Lakers Media Day Reaction: JJ Redick Extends, Rob Pelinka Values ‘Optionality,’ Rui Extension?

Lakers Media Day Reaction: JJ Redick Extends, Rob Pelinka Values ‘Optionality,’ Rui Extension?

Yoan Buha Booha. Yo yo I’m Yoan Buha, NBA reporter for Boohha’s Block and welcome to another live show. We are here. The season has officially started. Rob Pelinka and JJ Reddit kicked it off with part one of media day today, Thursday, September 25th. Shout out to the late night gang. Shout out to everybody in the chat. Basketball is back. This is exciting. I am thrilled. Happy to be here with all of you. Uh going to go about an hour today. Going to talk through a few takeaways from part one of media day. Some things that we learned. There was a a big announcement from Rob Pelinka. And then after going through that, we’ll get into the Q&A as always. Also going live on X right now. So going to test out going live on X. have only been going live on YouTube and then uh potentially creating a Twitch account and going live there as well. Uh but before we get started, you guys know the drill. For those watching on YouTube, please be sure to hit that subscribe button, turn on channel notifications, and like and comment on this video on the road to 30K subscribers before the season starts. We are less than 50 subscribers away from hitting that mark. Uh so we’d love to hit that honestly before Monday if possible, but uh we have like a month or so before the season starts. So hope hoping to hit that by then. But first thing that we have to talk about from today’s presser is JJ Reick’s extension. And so in Rob Pinka likes to always start his press conferences with a uh sort of a monologue that that he goes through but whatever he wants to talk about or or announce and and kind of welcome everybody and uh just hit some of the the main talking points. And at the end he just casually drops that the Lakers extended JJ Reic after one season. And this is rare for a uh for any coach really to be extended after their first season, especially if it didn’t result in them winning a championship. Uh but especially for a rookie head coach and a rookie head coach with no prior NBA coaching experience. Uh but this is clearly a leap of faith from the Lakers in terms of their belief in JJ and their confidence. Rob referred to him as a special coach and a special communicator and I think this is a smart decision from LA. I I don’t yet have clarity as to the terms of JJ’s extension, but I would assume that it aligns him with Rob. Remember, Rob was extended a few months ago. So, assume they’re on the same timeline or or more similar timelines than they were before. And this just affirms that JJ is the Lakers coach of not only the present, obviously, but the future as well. And I think it was the right decision. I think JJ had an incredible rookie season compared, you know, just factoring in he had never coached above the youth level before uh given being in that coaching seat and having to face the spotlight and scrutiny and the microscope that you’re under when you coach the Lakers and then you’re also coaching LeBron and you have to deal with all the the podcast narratives both as a former podcaster but also LeBron’s podcast partner. Then you undergo a major trade with the DFS DLO trade. Then you undergo an even bigger trade with the Luca AD trade. Your house burns down in a fire. Like there was so many things that JJ dealt with last season that I think for the most part he navigated exceptionally well and impressively and was not obviously the the best end to the season and frankly a pretty disappointing end to the season. LA as the three seed loes in five, has homec court advantage as the favorite and they unceremoniously lose to Minnesota. But I think this was the right move. I I think though they didn’t frame it as sort of a a a token or or gesture from the new ownership group, I would assume that that played some level of part in here of just making sure everybody is aligned on the same page and locked in for years to come. So, uh, that was the biggest news by far to come out of today’s presser. And I thought it was notable and in in my opinion the the right decision, right move. Uh, and this just means that JJ’s locked in for at least the next I would assume six years or so as the Lakers head coach. Uh, takeaway number two was the the buzzword of the day was optionality. And that has been a term that Pelinka likes to use when discussing the Lakers paths to building the roster and and whether they want to make trades or uh just the both short and long-term view of the group. And so once again, uh I believe he was asked a question where flexibility was used a couple times and he reframed it to use optionality instead. And the thing that he made clear is that the Lakers are going to be looking on the trade market and they are open to making a trade and even potentially using that first round pick, but it it’s going to be determined by whether they think that that move can really elevate them uh to a different tier or or status within the the championship mix. and he specifically noted as he’s done a couple of times in in recent uh you know media day pressers like he wants to see what the first 20 to 25 games look like and and that has been that that was what they wanted to do last year and they ultimately decided that they needed to move on from DLO and uh go get DFS. Uh, so I I expect, you know, unless something changes here in the next three days, right? Like they’re going to start media day and training camp with this roster, go into the season with this group, see how good this group is, and then use that first 20 25 games basically through early to mid December to determine whether they need to make a move and what type of move they need to make. Uh, I still contend that the best version of this team likely features another 3 and D perimeter guy and how they go about that. There’s various paths. It could be with Ruie as the base. It could be with Gabe or or Maxi. It could be with a first. It could not be with the first. But I still think they need one more perimeter two-way guy uh to to really hit the ceiling with this group. But sounds like Rob made it clear that they are not only looking about, you know, looking toward the future and that this is a a season that they they have championship aspirations, they have championship expectations and they want to go out and win a title if they can. So, uh, that’ll be something to monitor through the first month, month and a half of the season, like how is this team performing and what are the weaknesses? I think the weakness is going to be the defensive end and they will at some point realize they need to go out and trade for a better perimeter defender. Uh number three was Rob reiterated and this isn’t the first time he’s said this but uh reiterated that the Lakers want LeBron to retire as a Laker and at least that’s their public stance, right? And uh we could get into some of the stuff with the extension and and what happened or didn’t happen, what he wanted, what they wanted, but he reiterated that it like LeBron has the decision and he’s earned that and uh it’s up to him and his family how much longer he wants to play, whether he wants to retire a Laker or not. But Rob did say that he would love for LeBron to retire a Laker that he think it would be uh he thinks it would be the perfect storybook ending to LeBron’s career and and his chapter as a Laker. So, uh we’ll see what LeBron says on Monday when we talk to him and what he says about his future and his future with the Lakers specifically and we’ll get some more insight on Monday. But, uh Rob was directly asked if he wants LeBron or if the Lakers want LeBron to retire as a Laker and he said yes. So, uh, if we take that at face value, then that is, you know, that that’s what that is. Uh, and then fourth and final thing before we get into the Q&A, no update at all on the starting lineup or schematics. I asked JJ a schematics question about the new pieces and just how that would change uh his perspective on both sides of the ball and and he completely shot me down and was like, hopefully you’ll see in the preseason. So, uh, no, I tried but got shot down. You know, nothing to report on, uh, the the offensive or defensive end. Like, they talked about how each player, uh, fits and and what their skill set is, but not really anything concrete in terms of some of the changes. Uh he did mention that he spent a lot of time with Shawn McVey I want to say back in May and they spoke for about 3 hours and one of the things he came away with uh from that conversation was the concept of utility plays which is a a football term and that he needs to figure out a better way to blend Luca, LeBron, and Austin together and just figure out the optimal way to make those three work. Uh, so I guess that is something we could sort of take away, but it seems like we’re either going to get some insight from the players on Monday or potentially JJ uh the next time he speaks, which will be Tuesday after the first day of camp. And nothing on the starters. He he did say he feels like they have seven to eight starting level players, which uh I would agree with. I guess I would say probably closer to six. Uh I think there’s a clear top six on this roster. You can maybe stretch it seven to eight. Depends. They spoke very highly of Jake Laravia. So that that was another kind of mini takeaway was uh both Rob and JJ spoke very highly of Jake. So maybe Jake is that seventh guy. I guess you could throw in Vando and and Gabe into that mix as well. So maybe it’s eight or nine. I I think it’s probably closer to six, but we’ll obviously see in the preseason training camp, etc. But uh no updates really in terms of actual basketball stuff, right? It was a lot of talking about the roster construction and some of the stuff with Luca in the offseason and big thing was JJ talking about championship shape and habits and communication. But uh again, no wish we had more X’s and O stuff to dive into. But uh with all that out of the way, let’s get into the Q&A here. Shout out to the chat. And actually what one more thing uh that I forgot to mention in the optionality part was Rob talked about Ruie and Ruie was another big talking point and he was asked directly about Ruie and and the concept of uh a contract negotiation because uh Ruie is extension eligible I believe through October 20th uh right before like the the last day before the regular season starts and Rob he kind of dodged some of the Ruie stuff throughout the presser and and is non-committal to discussing Ruy’s place with the future of the franchise, but he did note that it’s he seemed to