these guys, Lonnie Walker, Wantsascono Anderson, Troy Brown Jr., Austin Reeves, Stanley Johnson, you know, these are not offensive creator type of players. And while the Lakers went too far that direction with the mellow monk type of idea, you do need some offensive creation. You do need somebody other than LeBron James that can run action. Now, the way I look at it in the NBA, there's two different kinds of actions. There's primary action, secondary action.

Primary action is ran against a set defense, and secondary action is typically ran against a defense that's either in rotation or has made a rotation, and their primary defenders are not involved. It usually is targeting one of their lesser perimeter players. So, for instance, like a guy like Lonnie Walker, a guy like Lonnie Walker, has a lot of experience running second side action. He's run some primary action with the Spurs. It just doesn't really count because it's the Spurs,

and they're not getting the other team's best shot. I don't think Lonnie Walker is the kind of guy that can come down the floor, you know, 20, 30 possessions a game, run high pick and roll with Anthony Davis, and be trusted to make consistently good decisions. But if a Kendrick Nunn comes down the floor and runs that action and it gets swung to Lonnie Walker, who now has a defender closing out on him,

or here comes the ball screen, but the defense isn't set all the way, that's where I do think he can bring some value. but the Lakers do need at least one more first primary side creator, right? You know, you could post up LeBron James, post up Anthony Davis, run any sort of high action with LeBron James, ball screen, isolation, things along those lines, right? But you'd need one other guard, one other wing that could put the ball in the fore and create his own shot either in pick and roll or in isolation. This is why Kyrie is so important.

And again, like there's, again, the intel with Kyrie went over a lot of it yesterday, so I'm not going to get into it again. My theory here is that Brooklyn is asking for two first-round picks. The reason why is they know they can get one from the Lakers. So why not go canvass the league looking for a second first-round pick, and maybe you'll convince the Lakers to throw in a second first-round pick. And if that's the case, the Lakers are doing the right thing. Be patient.

This will all shake out. You'll be able to get Kyrie for Russ and a first. Just do it at that point, and then you'll be fine. The one thing that I would say is if Rob Polinka is not including the first, that's just complete insanity. This is Russell Westbrook. He's one of the most overpaid players in NBA history. I don't even need to get into the Russ thing.

You just, Russ is a negative asset, okay? Kyrie Irving is also a negative asset, but much less of a negative asset than Russell Westbrook is. Why? Because Kyrie Irving actually can play basketball still at an extremely high level on one end of the floor, while Russell Westbrook can't on either end of the floor. Okay, so you're trying to trade a,

a $47 million negative asset for a better asset who makes $36 million. So you're going to have to give them something, all right? So give them the first if the time comes. But if they're just holding out to make sure it's only one first, I support the deal. That said, the Lakers need to do whatever it takes to get Kyrie. Stay in contact, don't blow this. Don't go blow the pick on somebody else because it would be extremely advantageous for the Lakers to have a guy in Kyrie that they can toss the ball.

to 30, 40 times a game to run that primary side action. Such a big deal for LeBron James. That's why he's targeted these point guards so much over the years. You know, LeBron, I always joked when he was with the Cavs that it was like thirds. Like for a third of the game he's looking to score, a third of the game he's looking to facilitate, and a third of the game he's looking for somebody else to do those things. Okay? And he's never been able, since he came to the Lakers, he's never been able to find that guy.

you know, in the 2020 season, it ended up kind of randomly being Rondo as he had a good, a decent playoff run after having a bad regular season. But like that's the type of guy he's targeting. That's why he wanted Dennis Schroeder. That's why he wanted Russell Westbrook. He wanted somebody to do that. Kyrie's your guy there. It's a natural fit.

The give and take with LeBron is excellent. You know, he can bring the ball up the floor without even pass it and create something for himself. So he's kind of like a great release valve for LeBron to save his legs for the other two-thirds of the game when he's more involved. So great offensive fit, an absolute necessity for the Lakers, and hopefully they don't mess around and blow this. They need it. Let's rip through these young players really quick before we get out here.

Thomas Bryant. Partially torn ACL, so he should theoretically be back to 100% this year. He's a decent three-point percentage shooter, but he's super low volume. He made fewer threes in his entire career through four seasons than Maxie Kleeber did in just one season this year for the Dallas Maverx. to give you an idea and the volume difference between a real stretch five and a guy who's capable of making some shots. But as I talked about earlier, I'm not really all that concerned about his three-point percentage.

Him just being a reasonable threat is a hell of a lot more than what the Lakers have had in the years past, even from Anthony Davis. So I do expect some floor spacing capability from him, but don't think Maxi Cleba, that's just not what he is. He's always played with a super high motor, and he rolls hard to the rim every time. That's a big advantage for ball screen guys, guys like LeBron James, or if Kyrie Irving ends up falling into the spot or Kendrick Nunn if they don't trade him. Having a player that sets the screen hard and rolls hard to the rim, it's difficult because you don't always get the ball. In fact, often you don't get the ball.

And so it's hard to convince Biggs to do that, and it's good that he does do that. But he does have that high motor. He plays super physical. He's not afraid of contact. This is big time for NBA centers because a lot of NBA centers don't necessarily love basketball that much. there's a reason why guards are always so much more skilled than bigs, and a huge part of it is guards choose basketball because they love the game of basketball. Most big guys choose basketball because they were told by their friends and family

that they should play basketball. So it's good to see, when you do see a big guy that has that motor, that's something that absolutely is unique at the position. And last but not least, Thomas Bryant, he's got all that modern center mobility. I'm not going to get into it again because we got into it earlier, but he does have the foot speed and linear speed to be able to hang in transition and to hang in five out situations. Okay, Lonnie Walker.

So everyone's comparing him to Malik Munk, our own Chris Mannix, compared him to Minkmunk with Colin Howard the other day on his show. I do agree in the sense that he's a thin athlete. So, you know, when you're a relatively thin athlete, it's hard for you to get to your athleticism when the slightest little bump and hand check can contain you or cause you to lose balance. So, you know, a bigger, stronger, this is why I was such,

this is why I was such a huge fan of Ivy, the kid that the Detroit Piston signed in the draft, or picked in the draft, because he has that combination of strength and low center of gravity with athleticism. So you can't bump him off his line. You're not going to be able to just hand-check him in his place. He's more likely to bump you off of your line. That's why these super-thin, super-athletic guards have some, That's why Malik Munk, even though he was a great dunker, wasn't just flying through the lane

Dunkin on everybody all season. It's because it's just hard to do when you don't have the physical momentum to stay on your attack line. So I do agree with him there. However, that's where the competition, the comparisons end. Malik Munk was a lights out three-point shooter who absolutely could run primary side action, and Lonnie Walker is not. Okay. Malik Munk competed on defense, but just didn't have the instincts or the physical traits to do it. Lonnie Walker is a little bit stronger, a little more laterally quick, and actually is very much committed on the defensive end of the four. He's not an elite defensive guard right now,

but he's the kind of guy that could be that for this team. So from that standpoint, I don't really look at it as a Malik Monk comp. What I do look at it is a similarity in the sense that it was a misallocation of resources to target a young 6-4 guard that doesn't fit your direct. need on the wing for a player like that. Although I should give Rob Plinkas some credit, Malik Munk was on a veteran minimum contract last year. A couple of specific things. Lonnie Walker said in his interview today that he prefers to guard one through three, but that he can, he thinks he might be able to guard fours now because he's up to 250 pounds. I'm curious to see if he's actually 215 pounds,

because I don't see that kind of size from him, so I'm really curious to see him on the court this year to see if that muscle really is there. 215 pounds is heavy for a 6-4 guard. That would mean he's really, really stout, and I don't really see that with him. But I did think it was interesting that he said that he guards one through three because that's kind of what I'm talking about

in terms of wing versatility. In order for you to be a versatile wing, you should be able to guard one through four. Like the only guys in the league that you shouldn't be able to guard or a yokach or an M-B, right? You should be able to at least hold your own and force a guy to shoot over the top

to all of the perimeter players in the league. And if you're a little too small and a little too thin, you're going to struggle against the bigger forwards, bigger wings in the league. And that's something I expect Malik, or excuse me, Lonnie Walker to struggle with. He's inconsistent with his shot. That's to be expected.

