Los Angeles Lakers | Game Theory Offseason Preview

Los Angeles Lakers | Game Theory Offseason Preview

Hello and welcome to the Game Theory podcast offseason preview series where Bryce Simon and I break down all of the big decisions for every NBA team that they have forthcoming this summer. Today it’s time to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers. One of the most interesting offseasons because they don’t have a ton of flexibility, but they do have a number of picks. They do have a number of players and contracts they could use in trades in order to create a more balanced roster around LeBron James and Luka Donuch. But first, shout out to you guys for subscribing to the channel. Over 40,000 of you have hit that subscribe button. Continue to hit that subscribe button. Continue to rock with us. Hit the subscribe button over on Spotify, over on Apple, wherever you listen to your podcast. We appreciate you guys immensely. All of these go up on the podcast feed just as much as they go up on the YouTube channel. Bryce, Los Angeles Lakers time. So, obviously a disappointing playoff series to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but I do think it’s just worth remembering that this is a team that acquired Luca Donuch at mid-season. And in order to make the Luca Donuch experience work in my opinion, you do need like a very specific roster. and the Lakers just absolutely did not have anything resembling this specific roster. And on top of it, you know, Luca had this calf injury that happened around Christmas and I feel like never really got fully back into like the condition and playing shape that he frankly needs to be in. And we’ll see if that’s able to happen this summer. It feels like he’s pretty motivated right now. I would imagine he’s fairly motivated right now. How do you feel about this entire thing? And are you as positive in general big picture as I am on the Lakers given they now have Luca Donuch on their team? Uh well, first and foremost, I hope you get destroyed by the comments for wearing Celtics green during the Los Angeles Lakers offseason preview. Um shout out everybody in the comments for doing that. Thank you very much. Um yeah, I mean you have Luca freaking Donuch, right, who is really good at basketball. Uh you still have LeBron James who somehow in his 40s is still really good at basketball. um not the same level of player but still really good at basketball. And I think Austin Reeves is also really good at basketball. So that’s a really nice starting place in terms of you know whether it’s that core, whether that core gets you something else like whatever. I think what you said is really interesting in terms of building the right roster around Luca. What was fascinating to me about the Mavericks trading Luca Donitz is I actually thought they had built the right team around him. I thought they had given him the right roster in terms of wings that shoot threes and play defense and then big guys that rim run and rim protect and then Kyrie Irving as his number two guy who I give Kyrie credit all the time for being able to play off of Luca and then turning into the man in the non-luca minutes. And so if I’m the Lakers, like if I’m Rob Pelinka, like God’s honest true Sam, I’m trying to replicate that. like I’m looking at my resources and going, how can I replicate what Dallas had built in that final year for Luca because I think that that maximizes him to the most. Yeah. I mean, look, like the last two years, I feel like the team that I was highest on going into the playoffs compared to Consensus, right? I remember I went on Jason Tim’s podcast last year and everyone yelled at me because I was really high on the Mavericks. I had them as like a top four or top five title contender in like right after the trade deadline basically and people were like you’re out of your mind like this is crazy. It’s like no they have Luca Donuch who’s one of the best playoff performers of all time and you also now have a roster that like really makes sense around him and is going to be really switchable and they have rim protection and they have a whole lot of things to do. Sam you I say you’ve done it two years in a row like you did it with I remember thinking you were crazy. I I was one of those like I think you’re too high on Dallas. And then this year, even though I liked Indiana, I thought you were too high on Indiana whenever we did our playoff title contender rankings. You’ve done it two years in a row. It’s true. Yeah. Like Indiana, I felt good about this year. It’s because they had a roster that was super switchable, super versatile, could kind of morph and mix and match to different situations. Dallas had built that. It was crazy. But we don’t need to rehash the Luca deal. If only just to say that yes, you’re right. If I’m the Lakers, I’m trying to build something very similar to what Indiana has built with Tyrese, to what Dallas built with Luca previously. And I I think that they are not there yet, but they have the outlines of a roster to where they might be able to do that at some point. So, you know, we’ll bring up the sheet here and talk through it. And really just the question number one here is how do they build out the core surrounding LeBron Luca and Austin Reeves? And the key here is just that they’re almost assuredly over the cap. They’re 9 million away from the first apron, including uh well, no, the cap number is wrong here. I’m going to have to figure out what happened there. So, with the Lakers, they’re assuredly over. Yeah, they’re 9 million away from the first apron. They’re 21 million away from the second apron. Just ignore the number nine thing here. Uh that looks like a remnant from the next preview we’re recording, the Toronto Raptors preview. Um 21 million away from the second apron is correct. Uh they don’t have any draft picks this year, but they do have some future draft capital to be able to play with if they want to go and acquire somebody. They’ve got 186.2 million committed for 10 players. That includes Austin, Luca, LeBron, Dorian Fitty Smith, Ruie, Jared Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Connect, Maxi Cleba, Bronny James. The thing about all of Dorian Finny Smith who is a player option, Ruie, Jared Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Cleba, is they’re all in kind of that sweet pocket for trades, right? where it’s you make between 10 and maybe like 14 $15 million to where the contract is not like overly ownorous but it’s tradable and fungeable in some way to be able to go out and you know maybe accumulate two of those players to go out and get one player right uh to go and put two of those guys together with a draft pick with Dalton connect something like that to be able to go get a dude so let let’s start here. The very obvious need for this team is the center position. Mhm. They need to go find an answer at just the big spot in general. They tried to do the Mark Williams deal. I would assume that’s dead given the medical thing. Like if you clear don’t clear somebody via a medical, that just feels like a difficult spot to be in to turn around and try and go deal do the deal again, right? Given that, where do we think they turn in order to solve the center position this year? Is that how they use their taxpayer midlevel or do they go out and do they try and acquire a long-term solution to play with Luca? My guess is, and we’ve talked through this a little bit, is you use a similar package in another trade, right? Um, sure. I suppose there is some, you know, if you don’t have that, I there are some interesting names like he’s not the lobster like Brook Lopez, but like you’re not getting him on the taxpayer. So I I wonder if he might, for what it’s worth, like look, he’s making a lot of money and if he just wants to play with a contender, he’s from LA as well. Like the Lakers might get Brook Lopez on the taxpayer because they they are in the unique situation of offering him starter responsibilities living in LA, all of that. Okay. Um that’s the name that jumps out as a possibility if they just went free agency, I guess. Um, I feel like it’s the trade still, but I could understand like if again if they don’t have the name in the trade if if that guy’s not out there and so just to go get it for a year. Um, and again I realize this isn’t the lob threat for Luca, but I mean a stretch big with Luca is interesting to me as well. And you also have this drop coverage, rim protecting big that at least helps in some ways on the defensive end behind that. the name that we’ve talked about a couple of times just randomly throughout the year. I mean, do we think there’s any chance the Pistons look to move off of Jaylen Duran? Um, before they have to pay him. So, I I think if there is a time to do it, it would be now, right? Because he has the, you know, he’s coming up on his rookie extension this off seasonason. You have him and Jay Nivey and then you have Assar coming down the line. And my thing with this would be Sam, they would have to have another answer at center though. Um, yes. I I don’t think the answer is trade Jaylen Duran and move Isaiah Stewart into the starting lineup. So, this is like make this move and then you think you can go get whoever that’s that’s your new starting center, right? So, yeah. Yeah. So, let’s just think about this from let’s remove the Pistons like equation from this, right? Yep. From a value perspective, on top of Dalton Connect and Shake Milton, like the money works if it’s those two, right? What else do the Pistons need to get here in order to move Jaylen Duran, do you think? Um, I mean, obviously Tjan is going to ask for the first round pick, right? I would think so. I certainly would. Uh, I would ask for a first for sure. The one thing that is part of this is what we just said, like the Lakers, Pelinka should go back and be like, “Well, we’re going to have to pay Jaylen Dur, like he’s not going to be on his rookie deal for very much longer to try to get a little, you know, get off a little bit of what he’s going to have to send out.” Connect