Could Chris Paul finally be coming to the Lakers? This time, for real? Wednesday, multiple reports out of Phoenix said the Suns were looking at releasing Chris Paul, which would make him a free agent. The release could take a few different forms, including one where Paul could return to the Suns for less money than he's scheduled to make next season. But he could also end up on the free agent market, where he'd instantly be one of the more sought after names. And of course, one that would instantly be assumed to be coming to the Lakers. After all, he was almost a Laker about a decade ago. He's tight with LeBron. He's ring chasing. And he lives in LA in the offseason. Put it all together, and it makes a lot of sense. Plus, he'd be a nice fit with LeBron and Anthony Davis, particularly on a team where Austin Reaves would be around to help everyone with ball handling and scoring duties, and the Lakers could still potentially have the ability to keep one or both of D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder. Or would that be too much wishful thinking? What kind of impact could Paul make with the Lakers? How good would he have to be? How much better would he be than other free agents the Lakers could sign, particularly at the taxpayer midlevel or even the veteran's minimum, the two contract levels Paul would likely sign at if he wanted to be a Laker? Could the Lakers make it work if they had Paul, and protected his health with Russell and/or Schroder? If they can't keep those guys around (for whatever reason) how does that change the calculus? Is it better to think of Paul as an "and" player (someone the Lakers add while still keeping everyone else who matters) or an "or" guy? (Meaning he'd replace someone.) The downstream impacts of a CP3 signing are potentially significant. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: CP3 could be released by the Suns. Should the Lakers be interested if he is? SEGMENT 2: What does CP3 potentially bring to the Lakers, at age 38? SEGMENT 3: Under what circumstances would it make sense to sign him? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Birddogs Go to birddogs.com/lockedonnba and when you enter promo code, LOCKEDONNBA, they’ll throw in a free custom birddogs Yeti-style tumbler with every order. eBay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In August, the Lakers can give Anthony Davis a three-year extension worth $167 million. The decision of whether to give it to him, or risk him potentially opting out of his deal after next season and walking as a free agent, is a tricky one. On the one hand, the Lakers will be hard pressed to find a player better than him, even while factoring in additional age and mileage. Frustrating as he occasionally is, Davis is still in the NBA's elite tier, and those guys are really, really hard to find. On the other hand, paying Davis over $55 million a year, pushing that past a realistic timeline for LeBron James, would make any GM nervous. Would it be better for the Lakers to end the Davis Era at the same time the LeBron Era closes? There's risk everywhere, no question. So what's the right play, here? Meanwhile, Austin Reaves has officially made it. The internet has been hopping with Reaves-is-dating-Taylor Swift content this week. Is it true? No, it is not. But even being big enough to be mentioned in Taylor Swift gossip as a joke is a major indication of how big a name he's become. Between that and his LemonDaddy.com billboards (and a killer post-All Star and postseason run that put him in line for about $75 million this offseason) it's been a good run for AR. Finally, the Lakers seem very willing to at least explore trades including D'Angelo Russell. But that would need to be a sign-and-trade, which are notoriously hard to pull off. But what about trading Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba? What are the mechanics, and what might they get in return? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Anthony Davis is extension eligible in August. Will the Lakers make him an offer? SEGMENT 2: What are the risks and rewards in play? SEGMENT 3: What goes into trading Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba? What could the Lakers get in return? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Birddogs Go to birddogs.com/lockedonnba and when you enter promo code, LOCKEDONNBA, they’ll throw in a free custom birddogs Yeti-style tumbler with every order. eBay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rumors linking Kyrie Irving to LeBron James are pretty old hat at this point, but Monday provided a new wrinkle. Instead of Irving heading to LA to join James with the Lakers, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Irving has called LeBron to try and get him to come to Dallas. He's got a fan club there, including Irving, Mavs star Luka Doncic, their coach in Jason Kidd, and more. But while Charania's report got everyone's attention, and fast, the actual mechanics of getting James to Dallas are laughably hard. Maybe he'd accept a buyout, if the Lakers would actually offer him one, which they won't. And even then, it seems unlikely he'd leave the kind of money on the table that he'd have to sacrifice to go from a team that made the Western Conference Finals to one that just missed the playoffs. So what about a trade? Well, have you looked at the Mavericks' roster lately? Woof. What if Dallas included as much draft capital as possible, including the 10th pick in this year's Draft? Well, maybe that gets Rob