imply my my read on it was he was implying that they are negotiating with Ruie in terms of an an extension. Whether they come to some sort of agreement obviously remains to be seen, but uh that was my takeaway from that was it seemed like he was like when we have ongoing talks with a player with a contract situation, we’re not going to speak on that publicly. So I I think if he was not if they were not at least having a conversation with Ruie and his side uh I I don’t think that happens. But you know again we’ll we have about three and a half weeks till we know whether Ruie signs an extension or not. Pugzilla. Yo Sparks Booha. Uh shout out to Rose Sparks for being my first official uh sponsor. had them on uh the show uh or you know sponsored uh the episode a couple days ago with Trevor Lane. So shout out to Rose Sparks for uh kicking things off in my partnership era J. Uh, Laker says, “Yoyo Yoan, Jake Laorabia or Yoyo Jake Laarabia.” Um, what up? Quaba Assar says, “Yoon looks like Jake Laavia twin.” I really don’t see it, but I I guess enough people see it that I don’t know. Uh, maybe I’m I’m blind. Sam Davidson, that ad was insane. Look, man. Uh, I I’m I’m a I’m a believer in sexual health and uh sex positivity. So, it was it was only right for my first ad. All right. Uh, do you guys have any any questions? Kevin Cambridge says, “JB, you don’t look like Jake. Y’all just white.” I think that’s honestly it. Muhan says, “Did they talk about the starting five?” Not. They were asked directly. I believe it was Kobe Price of the Southern California News Group who asked JJ about it and he said he wouldn’t divulge it and that there are seven to eight starting level players on this team and that he doesn’t think it’s a big deal. I’ve talked about this before. Coaches and front office people love to downplay the starting lineup, but it matters to players. It matters to the identity of a team. like that is supposed to be your best lineup that is going up against an opponent’s best lineup and and that sets a tone and and dictates how you’re going to start games. And then I think it also matters to the fan base, but it really matters to the players because that dictates contracts. Like starters get paid more than bench players. So especially with so many guys uh in this situation and and on this team in contract years, like it is going to matter like whether Ruie comes off the bench or starts is going to matter for his future. whether Austin comes off the bench or starts, whether Marcus Smart and down the road like or or you know down the line, excuse me, uh that that’s going to matter. So like it just it is what it is. They they can downplay it or or deny it like starting matters to these guys. So uh it will be a big decision ultimately whenever they unveil the starting group, which we might not know until next Friday. Easy peasy thoughts on the Dalton comments? Uh yeah, so the final question of the presser was a question about Dalton and his hot start last year into his close to the season and then his struggles in summer league. And JJ said he felt like Dton did too much after the season and that he was in the gym at 5:00 a.m. working out and shooting and then doing a couple of workouts with the player development and training staff. Uh, so I I thought that was interesting and and not something that uh I had heard in terms of how just how hard Dalton was working. So I thought that was a positive and and a good thing to take away. He said that they had just done some conditioning drills and and tests and Dalton was smoking everybody and was by far the fastest and most in shape person. And that like really I guess if we could take away one thing from the basketball side, JJ was really harping on championship shape and that was something he mentioned during exit interviews and was a big thing and and of course at the time everyone was focusing on Luca but as I said at the time I didn’t think it was just about Luca being in championship shape. I thought it applied to several players and then also championship shape is not just physical championship shape. I think it’s mental uh shape. I think it is emotional shape. And I felt at times in that series against Minnesota, several guys were either wound too tight or not wound tight enough. And and just the the the team was not right mentally or emotionally to say nothing of physically where LeBron was banged up, Austin was banged up, Luca had his whole situation with game three and game four on the road. So, uh, clearly not in the best physical or or championship shape in in that regard, but I thought it went beyond that. So, it sounds like Dalton’s in pretty good shape and it sounds like based on what JJ was saying, he’s in the right mind frame and uh just is in a better place mentally compared to where he was at at the end of last season or maybe even in summer league. So, I think as JJ said at one point that that he quoted Nick Sabin like uh show me, don’t just tell me. And I think that’s where I’m at. And it seems like that’s where the Lakers are at with Dalton as well, where it’s like, okay, like I mean I think based on what JJ was saying, it sounds like he’s been showing them all all off seasonason regardless of his summer league performance, but now it is like show everybody in training camp and in the preseason about the improvements about where you’re at and that for whatever reason you had your summer league struggles, but that’s behind you and you’re moving forward as a a clear rotation player on this team. So I think I walked away encouraged by what JJ said about Dalton. again, I like I want to see it and uh I think that will ultimately dictate my feelings on and and perspective on Dalton. Right now, I think there are probably nine clear rotation guys on this team, some version of the starting lineup, but I think there’s six guys for that and you could pick whichever five you want. Uh then the sixth guy being likely Marcus or Ruie and then you have Vando, Gabe, and Jake Laravia. Uh again, Jake Laavia was like been raved about by by a bunch of people and uh seemed like Rob and and JJ were singing his praises. So I think those are the top nine for now. And then the 10th spot, that’s we haven’t even mentioned a backup center yet. That’s where Jackson Hayes and Maxi Kleba come in. So like Dalton has to go out and beat Jakeia who’s a much better defender, a better playmaker and ball handler than him. Uh or Vando, who’s a much better defender, or Gabe, who’s a a much better defender as well. So, like he he’s got some real competition in terms of the perimeter bench role uh in and beating out at least one if not multiple of those guys. So, we’ll see if he could do it and and maybe the Lakers just downsize and go a bit smaller or maybe they go with 11 guys including a backup and Dalton. But, uh I I overall I would say I was encouraged by what JJ said about Dalton. Thank you for the super chat again. Uh another one from Alicia Clark Jones. Thank you for the super chart. Super chat. I’m uh I’m still in preseason form. Do you think LeBron will ask for a trade by the deadline? Uh, I would say no. I I I think LeBron is going to play out this year with the Lakers and then there’s a whole conversation about what’s going to happen next summer and we’ll see on Monday if we get any clarity as to LeBron’s future plans. Is he going to play another year? like it did seem like in that complex interview he recently did with Speedy that he seems to be leaning toward playing at least one more year, if not longer, but not much longer. Uh so it feels like there’s a lot of of ways that can play out. Uh I think that the more interesting thing for me is if LeBron is going to be a Laker next off season. And I I don’t have a great feel or or clarity on that yet. Uh I I feel like if I had to project it one way or the other, I would project it more so not. But like I think it’s very close to 50/50 at this point. And uh you know that that’s more just like a a gut reaction based on how everything has played out this summer, at least publicly. So I I think it’s close, but but I I don’t think he asks out by the deadline. Like I I think the the one thing I’ve said before, I think like two things would have to happen for him to ask out by the deadline. One would be this would have to be his final year. He would have to announce that at some point here either on media day or right before media day. Uh this is my final year. And then two, the Lakers would have to be so far out of the West race or like looking like a playin team around the deadline. And then it’s maybe just like, okay, this is LeBron’s final year. He wants to compete, you know, fight for a championship and and end his career on on a competitive note. the Lakers are for whatever reason not in that position. Maybe at that point either they do him the courtesy or he just asks out and that’s like a way I could see it playing out. But that requires LeBron only playing one more year and again we don’t know that yet. And then two that would also require the Lakers really underperforming either due to injuries or just fit or or whatever. Like you know various things could happen. So, I think those are two giant ifs that I do not foresee happening, but I think that’s like the one path to maybe LeBron asking out um around the deadline shopping cart. Are things with LeBron any better? Need my goat in LA? I think they have gotten better. And I I mentioned LeBron retiring or Lakers wanting LeBron to retire as a Laker. And one thing that JJ talked about that I I found interesting was he said that he and LeBron spoke all off seasonason and that they were in constant communication and that they also met up twice once in the Hamptons which JJ has a summer house in the Hamptons that he often goes out to. So he said that he met with LeBron around the free agency time and they had a good conversation then and then they recently just met up in LA. Uh so JJ said LeBron’s in a really great spot mentally and that uh like he’s been on board with everything because the question that actually preceded that was uh or the question that led to that answer was asking about the transfer of power from LeBron to Luca and if there’s been any conversations with LeBron about having to accept that he is no longer the face of the franchise or or you know the clear face of the franchise. Like obviously there’s been a shift toward Luca. So that was JJ’s response to that. So, like I I mean I I would say the funny thing with these is like I I’ve now been to I don’t even know how many press conferences throughout my career, 50 plus. And of course, like even when things aren’t great, you’re not going to say that publicly. You’re not going