is interesting still um with the offense, but we’ve seen where the defense has been a little bit of an issue. And like I I I be interesting how that plays out, but floor spacing would be a real value ad for this Pistons roster. Um I mean it just has to be the first, right? Like that’s the reality. Like it’s this that’s the only way that this works. And I don’t do this if I’m the Lakers for what it’s worth. Like I I don’t think that Duran is a big enough defensive difference maker to me for this to work. Yeah. Because like even if Detroit liked Ruie or like Dorian Finny Smith with the player option and like none of the money works then, right? Like then then you get into other names and expanding it out and I guess I’m kind of with you as well. Like I feel like for them they probably want somebody that like the the the lob gravity fits awesome with Luca. Like he he definitely fits that mold of things. I don’t know that he’s the same on the other end that Luca has played with in the past, but if they just want to solve the offensive side of it, I think Duran would make a lot of sense in regards to that or if they see more upside and growth with this defense coming. So So this this is my I think that this is the deal leaguewide right now that you made me pick one that I just think makes the most sense. And it gets into another thing, by the way. Like I I think Austin Reeves is a stud. I think he’s like a top 40 player in the league, something like that. I think he is so good. I think he is a monster, right? He has one year left on his contract before he gets like quite expensive here, right? Yep. He He’s going to get very very expensive moving forward. Is there anything around just Derek Lively who has played with Luca who we know has great synergy with Luka? This is the best trade idea. I love it for Austin Reeves because Austin Reeves solves the problem that the Mavericks have in terms of Kyrie Irving being out for a good portion of the year. Austin Reeves can play as the lead guard next year, but we know that Austin can also shift off the ball once Kyrie gets back. for Dallas. We know that Dallas has Daniel Gaffford already. They have Anthony Davis who will assuredly play some of his minutes at the five. They are now getting Cooper Flag as well. They have PJ Washington PJ Washington in this scenario. Yeah. Like they they are set in the front court. Why does this not make sense for everybody? And like again, my impression is the Lakers don’t want to move Austin Reeves for obvious reasons cuz Austin Reeves is a great basketball player, but something around this where Derrick Lively looks like a real potential like down the road all-star center for a guy in Austin Reeves that I think also has like some real all-star upside where both solutions here tick so many boxes for both teams. So, I’ll be honest. The reason I think I said I love this is one I think it makes a lot of sense in in terms of if you’re going to move off Austin Reeves, I think it makes a lot of sense for the Lakers in terms of getting Luca Lively. But I actually love it for Austin Reeves because we would get almost an entire year, how many other games until Kyrie is back seeing Austin Reeves run the show, right? Like he is the guy in the back court, right? He wouldn’t be their best player. AD would be their best player, but they would have C like they would have all of this other really good talent, but the ball would be in his hands. And I’ve always wondered how good would Austin Reeves be in that situation, right? Where like this is your show and we’ll put these really good bigs and wings and defenders and all of that around you. And it’s like I I just there’s a world where it’s incredible. Like there’s a world where I think Austin Reeves is just like, you know, is seen in a different light if he goes there and gets that opportunity. And like you say, we’ve talked that back court would be a little bit small with him and Kyrie, but I think especially offensively, they absolutely could play together whenever Kyrie gets back and and it’s some insurance if what is Kyrie coming back, you know, from this injury and at his age. Austin obviously a lot younger. I think that would be interesting then. kind of deal would they give Kyrie if you knew you were going to trade for Austin? Obviously, you’re going to give him the big contract that, as you mentioned earlier, he’s going to eventually demand. So, I think it’s a really fascinating idea in regards to that. I I just think it makes a ton of sense. And oh, by the way, like there are just like I believe different ways to construct it. Like the Mavs have to add like some salary in there obviously. Like you could just do Caleb Martin for Caleb Martin and Derek Lively for Austin Reeves. You could do Jaden Hardy and I think Omax Prosper with Lively for Austin Reeves. Like there are ways for the Lakers to even like just financially because this is the way this deal would have to work like add some depth as well that like of guys that might be able to play down the road. Um in