Breaking: Rockets extend Ime Udoka on long-term deal – Lakers sale will impact upcoming offseason?

Breaking: Rockets extend Ime Udoka on long-term deal – Lakers sale will impact upcoming offseason?

[Music] we’ve got some breaking news out of the NBA where the Rockets have signed head coach Eay Udoka to a long-term extension that’s according to ESPN udoka led the Rockets to their first 50 win season since 2019 entering the playoffs as the two seed in the West he also led the franchise to its first postseason appearance since 2020 he’ll now be in Houston for the foreseeable future as one of the highest paid coaches in the league that is according to ESPN all right back here on HQ eay Udoka is going to be sticking around in Houston for quite some time a contract extension we’re here with John Gonzalez and Brad Bachan here to break it all down brad not surprising seeing the season that we saw with them last year i think we were expecting them to uh be satisfied with Eay Udoka and want him to stay for a little bit this is an absolute no-brainer i think we all looked at our monitors when we saw the breaking news come up and say “Did the Knicks get him?” Oh my gosh can you imagine well I can imagine they’ve been trying to get everybody’s coach but this is a no-brainer for Houston i I’ve talked about this a lot on on these shows and and I think the simple truth is there’s about I don’t know put a number on it five six coaches in the NBA that truly truly swing outcomes um and EMDOka is one of them okay we see it all the time where teams hire new coaches they keep roughly the same personnel and they think it’s going to change everything the Knicks are might be one of these teams this summer and it doesn’t change it doesn’t change emodoka changes your team he changes it at fundamental core principles defensively mindset sharing the ball playing the right way these guys are bought in these guys play the right way they were tough against Golden State in the opening round they’ve got an emerging star in Amnen Thompson they got to decide to do what what they want to do with Jaylen Green but all of this depth all of these assets to play with they are set and they knew it they could not there’s no way they could let Emodoka who’s at the core of all of this let him go he’s one of the five or six coaches to me in the league that truly truly swings the needle and you know you mentioned it this this team played Golden State very tough it’s a young squad and and during that series we talked a lot about experience right and and all of that so John what are your expectations for this team knowing that they do have some some playoff experience and it’s a young core here i know there’s you know different reports out there of some superstars they might be going after so who knows but with that a little bit of experience in the playoffs under their belt and knowing that Eime Udoka is going to be back for quite some time what do you expect this Houston team to look like next season and beyond that potentially yeah I mean they’re ahead of the curve right i It’s what Brad said earlier about being in the mix they’re in the mix and they’re in the mix a lot sooner than I thought that they were going to be they finished with the second seed last year i was an early adopter on the Houston Rockets last year I was on them i thought that they could make maybe make the playoffs they didn’t they were just outside this year I had them making the playoffs certainly didn’t have them as the number two overall seed and they’re doing it right now Jacqueline without like a definitive number one superstar they’ve got a lot of really nice pieces alperin Shenon is fantastic brad mentioned a guy who I’m huge on Aman Thompson who I think the sky is the absolute limit with that kid especially if he figures out how to shoot the ball jaylen Green he’s sort of like intermittently amazing and then his offense goes away but you go up and down that roster they’ve got so many really good rotation pieces tari E coming off the bench Cam Whitmore up and down the lineup a Fred Vane Fleet who just is staying around and Dylan Brooks that what they’ve done with that team and not having the superstar that you you’re talking about them potentially hunting maybe they’re in the mix for KD if I’m Raphael Stone and now that you’ve locked up Emodoka I’m kicking the tires on this thing as is for another half season up to the trade deadline i’m leaving it alone i want to see you’re not going to go out and get I would wait because look at what Oklahoma City has done i think of Houston as sort of like a poor man’s mini version of Oklahoma City where they’ve built it through their own organization without really having to go outside with the exception of Fred Van Fleet and they’re on to something really special here just wait a bit a little bit they’re young they’re talented they’re good defensively i’d wait and see what it looks like with another year under their belt and then decide at the trade deadline brad what do you think do you think they should just kind of like ride the wave as the team is constructed right now or would you kind of go out and try for a KD or I don’t know about y you know if they That’d be different that’d be different i’m impatient by nature i you know I I think that you know people always talk about like the high school years like it can’t be the peak but like all the years of your life are pretty even like sometimes the best years are like the early years like it’s time everyone thinks these young teams like the the future’s always going to be the best part i don’t know some some maybe right now is the time to strike maybe maybe the time that if you got Kevin Durant I wouldn’t want to face a Rockets team with Kevin Durant and that defense and that coaching so I this might be their best time i don’t I don’t necessarily always think the best but I do hear what John’s saying in terms of don’t get don’t get too because they do have something really simmering here that is pretty hard to come about in the NBA and they they’ve done it in a way that that could be sustainable yeah and you have to think if you’re going to go get Katie or Giannis you’re going to have to give up a lot of those pieces that are already starting to mesh together to go get a big superstar like that uh Brad John we certainly appreciate it joining us for that breaking news here where Houston has signed Eay Udoka for to a long-term extension you can hear more from from John on Beyond the Ark you can listen to episodes right now and watch them by scanning that QR code on your screen cbs Sports HQ all right the Lakers finding a way to make headlines even when they’re not competing for an NBA championship right they’re going to have a new majority owner for the first time since 1979 so ESPN reporting that the Bus family is selling their stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter for a valuation of approximately 10 billion dollar yes billion with a B that’s the largest sale ever for a pro sports franchise walter the majority owner of the Dodgers and CEO and chairman of TWWG Global uh by the way Dr jerry Bus purchased the team for just $67.5 million back in 79 and has overseen 11 NBA championships magic Johnson who was also part owner of the Dodgers he has had a lot to say about this sale on X but saying just like I thought when the Celtics sold for 6 billion I knew the Lakers were worth 10 billion so Magic giving himself a little pat on the back he literally has like novels um on his thoughts all high praise to the Bus family in this entire sale so we have John Gonzalez and Brad Bachan here to talk about this i mean it’s crazy Brad we talk about these sales and everything with the Celtics and now with the Lakers we’re talking about billions with a B how do you wrap your head around that and what and what it’s valued for a franchise like all I’m thinking about is this Mark guy like he’s walking into I mean you talk about some big swing and he owns the Dodgers and the Lakers like how you roll into parties you’re the owner of the Dodgers and the Lakers you know it’s it’s incredible what sports have become from a financial standpoint it really it’s it’s mindblowing people like us we can’t wrap our heads around the bee it’s it’s it’s too much but to see what Jerry Bus paid for this team and what it’s worth now and all I’m thinking about is how much more Luca Donuch made it made it worth i don’t I don’t know if you can put a valuation on that but to know that the Lakers are going to be the Lakers with a premier player in the league for the next decade it has to it has to be something on that price tag that’s like I’m pretty happy we swung that deal for Luca because the Lakers were about to maybe dip into kind of like a lull in the post LeBron era i don’t know maybe they’re still worth 10 billion on the on the brand but the Luca trade didn’t hurt um and Luca is you know we’re talking about Magic Johnson right and that he is having all these things to say but Luca certainly had things to say as well i believe we had his tweet once this whole sale went up and he was saying “The Lakers are an amazing organization i’m looking forward to meeting Mark and excited about the future i’m also grateful to Jeanie and the Bus family for welcoming me to LA and I’m happy that Jeanie will be continue to be involved i look forward to working with both of them to win championships.” So um John how do you think this is going to impact Luca and we think of just the Lakers as a whole in the offseason right we’ll get to LeBron in just a moment but with Luca I guess on the surface seems like he’s okay and content about it well I think it’s interesting that he points out the Genie component because Jeanie evidently has a clause written into this contract that she’ll retain 15% the Bus family will retain 15% of the ownership stake and that’s important because in order for her to continue to serve as governor of the team that’s the minimum threshold it’s 15% now if you remember what happened when Mark Cuban sold the team uh the Dallas Mavericks he had sort of a gentleman’s agreement with the new ownership group the Adams and they had said or he had thought at least that he was going to continue to be in charge of basketball operations and running the franchise well sooner rather than later he got pushed aside and he was He should know better right he’s a smart guy get it in writing right Mark Cub well Jeanie Bus got it in writing so now at the very least for the next couple of years Genie Bus will continue to run that organization so it’s a really sweetheart deal at first I thought to myself man because what Brad said you know thinking back to when Dr bus bought the team at 67.5 million in the 70s which is absolutely they probably thought that was a crazy number right they thought it was a crazy number and then you think about the return on investment right and I thought initially when I saw Lakers are being sold I thought this is their only business the Bus family has only been in the business of being the Lakers owners since the 70s why would they sell it and then I saw the price tag and I yeah okay 10 billion yeah that’ll do it let’s do that uh anything with a B you know it’s it’s not a not a tough sell right so when you think of the Lakers and the upcoming free agents that they do have or potential free agents for this summer there’s a long list and of course our guy LeBron with the player option sitting right at the top so that’s the big one that we’re we’re really honing in honing in on excuse me dorian Vinnie Smith is on there as well a lot of guys and Brad when you think of the Lakers and their future and everything