Do the LAKERS or WARRIORS need a BIGGER offseason?! Bob Myers & Markieff Morris DEBATE | First Take

Do the LAKERS or WARRIORS need a BIGGER offseason?! Bob Myers & Markieff Morris DEBATE | First Take

being just a kid from Maine people would just shoot me down they told me I would never be able to make it to the next level [Applause] are you serious
this is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little kid that dream just stuck in my head i just got to keep working the NBA draft is tonight on ABC ESPN the second round is tomorrow on ESPN coverage begins 8 Eastern 5 Pacific both nights the Dallas Mavericks have the first pick and are expected to select Cooper Flag meanwhile another Celtic is on his way out yesterday Boston sent Christophing in a second round pick to Atlanta in a three-team trade with the Hawks and the Nets this marks the second big offseason move by the Celtics as we saw Drew Holiday traded to the Blazers Monday sham says Boston may just be getting started take a listen my understanding is the Celtics are getting offers calls on both Jaylen Brown and Derek White the Celtics have high price thresholds for both players we know how great Jaylen Brown and Derek White are so I’m sure they’re getting some massive offers some pretty big time calls as well their preference has been to keep both players but will a team match that price threshold that the Celtics I’m told have set around the league for Jaylen Brown and Derrick White to be able to get them they are listening but will a team get there all right Bob you are the architect of the Warriors the last real dynasty that we’ve had in the NBA how would you handle the situation would you trade white or would you trade Brown
no I wouldn’t um now look Brian and I were talking off off air you can answer the phone say “Okay I don’t want to trade these guys but if you have something to say I’ll listen.” People made offers on Curry you know you can’t you can’t and you can’t get mad at them that’s their job their job is to call the other team’s call and you just lay it down and say “Look we’re not you don’t have to blow me out of the water.” Because sometimes people do sometimes people make crazy offers and you go “Well we got to look at that.”
But with the trades of Porzingis Mali and the trades of Holiday they they put a huge dent 100 million what’s the number they’ve carved out of the tax they’ve saved over $200 million in luxury tax
already already already so they’ve taken some of that pressure off now if we were sitting here right now and Porzingis is still on the team and Holiday
I’d answer the question differently but they’ve alleviated some of that financial pressure in the last what 48 72 hours to the degree where now they can really be patient with Brown and White because they did those other things
i’m sorry
no I’m not even interested in answering this question right now you distracted me i want to know when
and who
did you get and you have to tell I know you can’t say who i know you can’t say who but I want to know when
somebody had the tmerity to call you and say we’re calling about acquiring Steph Curry now was this early it wasn’t after it wasn’t after he was in flow and wasn’t suffering from the ankle injuries and and was winning championships
the only guy the only guy I’ll tell you he doesn’t care the only guy that would mess around with it was a but he’d start laughing when he did he’s like “What are you gonna do with Curry?” This was after Curry was Curry yeah
but no but you laugh and and uh but because he always loved Annie loved Curry the whole way through but no I mean look obviously I love Jaylen Brown Derek White they’re not Steph Curry um Jason Tatum I think is the guy that people think is the Celtics kind of the center the pillar so you might say Jaylen Brown Derek White’s their second third best player it’s okay to ask right i mean we saw Luca Donuch seriously what about this what about this deal though
the fact that Jason Tatum is hurt and you had already paid Jaylen Brown $300 million my attitude is find out if he can be a number one for you
and I think that’s what’s wrong with No no no i think that’s what they’re Well we’re gonna we’re all gonna find out
i think we’re asking the wrong question i think the real question and I know it’s so different for fans and I know it’s annoying i’m sorry the question is in the modern NBA can you have two players making this much money and truly build a roster
that’s really the question has nothing to do with is Jaylen Brown a number one can these two guys get along and all that stuff can we get this guy in the draft the question is with where what with with how penal it is can you have a roster that’s that topheavy and you add Derrick White to it and now you’re talking
well we talked about I mean look in the NFL they talk about having a quarterback on a rookie scale right that’s the time you can go pay an edge rusher you can go pay a receiver you can go pay somebody
but now in the NBA what Oklahoma City did was they won a championship with guys on rookie contracts