If you look through his numbers, yeah, you only shot 31% from three last year, only 32% when he was open or wide open. But if you looked at it, he had extended stretches where he shot well. It's like, oh, here's a 15-game stretch where he shot 40%. here's a seven-game stretch where he shot 47%.

Like that's the kind of thing you're seeing there. That's classic young, up-and-coming, streaky shooter. To me, that's irrelevant. We talked about the shooting thing earlier. He's going to make enough shots that teams can't completely ignore him, but at the same time, teams are going to play off of him, just like they do every single teammate of slashing stars that you see around the league. And then we talked about this earlier, but he's not a primary side creator.

So the Lakers are going to have to find some way to find a primary side creator because if you're relying on Lonnie Walker to run, you know, high pick and roll with Anthony Davis to start possessions for a significant chunk of the season, you're just going to be at a disadvantage compared to some of the other guys around the league. And then last minute at least, and I'm lumping these two guys together. Juan Tisconno Anderson and Troy Barrow Jr., they're just athlete wrecking balls. These are not offensive players. These are not guys that are going to light you up, spotting up from the three-point line. These are not high-level close-out attackers.

They're not going to, you know, be chased off the line, rip through into the lane, make a, you know, I'll give you an example. Austin Reeves is a high-level close-out attacker. That guy rips through to the middle and slows down and makes a read, sees how the defense kind of contorts to him, and then he'll make the perfect kick-out every single time. And then if you don't collapse on him, he's got a couple of moves that he can go to secondary moves, like counter moves, to try to get a shot off as he's attacking the close-out. These aren't those guys. These are one-dimensional spot-up threats. They're going to make some of their catch-and-shoot threes, and if you chase them off the line

and they can rip through the basket and go all the way and dunk, that's great. But you're not going to get them to make high-level close-out rates. But that's fine because that's not their job. These are athlete wrecking balls. They will crash the offensive glass. They will run the floor in transition. And most importantly, they are committed to the defensive end of the floor. I loved hearing Troy Brown Jr.'s press conference today talking about how his only concern

on this team is to play defense and that he wants to, he's going to focus on his ability to knock down corner threes, which is what you need from a player who plays. position, his position, and then be able to guard as many positions on the floor as he can. You know, Troy Brown Jr. is a little bit more wiry, a little more athletic. Quantisano Anderson's a little bigger, a little less athletic, but a little truncier. I like that versatility. You can unleash a Troy Brown Jr. against a quicker guard, and you can release Juan Tisano Anderson against a Kauai Leonard, as someone that might be able to at least hold his ground in some of the physicality.

Anyway, I hadn't had a chance to touch on a bunch of these guys because we've just been in the weeds of the rest of the free agency. But I wanted to take some time today to do a deep dive on the Lakers, and we went really deep. We went almost 45 minutes. But that's all I got for right now is we get more information about what the Lakers are going to do. Again, I expect a Kyrie Irving move from Russell Westbrook. I expect Kendrick Nun and Taylor and Horton Tucker to be flipped for a wing.

At least I hope that they do. And I think they'll end up targeting like a Carmelo Anthony and maybe one or two more veteran players to round out their roster. So this is not over. But I thought now was as good as time to any to dive. into the moves that they've made to this point. All right, guys, that is all I have for today. Like I said at the beginning of the show,

don't forget that I will be in NBA Summer League starting tomorrow through Sunday morning. Follow me on Twitter underscore Jason LT so you guys can see kind of where I'm at around town and where I'm at the game so you guys can come say hi. And we can talk some hoops, and maybe we'll get to play a little bit hoops as well while we're there. And then I'll do some video reactions

to some of the higher-end games as we get there. All right, guys, that is all I have. I will see you guys tomorrow. 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, S&L'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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. 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. 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.

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