Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Four spots in the starting lineup for the Lakers seem pretty settled. Obvously starting with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler, and from there Quentin Grimes seems like a pretty safe bet.

But what about that fifth guy?

The hole comes at forward, but because Luka performs as a point guard offensively but absolutely doesn't on the other end, so what the Lakers really need is someone who can defend a few positions, allowing them to lighten Luka's load on that side as much as possible. Could that be Adou Thiero? Or is he too raw after playing so little as a rookie? How about Jake LaRavia? Underwhelming as an option, no question, but also perhaps the easiest answer if the goal is to have a starter-in-name-only type setup. What about Mamu? The Lakers invested a lot of money in him. And while he was a later add and is only on a minimum deal, Ziaire Williams makes a lot of sense, too.

So much depends on what JJ Redick and the coaching staff decide they want to do schematically, especially on defense.

We break down the options.



HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky



SEGMENT 1: The Lakers need a fifth starter.



SEGMENT 2: Who makes the most sense?



SEGMENT 3: Is Ziaire Williams worth an extended look?



Photo Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images



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It'll be a while before we know if the new ownership group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger will be a net positive or a net negative for the Lakers. We don't know how they'll spend money, or what they'll prioritize.

But what we did know was that ownership upheaval had a chance to completely undermine a buildout of the basketball operations department that was already going a lot slower than Lakers fans had hoped for when the Buss family sold to Mark Walter a year and a half ago. Dan Woike at The Athletic made it clear in a report on Monday that the Lakers, who have already been turned down for a couple front office positions by potential hires, have essentially gone into a hiring freeze.

There's just not any action, whether higher up in the department, or in things like scouting.

So what does that mean?

Well, it's not good. But there is one silver lining — there's only so much the Lakers can do over the next few months, anyway. So if there was ever a time to be hamstrung, this might be it. But the longer this goes on, the more problematic it gets. So what kind of timeline are we looking at?



HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers front office is at a standstill.



SEGMENT 2: What does this mean for LA going forward?



SEGMENT 3: How long will all of this take?



Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images



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The Lakers lost out on Jonathan Kuminga last week (or dodged a bullet, depending on your POV) when the free agent forward went to Minnesota. But that doesn't mean they've stopped trying to fill out the roster. Jake Fischer, in his reporting for Bleacher Report, links LA to veteran guard/forward Bruce Brown, who was in Denver last year.

Would he be a good fit with the Lakers next year? Just as critically, if he's not a great fit, would he be a better fit than anyone else they could find? And just as critically (again) would he be more valuable than the second player they'd have to jettison from the roster to make room for him? Keeping in mind that they already need to free up a spot as it is.

And it will have to come by either trade or release, because the waive'n'stretch deadline came and went this weekend without the Lakers making a move.

And then, who are the Lakers going to let go? The most obvious candidates are Bronny James, Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht. Jarred Vanderbilt may not a favorite of JJ Redick, but he would be a lot of money to eat, is an important salary ballast in a potential trade, and -- this matters -- is one of the only power forwards on the roster.

So who is first to go? Who would be next, if the Lakers need to cut two players, not just one?



HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers reportedly have interest in Bruce Brown.



SEGMENT 2: Would Brown be a good fit?



SEGMENT 3: Who should the Lakers let go when the time comes?



Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images



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Every summer, ESPN issues it's preseason predictions. We hit on a few of them already, noting for example that the Lakers are predicted to win 45 games, and compete in that set of Western Conference teams either in, or narrowly avoiding, the play-in tournament.

If they stay healthy, we think that's too low. But whatever.

A new batch of predictions dropped on Thursday, and ESPN's writers voted the Lakers are the team most likely be the NBA's biggest disappointment. Is that fair? Well, if ESPN's writers are correct about the win total, there will certainly be the belief that they had a disappointing season and took a step backwards. And at the least the Lakers like to project that championship or bust approach to every season, whether championship is realistic or not.

And this season, it's not, and isn't the goal. Sure, they'll try to win as much as possible. They hope to surprise. But the point of this offseason was to retool the team around Luka Donćić, the same Luka that ESPN projects will win another scoring title. What they don't think he'll win, though, is MVP. That prediction is related to the one about LA's win total.

But what if Walker Kessler, who doesn't get any DPOY love, anchors a Lakers defense that's better than expected. Or Austin Reaves elevates to clear All-Star, or even All-NBA levels? What if JJ Redick gets some Coach of the Year love?

If these things happen, it means the Lakers surely have won more than 45 games, and Luka's MVP candidacy gets a BIG boost.



HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky



SEGMENT 1: Are the Lakers going to be the NBA's biggest disappointment?



SEGMENT 2: What are the right expectations?



SEGMENT 3: Luka and the MVP race.



PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images



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Well, it looked like a slow news day until it wasn't.

First, finally the Lakers (and everyone else) got a conclusion to the Jonathan Kuminga saga. He's going to Minnesota, agreeing to a two-year deal worth about $13 million, with a player option for the second year. He'll move into their exception space, try to play really well this season, opt out next summer and sign a genuinely big money deal somewhere else. That's the plan at least. Will it work? Who knows. But Camp Kuminga decided he'd ultimately make more money doing it this way than taking the 3 year, $36 million deal reportedly on the table from the Lakers.

Did LA lose out? Well, having Kuminga certainly could have helped, but the cost was higher for LA than Minnesota, because it wasn't just about the money, but what the Lakers would have to give up in order to make the space on the roster to bring Kuminga in. One second rounder? Two? If they had to raise their financial offer to Kuminga, that impacts their flexibility, and likely means having to send out more players.

At some point, the price is too high.

Meanwhile, Jeanie Buss is taking her siblings to court, in order to try and keep control of the Lakers, or at least the governorship she currently has, thanks to the family's near-18% stake in the team.

She says she's exercising her fiduciary duty to the family trust, and that the family members are acting out of school.

No matter how you slice it, it's a mess, one likely to annoy Lakers fans significantly, and severely damage Jeanie's standing with Lakers fans before it's over.



HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky



SEGMENT 1: Kuminga chooses Minnesota.

SEGMENT 2: What's next?

SEGMENT 3: Jeanie sues!!!

Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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FanDuel

Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMto play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season.



FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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