Can Pelinka build a title team around Luka & LeBron, Reaves trade talk, & Celtics rebuild? | SPEAK

Can Pelinka build a title team around Luka & LeBron, Reaves trade talk, & Celtics rebuild? | SPEAK

so Key is not here today So TJ as the resident Lakers fan um here on the set are you confident that Pelinka can build a championship team
absolutely He’s done it before has he not this is what he’s going to do We get some size All we need is some size We right there with the rest of them We got exposed in that Minnesota Timberwolve series We couldn’t we couldn’t stop dribble penetration and we couldn’t get a rebound And so the draft pick Theo I like him athletic wing that that’s what we’re lacking We don’t have athleticism on a perimeter and so we’re lacking that And so him as a draft he going to come he going to play just off of his size athleticism in a defense He he’s going to play
Who who that draft pick
a dude Theo from Arkansas
Yeah Yeah Yeah
But that’s not going to be enough He’s going to have to figure out how we can get some size How we can get whether it’s a power forward a center whoever We We got to get some size
Yeah
Cuz we had Rudy Goar in the playoff game looking like
he was unstoppable And And I didn’t like that That
shack
Yeah I I was
You didn’t like that
no I didn’t like that Like Rudy Chamberlain
Goar had never done that before
right
and he ain’t did it after that like he couldn’t do He wasn’t playing like that the rest of the playoff series but we made him look like he was almost Will Chamberlain
right
and so I do have confidence that Pelinka can do it Now there’s going to be some assets he gonna have to give up but if we can get a difference maker then we got to do it And I believe he can
I didn’t realize you were French
Right Right We We
We So
am I confident Felica can build a championship roster around Luca and LeBron i’m not confident in that because for one I I he can build a championship Let’s just say that because I always say the one ingredient top five player Luca is certainly that
But when you got Luca LeBron Reeves to me they got three def defensive liabilities I don’t believe that you can build no longer build a championship around them two Luca and Braun These are your two best players and they probably your two worst defenders Now we always talked about in and throughout the playoffs with certain guys who can’t defend certain guys who are in shape Look at the league where it’s going right now
They gonna have to overhaul this roster
Lucas got to be the only one standing and say “All right we gonna build according to Luca strengths.” And what is that we got to have defenders athleticism got uh lob threats And that’s the only way they’re ever they’re only going to be able to do that And and but I just no longer think they can do it as the roster constructed But it’s always that one ingredient Like I said that Luke ingredient is definitely a championship caliber player But as long as LeBron is there I think they kind of held back And that’s not knocking LeBron because he’s he’s still productive at his age He just no longer can play heavy minutes and be the defender you need him to be for them to win a championship
Yeah No Uh this is not Rob Pelinka just starting to look for a big He’s been looking for one for more than a year and I appreciate that uh that he’s going to continue that that pursuit But you have as Paul mentioned three defensive liabilities in Austin in LeBron and Luca and you don’t have anybody protect them on the backside That’s not a That’s not a recipe Now I agree You I knew we were going to get at least one That’s that that won’t be the last wo by the way since Paul and I are on the same side of the desk Uh the the challenge while I agree that Rob has demonstrated that he’s capable of of building a championship roster LeBron James takes up onethird of your salary cap And as much as he’s still a box office draw and he’s still a contributing player he’s not at this stage of his career worth onethird of your salary And so that is the challenge And I agree with Paul It’s like you need to be able to move on So if this was just building a championship roster around Luca I’d say yeah absolutely Rob has that
capab washed or something
It’s not he’s not he’s not worth the money that you’re paying him at this point and he’s a bad combination with with Luca
Yeah I don’t think they them two together Like it’s not like they can’t play together but they can’t play together at a championship level because of the investment that you have in them That’s just the reality
LeBron can guard if if you take LeBron off the perimeter and have him guard somebody that wants to operate within the mid-range in the post LeBron’s perfectly fine
He’s gota But he Yeah oneon-one Okay But he’s got to help if he’s on the back line he’s got to be a help defender as well And that having to rotate off the back line throughout the playoff and and during the regular season when he was there all teams tried to do was get him in rotation Let’s make him have to move Or if it was Jackson Hayes whatever the bigs were let’s make them rotate because we what we saw with the really good teams is everybody can defend And the more two-way players you have on your T that’s that to me is the new change in the league today is like you have to have two-way player The more two-way players you have the better off you are If you have to hide somebody offensively or defensively you’re at a disadvantage in today’s game And they got three guys that you’re trying to hide defensively Uh and and nobody who’s good enough to be the the the full cloak and cloak and dagger to do that I think he can do it because he’s built a championship roster before So once you’ve done something once I I I have to believe that you could do it again It’s very difficult to do but he’s not going to have a lot of space to do it And I I don’t think that they just started looking for a pick To Rick’s point I think it was pretty obvious when uh Rudy Goar was doing whatever he’d like with the Lakers that it was it was going to be a priority to fill that position But the thing about the Lakers is there’s a very tricky wee You guys you’re very tricky You remember the Lakers were completely out of it two years ago
Yeah Made that trade
Mhm
Mid-season and went to the Western Conference Finals
Now obviously you have to have pieces which is what we’re all concerned about Like what are you going to trade what assets do you have in order to acquire these these players but when they did it we did not think that D’Angelo Russell Malik Beasley Jared Vander Vanderbilt Ruie was going to make that much of a dramatic difference in the roster and it did Now Luca and LeBron does make for a different dynamic Luca can get to a finals We’ve seen him do it but the team was meticulously built around what Luca does and this team is not
That being said I think that the West is wide open I other than the Thunder who we all have to put respect on because they are the champs There’s not another team in the West right now that is scary to me The Nuggets obviously have the best player on the planet but what what about the rest of the roster we saw how that worked out this year So I think that there’s there’s a lot still to be determined with the Lakers and what they’re going to look like and how this season is going to look And I’m still maybe it’s nostalgia but I’m I’m not completely ready to to write off LeBron James He’s second team all NBA and one of the smartest players
Yeah I’m not writing they writing him off I’m not
I don’t know that they’re writing
him
Well you’re not allowed to
No I am I’m a fan of the team not the players You on my team I like you You leave my team I don’t like you anymore
LeBron TJ TJ is old school No but I I I think he’s still playing at a high enough level and I think that an entire off season of them figuring things out and moving the roster around I I still think it’s available to them I can’t say unequivocally that that they’re not going to be contending next This is the tricky part when we talk about them going to the Western Conference Finals though is yes they went and it was surprising and it was a result of the moves that they made
right
but then they got stopped cold in the Western Conference Finals like that was if I’m not mistaken a gentleman’s sweep and we’re talking about building a championship roster and I just look around the West and I think you’re right it is wide open but there are a lot of quality teams in the Western Conference and So I think that only adds to the difficulty because if you run into a Minnesota or you run into a Houston or you run into an Oklahoma City or you run into a Denver like their their ability to snake their way to the conference final and avoid multiple really good teams I think is the challenge
Well I think it’s the matchup that’s the problem That’s why Rob Pelinka is talking about getting a big because when you mention all those teams yeah it’s very easy to look at what the Lakers look like now and be like they would get smoked They’re not built to compete against those teams Like even if they got a big I’m just trying to think like what big could they use that can like say all right if we put like even if
well they need a lob threat for Luca
for sure and a rim protector
But but they went they went and got Mark Williams last year right and then realized oh wait a minute A first round pick in Dalton Connect might be a little too much for Mark Wil They’re farther away from a title because did you see them get exposed minnesota exposed
They was on the perimeter We got exposed
They not only got to get more athletic how are they going to get younger they’re not getting younger LeBron is not getting younger And Luca I don’t know how old is Luka 26 27 He played like he 38 the way he move you know he got a old man’s game It’s not a knock on Luke It’s just that he’s he’s not he’s a sloop but it
you know slow Yeah He looked like me when I was 37 Like you know guys go ahead man Olay just go by me I’m defense is offensively he’s not
Yeah But you can’t have two guys who are defensive liabilities
Well that’s Yeah that’s the other part of of the issue And what we’ve seen throughout this postseason specifically is defense is very important and they’re they’re allowing teams to to
defense is important now because they went back to how when Paul came into the league you was able to talk about physicality
Yeah I mean we this is the first year where it’s like oh
you can really put hands on guys
I like that
when when they have the ball and so now it’s what
it’s a somewhat of a changing of the guard It’s gonna be very interesting to see once this regular season starts
How are they going to officiate the games
how are they going to officiate the games and we have two assets that we can move that other teams would want is Ruie and Austin Reeves Austin Reeves being the biggest asset but it could be done
Well let’s talk about Austin Reeves He reportedly declined a four-year $90 million extension opting to wait for free agency next year when he could potentially earn even more So Rick should the Lakers pay Reeves or should they trade him
they should trade him He He’s He’s turned it down so they can’t pay him now They got to wait until next year and then it would be loading him up with more than they’re offering him now But he’s a luxury at this point Nothing against Austin Reeves massive overachiever love his game but with Luca Donuch he’s a luxury He is better with the ball in his hands than off the ball As we have already mentioned he’s not a great defender he doesn’t fit what you need next to Luca Donich particularly when he’s your most valuable asset in terms of being able to change that So I I know that Austin wants to continue his career in LA and loves being here and all of that and he’s a fan favorite I get all of that but if you are building around Luca Donuch he’s a luxury and they need they need staple items like they need basics They need 3 and D guys They need a rim protecting uh roll threat uh big So he just you know if you had those things then you’d say keep him But they don’t So they got to use him to go get him Yeah I mean I I mean I love him with Luca though It’s just that
you do
I do love him with Luca but not with Luca and LeBron
You know what I’m saying
he fits the mold of the type of players that Luca like he catch and shoot He can make plays Think about if he was out there if LeBron wasn’t there and then LeBron his position was a 3 and D guy or another athlete You know it’s just that
LeBron is going to take up so much of the offense and not give you the defense and so is Luca taking up so much of the offense not give you the defense then I don’t need Reeves because he’s doing the same thing as they they doing
Yeah
You know they it’s kind of repetitive having those three So I think you should trade them You need to find a way to get younger more athletic shooting They they have a number of problems though I think people think that this is a quick fix and getting a beat
They’re not one piece away
No they’re not one piece away
Y haters man Those not haters
Do you think they’re one p Why do you think they’re one piece away we’ve talked about three They need to be more athletic and defensive on the on the wings And with all due respect to the new pieces I’m not buying that rookies and undrafted free agents are going to get
defense is about want to man It’s about one two Either I want to or I don’t Or I just don’t it starts there
Austin Reeves can stop and go He can move laterally If he really wants to play defense he can
It just takes a lot of energy Like
listen Hey when I Hey TJ I’m telling you I be I wanted to play defense too when I when I was 37
Yeah but 37 legs was like
Austin Reeves
His mind went there His body did not body is young enough to where if he as my boy cuffs the legend want to say if he want to slide the puppies and move the puppies he can
I’m sure he can’t Hey I’m telling you
I’m not trading Austin Reeves unless I can get a difference maker cuz Austin Reeves is a difference maker Like
if you look at his career he’s improved
100%
every single year So he averaged 20 points last year He’s probably going to come back this year
22 23 A lot of those a lot of those numbers and I didn’t break it down but I I guarantee you a lot of those numbers were before Luca got there
Listen
he still had to play a bunch of games with Luca He averaged 20 points
He averaged 20 points and he’s only getting better His game has shown us every offseason I’m going to improve and he’s done it Let me present this to you though Obviously we were talking about uh the Lakers are just in a really tough spot because they’re in a they’re in a win now but they also want to prepare and start building around Luca for the future So assuming that this is LeBron’s last season which we don’t know but keeping him
what who he just shut down your Go ahead present your
like assuming that this is the Bronze last year right do you The scoring is not the problem You have LeBron and you have Luca The problem is defense rim protection That’s what you need Perimeter defense Like those are the things you need You need a lob presence a rim defender and and and defense across the board If you have Luca and LeBron what you don’t need is more scoring
You have Luca and LeBron They got three guys on that roster that after the game they be having talks with their legs like “Hey man if LeBron isn’t if LeBron isn’t there you got to move these things better.” Come on Michael Luca is just he has to account for all the points we scored If LeBron isn’t there
LeBron
but you said after this shift LeBron
Okay so but that’s the problem the Lakers are in Do you build
What are you doing
man wake up Come on I told you we needed to go around a team win this year with Luca and LeBron or do you build a team around Luca that can compete for the future you you kind of can’t have both right now I’m okay with trading Austin Reeves if we can get like a Jiren Jackson I’m okay with that But if you just trading him for just a regular dude
I’m not doing that You play you
To me
defense is all about desire and I’m not letting my man score Like if if you really are a competitor
Yeah I think
and you have some pride eventually your pride got to kick in and say I’m not letting him score on me Period I’m not letting you score
Defense is about want to But there’s also anticipation There’s also a mentality There’s also conditioning There’s also like understanding the game knowing where to be at certain times Like I think it’s more than just like one You can be a okay you can go from being a bad defender to an okay defender Especially now they letting you foul and that’s like defense now You seen uh you seen Kase Wallace grab uh TJ McConno hand in the front They ain’t call like they letting you foul now