to be like, “Well, LeBron’s upset, right?” Like, it’s just not how this is going to go. So, there’s always some element of like we’re taking what they’re saying at face value and and operating off of that. I think we’ll have a better sense on Monday where LeBron’s at mentally, but uh I think things have gotten better. I think around the time of the statement, there was some drama, right? And and there’s different accounts as to what was offered, what wasn’t offered, what LeBron wanted, what the Lakers wanted, and ultimately it led to him opting in. But I think now it seems like things are in a much better place. And again, I think the bigger question with LeBron is how much longer is he playing, and is that going to be as a Laker or in a different uniform? Kane Carter. What up, Kane? I also like that they moved the account names back rather than the the dumb YouTube uh usernames. So, Kane Carter asked, “Yoon, what is the worst archetype of a player?” I think the worst archetype of a player is a bench gunner or or just a gunner in general who doesn’t play defense, takes a bunch of bad shots, is an inefficient scorer, and yet who carries himself like an all-star or or like a franchise player. And a lot of those guys, I I feel like they have the ball handling and playmaking skills to be not necessarily a point guard or a lead guard, but to be at least like a secondary playmaker, ball handler. And sometimes they they do naturally just kind of walk into four or five assists a night. But I I feel like there’s if they were willing to view themselves in a different light and take a step back offensively and realize like I’m probably more of like a third or fourth option on like a real contender. If they bought into that and and were more focused on how can I create high percentage looks for my teammates? How could I refine my shot selection and not be taking like step back contested threes or step back mid-range jumpers? I think that type of player to me is the worst because like they have the potential to do more than they often do and they end up just being bad stats or or good stats, bad teams guys when they they could be solid stats, good teams guys, but but they just don’t want to do that. So I I feel like the guy who’s like talented and skilled enough to contribute to a winning situation, but would rather put up numbers and just be on shitty teams, like that to me is is the worst player archetype. Uh, the other one is is my biggest pet peeve is shooters who can’t shoot. So like guys who we label as shooters but then they they’re like league average or like slightly above and it’s like that’s not shooter like you got to be at a certain volume. You got to be at a certain percentage for me to consider you an elite shooter. And I think there’s a lot of elite you know elite shooters who are actually solid to good shooters but but we label them as such. In defense of the genre 1022 I missed it. Did JJ mention who they chose to lead player development? There was no real uh discussion on that. He he mentioned a little bit about empowering some of his assistants, but uh there was the the the shift over the off season uh that there was no So that might be something I ask about next week at training camp. Uh, I’m not I’m seeing some names in in the chat. I’m not going to comment on uh some some of these player names, but you you guys are along the same lines. Dress to impress. Let’s just address this because this is going to be a thing. Can they have a shot at Walker Kesler? Uh, sure. But I I don’t think the Walker Kesler situation has has changed much. Like there’s obviously the recent development with his status with restricted free agency, but I I think that’s more so the state of restricted free agency where if a player goes to restricted free agency, we just saw there’s never been a situation like this where we have multiple restricted free agents who are in gridlock with their teams this late into the off season. And I think there needs to be a revampment with restricted free agency and and how it just really screws over the players and locks them into these situations that really favors the team and gives the team no incentive to offer a market value contract to these guys. And it becomes, you know, if a player is worth 25, but there’s no other team to offer that to them, the team could just draw a line at like, we’re offering you 18 and we’re not going above that. And then that leads to these situations where there’s a standoff all off seasonason. A team like Golden State like this isn’t just affecting Golden State and Kaminga. This is affecting Al Horford and the Anthony Melton and Seth Curry. And like it’s it’s having this ripple effect that doesn’t just affect the direct player and team and and sort of their dynamic, but it’s like there are multiple guys right now technically out of a job because of this whole system and the setup. So I think it’s a bit ridiculous. it’s finally been exposed this summer and I think there needs to be some real discussion and and changes to restricted free agency moving forward. Uh but I think this is more so Utah and Kesler disagreeing on on his value and and maybe some hard ball there and then him being a restricted free agent next summer. Now, does that lead to him going elsewhere or or them realizing maybe we need to trade him? That’s certainly a possibility, but I think this is more so just going to be another situation where he’s a restricted free agent next year. There are going to be some teams with cap space. So, I would be interested to see if anyone tries to do a poison pill or tries to sign him to a mega contract, but I think this ultimately is just him staying in Utah. It’s just going to be a little bit of a a standoff until they can figure out what’s a fair contract uh for for Kesler. So, I mean, my my understanding is is the price for Kesler has not changed and they want, you know, at least two first round pick values for him. So, if that’s the case, the Lakers don’t have that. Like, they they don’t have two first to trade as of right now. Lee Baggy, thank you for the super chat. Can’t wait uh can’t wait to see Yoan come off the bench and give us buckets. Look, um all I ask is like 10% of what Jake is making. Uh maybe a little more, but uh yeah. Well, I we we’ll do we’ll pull a Marcus and and Mark Keith and he’ll do a postgame show. I’ll uh I’ll check in and and we’ll see how that goes. Sam Davidson, the apron world changed a lot. Yeah, it did. At the same time, I think there have been situations where people use that as an excuse and there are still things you could do in like teams smart front offices are still making smart moves in this new apron world. So, I think it’s still possible. Uh, Roberto Carlos asked, did they talk about Theo? They did not. Uh, of note, Rob was asked if everyone’s going to be available, and he said they’re all going through their physicals right now to determine their availability for training camp. So, that is more of a media day question or or first day of camp question. But, uh, that will be something we ask about. Like my understanding, he’s he’s been in the gym, he’s been working out, he’s fine, he’s cleared, but we we’ll obviously get that clarification on, um, hopefully on Monday. K Carter, you have one, in your eyes, why do slash first athletic leap guards tend to age out faster than finesse guys? For example, D Rose, Russ, Monte Ellis, John Marant, even Zion and Blake Griffin to an extent. I think it’s the wear and tear on your body. And uh I think Kobe said it if I’m not mistaken, but I I I think this has been a common refrain that that multiple players have have said at times, but like you only have so many jumps in your body. And I think these guys that jump a lot and are pl like just think about the way that John comes down the lane and throws himself at the basket and how many violent collisions he’s had in air and then both landing on the the hardwood. Like that’s just that that’s a tough style of play. So it is exciting. It’s exhilarating. It’s why those guys are all uh like D Rose people still talk about prime D Rose in Chicago. Russ has a cultish fan base. Monte Ellis has a a cultish maybe not cultish fan base, but like there are a lot of people who fondly think about Monte Ellis and and he’s someone who like was never an all-star or franchise guy, but but his name has carried weight throughout the years because of his style of play and and because of his numbers. Jaw obviously pre social media stuff uh was a I mean got one of the last players to to get a major signature shoe. Zion, Blake, th those are two of the better uh you know debuts from bigs we’ve seen over the last like 15 years. So uh these guys have have it’s almost like running backs I guess to to make a a crossport uh analogy here. feels like the athletic players are are kind of similar to running backs in that there is probably a shorter career, a shorter prime. Like Russ I I would even put to the side from these guys because Russ did have a sustained career longer than than any of these guys so far in terms of excellence in all-star, all NBA, all that stuff. Uh but yeah, I mean I I think it’s just they compare more so to running backs where where there is a shorter shelf life because of the style of play. Uh I also think a big thing with like so I think a guy who was able to uh transition out of of this player archetype to an extent was Vince Carter who uh obviously one of the the best dunkers of all time, one of the most athletic players of all time, but he transitioned later in his career to being more of a shooter and more of an offball player. And I think one thing I would note with all these guys though Blake did really improve as a shooter late in his career is none of these guys ever developed jumpers to the extent that they needed to. Like D Rose did become a better shooter also in his career. But with Russ Montelis was always an inefficient guy, high volume guy. Jaw the jumper’s been inconsistent. So, like I think that’s kind of a big thing here, too, is like you need to be able to shoot if you’re transitioning to like a role player phase. And I feel like with all these guys, they were always so athletic and and so ball dominant that it made that transition hard for them. In defense of the genre, 1022, putting me on the spot here, who’s the NBA player equivalent to Drake? Well, depends how you feel about Drake, right? Because I’m obviously a big Drake fan. So, I I have a a fond comparison to him. Um, people have made the comparison of of Drake and LeBron, and I I see that I I think that the one kind of limitation like I I I think the versatility and the ability to with Drake, he can make just about any type of music. And with LeBron, I think he’s arguably the most versatile player of all time. He’s played point guard, he’s played center, he’s played wing, he could do just about anything on a basketball floor. I think the one issue in my opinion with the comparison is that LeBron is considered the greatest of all time or at least the second greatest by most. I don’t think Drake is on that level for a lot of people. Like if you’re a Drake stand, sure, but I think hip-hop it’s a little bit more subjective in terms of where someone’s standing is. Uh so like he’s by far the the most successful commercial artist in rap, but not I don’t think a lot of people have him in their top five or top 10. So that’s like the difference, I guess. Um, I’m trying to think. I I don’t really know who like it would have to be someone who’s versatile because because Drake can rap and sing and, you know, genre hop a bit. Like I I don’t know who that equivalent would be, but would be interested to see what you guys think. And uh, come on, man. Don’t uh the the Carl Malone stray here. That’s a little bit too far. A little too far. Young Leo, uh, what’s going on with Christian Wood? Any news on him returning to the NBA? That is not a name I’ve heard in a while. Uh, so no, no updates on my end. Chris Jarvina says, “Clearly Gabe Gabe Benson is Drake. They look exactly the same.” Saying looks, sure, but um, Nicholas asks, “Hasn’t M sold more?” I think M might have M is another one for me like that. I mean, that was Eminem Show was my first album. Surprise. Uh, I was like nine years old when that dropped and and that was a a first first rap album I ever heard and hell of an album to to be welcomed and to to rap with. Uh, he might have sold more. He’s obviously had more albums and and just more longevity over like over the totality of his career than Drake. Uh Drake is like the streaming stuff. Obviously Drake uh I think really only The Weekend and uh Bad Bunny and like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, like Drake’s at that level of of pop streaming, but but even in several categories, he’s number one. So I guess it depends how you factor in streaming into this and we’re obviously in the streaming era and people aren’t buying albums or it converts based on streams. So depends how you want to look at it. But but I guess M is in the conversation for for most uh commercial rapper. Uh but but the difference with M and Drake I I think is M is in a lot of top five conversations, top three, top 10, whatever. So uh you know I think that that’s a difference between them as well. Ken Carter Yoan, how’d you rank Braun as a shooter throughout his career? When would you say he became a respectable shooter and eventually a sniper? I think there was a big difference in his shooting in Miami. That’s when I think he really took a step and then it just continued into Cleveland and then in LA. Uh but that that was like the the final two things for LeBron I felt like were his three-point shooting and being able to do it at a high high volume in a high high level and then also the postgame. and I think he made big strides in in Miami and and those became strengths of his and then has continued especially as a Laker I think just growing as a a three-point shooter and uh like again at this point really like the the only thing that that’s I I feel like this is a story for someone who wants to write it and get the access to LeBron like the only thing the only real knock on his game that he’s never really conquered has been free throw shooting that’s like the one thing you can say with LeBron is he’s always in high 60s, low 70s, low to mid7s. But outside of free throw shooting, I feel like LeBron has reached a point where like he’s at least solid at every like clearly one of the best passers of all time, one of the best scorers of all time, has grown as a shooter, as a a postup guy. like thinking about him bullying the Warriors during those finals runs and really keeping Cleveland, especially like 2018, like keeping them in a lot of those games when it was just such a mismatch talent-wise. Uh like he he’s he’s been able to do it like defensively almost won a defensive player of the year, multiple all defense first teams and and just being a Swiss Army knife on that end, like just not really much you can uh you can criticize. Uh, Ashik asks, “What do you make of the utility plays comment? Does JJ want the ball less in Luca’s hands going forward?” I’m I really like this question and I’m glad that we are advancing this because that was that was one of my takeaways I guess to to kind of bring it back to like we didn’t get an explicit I want to do less pick and roll. I want to do more stack actions, more horns actions. I I want to switch less. Like I I was hoping to get a little bit more of an identity and and just more clarity as to the way that JJ envisions this all, but I did take when he was asked about LeBron, Luca, and Austin together and and just having a full off seasonason to think about how those three will work off of each other, he mentioned the term sharing and that being a big thing in terms of sharing the ball, sharing the spotlight, sharing responsibility, sharing leadership, and then also mentioned the conversations with Shawn McVey and uh the whole utility plays. So, I do think that part of it will be having Luca play off the ball a little bit more. We saw some of that with Sylvania. We did see some of that last year. They had that Chase 77 action where he would come off a couple pin downs and I think just the the having less of a workload on Luca where he can still have the ball in crunch time and still have the ball to close most possessions, but can you have Austin bring the ball up the floor? Can you have Gabe bring the ball up the floor? Marcus, uh, can you have uh some sort of decoy action or or just maybe Luca is bringing up the ball, but then he’s handing it off into someone uh, you know, to someone else and then going into something that then leads to, okay, we’re going to test a couple things and then if we can’t break the defense, we’re going to end the possession with a Luca, DeAndre Aton, high pick and roll. Like, I just think more variation in in different ways of getting into actions. That to me is the key to keeping Austin and LeBron engaged and involved offensively and not just being, hey, this is the Luca show. We’re gonna run a bunch of high pick and roll. Everybody just spot up and be ready to either catch and shoot on threes or or catch and attack a closeout. Like that is not the style of play that I think is going to lead to the best results with this roster. If they change the roster in the future, then that could potentially work. But as long as you have the playmaking, ball handling, and shot creation from LeBron and Austin, I think you need to empower that more and make sure those guys are involved and and being utilized to their capabilities. And of course, everyone’s got to sacrifice to an extent. That’s just how these things work. There there’s only, as people love to say, there’s only one basketball. But I I think they they did maybe shift it a little bit too much in the Luca direction. And I think there needs to be a shift back into a a more egalitarian style of offense where again I think Luca should still be the leading scoreer, the leading uh field goal attempt guy, uh the leading usage guy. Like Luca is the best player. Luca should have the ball the most. But I think there could be a little bit of a better balance. That that’s more so my point and I think that’s what JJ was trying to say. Greg King, give a percentage on us getting Wiggins. Sometimes I see these questions and I don’t want to answer them, but you know what? I I you could throw me in the fire uh and and answer. Um uh 25%, 30%, I would put it certainly under 50%, right? Because if I’m saying over 50% then I think it’s going to happen. As of right now, I I would put it certainly under 50%, but it really I think the way that that percent goes up dramatically, I think one of two things happens. either one the Lakers underperform though I do think they have a relatively easier schedule to start the year compared to previous years where I could see them getting out to like a seven and three 8-2 or even like extrapolating that out uh 13-4 13 and5 whatever record where that first 20 25 games that Rob mentioned if they underperform during that that’s where maybe there’s more pressure to make a move for a Wiggins or for someone else so either LA underperforms and or Miami underperforms I think really realistic. Uh I I don’t think Miami I think they’re more of like a play team and that’s before even looking at the Tyler Herro injury and how long that’s going to uh you know affect their their start to the season and just like the lingering impact of that. So, I think this could be a different percentage come December or January, but for now, I I would peg it at around like 25 30% cuz I still think they’re a bit a ways away in terms of the the actual uh trade package in in what Miami wants versus what LA wants. I said this yesterday on the Great Western Forum show. I think there’s been a game of chicken going on. And I I think they had the initial diance earlier in the summer and then you had the recent reports from the Lakers side coming out of they’re open to taking on money. They’re open to investing in this team and Andrew Wiggins was specifically mentioned by uh a couple people and then you have the Miami side come back out with well we don’t want to trade Wiggins and uh you know we’re happy with our roster. And so like that’s how these things go in the media where there’s the back and forth with Lakers are trying to test Miami. what’s your asking price? Miami is trying to push back and say our asking price is high and like they go back and forth. So, right now I’d still peg it around like 25% or so, but I I think come December, depending on where the Lakers are at and where the Heat are at, that could certainly skyrocket into uh you know, being more likely than not potentially. Curt, how many times have you seen Drake live? Seven, I want to say six or seven. Uh I I’ve seen him live a lot. So, yeah. Uh I’ve tried to go to every show. He’s he’s done in LA. Like not literally every show, but anytime he’s in LA, I try to see him at at least one of the shows. Uh Ken Carter, Yovan, how’d you rank Braun as a shooter? When you say he turned a corner as a shooter, uh when would you say he became a legit sniper? I mean, I’ll just look at the data quickly to to back this up because I would have to, you know, I want to speak with with facts here. Uh so the big shift with LeBron as a shooter came 201213 in Miami. He shot 40.6% 6% so almost 41% on threes only three per game which was a decent number for back then but obviously like a lower number now in terms of like high volume I mean in 202122 so that was the the Russ year the first Russ year he shot 36% which is around league average maybe a little bit higher depending on the year but on eight attempts per game so that that’s still the most threes he’s taken per game then the following year seven per game which is high but only shot 32% and the last two years 41% on five attempts, 38% on six attempts. So I would say there was a real shift in his attempts when he got to LA. He’s basically been at six plus attempts in six of the seven seasons and including four seasons above six. But uh in terms of there has been a fluctuation with his percentages like again going back to Miami there’s a couple years 41 38 then in LA it’s been 34 35 37 36 32 41 38. So I think overall like sniper is is maybe take like to to go back to my point earlier about shooting like I don’t know if I’d call him a sniper per se but he he’s a really good shooter and that is like one of the the final flaws in his game that he clearly overcame. Mebe uh hey yon what is the current situation with a ruy extension? So it sounded based on what Rob said that like they are are ongoing discussions. They have until October 20th to come to an extension. So I had not heard of anything. We do know the Lakers like to keep things under wraps and they just extended JJ a couple or whenever it was. It was unclear whether it was few days, a week, couple weeks, whatever. But they kept that under wraps. There was no um I not heard anything from anyone on that and that was not reported anywhere. So, the Lakers do operate be behind a a curtain sometimes and it seems like based on the the Ruie situation in Rob’s comments that maybe something is coming. But I would be really interested in the number because I I think Ruie to me deserves a bump. But like how high is that bump and if Ru like there’s a big difference between Ruie at 20 million versus Ruy at 25 million. Right. So right right now he’s making about 18.2. So maybe he gets a bump up to like in the 20s or low 20s, but anything higher and and that’s that’s real money that you’re committing to him that’s like starting level money. And I think then it’s we have a different conversation with the starting group because it’s like you’re probably not paying a bench guy to like I guess there there’s exceptions like Nas Reed in Minnesota and maybe Ruie becomes like the the hyper sixman in that way or something. But I am interested to see what ends up happening with Ruie in this contract extension because there had been I I’d heard nothing behind the scenes on that front and if anything I’ I’d heard it was looking more like they were not going to come to some sort of agreement. Curt Yoan, what do you think of the younger buses spinning off to their own consulting agency? I think it’s cool. I I think uh like no no no real uh big thoughts on it other than like I I got the press release and and I tweeted it out and um I I think it’s cool that they’re doing something outside of the Lakers and and trying to form an identity and looking at like the future of obviously the sale is going to go through at some point here in the next few months, you know, by the end of the year. And at that point, um, you know, they’ll be wealthier, but of course, you know, it’s it is a change with, uh, the percent of the team that they own and and just sort of the dynamic to some extent. We we don’t know to what extent yet, but but to some extent things will be a little bit different. So, I think for them figuring out something to do outside of just the Lakers ecosystem, I think is smart. And I’m interested to see where they take it cuz I do think when we look at the Lakers over the last decade and a lot of their hits have been draft related, have been scouting related and both Joey and Jesse Bus have been big parts of that. So, uh, I know like people can have I I see the comments and stuff and and people will have various opinions about them, but I will say like if you look at the Carusos and the Zubots’s and a lot of the the Austin Reeves and like the successes that the Lakers have had over the last decade on the drafting and identifying talent front, the Bus brothers are a really big part of that, if not the primary driving force. Uh, catching up here on the chat. Chris Jarvino, where do you put the Rockets in the West without Fred Van Bleet? I have a a I think a contrarian opinion with the Rockets where so I could see their regular season ceiling being lower and maybe this put like there’s still a chance that they have so many so much young talent in tradable contracts and draft assets that there is a path to I was just listening earlier today to Bill Simmons and Zacklo talking through it and like what if they go get a Derek White like what if Boston’s like we don’t like we’re we’re kind of taking a couple of gap years here We’re not really set up to contend even if Jason Tatum makes a perfect return at the end of this season or or early next season. Like we need to if we can get a couple picks or two, three picks, whatever for Derek White uh and and move on from him. Like if they get Derek White then I think Houston’s actually probably in a better spot. I think Derrick White’s a better player than Fred Vanble Vleet. Uh, so I think the regular season they clearly take a step back and I had them I think probably second in the West in the regular season, not second in terms of odds of coming out of the conference. So I I think that nudges them down to maybe maybe three or four maybe four. But where I think it it it’s going to be interesting to see and and again it’s dependent on their next move is to me one of my concerns with Houston in a playoff context and I think I’ve talked about this before we saw it at the end of the regular season against the Lakers is due to Shenon’s defensive limitations and Fred Van Vleet’s defensive limitations like Fred Van Vleet I think overall is a positive defender but he’s six feet and there’s just a limitation to being like he’s a fire hydrant. and he could get into guys bodies and he can be someone that’s like tough to back down or whatever and he could be an active defensive playmaker, but there’s just a limitation to how good you can be defensively in a playoff setting at 6 feet tall or or and I could be being generous, he could be even closer to 5’11. So looking at them having two major entry points into their defense with Van Vleet and Shangun, they needed so much from Thompson and Smith and and Durant and Een and Dorian Finny Smith to offset that that my fear and where I felt like this was potentially going to go down the road was them having to pick between Van Vleet and Shenun in terms of closing. And of course, Shenun is the second best player on the team right now and and had an amazing summer at Eurob Basket. So, Shenun is going to be the one out there similar to a Jokic or Sabonis. Like, he’s too important despite the limitations defensively. So, it was really going to be eventually benching Fred Van Vleet and probably closing with some combination of Thompson, Durant, Smith, Finny Smith, and Een. Uh, and I would assume Thompson, Durant are the locks. And then it comes down to Smith versus Een versus DFS. So, I felt like they were heading toward that direction eventually of potentially having to bench Fred Van Vleet in like serious moments because just thinking about if you have Shenun and Fred Van Vleet out there against OKC or against Denver, they’re going to spam the out of actions against those two guys and involve them in pick and rolls and Shenunin in the pick and roll and Fred Van in pick and rolls. Like Shay is going to cook both of them. Jokic is going to cook both of them. Jamal Murray’s going to cook both of them. JDub’s going to cook both of them. It’s just it’s problematic. So, I think this was eventually had like and we saw that in that game against the Lakers where they had to bench actually both Fred Van Vleet and Shenon and go with the all wings lineup to close and they almost won the game. They lost, but I think that was the way this was headed. So, in in a way, I’m I’m almost like kind of trial by fire. I’m a little bit more bullish on their playoff odds in a in a way. I also want to see what they do. Maybe they get like I think Derrick White would fit in perfectly and and be like the the optimal guy to add, but I’m I’m kind of in a weird way more bullish about their playoff odds and a little and lower on them in the regular season. Ken Carter, does the hero injury make trading wigs to the Lakers easier? I think so. I think it makes it more likely that Miami underperforms. PDA pink, they won’t extend Ruie when there’s possible trade targets out there to upgrade the wing position. I’m glad you made this point because one thing here with potentially extending Ruy is if they extend Ruie, remember anytime there’s an extension, you cannot be traded for 6 months. So if they extend Ruie, Ruie is not being traded this year. And that is a major salary and and just, you know, potential trade chip that the Lakers would be taking off. Like I I would argue among the realistic guys that the Lakers would be trading, Ruie is arguably the best player or or the most enticing player. So to take that out of the equation, that could signify multiple things. It could signify they just don’t really love the trade market. They don’t feel like that missing piece is out there. It obviously signifies that they love Ruie and and want him to be a part of the core. And there are people within the the big decision makers that that are really fond of Ruie within LA’s ecosystem. Uh but it also just like that takes Ruie off the board. Like at that point you’re just trying to trade Gabe or or Maxi or or Dalton and then the picks like that that’s all you got to move. So it would be a really big development if they end up extending Ruie because that would wipe that out in terms of him potentially being traded this season. Thomas, uh, sorry, I know you you asked one at the top and I think I missed it, but what do you think about these trade ideas for Lakers? Vincent and connect for, uh, the Hornets for Green and Jeff, Vincent Cleba and Connect to the Suns for Allen, Richards, and Goodwin. Shout out Jordan Goodwin. Um, between the two, I think I like the latter one better. You know, uh, uh, for people who have listened to me, I am a Jordan Goodwin fan. Like I I just think he’s a good player and and was really impactful for the Lakers last year. Like certainly in a in a certain role, you don’t want him more than like