terms of who has more trade value, honestly I don’t know between Derrick Lively and Austin Reeves. I think it’d be very different for every team on who would have more value between those two, but this just like solves so many different like balance issues for both teams to where it just makes a lot of sense to me across the board. And I say this is like I’m like if not the biggest Austin Reeves fan like in the national like media, I’m certainly among them. I think he’s a stud. I think that like the Luca and Austin Reeves fit long term is spectacular, but the bigger issue for me is that LeBron, it’s not an issue. It’s that LeBron is on this roster and while you are happy to have LeBron on the roster, he does complicate this vision of the short term versus the long term kind of in terms of how you’re building because with LeBron, he obviously wants to win right now, day one, right? Like that’s it. He needs to contend for a title otherwise like why do you have LeBron on the roster? But with Luca, like if I was the Lakers, I would love to like take a year and reset this thing a little bit. You can’t do that with LeBron. Like the easiest way to reset the roster in my opinion to a roster that makes sense around Luca long term would be keep Austin Reeves and move LeBron. And that would allow you to create like a sustainable contender because I’m sure you would get real value for LeBron from somebody. You would get crazy crazy value. I just don’t think they’re going to go down that road. Like I don’t see any world where they’re going to do this. Yeah. I mean, this is one reason why I’ve even entertained the idea of Austin Reeves getting traded was I actually think he plays perfectly in the Kyrie role that I outlined earlier for the Lakers with like I think he’s the ideal player to do that. Like man, like you went from Kyrie, now Austin Reeves gets to play that role. To your point with LeBron though, where LeBron demands the ball and rightfully so because he’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game, it’s like it doesn’t play out the same way, right? Whenever you have LeBron in the equation as opposed to PJ Washington or whoever, right? And so like this is my thing is how do the Lakers look at Austin Reeves? To me, that’s what the important part of this question. Are they going to say, “Hey, this is the Kyrie to Luca in Dallas.” Is that what we truly believe Austin Reeves is? Or are they always going to go try to find a different quote unquote number two guy? And if they are, if they don’t think Austin Reeves is good enough to do that, then your trade idea makes more sense to me. I think Austin Reeves can be that. But if they don’t, then go get Derek Lively and at least fill that role and let Reeves go thrive in Dallas. Yeah. Like to me it’s if you’re trying to win a title next year, right? Then okay, sure. Having LeBron, having Luca, that should probably be your core at the end of the day. Austin Reeves is an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year. And you can’t extend him. He’s going to make too much money. He makes 13 million or 14 million or whatever right now. You can’t extend him off that number. Austin Reeves is going to get 30 to $40 million next year. Somewhere in that ballpark, I would guess honestly like probably closer to 40 having thought about it like for a second. So you that that’s a non-extendable contract this summer. If I’m him there, there’s a chance Austin Reeves is the most coveted, sought-after free agent in the summer of 2026. Because if you just look at what’s out on the market right now, like what if Trey Young extends? What if uh like we don’t know what’s going to happen with Mikuel Bridges here? We don’t know what’s going to happen. Like there are so many different dudes that could extend. Kevin Durant like you know seems like he’s going to try and get set up this summer somewhere as opposed to next summer with like a trade before he hits free agency. Maybe he extends, right? like Austin Reeves has a real chance to be the guy that everybody is chasing next summer. And right now there are a lot of teams that project to have cap space next summer compared to who have cap space this summer. So if I’m the Lakers, like I’m even like 10% worried. I I it seems like Austin Reeves loves Los Angeles and like is super happy there. But like, you know, I I’m even like a little bit worried about that. Like he is the most coveted free agent on the market next year. It it’s funny like I think people may b at that but when you look at the names of guys either they’re going to exercise the player options they have or they’re guys that are most likely going to be on longer term deals by the time we get there. Right. Like Yeah. Or they’re just older. Like I’ll I’ll run through the name. Yeah. Run through them. So Damen Lillard has a player option for 2026 27 coming off of his Achilles injury. Can’t imagine that that’s going to be a thing. LeBron like there’s just going to be a limited sample of teams for LeBron, right? like he’s only going to go certain places. It is what it is. Uh Bradley Beiel is player option. I would say Austin Reeves is better than Bradley Beiel at this point. Kevin Durant again is moving this summer. It feels like Trey Young is has a player option. Uh we’ll see if he extends this summer or like is do they try and get ahead of this with a trade and extension kind of deal for for another team. Uh Luca Donuch obviously can be a free agent next summer. I would imagine that the Lakers try to prove to him this year that they’re building around him and that’s the whole thing. And if you can stay with the Lakers as like the star of the Lakers moving forward, that does feel like a win for everybody involved. Both, you know, endorsements, prestige, everything like that. Zack Lavine is going to be 31. I would say Austin Reeves is ahead of him in the pecking order. Uh Fred Van Vleet will be 32. I would say Reeves is ahead of him in the pecking order. Kyrie, uh his situation comes up this summer as a player option. I would imagine he doesn’t really opt into that. James Harden is an unrestricted free agent next year at 37 almost. I would guess that Austin Reeves is more coveted than him. De’Aran Fox, I would guess, is getting getting an extension this summer. Yep. Julius Randall, we think, is probably getting something this summer. We’ve talked about him in the Minnesota thing. Jiren Jackson, I would assume, is getting some sort of extension this summer. Christophs is way too big of an injury question. Like, you can go down the list. You know, I would rather have Austin Reeves and Anthony Simons. Like Muel Bridges is extension eligible right now. Like it you can go up and down the list and it’s hard to get past Austin Reeves at a certain point as the guy. Yeah. No, I I agree. And so and like to your point, I think he’s the most like he’s going to be available, right? A lot of those guys who are player options or they’re going to Correct. He’s not opting in to that player option in 20, you know, for 26 27 barring an injury, right? Or something like that. And can’t extend because his his value is his salary is too low right now to extend. Exactly. And so like he’s the most like he’s definitely going to be available barring something completely unforeseen. So um it it is really fascinating. Like I said, I just it it’s a really interesting conversation with them in terms of team building and you know through as we’ve talked through these I’m a little bit more like give me the window, give me the five or sixyear window and that many bites of the apple and I think locking into a Luca Austin Reeves and then build out the roster gives me that window, right? Like I feel like completely agree. I mean, that’s why we kind of smash the Mavs for making the trade they made is because they shrunk their window like along with other things. But it’s like I’m I just buy more into that. You trade for 25 year old 26-y old Luca Donuch build start building a roster and constructing a situation where you give yourself a win, a a window of six or seven years where you have a real chance all six or seven years, not shorten it into one or two potential years. And to be clear with like we think Austin is very good and we think that like he should be the number two of the Lakers and I’m sure that if they came to him and said you are the number two guy for the Los Angeles Lakers, we are going to pay you commensurately with $40 million a year to play with Luca and like we we’ll figure out what’s going on with LeBron, but like you’re our priority long term. I’m sure he would love that. I’m sure that it would like it’s it’s a trickier conversation. I Sam I question whether the Lakers believe that or not. Like I’m I’m just not sure that they do. And so like that’s why I think some of this stuff is more realistic. Like I wonder if the Lakers value him at that level that me and you are talking about him. So yeah. Okay. So I’m just going to list off names here. I’m going to ask you, does this guy make sense with a Luca Donic roster long term? Bet. Dorian Finny Smith. Yes. Ruy Achimura maybe my my answer is like I don’t love it for what it’s worth. I know that Ruie knocked down threes this year but my issues with Ruie So Ruy averaged 13 and five this year 41% from three 514177. So you look at it like on its face and you go okay this works like this makes sense. I think he can work with a Luca team. I don’t think that you can have Ruie making what is it like $19 million. 18. Yeah. Have him making $18 million while limiting your flexibility. I think I would look to move him this summer because my issues with Ruby are that he’s not as good defensively as what like the tools make you think he should be. He just doesn’t process it that quick. And that extends to the offensive side as well. Like just does not move the ball quick enough. Like I I worry as to whether or not he’s a guy that helps you win in the playoffs. because of the processing ability. So I would say like I would look to move him I assume people will point to PJ Washington and PJ was making four or five million less than than Ruie and is way better on defense like drastically better. Correct. So Jared Vanderbilt, I mean like not as my primary backup big or something like that, you know, like somewhere in the rotation maybe I like the player, but I don’t like the player for $12 million a year or whatever it is. Like that doesn’t totally work for me. Um Gabe Vincent. No. See, like I think Gabe Vincent can be like a solid third guard, but you know, not not a necessity here either, right? Uh Dalton connect. I mean, just our sample size is not the defense isn’t good enough. So, I I will say no because of that. And people know I was super high on Daltton Connect. Really hard if you’re keeping both Austin and Luca long term. Sure. I think uh if it’s one of them, like if you’re just keeping Luca, I’ll hear out a little bit more, but yeah, really hard if you’re keeping both to me in terms of Dalton’s defense. Uh Maxi Cleba, I mean, just feels like, you know, obviously was hurt last year, came back for their last game literally. So, we’ll see what it is, but my guess is that he’s eminently available, right? So, is there any guy on the market beyond like Derek Lively that you look at and you go, “This makes sense for the Lakers to move the 2031 first round pick for or any combination of guys.” So, before you said like the like the under I have an underrated big man signing that I like for them, but that’s not what the conversation we’re having right now. We’ll get to that in a second. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so make a trade for like I go to Batad, but like you’re not trading a first round pick for him, right? So that’s too much. [Music] Um, like Mitchell Robinson is an interesting name, but why is New York trading their one, you know, like their backup big? And again, I don’t think you’re trading a first for that. Having said that, the Tom Tibido thing does at least like change. Like I don’t know what that looks like now. Yeah. In an interesting way. I thought I had a feel for it. I I don’t necessarily have a feel for it anymore. Um which is interesting. I feel like I’m missing a name somewhere, but like like I don’t think DeAndre Aton is the right name here. I’m think trying to just like go through the the teams and guys that might be available. So, so Orlando is the team that I thought of for sure here. Yeah. Is there anything around like goat? The Lakers really like Tristan Dilva last year. I like that. I just know that that was a thing. Um, and like I think they probably would have taken him if Dalton hadn’t fallen. Obviously KCP has a history there too and like could make sense as like a defense first role player, right? Is there any way that like you can see Orlando looking at this as like, okay, we can get off of the KCP money. We can, you know, use the Goa deal when they already have Wendell Carter, Moagner, Jonathan Isaac, etc. And we could do something like Ruie Gabe Ruie and Gabe Vincent for KCP and Goa Batadz and then like you have to add in value somewhere like maybe it’s connect is the value piece there as opposed to the 2020 or 2031 first. Like is is there anything there that makes sense? I’m struggling with that from Orlando side, Sam, in terms of like Yeah. Where does Ruie fit into this? Gabe, I guess Ruie is Ruie and Vincent are expiring contracts. So, you get off of the KCP money one year earlier is the idea. Yeah. And you create more roster balance. Obviously, you get the shooter and connect was my theory. Yeah. [Music] Um Yeah. Um Dalton Connect, Jet Howard, and Caleb Houston all on the same team. [Music] Um I had not thought of that. That that feels concerning to me. So, it’s like just KCP and Goa for Ruie Vincent connect. And I I’m trying to think of like how you’d have to make the money work there. There’s a way you have to make the money work there. And I’ll figure it out while we’re talking. Yeah. I mean, I like this from the Lakers persp like I I think this I think Goa would be really interesting for them. I like that as a starting point for them to fill out that roster. Um maybe KCP can, you know, get back to knocking down shots. At the very least, he’s going to defend for that team on the perimeter, which would be a welcome addition in regards to that. Um I I would need some convincing on the Orlando side in terms of the return, I think. Or or maybe have to like really look at the books and see kind of the flexibility that opens up for them. Yeah. So the flexibility here would be that it makes it easier for them to be able to go out and get like a real like scoring guard basically to replace the KCP money. They could always just try and trade KCP to Portland or something like that. But the idea here would be okay if we’re getting ex because we have to extend Paulo this summer for max money with like you know rose rule qualifiers in. So when we do that we’re going to have like Fron and Paulo on crazy money. We’re going to have Jaylen Suggs on 35. We’re going to have all these dudes like making significant significant