But there No but there’s but there’s also technique to it
Yeah like the the Alex Carusos and Casewell the guy the guys with Oklahoma City One of the reasons why they get away with all of kind of the hand fighting is because referees uh judge the angle And if you can get a step on a guy then that the contact is different If I’m if I’m st standing you straight up and I’m doing all this but you’re not going by me
Yeah
They they’ll let me do that If you’re here and now I’m grabbing or trying to
Who’s our defensive coach is it Scott Brooks who our defensive coach with the Lakers who like our defensive coordinator because you know they had that in the NBA now Who’s our guy
i don’t keep up with the Laker coaches They got
Whoever our guy is then better start teaching that technique
But you look here The reality is LeBron James at one time could guard just about every position At 41 years old No he can’t No he can’t He can want all he want to at 41 He can’t stand
32 minutes a game He can do it If he plays 32 minutes a game he can do it Just can’t play 38 to 40
He fought the good fight TJ
we can we can do like you are right now You are not a players coach right now You are a coach coach
Coach
we’re going to get to that conversation
I’m I’m a I’m a I’m a both I want to win
You are coach coach
I got to have my So Paul
talk to me
Are the Celtics in a rebuild no not at all Joy Rick TJ we’re in a reboot You know how your iPhone got a you know update We in we’re in update mode Okay You know
so it’s like loading It’s taking while
Yeah it’s taking a little while You know how I say so so many hours Ours just say
one year maybe something like that Our our you know our new update is coming That’s all because we still have our foundational guys Of course you know Tatum he’s going to have a year to recover Brown is certainly part of foundation Derek White you know what they did was cut some cost which is understandable And you know I think there’s going to be a big evaluation period this year I think you’re going to see you know see how far away are we We going to look play out the season and it could be some trades throughout the season if we because think about it The Eastern Conference who’s the favorite next year cleveland They got dusted by Indiana I’m really starting to think is Cleveland that much better than Boston even without Tatum man I don’t know So I think we’re going to go through this evaluation period
play it out see where we at Boom boom boom We get ready for the next year Tatum come back Now we got to make our moves to fill in the blanks and we’ll be right back in contention because we’re relatively young Brown is 28 Tatum’s 27 around there We still got uh Pritchard coming off the bench six man of the year
Derek White
Yeah Derek White So the foundation is there you know as long as you got a solid core everything will play out So not where the ball you know with a with a with a rebuild is like you would have saw Jayen Brown get traded on draft night like the rumors were saying See we don’t we don’t we don’t we don’t follow the rumors We don’t we don’t do all that So we’ll be all right though We just going to sit back in the cut Look look see what’s going on and then slide when it’s time when it’s our time again
How do you know how do you know what Jason Tatum’s going to be when he gets back
listen this is the time table Think about it He hurt his leg What last month March I mean a April May May right so from May he’s going to have a whole year and a half to recover
That’s a that’s a good amount of time Rick because it’s going to be he has he has to be ready by October
2026
2026 I know but whenever he comes back what what’s what I expect from him it’ll take some time but you know we have living examples
Uh KD for instance you know he he looks better than ever still at the age of 37 Tatum’s still young
So this is not an injury Injuries of the 2020s is not the same as like when I came in when it was different type of surgeries and and the recovery was different like the athletes are better and we were
early 2000s
The early 2000s Yeah
We’re in the 20s
Can I uh can I get a full screen here guys who have had an Achilles
yeah let’s talk about it
Let’s talk about it
Okay We got We got one We got one guy there whose numbers went up and all
We don’t need his numbers to go up though
And all the other guys numbers went down Well wait Are you suggesting that that Jason Tatum is not going to be the same player when he comes back to the civilian
i don’t know I don’t know But how you how are you going to explain this
okay
He’s a very Okay I will Let me
How you going to explain this very young player
Pierce Okay this is how I will explain it Rick Buer Now look at this list right you see the names on it Klay Thompson
How old was he was he 26 when he did his
no
No
He’s probably in his 30s
No Demarcus Cousin is a big man It’s different
Kobe Bryant was well into his 30s when he did it
I don’t know how old
Kevin Brown was in his 30s also
In his 30s when they did it Well so was Kevin Durant
Elen Brand was 28
I get it But
Elton Brand was 28
El Brand was 28
Brand was 28 How you going to explain that
but listen we’re talking an elite athlete right at the tender age of 26
Mhm
All these guys was like upper 20s 30s I mean El Brand is the only one that was in his 28
And we’re talking about an elite athlete an elite player which Kevin Durant is right
i can see him following that pattern
Okay
KD check this out How’d you What’ you do oh that was the blueprint to come back Oh that was the mindset
You know I’m sure he’s making calls to these guys That’s what the players do Now