Boston doesn’t have that and you see them win a championship but Oklahoma City will have the same issue in two three years when Jaylen Williams and Chad are making their money so the real question is can you have a mature team and a bench we just talked about Joic losing some guys bruce Brown that’s Alex Caruso in this case can you keep a team we saw the Celtics
they I think a lot of I thought they’re going to win it this last year
they had the injury i don’t know if I don’t know i I can almost The injury wasn’t the reason they lost though and they were losing they were losing
and so you go how’d that happen and they had an unbelievable bench but we see that that cannot last so your question of can you have two guys making that much money then you have to really strip down the rest of it do you know that yesterday the Thunder were making calls to move up in the draft
yeah of course
bec on the on the on the parade day they have two picks they have the 15th pick and like 20some because they know that someday in the foreseeable future they’re going to have a topheavy team and maybe the guy that they get at 15 tonight or maybe they can trade those two picks and get somebody at 11 or an eight
forward thinking maybe they can get that guy and he will replace Lou Dort in two years or whatever when they have to make a trade like the Celtics just made today because the Thunder realize that this is a new reality
and and and the re and the reason that’s interesting what we had many last different champions seven of the la is it how many years
seven in a row
seven in a row so nobody’s repeated right nobody not only that nobody’s won the year after that right so it’s like brand new brand that’s probably where we’re headed to be and you said this i’d go to Joe Lum and I’d say “Hey you want to bring a gadala back?” And and the price was money it wasn’t if we bring a gadala back we can’t we’re gonna lose a pick we can’t trade back and take on more salary we’re limited all these things the second apron does and interestingly for owners now when the fan base would see they’d say “Why don’t we go into the tax why don’t we go into the tax?” And the fans don’t fans don’t care right you’re a fan of a team spend the money you you got plenty of money but now owners are able to say “I can’t do that anymore because of the second apron.” So everything’s changed
i just tell you the I tell the story of Steve Balmer steve Balmer has $140 billion $140 billion there are times when Steve Balmer they start an afternoon game and at the beginning of the game at the end of the game his net worth moves by a billion dollars okay that’s what kind of money he has now last year he saw the Sacred Apron rules
and their first order of business was to tell Paul George
“We really appreciate it we’ll see you.” And it wasn’t for money it was for this flexibility because they were like we it wasn’t because he couldn’t afford
and that that’s why we’re talking about parody right so the the hard thing for a GM now is you talked about Oklahoma City trying to trade up the day of the parade or that’s what the thinking has to be so it can’t just be you’re not the Yankees you can’t be the Dodgers you can’t just spend spend spend because the rules are limiting that now
yeah speaking of Oklahoma City so after winning their first title since moving there the Thunder coming at number one and ESPN’s way too early nba power rankings guys let’s look at the West Coast notice the Warriors coming in at number eight and uh number nine we have the Lakers so obviously uh Bob former GM of the Warriors and we’re going to bring in Mark Keith Morris who’s currently on the Lakers roster and I want to focus in on California here do the Lakers or Warriors need to make a bigger splash Keefe i I I would say the Warriors right and I wouldn’t really call it a bigger splash i just they just need to figure out what they’re going to do with Kaminga right are they going to keep growing them and make him an intricral part of this team or are they going to keep playing the up and down you’re not ready you don’t fit game i think it’s that’s the mo that’s the main focus with the Warriors like you you have to resign them and go get some assets to be able to fit around these guys or you just have to just let them go and teach them more how to play with these guys i mean obviously it seems like it doesn’t work at times so I think that’s the big thing obviously everybody know the Lakers need a big and that’s the most important thing for them they don’t need to move too many core pieces around because uh uh about a month ago people were picking the Lakers to win the championship so I don’t think they should you know just just erase that feeling that part of the team just bring in the big and it’s obviously it’s obviously the Warriors with Kaminga that’s the biggest thing yeah I I think it’s easier for the Warriors i like what Mar said because they have Kaminga in their control right so you can either keep him um and they have the ability to do that or sign and trade him and decide if they get something back so they have an easier ability um if it’s about Kaminga because he’s probably the easiest piece to elevate the Warriors cuz Butler we know what he’s going to do and Draymond and Curry obviously and Pajki they’ve got all these guys around him i think the team is well built but Kaminga is kind of that X- factor he’s been talked about for you know you’ve talked about Stephen quite a bit of what he can be but if he’s not going to be then what can you get for him the Lakers is I think tougher fix it’s easy we can sit here and we can all Lakers need a big okay as a GM you go okay yeah okay now what right they had the idea of trading for Mark Williams and they offered up quite a bit and they decided that wasn’t a good idea and the medicals didn’t look right but I can’t sit here and say it’s easy to go get a big right now that can actually impact winning that Luca Donuch wants to run the pick and roll with and LeBron James that they can play at the five the Lakers team wore down because they I what Jack said they stopped playing a five and LeBron at the five can work it’s like Draymond these guys it wears you out um LeBron’s a fantastic player but him at the five is very tiresome
so how are they going to go get a five that actually impacts them for a team that has championship aspirations that is that is easier said than done they’re holding vastly different hands the the Warriors have up to four first round picks they can trade they’ve got pretty much their whole portfolio but they’ve also got three star players in their mid to late 30s
and they already gave up a first right they gave they trade they don’t have a pick tonight yeah right right
but they have their picks going forward yeah
um the Lakers they’re sort of franchise player he’s in his 20s with Luca but they don’t have the same portfolio of picks they have like one pick and one swap that they can trade now they do have some expiring salary but the Warriors are under more pressure to do something now whereas I think the Lakers in theory could take a little bit more time now LeBron doesn’t want that lebron LeBron wants him to make a play now and by the way that seems to be their intention they they they have made that clear and the the one thing that they’ve got is August 2nd Luca they have to offer Luca a contract four years 229 million
he doesn’t have to take it
that’s what he doesn’t have to take it that’s what he’s eligible for what do you think he’s going to do
take it i think it’s I think
it’s gonna take some version of it
it’s gonna take three years
listen here’s here’s my deal here’s my deal listen to be a little lower
yeah hold Hold on Keith here’s the deal so if you’re the Los Angeles Lakers right you need a big You just need a big we know this okay i got to think about the Mark Williams trade didn’t pan out obviously they they were trading willing to trade Dalton Connect and that didn’t work out what have you failed his physical supposedly so ironically they don’t have a first round pick tonight they they have the number 55 second round pick the pick tonight we’ll leave that alone
is in Atlanta for Anthony Davis tonight the Anthony Davis trade finally gets big
there we go right so now here you have it you’ve got the Al Hoffers of the Lou Cornets of the world um they’re not the only team that need a big but they desperately need a big here’s what I would tell you we got to watch out for the Los Angeles Lakers that’s why the Lakers would be my answer to this question instead of the Warriors dallas is not going away they’re coming you do not want to be in a situation where you acquired Luke Luca Donuch and Dallas looks better than you that’s a motivation that’s a motivation right there you can’t have that that Dallas flourishing and the Lakers going home in the first round when when when you made that move now I understand for business purposes okay Luca is going to sell and you got a new billionaire owner purchased the franchise for $10.1 billion okay I got that part i get all of it but in the end just like we said about Dallas Luca can’t be thriving but Dallas home watching them they they they want they’ll want to do some harm to some people Nico included okay that can’t happen and it’s in reverse too if you Luca with the Lakers um you don’t want to be home but Dallas is ascending you can’t hold that part again
no what I’m saying to you is that if you’re the Lakers with Luka Dant you know you don’t you don’t want that landed their way as the famous meme goes we don’t care
okay you got to you got to do something i mean if somebody trades for you okay and and they say you can leave and they’re thriving without you and you’re not thriving where you are that’s not good that’s not good you got to make sure that don’t happen [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

On First Take, Brian Windhorst, Stephen A. Smith, Markieff Morris and Bob Myers join Molly Qerim to discuss the latest storylines in the NBA, including:
0:00 The 2025 NBA Draft
1:30 Recent Celtics’ trade news
2:50 Will the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown or Derrick White?
8:01 Do the Lakers or Warriors need to do more this offseason?

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