dollars like Wendel Carter jumps to 19 in the following summer because when we did their offseason preview the idea was that like they are just strapped for money long term. It was That’s right. It ended up being more than a Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. That my theory was like you clear off the KCP money and set your set your books up a little bit better long term. Does that work at all? And maybe like I I know I made the joke with Connect, Howard, and Houston, but like maybe Connect can just like go be a bucket getter there surrounded by a bunch of really good defenders and a defensive end in like my worry would be like that Mosley just doesn’t play him right because the defense isn’t good enough, but we talk about Orlando needing scoring punch and shooting and like maybe they saw enough to be like, “Okay, well we’ll give up the KCP defense and lack of floor spacing this year to bring in connect if they really believe in his scoring punch and will just make that sacrifice for one player here while giving up Batad who again I think we both think is a really good player but because they are a little bit more flush at the big man position they can afford to go ahead and do that. Yeah. So like this isn’t deadon in terms of like what I’m thinking. I just need to put something together like relatively quickly. Um, you and I think Jed Howard is like a reclamation project. Like it’s not a not like a real asset at this point. Correct. But KCP and Betad to the Lakers, Ruie Vincent connect to the Magic and the Wizards basically send Howard for a second rounder or send a second for Jet Howard to take a shot on it. Okay. Thing like that. Yeah. I think to me for Orlando, it’s like really the cap flexibility. Like what what does that what are we going to be able to do with that? And do they see real value in connect? Like I I think those are the two pieces that that get you there if you’re Orlando. Um because again, yeah, like if they don’t see value and connect, it’s done. Like there’s no way they do this. Yeah, agreed. like that. It hinges on them seeing the value that he could bring them and how they evaluated coming, you know, because that’s the thing we talk about pre-draft evaluations. If if they didn’t see him as a, you know, whatever pick or didn’t have a great grade on him, like they may not be interested in that at all. I do think that there is real synergy though between the Magic and Lakers this summer. Like that makes a ton of sense. The Lakers have a lot of expiring deals now to which they can send to Orlando to give them some salary flexibility and the Magic have players that can like help the Lakers to Yeah. with Goa, with KCP, with, you know, whoever you want to look at, right? Like they they have a number of players that I think might be able to help the Lakers. Yep. So, that’s an interesting team. I mean, anybody else I’m like trying to think of. The thing is like the reason this is just like a trades conversation is again that it kind of just has to be via trade for the most part like that they can use the taxpayer MLE they can use the bannual exception but like other than that it’s really locked into just it has to be by a trade at the end of the day. Um like the other name that people always bring up is Walker Kesler with the Jazz. Like that’s one that’s I feel like is has been brought up countless times. So, and I think we’ll find out how the Jazz really feel about Walker this summer because they have to pay him, right? So, like if they decide to extend him, that just dies. Uh, if they don’t decide to extend him, then we’ll see, right? But like I don’t know if they would move Walker for the 2031 first in Connect. Like, I’m not convinced of that. Sure. Yeah. Would they move Frost Reeves? I think they would. Like, if you made me guess. I don’t know that. That’s a guess. But like I would think that if Austin was coming back that gives them like a real point guard. It gives them like some real balance and like they you can go and get your center of the future at number 20. You could even take Malawatch at five if you want to. Like there are different ways to be able to kind of finagle things if it’s Austin Reefs coming back to me. Agreed. And then obviously they’re going to attach more now. But yeah, I’m I’m with you that that that I’m skeptical of the Lakers wanting to do that either. Sure. Yep. Uh you mentioned that you had a great big option uh for their taxpayer MLE. Yeah, I mean I just a name that I like that I think is under the radar as a big man in free agency is Dron Sharp from Brooklyn. Like I just think Dron Sharp is really really good. And I think he gets I think he gets more than five, don’t you? Yeah, that’s the issue, right? is like they as you talk through this in terms of being a free like acquiring it via free agency I don’t think any of these names are going to hit like I I think Dron is a better player than that. I just I think he would be an awesome fit for them if they had a mechanism to making it happen. So um but just having the taxpayer mid-level is not going to do it. So yeah, I mean, if I was them, I’d be hoping Brook Lopez would be willing to do that. I’m just like a little bit skeptical. Like I I would love it if Luke Cornett would come for that much money. Like if you could like I think he makes more than that though, honestly. Like I think he gets more than five. So like the other names here would be like Clint Capella like maybe um I mean like really like Capella feels like the name if anything like I don’t know if you’re doing like could you do like a signin trade for Stephen Adams because Stephen Adams wouldn’t be subject to like the base year compensation stuff in all likelihood because he’ll probably make like somewhere in the ballpark of 10 to 15 and that wouldn’t be a 20% raise on his salary. Um it’d be it’d have to be 14 I guess for Stephen Adams, but like he wouldn’t be subject to the base year compensation stuff is the key. So you know you could do like a mixand match deal where it’s like okay we will just give you like you know Jared Vanderbilt for Stephen Adams. We’ll give you Jared Vanderbilt and like some sort of capital or something. gave Vincent and some sort of capital and the Rockets will be able to keep the salary slot open, right? Um if Adams tells them, I’m not coming back, right? Which who knows, right? But like that’s that’s a name I would love for them. Like Stephen Adams is the perfect name for the Lakers given the way that he played in the offseason, but there’s no way you’re or in the uh postseason. There’s just no way you’re getting him for 5.7 and it’d have to be like working with the Rockets to find a deal that makes sense. Yeah. And there how far are they away from the like being a non-ax MLE? Like is there is there a path to getting to the non-tax MLE? Are they to so far over the I don’t I mean look like if they could find a way to dump they’d have to like dump the KBA money somewhere basically. if they dumped the KBA money to like Brooklyn or something. But like here’s the issue with dumping money, right? It probably is like dumping connect and clea to Brooklyn and getting, you know, what would that be? 15 million in space and you would be able to then sign Steven Adams to the non-T taxpayer MLE but then you’d be kind of stuck at that point because so this is because they’re not that far over the tax they just don’t have any of the contracts that actually do it really right well they don’t have any the problem is they don’t have assets they don’t have second rounders they only have the 2031 first which I think they have to hold out for a bigger fish than Stephen Adams so like how do you dump somebody into Brooklyn space whenever you don’t have assets. It would really have to be connect is like the only mechanism to be able to dump somebody. Yeah. Okay. So, that’s what makes it hard like that. That’s again why this situation is just like all trades to me. Like you have to have to figure out like what trades make sense, what trades don’t make sense, everything like that. Yeah. So, um, look, Jackson Hayes, Marke Morris, Alex Len, Jordan Goodwin, Shake Milton, all potential free agents here. I don’t know that you need to bring anybody back except for maybe Hayes as a backup, though. Yeah. Um, very plausible, but that’s really it. I I don’t know that I have a whole lot else on the Lakers, Bryce. No, I mean, I think that’s kind of outlines the big decisions and the mechanisms to get start to get to the team. I think what’s important is, you know, do they go down that path of building a Luca team that we’ve talked about? Do they believe in it the same way? And if they do, then who are the players that that meet that criteria? And how do they start building it out? So, um, and it’s it’s not easy. Like you said, it’s going to have to be some trades in that way. So, it be interesting to see what they decide. It’ll be very interesting to see what they decide. Bryce, tell the people where they can find your work. Tell the people what’s going on. Yeah. Motor City Hoops on Twitter on Blue Sky. I got the Motor City Hoop Substack which has some second round draft prospect video breakdowns. A little Piston specific, but you’ll get the point. Um, for the prospect overall, the Pistons Pulse podcast. Otherwise, Game Theory podcast with Samini over 40,000 subscribers on YouTube. Thank you all so much. Tell a friend about it. Go to the Athletic Keep Me Employed over there. Shout out to everybody who’s hit that subscribe button and has watched these videos. We appreciate you all immensely. That’s all we got here uh on the show for the Lakers. We will be back tomorrow with another offseason preview. Until next time, we’ll talk soon. Bye. [Music]

In this Game Theory offseason preview, Sam Vecenie is joined by Bryce Simon discuss the future of the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Sam Vecenie, a Senior NBA Writer at The Athletic, talks all about basketball. From the NBA, to the NBA Draft, to college hoops and even some high school, Vecenie has you covered in this show.