Pelinka's attention, and maybe then only if James demanded to be moved, and threatened to tank the season if he didn't get his way. Not likely, given his history on the court. The notion he'd risk one of his last seasons in the NBA to leverage a trade seems far fetched. So what does this amount to? A good conversation about how the market for Kyrie may not be what he'd hoped, how challenging the task of getting him to Los Angeles will be (and why, therefore, it's unlikely) and how Dallas is in really, really bad shape. Very little room to maneuver, almost forced to give Kyrie a max, but without any real depth or appealing trade material to improve the team. Meanwhile, Monday's show focused a great deal on how Frank Vogel's hiring in Phoenix could impact Darvin Ham's staff. But how might it impact the perception of Ham, as a coach? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Kyrie wants to bring LeBron to Dallas. Good luck with that. SEGMENT 2: Is there a trade offer Dallas could make that would get Rob Pelinka's attention? SEGMENT 3: If Vogel coaches the Suns to a better record next season than the Lakers under Ham, how will fans react? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Birddogs Go to birddogs.com/lockedonnba and when you enter promo code, LOCKEDONNBA, they’ll throw in a free custom birddogs Yeti-style tumbler with every order. eBay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few, if any, players across the NBA made themselves more money this season (and particularly this postseason) than Austin Reaves. Eligible for a 4 year, $52 million deal from the Lakers, Reaves has definitely established market value that goes well beyond that. Around the league, he can receive an offer for the same four years, up to about $100 million. The catch - most of a contract that big wold be backloaded. Reaves can only make about $25 mil over the first two years, meaning a "poison pill" type deal could pay him over $30 mil a season in the final two years. In theory, that could be enough to scare the Lakers off, and open the door for Reaves to join another team next year. But they've said instead that they'll be matching any offer Reaves gets. Any offer. Some, then, have speculated that opposing teams might be scared off, reluctant to make an offer and tie up free agent money that could go to another player, because they know they won't actually be able to get Reaves away from LA. Is that how things will play out? Is there a chance the Lakers could in fact get Reaves on a relatively cheap deal? Would the Lakers really match any offer he gets? Even up to $100 million? If Reaves, for whatever reason, doesn't get that big money offer, would he "settle" for what the Lakers could offer, or try to put together a deal that gets him back on the market quickly? Meanwhile, Frank Vogel was hired in Phoenix to take over the Suns. It was a move that caught some by surprise, but makes a lot of sense and will obviously impact the dynamics inside the Pacific Division. Could Vogel poach important members of the Lakers staff (holdovers from his time here) like Phil Handy? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Austin Reaves is going to play for Team USA this August. One more thing that could be driving up his price. SEGMENT 2: Will the Lakers truly match any offer Reaves gets? Will that perception actually keep him from getting offers? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! eBay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the one hand, the Lakers entered the final minute with a real chance to win in three of the four games they lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Denver Nuggets. On the other... they lost all of them. And while you could argue it means the gap between Denver and LA isn't as big as 4-0 might indicate, there's still definitely a gap. How big? The NBA Finals, which kicked off Thursday, might provide a clue. Both to how the Lakers stack up against the Nuggets, but where they might fit in that next tier of contenders, and how crowded that group might be. One thing that will help close the gap next year? Internal improvement. Assuming the Lakers bring back the expected group of players, a lot of attention will be given to the relative youth of the supporting cast. Generally, young players are talked about as having "upside." Often, teams have a couple prospects that they hope will become franchise cornerstones, and even elite NBA players. The Lakers don't have that level of prospect, but how much better can Austin Reaves get? How about Rui Hachimura? What about Max Christie? For the Lakers, if a guy like Christie can become a reliable, game in/game out rotation player for the regular season next year - even for 10-15 minutes a night - that's like acquiring an extra free agent, or pulling off a trade. The Lakers will certainly look to get better by dangling players like Mo Bamba, Malik Beasley and D'Angelo Russell (in sign-and-trade scenarios). How appealing will those options be, though? So while they've remade their depth, getting significantly better could be tough. Unless, of course, that improvement happens internally. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: What could the Finals teach us about the Lakers? SEGMENT 2: Which young player on the Lakers has the most upside? SEGMENT 3: Why internal improvement could be tremendously valuable for LA... and how context really matters. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! eBay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices