JAKE LARAVIA SCOUTING REPORT! How will LaRavia FIT WITH THE LAKERS?

JAKE LARAVIA SCOUTING REPORT! How will LaRavia FIT WITH THE LAKERS?

What’s up and welcome to a locked on Lakers for a Tuesday. Andy Camonetski plus some special guests to do a Jake Laoravia scouting report. What do the Lakers have in their newest bench player? That’s coming up next. You are Locked on Lakers, your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day and thanks for making Locked on Lakers your first listen everywhere you get your podcast Monday through Friday always free never behind a payw wall and for the sickos who like to watch there is a YouTube channel Locked on Lakers 36,000 plus subscribers really fun active often hilarious very smart community of Laker fans my brother Brian is on vacation this week so I’m going to have a series of guests with me and Today I’m bringing in Joe Mullenex from Locked on Grizzlies and Matt George from Locked on Kings to give a scouting report on Jake Laravia, new free agent signed this off season by the Lakers. Uh projects to be part of a reserve unit and a guy that I think a lot of Laker fans very understandably are not that familiar with. He’s only been in the league three seasons and he’s played with some smaller market teams. Um, Memphis has been a bit of a bleep show over the last couple years. So, there’s a lot overshadowing. Lorravia asked them both a lot of the same questions, trying to see what consensus or disagreement forms. So, after that, I’m going to weigh in with some thoughts of my own. But, we will begin with Joe Mullenex. Again, before we get into some of the specifics with Jake Loravia, um, strengths, weaknesses, that sort of stuff. Broadly speaking, what did you make of his time with the Memphis Grizzlies those two and a half seasons? Did you feel like he met reasonable expectations for a mid-first round pick? Uh, yes and no. Uh, and first off, thanks for having me on. Always nice to be talking with you, Andy. I think that the reason that his option wasn’t picked up is he wasn’t good enough to have his option picked up. And that is why Memphis found themselves in the position that they were in. That draft class with David Rody and Kennedy Chandler. Vince Williams Jr. for basically being the best guy out of that draft class is pretty wild when you think about it considering he was a second round pick and they had two firsts in that draft. That was the way it was. But the way that Jake Laravia played last year was a completely different player. That was a player that very much should have had his team option picked up. So much so in fact that Zack Kleimman, the Grizzlies GM, openly said, you know, we probably should have picked up that team option. And you very rarely uh hear GMs admit their mistakes that clearly and cohesively. But that’s exactly what happened. Jake Larivia always had a really good shooting stroke. I think we talked about that before. The idea of him as a shooter is not surprising. His mechanics have always been really sound. It’s been his defense that is really where he took off over the last year or so. Being a point of attack defender, being able to play passing lanes, use his length and his size as a combo forward that can play the three, but is probably better suited as a modern fourman. uh he could do a lot of different things for you defensively in addition to being a score of the basketball from range and that was something that wasn’t shown at the level that we saw it until last season. So usually when you have a team option a thirdyear team option in particular you you want to make sure you’re picking up those numbers and that sort of thing. But he played so not good or he was played so poorly that it was worth not picking it up. But he had such a really impressive growth year and leap year that the Lakers I think have gotten a guy that could be anything from an end of rotation 12 to 14 minute a night contributor to even maybe a starter depending on how things shake out. There really is a big gap in what he can do. And the reason I say that is because there was a big gap in what he was when he was in Memphis. Well, that that actually leads to something pretty naturally that I wanted to ask you about. Anyway, Lorravia being only 24 by the time the season begins and his third season being so much different than his first and second in Memphis. How much room for growth do you think there is for Loravia big picture? Not much. I think he’s probably made his leap to be honest with you. I’m not sure he has a very high ceiling, but the Lakers don’t need that, right? They have freaking Luca Donuch. Uh they have they have LeBron James. They have at least for now they have Eighton. You know, they have guys to be those dudes. Austin Reeves, who I conveniently forget about all the time because I don’t like Austin Reeves very much, uh, given the way he and Desmond Bane have buted heads over the years. Um, but I guess he’s a magician now, man. He’s known. Yeah, I was about to say I can let that go now. That’s a fair point. So maybe I can be nicer to Austin Reeves. Um, I think that they have guys that can be those dudes, right? They don’t need Larabia to be some high ceiling reacher, fifth or sixth best player. If he’s that, then the Lakers probably aren’t very good and aren’t achieving at the level they want to achieve at. They need Larravia. If he is a starter, he’s their worst starter, quote unquote. But he plays 25 or 26 minutes a game. He defends, he shoots threes, creates a little bit off the dribble when he needs to, and especially against other teams reserves. You get him in, you get him out. I think that that is possible for him. I also said, like I said, I think it’s possible the way that the Lakers roster is building that he’s a guy that comes off the bench, picks up the best perimeter scorer or uh combo forward if the opposing team has it from game to game, defends that guy as a reserve for 14 to 16 minutes. JJ Reic tells him, “Hey, that’s your dude. Don’t let him go off and be a microwave.” And that’s an important role on any team that’s trying to contend for a title two. So, I don’t want to make it sound like I don’t think he can’t contribute because I think he can. It’s this the type of contribution whether he’s, you know, the ninth man in a playoff rotation or somebody as a starter that you’re looking to be an elite role player. Again, that gap is big because that’s the size of the gap that we saw at Memphis. Well, let’s get into some of the specifics of him as a player. And we just left off with you talking about Lorravia as a defender. Um, how would you describe him in terms of his strengths and weaknesses along those lines? Best type of assignments, that sort of thing. Sure. Uh, he’s opportunistic. I think that’s a good way to describe him. Really good in deflections, really good in steal percentage. Understands what opposing teams are trying to do to him and he’s able to anticipate. He’s an anticipatory type of defender. And he also has athleticism in a way. You know, we talk about leap ability a lot, or at least I do. I’m a big Brandon Clark fan. So talking about leap ability and then the relap ability, the ability to get back up off the floor very quickly, there’s different types of athleticism. Jake doesn’t necessarily have that type, but what he does have is he’s really good laterally. He’s able to move in that space, keep guys in front of him. He’s a bit of a reacher defensively. Uh I I think that that’s maybe more because of the scheme that Memphis implemented. To be honest with you, there was lots of foul trouble in Memphis over the Taylor Jenkins era the last six years or so. So, I wouldn’t necessarily blame Larabia for that. Let’s see what he does outside of Memphis for a full season. I think that’s important. But I think defensively, he’s a combo forward, right? If you’re if you’re going up against somebody that is a stretch four, he can definitely defend that guy. If you’re going up against somebody that’s a bigger wing that has a little bit of a handle but isn’t going to destroy you, he can do that pretty well, too. And I also think, you know, we’ve talked about the switchability aspect, right? If you put out a Luca Donic, LeBron James, Jake Laravia, insert two other guys that are similar builds and they just switch everything and LeBron’s your deacto center, I think they can do that with Lavia in that space because he has enough lateral quickness to be able to stay in front of guys. Again, not all the time. If you’re asking him to be your primary point of attack defender, you’re going to be disappointed. Uh, you know, kind of the same thing with Marcus Smart. I know this isn’t a Marcus Smart podcast, but um if you’re asking those guys to do that on a consistent basis, you’re probably going to be disappointed. But if you’re asking them to be good defenders in switchable situations for extended periods of time that don’t have to be on the best scoreer on the floor every time down, I think that they can fit into the defensive rotational puzzle pretty well. How does Laravia do generally speaking when he is for whatever reason, whether because he’s switched, whether because there’s nobody else to do it, whatever, on either bigger guards or even some of the smaller guards, the quicker, craftier guys, stuff like that. Um, does he have any utility even decent guarding those type of players? It’ll be hit or miss. You know, again, the fouling comes back up. There’s a lot of reaching in Memphis, a lot of physicality in the way that they defended. Will it be different under JJ Reic and his staff? Potentially. But I do believe that you’re looking at a guy who, you know, six foot sevenish. You’re looking at someone who can do it in spurts. Right. Again, if you’re asking him, okay, your your guy that you’re defending is De’aran Fox every time