like that do you think this sale is going to impact any any of these guys and especially LeBron James no lebron’s staying you know you you have to look at this you got to separate the sale from this there’s no money available to LeBron on the market the Nets are the only team that has anywhere near max cap space lebron’s not going to go play for a mid-level exception so there’s nowhere for him to go the question about LeBron is next year you know he he this if this is his last year unless I don’t what would be surprising is if right now they negotiate you know he opts out then they negotiate like a longer term at a at a lower annual salary but assuming he just picks up the player option the question becomes next summer if he’s done playing for good if somehow he would leave the Lakers the Lakers can have max cap space next summer and that starts to trickle down to other free agents like Jiren Jackson Jr in Memphis who can’t get a max salary from Memphis because of we won’t go into the CBA minutia of it but he’s not eligible for that in Memphis he could hold out one more year and the Lakers could have max cap space so the big big question is what LeBron does next summer this summer he’s playing for the Lakers okay that’s interesting too with Jiren Jackson Jr because one of the things that the Lakers need is a big right i mean Jackson Hayes is nominally their center you saw him on the free agent list there they started him and then immediately went to small ball center with LeBron James and Dorian Finny Smith who is also on that uh player option list so they have a lot of roster construction that they have to do around and beyond LeBron James yeah I am in agreement with Brad that aside from him opting out and doing a lower annual average value over a couple of years I expect him to pick up that contract but then we saw the limitations of this team in the postseason i thought that they had a really good season and probably uh overachieved given their roster construction but they need shooting everybody needs shooting and then they need a big I mean they they’re really that front court that front line especially at the center position is really small positionally at guards and wings they’re actually kind of a big team but they’re uh in dire straits when it comes to having a big Miles Turner is a guy you see him on that list that they’ve been looking at for years and years and years i just don’t know to Brad’s point that they’re going to have the money to pay him yeah and by the way we have this article with the top free agents in 2025 over on cbsports.com whenever there’s you know a new bigname player or new ownership or a new head coach we always talk about you know under year one what is going to be a success and it’s obviously very different when we’re talking about the Lakers the previous ownership overseeing 11 NBA championships so the uh the expectations are skyhigh but John what would be I guess based on the on the roster here if if it is LeBron that he’s still there and Luca um a success I suppose for the upcoming season for for the Lakers still a championship i mean still yeah I think so i mean we were a few months ago before they traded for Luca and stunned the world brad and I and and Bill and Sam on the Beyond the Arc podcast were talking about man does LeBron want to ask out is this time for him to go somewhere else because he’s getting towards the end of his career if he isn’t already there and how many more years does he have left to play and does he want to go and chase rings now I know that he just said on his podcast that ring chasing he doesn’t understand it yeah he’s got four of them yeah I think it’s a little convenient the whole point here was before Luca it would wouldn’t have been unreasonable if LeBron had said I I think I got to go it’s been fun in LA but I’ve got to go and maybe I’ll join up with the Golden State Warriors or some other team where I have a chance to win a championship now with Luca once he got Luca all of a sudden everybody went “Hey the Lakers have a chance.” Now the Western Conference is loaded it’s really difficult to get out of the Western Conference but to be in the mix of teams that could potentially win a championship that’s what they have their sights on for sure that’s the key get in the mix any of these teams outside of the Thunder that are saying championship or bust are just saying the line they’re lying to themselves you you you can say that but all you can do in today’s NBA is get into the mix and then I mean the the difference between the Rockets and the Nuggets and the if the Mavericks get healthy and the Warriors and the Lakers is minuscule and anybody with a halfway objective eye even inside their own war room knows that so you put yourself in the mix you’re a good team you try to get a four seed five seed six seed maybe even a playin spot and then you hope the injuries go your way you hope the matchups go your way you hope somebody gets hot as a shooter that’s what today’s NBA is as the Pacers can attest to it is about putting yourself in position and then hoping the chips fall the right way but you know we saw Lucas tweet he’s not going to say “I’m I’m really excited to get in the mix over the next few years to come.” No he won’t say it not going to say it it’s win a championship okay get in the mix okay according to Brad you’re might not win championships Luka but you can if you get in the mix maybe yeah try brad John [Music] hello [Applause] no I’m doing [Music] Down they don’t know who [Applause] That one [Music] [Applause] foreign speech foreign speech foreign speech [Applause] now Come Look around foreign That What are Foreign speech foreign speech foreign speech foreign speech foreign speech [Music]

Breaking: Rockets extend Ime Udoka on long-term deal – Lakers sale will impact upcoming offseason?