your ninth or tenth guy, but I think he had some really useful moments last season. And then you’re you’re upgrading Kibba to Richards. Yeah. I mean, I guess between the two, I would I would lean more toward the second one. I’m not the biggest Nick Richards guy and I felt like seeing him get traded to Phoenix and like just felt like that that didn’t really make a difference and then they went out and got multiple centers this off season. So, feels like he might have been a little I don’t want to say exposed, but like I feel like the the a lot of times when guys are in lottery situations, we we look at them through this optimistic lens and then they get traded to a situation where there’s higher expectations and then we see if they sink or swim. And it felt like I don’t want to say he sank, but like he he wasn’t the differencemaker that I think Phoenix or or other people expected him to be going there. And now look, Phoenix has been a disaster. So maybe it’s hard to separate how much that’s Nick Richards versus the Suns, but between those two, I I would lean the second one. Golden says, “Drew would be a good pickup for Yeah. Uh for for the Rockets, Drew would be a great pickup.” Sports Sport Sporks. Uh who, uh you reached out to me on X as well. And I see we we got the X icon here. Uh hey, any chance you got an extra media pass for Tuesday? Uh I do not, unfortunately. I do not get extra media passes. Even getting like when I was at the athletic additional people from the athletic in was sometimes a bit of a a chore, a bit of a process. So, unfortunately, I do not. But, uh if I did, uh I would I would hook you up, but uh unfortunately I don’t. Shabooan, shout out to Shabooan, thank you for the super chat. Are you still looking to make an announcement about your future or is the block the future? Uh, okay. were uh putting me on the spot an hour in with a giant audience. Shout out to all of you. Uh over 3,000 on X and uh over 300 on YouTube. Um what I can say about this is I I actually answered this on a mailbag couple weeks ago, so I’ll just re reiterate what I said. Uh there was a situation that at one point in the summer I thought uh was going to come to fruition and it unfortunately did not. There was some uh I guess the most I could share is like the person who was supposed to hire me uh left it and kind of uh like it was at the one yard line and then they just left and went somewhere else. So, uh, that changed that process and it ended up not, you know, it kind of restarted and then they ended up just not hiring anybody. So, that was a bit frustrating and at at that time I was going to be bringing my channel over and that was like a big thing for me was maintaining the channel and uh would be licensing it through a you know second party. But, um, so for now it’s the block is the future man. Uh, and just looking at the state of the industry right now, like not to get too inside baseball on the media front, but like I think I’m in a great spot. Like I just went to uh media day today and uh I there were not many people who were there representing themselves and like their own outlet uh if any. Right. So everyone there was working for someone else. I’m working for myself. So I I think fortunately I’ve been able to carve out a lane here and and continue to grow and build it and uh want to continue to to uh just do more with with this platform. So um I think right now like I’m open to possibilities in the future and if the right thing comes around like definitely a big shift for me and and how I’ve rebranded myself is like I’m not interested in writing anymore and I do not miss writing and I do not miss the beat writer life in that regard. So, uh, I think the the thing for me is podcasting, TV, and also owning my my stuff. So, as long as I do that, then, uh, I’m open to partnering with whoever as long as it’s the right fit. But, I appreciate you asking. In defense of the genre, 1022, need some block merch. Block merch is coming. It actually have a call tonight about it. I’m excited about who I’m partnering with on that and hoping to have it by midmon. Also, uh, memberships are coming. Memberships are coming October 1st. So excited for for that. I’m going to go a few more minutes here and then I will wrap. So get your questions in, get your super chats in. Ken Carter, uh Yoan, do you think Ruie is kind of overrated by the fan base? He can shoot and score a bit, but has weaknesses that hurt the team and it makes the fit clunky on defense with Luca/ LeBron not a perimeter guy? I think there’s a lot of nuance with with this question in my answer. I don’t think Ruie is overrated. I think what people because so I I’ve been on, for those who don’t know, I’ve been very vocal about what I think the starting lineup should be and looking at it through the lens of DeAndre Aton, Luca, and LeBron are like the three clear starting locks. I I would also argue Austin is a fourth starting lock, but I know some people have argued against that. So, I’ve I’ve entertained that argument and tried to poke holes in it. And just looking at what the Lakers need around Aton, Luca, and LeBron, they need guys who could defend the back court. DeAndre Aton defends centers. Luca and LeBron are front court defenders. It’s a weird, and it kind of reminds me of Orlando where their two primary ball handlers are Fran and Paulo. And those guys are like guards offensively, but they are forward and almost bigized guys defensively. And that’s the same thing the Lakers have with Luca and LeBron. LeBron is best defending fours and even some fives. We’ve seen him defend Joic. We’ve seen him defend Shenun. We’ve seen him defend Sabonis. Luca is best on the non threat and being more of an offball guy uh in against front court guys. So that that could even be some back court guys, but you don’t want like the example I I continually bring up is like if they’re playing Cleveland, are you putting Luca on Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell? Like that is not setting up Luca for success. It’s not setting up the defense for success. You need two perimeter guys out there. And in my opinion, Marcus Smart and Austin Reeves are the two right answers. Austin is the third best player on the team, the third most productive player, and JJ doubled down on that today and said he’s been the best player in the gym, and obviously LeBron and Luca have not been in the gym, but he said he’s been clearly the best player every day in scrimmaging. And I just I don’t think the Lakers have like if they had a Danny Green or KCP type to replace Austin, that’s one thing. That’s not Jared Vanderbilt, that’s not Marcus Smart, and that’s not Ruie. Uh so to bring it back to Ruie, I don’t think he’s overrated. I think there’s maybe a misunderstanding of what the Lakers need from that starting spot. And I’ve seen a lot of people focus on the offensive end and be like, “Well, Ruie can shoot and and he, you know, he can play off the ball and like that stuff’s great, but the Lakers issue is the defensive end.” Like this group defended at a league worse level with the big three on the floor. And the way that’s going to improve is not benching Austin. That that’s not the right solution. And the solution is getting better defenders around those three and guys who can maximize their offensive strengths and skill set. And that starts in my opinion with Marcus Smart and DeAndre Aton and then figuring out the rest of the rotation from there. So I don’t think Ruy’s overrated necessarily. I just think that there’s maybe a misunderstanding of his defensive limitations and people are not thinking about the fact that the Lakers need two backcourt defenders out there. And I think if Austin is the like we saw a big shift with Austin last year when when he started the season off with DLO, they’re asking too much of him defensively. Like Austin should not be the primary guy defensively against backcourt guys. When they inserted Max and Austin was the secondary guy, you saw a big shift in his production. I thought he defended better. And I think that’s what Marcus Smart does is Marcus Smart is kind of that Max role. Not the same player, but like that that will unlock Austin. Austin’s fine as a secondary guy. you just don’t want him as the primary guy and we’ve seen him have to guard Steph and Jamal Murray and Ant Edwards in the playoffs like that’s asking too much of Austin but if he’s a secondary guy I think he’s fine as a defender and he he rates out pretty well uh for what it’s worth on Bball Ball index but uh yeah I I don’t think Ruy’s overrated per se I just think there’s maybe an overlooking of his weaknesses and what the Lakers need with the starters maybe you’ve covered it you think Luca’s defensive improvement shown at your basket is something we’ll see in the A yes, I’m a little skeptical to be completely honest. Like, so I I think that Luca and I I made this point last year. I don’t think Luca is is some civ defensively. Like I think at times, especially in the playoffs, he was picked on and and there will be some matchups where he’s just too slow to defend. And maybe that I think that that’s changed a bit with him being in better shape. But clearly in the playoffs there were times where guys on the weak side he would rotate over and they would just blow by him, right? So that’s something I think will be better. I don’t think Luca is going to be like I I just frankly and I got some flak for for this last time from some Euro Basket watchers. We we can debate the schematics and and the quality of of play in Euro Basket versus the NBA, but like NBA athletes are just and certainly there are some NBA athletes in Euro Basket, but like NBA players are just more athletic, quicker, faster, like that’s just it is what it is. Like that that is the difference between the NBA and every other league. So regardless of I’m not talking skill or talent or or ability, but like it it’s different if Luca is guarding guys who are closer to him in athleticism than some of the players he’s defending at the NBA level. So I I do think it’s probably easier for him to stay with certain guys on ball and and just, you know, on drives and stuff compared to NBA. Like there was no Aunt Edwards in Euro Basket. Uh, so like this just it’s a different type of of ask defensively. So I also think with with Luca like you know throughout the course of a season you just got to pick your spots sometimes defensively as a superstar and like I think he’ll pick his spots and that’s just how it it goes. But I I am encouraged by the the spirit that he defended. Like I think that’s the big thing is like he just if he’s playing up and and getting into guys and like animated on that end