down. He’s going to get cooked. He’s going to be in foul trouble. He’s not going to be able to do that kind of I’d like to think they’re not going to ask him to do that. You would think not, but I think that you’re in a space where you have to understand what you’re getting in this young man is somebody that has shown both sides of an NBA career already. He has shown the flame out first round pick and he has shown a guy that’s outplayed his current value. Where he falls in that spectrum is going to be almost entirely dependent on his environment. Right? You would imagine with Luca and LeBron and the talent there in Los Angeles. You’d imagine with the coaching staff of JJ Retin Company, they’re going to be able to utilize him the right way. But from what I saw in Memphis, this is somebody that is going to reach. This is somebody that is going to get stuck at times because while he is laterally quick, he’s 6’7. He’s a bigger wing. And naturally, it’s kind of like football, right? The best tight ends are often the best tackles, excuse me, are often former tight ends, right? The best tight ends are often former receivers. The a the less athletic you are, the more you get closer to the ball and you kind of move up in that space. It’s the same thing in basketball. If you’re a six foot seven wing, well, if you’re trying to be good in the NBA, you’re probably actually a modern big. And I think that’s probably a better use of him moving forward. But is he able to in spurts do that? Yeah. It’s just going to have to be entirely uh dependent on the scheme that is implemented around them and the help backside that he gets when he does get beat. Same basic set of questions, but offensively now, what do you consider Lava’s strengths and weaknesses? His three-point shot is beautiful. Again, if you haven’t watched any Laravia tape, I’m guessing, you know, the locked on Lakers audience, very an educated basketball fan base. Guessing they’ve watched some Lavia film. The dude has a beautiful stroke, right? Phenomenal footwork, really good rise on his shot. It looks like it’s going in every time he takes it, right? And it it’s surprising when he goes through shooting laws, and he will go through shooting laws. The thing I’ll tell you Lakers fans is they won’t last. Like he will bounce back and he will pop out of it. That is something you can count on. A 40% three-point shooter. I think that’s realistic to So you think last season because it was a bit of an outlier in terms of career percentages. You think that that not necessarily 40 plus, but high30s? Absolutely. High30s to 40%. I think that’s him. Again, you watch his shooting form, so much of it is technique based, right? And you can see when a guy sets his feet, you can see the release on the shot, how they are operating in that space. I think that he’s going to benefit from having guys like Luca and LeBron, right? Getting passes from arguably two of the greatest offensive creators of the last 20 years is certainly going to help in that area. Jaw Morant, I think, has become underappreciated in the NBA, but he’s not LeBron and he’s not Luca. It’s okay to say that. So, I think that he’s going to get more looks than he’s gotten before and he’s going to be able to get into that rhythm and he’s going to be coached by one of the greatest three-point shooters in the history of the league. So, I think that form is going to even improve upon itself. Now, if you’re asking him again to be this amazing facilitator of offense as a secondary creator, you’re going to be disappointed. That’s not really his game. If you want him to get downhill, he got better at that as time went on in Memphis getting to the rim. I think he can do that some. But where he’s really going to help the Lakers is being that three-point threat that is going to allow as he gets more comfortable in the scheme, somebody’s going to be open as they close out on Laravia, making that extra pass from the good shot to the great shot. That’s really where Jake is going to shine. Joe Mullen locked on Grizzlies. Great coverage over in Memphis. Uh he and Michael Cole. Really appreciate the time, man. Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate you, Andy. And coming up, going to get more into Jake Laravia. That is next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Monarch Money. 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And you can take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com code lockdown NBA for 50% off your first year. And Matt George from locked on kings joining us. Man, appreciate the time. Thank you. Of course. I’m I’m bummed that Jake Loravia is a Laker, but I mean, good for you guys, I guess. I wanted to actually get into your reporting. Sacramento both wanted to keep Laravia and ended up surprised that another team ultimately outbid them. Can you elaborate on this? The Kings fully intended for Jake Laravia to remain in Sacramento. They they wanted him to remain in Sacramento. However, they were hamstrung by how much they could give Jake Larabia, not because of anything they did, but because of what the Memphis Grizzlies did. They ultimately declined the last year of his uh the team option on his rookie scale contract. And once you do that, you therefore cannot resign the player for a dollar amount more uh than than essentially what that year was or per year what that that that final year was to it’s a rule in place to essentially from what I understand make sure that teams just can’t restructure deals and pay pay rookies willy-nilly and just throw throw big contracts whatever. So, the Kings could only offer Jake Laoravia upwards of I want to say like5 to5 million dollars a year essentially. It could get a little bit more on the back end with all these contract details blah blah blah. But the Kings were capped at what they could give him. They were hoping and operating with the belief or the the hope that there wasn’t going to be another team out there that was willing to give up much more than that $5 million or $5.5 million per year. uh uh salary and that because Jake had a good time in Sacramento over the final third of last season, established a good connection with now head coach Doug Christie that he’d be back and and and he’d just choose to stay with the Kings overtaking maybe a couple hundred,000 more elsewhere. But obviously he has the connection with Austin Reeves and the Lakers went out there and gave him more money than the Kings could and on top of that like more guarantees. Uh which is what one of the big reasons why I think that Jake ended up taking this deal was kind of the guarantees on the back end which I don’t blame him for at all. And the Kings were disappointed to lose him. surprised. Maybe not the the the perfect word cuz they knew that they were capped out, but they they did not plan on having him leave. They certainly weren’t going to let him walk. They were going to make available what they could. And the Lakers swooped in and said, “Oh, we’re here’s Southern California money. Come on over.” And Kings can’t really compete with that. I love how at the end this the your great reporting and insights and all the digging around turns back into the rich get richer. the richers just throw in their cash, Ron. I would not expect just buy your championships. It’s okay. We’ll be over here in Sacramento just picking up the scraps. Would not expect anything less from the lockdown Kings host. All right, let let’s get into Larabia as a player. Uh we’ll begin with his offense. What do you consider his biggest strengths and weaknesses? Offensively, he didn’t show off a ton. I wouldn’t consider him to be a consistent offensive player by any means. What’s most consistent about Larabia and this is this transcends offense and defense is the effort and the the hustle that he plays with. Like that’s what jumped off the page and made him a fan favorite here in Sacramento really really quickly. And you could tell that Jake came to Sacramento and played with a chip on his shoulder because things did not go well for him in Memphis to where he I guess the organization was didn’t see very well or see eye to eye with him and the fan base didn’t treat him the best or at least is from his own words, not necessarily from what I’ve seen. Um, so he definitely came to Sacramento with a chip on his shoulder and right away Andy, like the first time he checks in, it was inside the Golden One Center. It was a home game, his debut for the Kings, and within the first like 30 to 45 seconds, he had a steal on the defensive end and then a a transition layup or or or something like that, and he then he hit a jumper, I believe. So, he just is a hustle guy, right? Right. And he’s going to be one of those guys where if I’m if I’m forecasting for the Lakers, like when when LeBron or Luca or anybody just comes out of the game, needs a breather, he can build the energy back up or maintain what the starters established. Like that’s what I view as kind of his superpower or his role uh in the NBA. I I don’t I we never really saw an offensive breakout performance for Jake Larabia. He’s capable of knocking down the three. He’s capable of attacking the basket. He he plays stronger than he looks. So, that’s I guess the best way that I would sum up his offensive bag, but he’s never really going to be a guy that I think the Lakers can ask for like a a go-to score. Go and get us a bucket, Jake. But he’ll he’ll be in the right spots, and he’s a smart and uh and and gritty player. The shooting that he had last season in particular with Sacramento, it’s a high water mark for his career, relatively low volume compared to like established shooters. Did you get a sense though, even in a limited sample size, that that could be him moving forward? I mean, he’s he’s capable of spacing the floor and I think what Jake’s going to take advantage of is the defenses aren’t going to worry about him too much. Like a similarity that I see between Los Angeles and Sacramento is the Kings had so many offensive weapons on their roster from at the end of the season Lavine to of course D Rozan Sabonis to some extent that when Jake was on the floor with any combination of those guys the defense isn’t so much worried about him as they are everybody else. So Jake can come in with LeBron or with Luca and I think will be enough of a threat on the perimeter to keep defenses honest and someone who I mean if you were to tell me Jake Laravia knocked down at at like two to three three-point attempts per game and shot the ball like a 36% clip from three-point range, I think that’s more than a realistic hope or ask or expectation for him. The the consistency of the shot again is not something we really got to see too much in Sacramento. So I don’t know. when he did shoot it, it looked good. So, uh I I expect he’s going to be someone that also might get a more consistent volume of playing time in Los Angeles compared to Sacramento, too, because again, it was he was just here for a third of a season during a time of like a lot of turnover and turmoil in Sacramento. Plus, he got banged up and hurt a little bit. So, um I would imagine he’s going to get the green light in LA in terms of opportunity. And he’s he was good at finding space. So, I think he’s capable of knocking down that offense or that that open three at a clip that makes him more than playable in Los Angeles. Defensively, what did you see out of him in terms of strengths, weaknesses, utility, that sort of thing? Yeah, he’s scrappy, man. He he he’s just scrappy. He plays again, I wonder if that chip on his shoulder is going to follow him to Los Angeles now that he’s gotten paid and is in is with an organization that that wants him um playing with his buddy in in Austin Reeves. Like I just the way he plays again you you look at him and you’re like okay you you look like a normal build like and he’s a good dude too by the way. I I really enjoyed getting to know him in the brief time that he was here in Sacramento. But he he just plays strong and he plays a little bit angry. He plays a little bit fiery. Not that he’s dirty or like swiping or hard fouling or anything like that but he’s not a guy that you’re going to push around. So if if I I wouldn’t consider him a lock down defender or anything like that. I think if you’re putting him giving him defensive responsibilities on the opposing teams like best guard or best wing, you might be in for it might not work out great, but he’s somebody that is more than capable of whether like switched on to good uh good offensive players on switches or just someone that you need to kind of get in there and and be physical and and and scrappy a little bit and muck up the game. I think he’s he’s capable of doing that, too. So, I I would describe him just as versatile. like he’s just a versatile player within within reason, right? Within versatility, not end of, oh, look at this two-way player that can do big things on both ends of the floor. That’s called a superstar. He’s not that. But he’s just someone that will make an impact on the game in in many different ways. It just depends on what it’s going to be on a given night. And I’m curious to see what becomes his most consistent area of impact. And if I were to guess, I would guess it’s on the defensive end of the floor. the the the thing that I admired the most about Jake or I appreciated the most about Jake is he played the same way every single time he was on the floor. It didn’t always result in the same results and same numbers and same success or anything like that, but he like it became pretty clear what the Kings had in Jake right away, which I think for any young player, if you can establish a consistency and like an expectation, then you’re pro you’re doing something right. So, I think I wouldn’t call Jake Larivia sixman. And I wouldn’t expect him to be any kind of like six-man impact in Los Angeles. Although, if he became that, the Kings and Kings fans would be very sick. Um, I just think he’s he’s one of those guys that Lakers fans will be able to rely on, right? When when he comes into the game, it won’t be a question mark, right? We know who Jake is. We know who what he does. It might not be all inspiring and showstoppping and gamechanging, but he’s going to be steady. I think steadiness is what he brings to a Lakers rotation that in my opinion does has kind of lacked that at times. So that that’s why I think it was a good target for them. He is Matt George, the host of Locked on as a reminder because you mentioned how the the Lakers swooped in with their money and took in Jake Laavia. This is exactly what happened with the Lakers with Malik Monk when they were capped. could not afford to uh could not afford to match anything remotely close to what other teams could throw out there from Leak Monk and the Kings ended up getting him. So, it all just comes full circle, baby. Oh, the rich kids had to share their toys. Oh, that’s a bummer. Hey, you steal our players, you steal our water. It’s okay. Whatever Whatever other NorCal SoCal stereotypes we can work into this rivalry, I’ll take All right, that’s enough of you, Matt George. I’ll see you later. All right, coming up, my thoughts on what Joe Mullenex and Matt George said about Jake Laavia and a few other things. That’s next. And thanks again to Joe Mullenex from Locked on Grizzlies, Matt George from Locked on Kings for their perspective on Jake Laavia. It was interesting after um Matt and I stopped recording before uh saying goodbye. Matt mentioned also that Jake Laravia, while enforcer would be a bit of an overstatement, he is definitely one of those type of players that if say Luca gets a hard foul or LeBron or Austin that Jake Laravia will definitely be in the face of whoever committed that hard foul. Like he is that type of player. He plays with an attitude. He plays with physicality like he’s the way Matt George described it, he’s one of those immediately down for his teammates and that’s something that you want to see from new players. You know, the the way Matt described it was Lorravia being one of those guys that immediately embraces the culture of your team. And this, by the way, these Lakers are a team right now in what everyone is hoping is going to be the Luca Donuch era moving forward. They are building the culture of the Luca Donuch Lakers. Like what what exactly is that from a personality standpoint, from an approach standpoint, an attitude standpoint? And he plays with some attitude. Matt George said and he he also mentioned too that Larravia, you know, kind of along the lines of what Joe Mullen said, like his upside as a player, you know, there can be room for growth, but neither of them I think is expecting Lorravia to take two or three additional steps in in his growth as a player, like to become that much different or better than the form that he’s in right now. But Matt George did point out he’s a pretty reliable player. Like he’s somebody that you’re gonna know who he is when he takes the floor and you don’t necessarily have to worry about him. You don’t necessarily have to wonder about him. And coaches, they like predictability. Like that is one of the things that they really covet a lot is predictability. Knowing exactly what they’re going to be putting on the floor, how players are going to react. It’s one of the reasons why rookie players, inexperienced players, even some of them that project more upside than your traditional grizzly veteran, and that’s not Jake La is going to be turning 24 this year, but a lot of coaches will play the grizzled veteran. They’re going to have a lower ceiling, but a higher floor. And coaches really like floors. They really appreciate knowing what the floor is with a player. And it sounds like Lorravia is one of those guys. Also too, in in that podcast that I referenced that Jake Loravia was on with Trevor Lane, Lakers Nation, friend of the show, Lorravia talked about himself a few different times as a member of the bench. There was actually one point where he was naming the different players that would be coming off the bench with him and he included himself there which speaks to it would appear him being told we envision you coming off the bench and that’s not necessarily something that I think Lorravia or fans should expect differently but it’s always good when there is that clarity in terms of what your role is and when seemingly it feels like a player accepts it, especially a young player that’s still looking to carve out his station in the league and and you know, his career, these guys often want to start because it puts them in more of a visible place. It can often affect uh the money that they’re going to make over the course of the career. There’s cache with starting. And while I’m sure Lorravia would like to start and would not object to be putting in the starting lineup, it sounds like he is cool with the idea of coming off the bench. So that’s something good. Lori also said something that I thought was interesting with Trevor that ended up reminding me of both Ruie and DeAndre Aiden. He talked about how he was excited to join what he described basically as the Lakers player development program. and he cited Austin and Ruie as success stories along those lines in terms of players entering the Lakers environment being there for a few years and growing and becoming better as young still developing guys. And I think it becomes easy to forget now because Ruie has become a pretty important part of the Lakers and I think for the most part a pretty consistent part of the Lakers that when Ruie when they traded for him uh with the Wizards, Ruie was seen in a lot of ways as a pretty unreliable