talk about it I think the challenge the challenge is and you know this Paul in in all seriousness is that the what made the Celtics champions wasn’t just their core It was all the special pieces that they put around Exactly
And I like finding another Drew Holiday finding another Chris Porzingis Well the formula isn’t always the same No it’s not always the same
Always the same now But the money you got two guys that are going to be making 60 million plus Like you don’t have the same wherewithal now to do to go get those extra pieces And that’s the only reason why I bring up the Jason Tatum thing is because you know what you make him buck and he may be the same but the idea that he’s going to be appreciably better is a question And I feel at this stage if you’re taking away all these ancillary quality pieces then you’re going to look to to Jaylen and to Jason to carry a heavier load to be even better than they are And maybe they can be but that’s the that’s the tricky part of him coming back off of an Achilles is that that that’s what he has to be
No Yeah The formula is changing is what I’m trying to tell y’all Like the formula is not going to be the same from this championship So now in order to get back to contention you know like how we saw OKC Indiana now we going to have to probably have a deeper roster
Mhm
You know we not we all say “Hey Jason we need you to come back and average 2728.” I’m not sure that can happen right away It may happen in a couple years after recover but like I’m going to look at the roster like “Hey we need more depth now.” So that’s why we got rid of uh some some uh some salary
Yep
And we’ll probably continue to do that because you see
we got Anthony for one year So more salary next year will will come off and then you start to retool that way I think they’ll be fine though I think they got the blueprint and I trust Brad Stevens one of the best front office president
But you don’t trust Rob Lincoln
no I don’t trust Rob No Do you
i do Cuz he’s done it before Like it’s a rebuild It’s quiet It’s It’s a quiet rebuild right
i I don’t think it’s a rebuild I think there I because I don’t know that I believe I think the Celtics would have lost that series regardless of whether Tatum got hurt or not However
I think that if Tatum was 100% healthy they would they would have found a way Someone was going to have to go because they were not going to pay Yeah
$500 million for a roster
and Porzingis was hurt the majority last year anyway So losing him is like whatever So they I mean between salary and luxury taxes they were on pace to spend almost 500 million in payroll for Y
So if you’re not winning a championship off of that
I’m getting rid of them too We ain’t winning
Yeah But those guys But those guys were crucial to the championship But I the the tricky part for the Celtics and the reason why I don’t think they’re in a rebuild I think they’re just rebooting is you have your core in in Tatum and Brown and Derek White But Drew Holiday is going to get older in this time that Tatum isn’t around Porzingis has had a lot of injury issues As vital as he was he’s had some availability issues So do you do you pay $500 million obviously that’s not going to happen And you’re not truly in full contention mode this year However I think Tatum will be back 100% I mean it’s 2025 They’ve amazing recovery technology now and he’s 26 years old so I think he’ll be fine It might take a little bit He might be a little rusty coming back in the beginning of the season but I think he will 100% get back to what he was before which was one of the best players on the planet That to me is the problem is that you you can’t keep this roster in place if you’re not competing for a championship but you will be once he gets back So I don’t think of it as a rebuild But this is the tricky part is again I and I hate to you know always bring up money but you’re paying both Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum super max contracts I’m pretty sure if not max super max Yeah
67 I mean close to $70 million right what OKC had was they were able to spread it out and and and buy quality have quality players because they were able to be coming up for deals now
Yes they are They are And it’s going to be that’s going to be the challenge for OKC moving forward But I think that that’s the new dynamic that if you’re going to build diversity and depth into your roster then being able to make a run with your guys before they get paid the max is going to be key to doing that And and Boston has passed that They’ve already loaded up on Jaylen and Jason So if you’re going to and Derek White they’re taking a huge chunk out of your salary cap So going to get those complimentary pieces you’re going to have to be very shrewd I I don’t put it past Brad Stevens to find some diamonds in the rough but that’s what it’s going to take And that’s where I think like
I think it’s a little more than just a reset for a year I think there’s a lot of work that Brad has to do to put this particular team back into title contention

Joy Taylor, Paul Pierce, Ric Bucher, and TJ Houshmandzadeh debate whether Rob Pelinka can build a championship roster around Luka Dončić and LeBron James. The crew also weighs in on whether the Los Angeles Lakers should pay Austin Reaves. Plus, they discuss the state of the Boston Celtics — are they entering a rebuild, or just reloading for another run?

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Can Pelinka build a title team around Luka & LeBron, Reaves trade talk, & Celtics rebuild? | SPEAK
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