I I would love to see that. So, I I think some of it will translate, but I I don’t want to lie to you and just be like, “Oh, I think Luca is like a stopper now or he’s going to be some like great defender who’s making this big impact.” Like, I I think part of it was circumstantial and and there also is just like a different like Euro Basket is it’s almost playoff level basketball, right? And in that intensity that’s not we’re not going to see that for 82 games necessarily. Like maybe come playoff time we’ll see the ramp up, but uh it’s also just different circumstances. John, think Horford and uh Melton will get sick of waiting for the Warriors and sign out the Lakers? No. Two reasons. One, money. They’re supposed to get more money than uh well Melton, we don’t have great clarity and and part of it depends on the Kaminga contract, but in theory, they’re both getting more than minimum contracts with Golden State. Uh maybe Melton’s getting a minimum, but again, they have multiple guys that are waiting on the Kinga situation. Uh, two, the Lakers have an empty roster spot, but they don’t have the money to take in someone else. So, actually to sign a 15th player, the Lakers would have to shed some salary to fit them under the first apron, unless they wait. There’s a date in January where it offsets. But, uh, so yeah, I don’t see Horford or Melton being Lakers. In defense of the genre, 1022, a t-shirt with Yoan sitting at the top of Staples like the views cover. I like that. I I like that a lot. So, I will pitch it to uh the person I’m talking with and and we’ll see how that goes. Mistra Yoan, how realistic is getting a wing or two from the Rockets? I think very unrealistic. I I don’t see like teams that are in competition for like are they going to trade DFS back to to Houston, right? Like I I just But when you’re a contender or or in that mix, like you’re not trading with the enemy. Roberto Carlos, I don’t think Luca showed anything defensively at your basket that he hasn’t shown before. TBH, he’s always been good at generating steals, but he’s way too slow laterally to ever be a true positive. I I agree on the steel like he’s always been in that 1.5 to2 and even I I’ve made that point throughout the season like I I don’t think Luca is as bad defensively as some people paint him out as and I think the court mapping and the basketball IQ that he has offensively that makes him such a special and unique offensive talent applies defensively and he could read the offense and what they’re doing and where to be and I think as a help defender he’s strong he has really good hands he has really good awareness and anticipation so he’s a an effective help defender who can be disruptive and and play passing lanes and get steals and deflections and whatnot. To your point though, I I think the difference was he seemed to be in better shape defensively just overall, but but also defensively. And I felt like there was a like I would recommend go back and watch my Luca film breakdown from about a month or so ago. There’s some clips in there where like Luca is not picking up guys at half court as a Laker. That’s just not how he was defending. So there are plays where he’s picking up guys at half court and he’s blitzing and and he’s playing with a certain verve and and a certain just spirit to his defensive play that I don’t think we saw consistently with the Lakers. So I I would push back a little bit here and say like I think there was some subtle differences, but in general I’m I’m with you that like I I don’t think there’s like this substantial change to his defensive game. I think he’s ultimately going to be a negative on the ball and a positive off the ball and and then you just navigate that and that’s why again you play him off ball against non threats. Dylan the villain Brooks, welcome back Dylan. Uh Dylan is one of my uh we’ll say some sometimes antagonizers in the chat. Uh but uh that’s all love here with the late night gang. Um so this is a good point and I’m I’m going to dissect this for a sec. Says Marcus isn’t the same uh anymore. Plus he’s not a three-point threat. How can you have him as a three knee wing? He’s too small to guard wings. The first part is notable. Marcus is only had one above average three-point shooting season. Now, the real culprit or or or the real reason behind that is because he loves pull-up threes. And if you look at Marcus’s shooting splits year-over-year, and I went through and and looked at every single year of his career, there’s always a big difference between his catch and shooting and his pull-up threes. And as a pull-up three-point shooter, he tends to be under 30% or or around 30%. As a catch-and shoot guy, he he fluctuates for sure. like he’s I’m not saying he’s a consistent shooter, but he’s had seasons where he’s above average. He’s he’s close to 40%. Like high30s. So, I actually think if he cuts back on the ball handling and the Lakers reduce his offensive role and offensive ask and it’s more so as a spot up catch-and shoot offball guy, I actually think based on his track record, he can have a season where he’s an above average to to even good catch and shoot spot-up guy. So that part I think is really dependent on role and buyin with Marcus. In terms of the defensive end, the three players that Marcus has defended, you go through uh NBA.com has the tracking and the matchup data defensively. It’s it’s imperfect, but it’s one of the best things we have to go off of. The three players Marcus has spent the most collective time on over the past two seasons. Uh and I don’t remember the exact order, but I’ll just give you the top three. Luca Donuch, LeBron James, Lori Markin. All three of those guys are 67 and above. All three of those guys are a solid like 230, 240 and above. Uh so I I actually the point I made with Marcus, and I made it in the film breakdown I did, which I also recommend you check out. I’m actually more afraid of Marcus defending guards or or defending specifically point guards than I am Marcus guarding up and defending wings. I actually think if you look at Marcus’ matchup data and who he’s defended best, he defends up more more recently. And part of that circumstance, he played in Memphis next to Bane and Jaw, so they needed him to defend wings and Washington is Washington and and it was a bit of a circus over there. So like who know like he was just defending whoever. But I actually think Marcus has lost his speed and athleticism a bit partly due to injury and aging. And if you look at how he guards the John Marant De’arren Fox types, that actually concerns me more compared to him guarding some of these bigger guys. So like with Luca, LeBron and Lori Markin, those are all forwardsized ball handlers who are like the point guard primary option for their teams, but those are bigger guys. So I think with Marcus actually like if you average out his average player he’s defending, he defends like threes the most. He’s primarily morphed into being a small forward defensively more so than a point of attack guy. I actually have concern over the point of attack. I just think looking at all the Lakers options, he’s still probably the best one. So my fear with Marcus is not him guarding wings or or even some bigs. My fear with Marcus is him guarding guards actually. Uh and it’s a bit counterintuitive, especially based on who he used to be. But if you look at the shift in his career as he’s aged and dealt with more injuries, he’s gotten slower. the hip mobility, the agility isn’t quite there. So, I actually think Marcus, we see it with some guys like I think Patrick Beverly was another guy like this who started out as a point of attack guy and then as they got deeper into their career, they started to defend up a little bit better. We saw Lakers have Pat guard like threes and fours and but even Pat versus Marcus, Marcus is a good two or three inches bigger than him, good 30, 40 pounds on him. Like Marcus is a big dude. Marcus is 6’3, 230, 235. like he’s a a he’s a big boy. Young Leo is a Doro healthy yet? Yes. Uh to my knowledge, but I guess we’ll we’ll see. King Carter favorite Drake album cover has to be Take Care. That’s also the best Drake album. Kevin Cambridge Lakers have any shot at Keon Ellis? They have a shot, but that it’s a tough I mean, maybe there’s something with Keon Ellis and Dalton, I guess, in theory, but I I really like Keon Ellis. Greg King. Will Dalton crack the rotation this year? I think he will. I I my guess is the Lakers go with 11 guys in the regular season, including Dalton and a center as the 10th and 11th guy. And then when they when they scale back the rotation, I do have some concerns, but we’ll see. Mishra, he’s more of a two and D guard. Uh, I think he’s more of a wing than a guard to be completely honest. But again, I don’t I think the Lakers have some I still think I’ll say this. I think the ideal fourth player next to the big three is is not on the roster right now. Sky Falcon 5, you think Kesler actually makes it to risk free agency? Would you give him something like four 100 or extend if he has a good season? I think Kesler is better and younger than Eightton. I’d rather have Kesler much better defensive player, but also in the same ballpark as a finisher, is a little bit bigger, but I think he’s a better rebounder and in defender, and I I just would straight up rather have Kesler. Uh, does he make it to free agency? I think so, but I I like seems to be some hard ball going on. So maybe Utah caves and ends up paying him, but seems like I mean they have no incentive to really do that other than goodwill and just, you know, procedural business operations. Uh I would be open to extending Aiden if he has a good season. Kevin Cambridge, Yan, are you planning on doing film breakdowns during the season? I found your videos on Marcus Smart and Jake Ravia to be really insightful. Thank you. I appreciate that. Uh yes, I I am. Uh, the one thing that I’m trying to figure out with that, and this might be something I figure out with the partnership and and sponsorship side is my film breakdowns get flagged by YouTube for copyright because I’m using game clips and then I don’t th those episodes don’t get monetized. So now that I am on my own and and you know every video matters in terms of monetization and and just like the business side of things, having videos that don’t get monetized is especially because those videos have tended to do really well and it’s unfortunate that I get the slap on the wrist. Uh, so that that’s one consideration that I’m currently weighing of just like maybe those end up being sponsored videos, so I’m still getting paid for them, but but not through YouTube. But, uh, definitely