kind of disappointing top 10 pick. you know, he was with a pretty unstable culture with the Wizards and there were some personal issues that he was dealing with that led him to asking for time away from the team. And I don’t know if the personal reasons were related to him requesting a trade, but he never was completely comfortable it seems like with the Wizards, but also he became known as a player that was pretty much one-dimensional just about scoring. Didn’t really care about anything else. Wasn’t focused enough on the court, wasn’t disciplined enough on the court, wasn’t concerned with really much of anything other than scoring and I guess his stats. and Ruie arrived in LA as something of a reclamation project and I think it’s been a really positive one for the Lakers and Lorravia was excited to join a team that helped rebuild a guy like Ruie. But I think that’s also important to remember for DeAndre Aton because DeAndre Eaton is seen as a pretty disappointing player for the majority of of his career considering he was a number one overall pick taking ahead of Luca Donuch ironically and you know his seasons with the Suns other than the one where they went to the finals. Um I think Aiden was considered largely a guy that was difficult to motivate. There were questions about motor and focus and desire. Those questions continued while he was in Portland. Although I think Portland is a difficult place to try to bring out the best in a more experienced veteran player. You know, there was a lot of lot of uh not winning going on in Portland at that time. And I think a player like Aiden can be hard to motivate in that atmosphere. he talked about during his introductory press conference. Like one of the things that he really learned in that time in Portland was what it’s like to be part of a team that is not to be a jerk about this but irrelevant like irrelevant in terms of the Western Conference hierarchy and being able to make a playoff run, stuff like that. And Aiden, it sounds like misses being a part of winning. But I think it sounds like he he is aware at the very least, this was very clear during DeAndre Aiden’s introductory press conference that he is seen as a guy that is not a winning player and he doesn’t like it. And it can be easy to forget that the year that the Suns went to the finals, DeAndre Aton was not just a big part of that. He was a big part of it by doing a lot of the proverbial little things that don’t often show up in a stat sheet and the things that has often been accused of not doing throughout his career. And I think there’s some validity to those accusations, but he did that stuff during the 2021 run with uh with Phoenix to the finals. There was a lot of reporting that he was promised, hey, you do this stuff, we’ll take care of you. And Phoenix went back on their word. um which led to some disillusionment I think on Aton’s part. But the way Laavia described the player development and really the culture of the Lakers I think could maybe bring about some optimism in terms of the best version of DeAndre Aton coming out. So again, that was something that Laravia talked about in an interview that he wasn’t referencing it in terms of Aton, but it made me think of DeAndre Aton and also Ruie and something that I think Laker fans can be optimistic about. So again, that was the scouting report on Jake Laravia. Coming up for Wednesday, Harrison Fagan, friend of the show, silver screen role. Laker fans know him, love him. He’s going to be joining us. We’re going to try to just break down everything that’s been going on with these Lakers and where they stand right now after the free agency that led to DeAndre Aton, Jake Laravia, and Marcus Smart. What he thinks of the team. So, that’s coming up next. Again, appreciate everybody listening, watching Locked on Lakers. Spread the word. We appreciate you guys and I will see you on Wednesday.

Jake LaRavia isn’t a particularly well-established NBA commodity, between his previous stints with two smaller-market teams (the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings), his inconsistent first two seasons in the league, and a lack of star status. But the role player potentially brings some important skill sets and attributes to the Lakers, and is being counted on to play a key role in the rotation next season.

To break down LaRavia’s strengths, weaknesses, and fit with the Lakers, Andy spoke with Joe Mullinax (Locked On Grizzlies) and Matt George (Locked On Kings)

Hosts: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with special guests Joe Mullinax (Locked On Grizzlies) and Matt George (Locked On Kings)

Segment 1: Joe Mullinax’s thoughts on LaRavia.

Segment 2: Matt George’s thoughts on LaRavia

Segment 3: Andy reacts to their scouting reports, plus offers a commonality between LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton.

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