open to doing more film breakdowns and like want to do at least once a month, if not more frequently. All right, catching up on the chat here. Fred D. Sanders, keep up the good work, Yvon. Thank you. I appreciate it. Cole Sturgle, both Kesler and Eightton on the same roster would be highly unlikely, correct? Virtually 0%. Yeah, it would not make much sense. Like, those two guys can’t play together and committing. I mean, I assume Aiden’s going to get paid more by the Lakers or someone else after this contract. I think Kesler is certainly going to get paid more. So paying like 4550 plus million to two centers doesn’t really make sense. Kevin Cambridge, make sure to drop a like on the video, guys. There’s 304 of us watching and only 95 likes. Yeah. So, I’m getting This is my first time doing this on X. I wonder if that affects the YouTube numbers because typically we’re in the thousands on YouTube and we’re on the thousands on X. So that’s um wonder if there’s a little bit of difference there, but appreciate you all for tuning in and yeah, hit that like button. Also, hit the subscribe button if you’ve not yet done so. Herman Williams, who’s your ideal non-star player to put on the team? I think like the the Herb Jones, Jaylen Suggs, depending on how you want to label those guys. I think that player archetype next to the big three. The two concerns with both guys actually. Yeah, the two concerns with both is health and shooting. I’m trying to think of like I mean I guess like a Derek White type also works but some sort of I like Tammani Kamara but but he’s impossible to get right now I think from Portland. Uh but but some sort of like guy who could at least be a league average if not ideally above league average three-point shooter and then defend like a menace and be like an alldefense caliber guy. So, I’m willing to live with a little bit worse shooting for like elite elite defense. And that’s why I think Suggs and Herb Jones both check that box, but both guys have extensive injury histories and and both guys are shaky shooters. So, that that does complicate things. I do think both guys have things offensively they can do that offset it. Like, I don’t think it’s like a Vando situation. Like, they’re both better shooters than Vando, but but also especially with Suggs, I think he could do more offensively than her. But Rod, who’s the Drake among the people who cover the Lakers? Come on, man. You know who it is. It’s your boy. It’s your boy humbly. David Parks. Hello, Yovon. Keep up the great work. What do you think about this great idea? Vincent Vanderbilt Clea and connect to the Pelicans for Murray Mi and Matovich or Matovich. So, this is De Jante Murray Mei. Uh, I would do it if you’re the Pelicans. I guess you’re getting off. What’s Murray’s contract? I I forget because he he signed the extens. Murray’s got three more years left, but the low30s that’s it’s reasonable. I mean, I’ll say my concern with this trade, like if we’re looking at it through a vacuum, I think it’s an upgrade for the Lakers. I think the issue is adding Murray to Luca, LeBron, and Reeves. Now I think you have just another highlevel ball handler starter guy who like just is best with the ball in his hands. So it’s like I think at some point there’s diminishing returns there. And I don’t think he’s the level of a shooter where he could exclusively you know you’d be like all right De Jonte you’re fourth in the pecking order or maybe you’re third and Austin takes a step back but like I still I think he would want the ball more than would be realistic. So but Mi Lakers were high on Mei. that was a guy they were considering and I would be I would be open to figuring out some sort of mei trade if I’m the Lakers. Kevin Cambridge about to dip, but thank you for the coverage. Have a blessed night. Yo, shout out to Kevin. Shout out to everybody. I will uh Roberto says Murray’s defensive rep is living off a season that happened like seven years ago and MCI was also a very bad defender last year about rookie tax. Yeah, I mean I I’m I’m optimistic on MCI. know statistically. I think there were some some things to be optimistic about with him. Kurt Affair says, “Can confirm Drip show is amazing graphic artist and it has unparalleled merch. I will check him out.” Uh I I will say again, I I think you guys are going to like the person I’m I’m collabing with. Oh, I missed this. Appetizers and Sushi, thank you for the super chat. JJ didn’t lead us to the Western Conference finals. That’s unfair to Ham. I don’t really want to rehash the Darvin stuff. I I’ve talked about this before. Um I the two things I I guess I’ll say quickly because I can’t help myself. Um that like the Western Arms finals thing was awesome and that was Dar as a rookie head coach. That was an incredible debut. And at the time, I as well as most people at the Lakers didn’t really have much to criticize with Darvin. They thought the the start of the Denver series was a little weird going with the small group that closed against Golden State and that kind of cost them. I don’t know if it cost them game one, but but it definitely got them off to a slow start in game one. Like they shouldn’t have been starting three guards against Denver. But there wasn’t much to criticize with Darin in year one. It was year two when he overthought the process with benching Austin early, then eventually benching DLO, minimizing Ruie, and and having him permanently buried behind Tory and Prince. It was like it just there was so many basic decisions that I think there was a fundamental misunderstanding of who like I think if you surveyed the fan base and the media and people around the like if you got a consensus an external consensus over who the top nine players were on that team and the order of those nine players I think the coaching staff or or at least Darvin would have a very different list of the top nine and I think there was a fundamental misunderstanding of the team and what they needed to do and how they needed to play and like I just think it went off the rails and regardless of what I think or what other people think and obviously he’s gotten a lot of criticism the key was like he started to lose the locker room over the second half of the season I reported on that with Shams at the time uh at the end of you had the playoff series and AD calls him out subtly the coaching staff and that they unprepared against like there’s a lot of frustration with the Denver situation of of they kept losing to Denver in those same ways. So I look like there will be a different tune with JJ if the Lakers lose to Minnesota again and like like there will be the the pitchforks for JJ at some point from from people and and if he’s worthy of more criticism I will be transparent about that. But I think with Darvin it went like people I think sometimes cherry pick the West Conference finals. It’s like, “All right, let’s talk about the second season because yes, the first season was an unequivocal success. He led it a seven seed to the West Finals. The second season was a disaster and he lost key like when you lose the locker room, there’s really no coming back from that. Like that’s a impossible. You can’t win back the locker room. That that’s really hard to do. So like once the players tune you out, they tune you out. And it’s your job. That’s your that’s your survival as a coach is keeping the players checked in to what you’re doing.” And once they check out on you, it’s over. That that’s just what it is. Drip show, I I see now uh super chat, what’s a good way to contact you so we could send you a Drip Show canvas gift? I appreciate it. Um do uh yobu adsgmail.com. So joyousgmail. Uh that is work email for me. Um so do do that one. Aron, thank you for the super chat. Better fit for this Lakers team. Dylan Brooks to Andrew Wiggins. Keep up the great work. I’m going to give you two answers here. I think Andrew Wiggins is the better fit and the better player. However, if Dylan Brooks were to ever fully buy into his offensive role and not take some of the wild shots and just like hijack possessions, I think Dylan Brooks can be a more impactful defender and and is someone who can defend up a little bit more than Wiggins can. But I think for being more of a point of attack like guard guy, I think Wiggins is quicker and more athletic and and can do that job uh better than than Brooks can. I think he’s overall just a better player. But uh Brooks with his shooting when again he’s taking good shots and his defensive physicality and tenacity. Like I think that’s another guy that I think there is like the the version of Dylan Brooks that has the breakthrough as like a championship level 3 and D guy. I think there’s that that guy in there. I just think he wants to play a certain way and sometimes gets in his own way. All right, I’m going to wrap here. Uh, Young Leo asks, “Has Dron Sharp signed yet?” Yes, he resigned in Brooklyn. Um, I’m going to wrap here. I went over, as we tend to do here, five minutes turns into 30, and that is uh why I partnered with Rose Sparks. Uh, but appreciate you all on X and YouTube for tuning in. I will have an episode coming out tomorrow with Shawn Davis. we are recording tonight talking through some of the fleshing out some of the things we we learned or didn’t learn today and talking through training camp battles and uh so excited for that episode of Buha’s Block to drop tomorrow. Uh but shout out to everybody on X. I am now going to start streaming directly to X as well uh and and do X and YouTube. But appreciate you all. Uh for those watching on YouTube, please be sure to hit that subscribe button, turn on channel notifications, and like and comment on this video. Let’s hit 30K before the season starts. For those listening on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your podcast platform of choice, please be sure to follow, download, and leave a fivestar review. And for those tuning in on X, make sure you hit that follow button if you have not yet done so. I’ll talk to you all soon. Shout out to the late night gang. Appreciate you.

Jovan Buha reacts to Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick’s comments at Los Angeles Lakers Media Day. He then answers all of your Lakers and NBA questions.

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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:29 The Lakers have extended JJ Redick’s contract
4:23 LA continues valuing “optionality” with its roster-building approach
6:43 LA wants LeBron to retire as a Laker
7:50 No update on starters or schematic changes
10:04 Could a Rui Hachimura extension be looming?
11:21 Q&A
1:26:06 Outro

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