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We also had a bizarre report, or bizarre quote, I should say, from rich Paul about LeBron James and his future with the Lakers. Now, I think most of that is just noise and kind of classic LeBron manipulation, but for fun, we're going to talk through my top four LeBron James potential trade destinations this summer. You guys know the drill before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on twitter@_jasonlt so you guys don't miss show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcast under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave a rating and a review on that front. Jackson's doing amazing work on our social media feeds, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Make sure you guys follow us there. And last but not least, keep dropping mailbag questions in the YouTube comments. We can keep hitting our mailbags throughout the remainder of the summer. All right, let's talk some basketball. So we're start with the deandre Ayton buyout. So Shams reported last night that deandre Ayton is finalizing a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers that would make him an unrestricted free agent. And now it feels like an inevitability when you kind of look at the landscape of the league, that he's going to be a Los Angeles Laker. And this of course led to everyone pointing out the reality fairly that Ayton is a dude that comes with a lot of downsides. Remember that conversation that me and Samvasini had right at the beginning of our draft preview? We talked a lot about the idea of competitiveness as a trait that NBA teams are trying to hunt. We talked about how it was an important part of playoff translatability. You get into the playoffs and it's nasty, right? Like you get on a. It's like a fight or flight response. The league is full of these competitive dudes, guys who will punch you in the mouth, figuratively, obviously, in a basketball sense. And there are guys that have the competitive fire to step to that type of confrontation. And then there are guys that will kind of wilt away from it. And you know, I'd argue it's one of the most important traits for any basketball player to have, it's not something that can be developed. It's intrinsic into who you are as a human being. Right. And I want to be clear up front. Deandre Ayton is not that type of competitor. And he's basically openly admitted this. He said in his first press conference in the NBA. When he was asked what his goal was in the NBA, he said to get to his second contract, he's skipped work over icy road conditions. He shows general apathy when he's on the court much of the time. Deandre Ayton is not going to join a team and attack every day with a ton of intensity and a ton of, you know, give a shit. That's not who he is. But this is also the same reason why Ayton makes so much sense for the Lakers. In order for a team to make sense for deandre Ayton, they basically have to be desperate. And the Lakers are desperate. A disengaged, unfocused deandre Ayton is still several orders of magnitude better than any center the Lakers currently have in house. And when it comes to the options out in the open market, whether it be through free agency with, you know, potential free agent guys like Clint Capella or Brook Lopez, or having to ship out assets for a guy like Nick Claxton, he still represents a much better option than any of those guys. There is also a natural basketball fit here that we'll discuss in a minute, but I want to focus on the desperation for both sides. The Lakers desperately need a starting caliber center that is a good athlete and that can score off of the attention drawn by Luka Doncic in pick and roll. Deandre Ayton is a way, way, way better option on that front than any free agent option the Lakers have available to them or anybody they have in house. Right? And Ayton would now be in a situation where he's on a mid level exception type of contract, probably a one plus one with a player option where he's going to want to kick ass this year so that he can potentially secure another long term deal in the NBA. Right? Luka Doncic represents Ayton's best chance to have that type of season because of the advantages that he can set him up with. So with that being the case, let's talk about the basketball for a minute. The optimism surrounding a potential DeAndre Ayton move to the Lakers centers around his ability to score and pick and roll. The last time DeAndre Ayton played with real high level ball handling was in Phoenix and he was consistently one of the best pick and roll scoring bigs in the league. In 2021, pretty low volume, but he shot over 70% on roll man possessions, field goals. In 2022 he made he scored 316 points on the roll with which ranked fourth in the entire NBA despite him only playing in 58 games that season season he shot 65% in those situations. And then in 2023 obviously with Kevin Durant mixed in there in the late portion of the season, 387 points on the roll which ranked third in the NBA and he shot 62%. He is great at scoring off of the attention drawn by ball handlers. How he's just a really talented player. He brings a legitimate vertical spacing thread. He had multiple seasons where he had over a hundred dunks. He's good at making layups which is something that many big struggle with. He's got a good floater and a good hook shot. In that 2023 season, the one where Kevin Durant participated with the team the last season he played with high level ball handling. He shot 55% on floaters and hooks on super high volume. He made 119 of them in that season. Now his percentages in his efficiency have dropped in the years since then but again roll men in pick and roll are very dependent on the ball handler setting them up with those types of advantages in the middle of the floor and at the rip. There's no doubt that Luka is going to be able to make good use of deandre Ayton there on the defensive end of the floor. Ayton has been a very frustrating player in his career, right? There's been some super high highs. He had some moments in the 2021 finals where you're like man, he's battling Giannis on an island. Similar moments against Nikola jokic in the 2023 second round series, but none of it is amounted to the potential that he demonstrated coming into the draft. Pick and roll defense, same sort of thing. You'll have moments where he's moving around and he's active with his hands and he's successful and then moments where he's not. It just hasn't come to fruition. In terms of his potential. All of that amounts to this. Would I want to trade legitimate assets for DeAndre if I was any team? No. Would I want him occupying a real salary slot like a big salary slot that affects my ability to surround him with additional talent? No, I don't want to do that. But would I want deandre Ayton on a mid level exception in a year where he's basically in a contract year where he's highly motivated to play as at least as well as he can to try to secure that type of long term deal? If I was also a team that is literally the most desperate team in the league with respect to the center position, you bet your ass I'd want him there. And hopefully a team led by Luka Doncic and LeBron James keep him on the straight and narrow and help both sides reach their ultimate goals. DeAndre in a big payday. LeBron and Luka a chance to win the title. To be clear, I also wouldn't put it past Deandre Ayton to like completely avoid the competitive spirit of LeBron and Luka by choosing a different team because those guys would be all over him from day one about his commitment. But if he ends up in Los Angeles, it's just better than the available options even though it's a flawed option. And if nothing else, it would be entertaining for Lakers fans if it goes down. Be ready to be incredibly frustrated with deandre Ayton sometimes. But just remember, it could have been Jackson Hayes, it could have been substantially worse. Right now. Before we move on to some other free agency topics, we actually have another bit of Lakers news from yesterday involving LeBron James. We had a First of all, he picks up his player option just over 50 million. That was an interesting move there in the sense that he could have opted out and tried to sign another one plus one to protect him in case he wanted to play an additional season. We had a quote from Rich Paul though surrounding the picking up of the option that was really fascinating. I'm going to read the quote first and then we'll go from there. LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeannie and Rob considering the consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career. We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count and the Lakers understand that and and are supportive and want what's best for him. So what the hell does all that mean? First of all, LeBron is famous in his career for applying pressure on organizations, applying pressure on front offices to try to force them to be aggressive in the windows of time that he's with that particular franchise. I saw many folks yesterday interpreting that quote to basically be a soft trade request. I wouldn't go that far. This could just as easily be LeBron knowing full well that he has no trade clause and that he has no intention of leaving Los Angeles for his 23rd season and that he's just applying some token pressure to the team to try to get them to trade that last first round pick, potentially spend additional money to make certain things happen and to maximize this window. I think it's far more likely than not that LeBron is a Laker next year. I want to be very clear about that before we move forward. But just for fun today, let's have a serious talk about potential LeBron James trade destinations. What would the surrounding circumstances need to be for a team to make sense for LeBron? I think it would need to be a pretty unique set of circumstances for a 41 year old, right? They need to have some urgency, like a shorter window to compete like we've got this year or two to try to jump on. They need to have large expendable salaries to match LeBron's salary. If you're going to send out 50 million, it's got to be 50 million in guys that you can afford to lose. They need to be obviously not good enough to win the title right now, meaning they need to have a little bit of that desperation, right? So several recent examples of them just not being able to get over the hump with no obvious thing internally that can fix that problem. And a LeBron trade needs to feel like it suddenly positions that team right, with the top contenders in the league. If you're going to send out $50 million in salary and potentially maybe a tiny bit of draft compensation for an asset that becomes worthless when he retires, then you need to feel really good about your chances to win the trophy in that short window. I looked over the NBA landscape and I came up with four teams that make sense. Some sense, I should say. The Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks, the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. Let's start with the Cavs. The case for a move with the Cavs would be self awareness. You just got your butts kicked by the Knicks your first trip to the playoffs. Then you struggled with an Orlando team just to lose to Boston. Then you have the greatest season of the post LeBron era and you get your butt kicked by the Pacers in a series where you looked outclassed and a lot of the same issues from previous years popped up. Darius Garland's health became an issue. His ability to perform in the playoffs came to the surface again. Jared Allen suddenly becoming way less effective in the postseason role players suddenly not making shots they made in the regular season. The Cavs just aren't a championship team yet. And Donovan Mitchell is an athletic guard who turns 29 before the start of next season. There's a little bit of urgency there. LeBron also fits a very specific position of need. The Cavs did not have a reliable secondary shot creator after Donovan Mitchell because Darius Garland struggled throughout the series and was unhealthy. And Ty Jerome completely decomposed. Like, in kind of dramatic fashion, completely decomposed. So LeBron is a reliable secondary shot creator. He's not a guy that I want to be leaning on at age 41 to be running my offense in super large doses, but that's a Cavs team that degraded down to Donovan Mitchell heliocentric ball over the course of that series. LeBron James can help you alleviate that specific problem. He's a big, strong forward that complements Evan Mobley on the defensive end of the floor, and he's a proven postseason performer. They could pull off the deal by basically shipping out the guys who have been their weak points in previous seasons. Guys like Darius Garland, guys like Jared Allen. Again, it's a. I know it's. It's difficult to wrap your brain around those guys who have been such monsters over the years. Darius Garland, such an incredible player this season. Jared Allen really vaulted himself into that second tier of centers with the way that he played this season. There's a lot that. There's a lot that goes into, you know, letting guys like that go, but it's about self awareness and looking at the situation and being like, we've done this three times now. We just did it with the best version of this team that we've had in the post LeBron era. And the same guys got their butt kicked, and we went out in the same disappointing fashion. And finally the Eastern Conference is wide open. If LeBron went to a Cleveland, that team immediately feels like the runaway favorite to win the Eastern Conference. If they could get through the Knicks, if they could get through the Orlando Magic or whatever the Atlanta Hawks end up pulling off this summer, they could be right there in the Finals because of the open Eastern Conference, because of the Achilles tear for Damian Lillard, the Achilles tear for Jason Tatum, and the Achilles tear for Tyrese Halliburton. So Cleveland Cavaliers are The first team to the New York Knicks. Now I'm going to go briefer on this one because the reporting says that they're waiting around for Giannis. So I view this as particularly unlike unlikely, but it's the same set of circumstances, right? Obviously not good enough to win the title after a very disappointing year last year. A clear trade swap in terms of Karl Anthony Towns for salary who could come in and fit a specific need for the Lakers who need a starting center. LeBron fits a specific need, which is that reliable shot creation off of Jalen Brunson. A very similar kind of dynamic to what he would do in Cleveland. And substantially better front court defensive player than Karl Anthony Towns, especially especially in the postseason context, but again most likely going to wait for a better long term option. So I view that one as as relatively unlikely. The Denver Nuggets. This is what I've been thinking about a lot over the last couple of days. It's a really interesting fit. They are also in this like super urgent short term window trying to capitalize on Nikola Jokic's prime. They're light on assets so they can't ship out much. They have an aging group of role players. There is a real urgency even they're already staring down the barrel of potentially needing to trade Nikola Jokic in a couple of years if things don't turn around. They have a big salary in Michael Porter Jr that they're looking to get rid of. And he also fits a position of need for the Lakers in terms of Michael Porter Jr. The Lakers don't have a starting caliber 3, but they have another starting caliber 4 and Rui Hachimura that could step into the 4 spot. Michael Porter Jr. Is a guy who could step in there. Aaron Gordon's shooting has unlocked the ability for them to space the floor in a LeBron James build. And I think LeBron would be a great fit with his ability to play in transition and off the ball as a cutter and as a roller. I think they immediately become the most physically imposing team in the league with him next to Aaron Gordon and Nicole Jokic. That presents a very specific matchup problem for Oklahoma City where you can talk yourself into Denver just mauling those guys underneath the basketball. The only real hang up is just the idea of LeBron leaving Los Angeles at age 41 to go to a smaller market like Denver. But I that that's an interesting one. A combination of like Denver's desperation with like kind of the natural basketball fit in LeBron going into a situation where he could Play for a legitimate championship threat. Lastly, the Dallas Mavericks similarly. Look, due to that Anthony Davis contract and the Kyrie Irving contract that he just signed, they're in a weird situation where even though they have Cooper flag in house, they're facing some real urgency to compete right now. They're super light on ball handling and shot creation, which is something that LeBron could step right in and do. And they could actually benefit, I think, from consolidating some of these salaries they have down the payroll. Guys like Daniel Gafford, who it's hard to see how he's going to get minutes. Guys like PJ Washington, it's hard to see how he's going to get minutes. You know, Klay Thompson, I think, is a. A player that has some utility for this team. But then with Max Christie in house, you could see him potentially taking the starting spot. Now, you're paying a considerable, a considerable amount of money for a bench player in that regard. I think they could benefit from consolidating a little bit. The hilarious thing is I was reading this morning from Mark Stein in his reporting that they are going to sign D' Angelo Russell today, in all likelihood for two years at about $12 million. So they'd have DLo and Max Christie and LeBron James and Anthony Davis basically be the Lakers from a few years ago, just with better depth and the prospect of Kyrie Irving returning at some point in the year. Depending on how his ACL repair in rehab goes again, I think it's more likely than not that LeBron just stays in LA as a Laker this year. But these are the only LeBron destinations I see that make any sense. All right, we're going to start going rapid fire through a bunch of small pieces of news from around the NBA over the week. First one, the Chicago Bulls traded Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro. I have no earthly idea what the Bulls are trying to accomplish at all, but I do love the theoretical Lonzo fit with the Cavs. The Cavs are preparing to lose Ty Jerome in free agency. Probably not much in the way of hard feelings there, considering how bad he was in the Pacer series. But Lonzo is theoretically a fantastic fit with the Cavs. I say theoretically because he's had health issues over the course of the years. Right. But he's a defensive playmaker that is coming off of a career best season in steel rate. He averaged three stocks per 36 minutes last year. And this is a Cavs team that thrives in transition. That added this whole turnover to transition element under Kenny Atkinson last year. I think that's a fantastic fit. He's an excellent hit ahead passer. It's what he was known for during the healthier phase of his career when he was on ball more. He's an excellent hit ahead passer, an excellent connective playmaker. I think that makes him kind of a unique higher floor, lower ceiling option as that bench guard and I think he has more utility playing alongside the starters when they need to. He had a rough shooting season last year, but he was 39% from three on seven attempts per game in the previous three seasons. So I do think he'll shoot better. And so you can see is like a almost like a 3 and D guard option that they can go to in a universe where he's playing alongside the starters. But then he also brings you just kind of like a higher floor lower ceiling option than Ty Jerome in the sense that he's not going to do the surgical pick and roll scoring that Ty Jerome can do and you know, hit five or six floaters in an early fourth quarter stretch that just drives a dagger into the heart of the opponent. He's not going to do that, but he is going to bring a higher floor, more defensive focus, more ball movement, focused approach to that backup guard spot and again that hit ahead passing. This is a Cavs team that really changed into a transition monster last year and Lonzo is just such a natural fit there. I think it's a really nice pivot from the Cavs under the circumstances.
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Jason LT
Cancel CT mobile.com the Jazz traded Colin Sexton and a second round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Yusuf Nurkic. This is a weird one from yesterday. The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that Danny Ainge actually had to attach draft compensation and not the other way around. Both of these guys are on very similar contracts, expiring after this season, this coming season at just under 20 million. That's what made it work in terms of a straight across swap. And I think Colin Sexton is just a Better player than Yusuf Nurkic. That's not to say that Colin Sexton is a perfect player. He's got his issues and he's kind of a clunky fit where he goes. But I think Colin Sexton still brings some pretty high level NBA traits to the table and Yousef Nurkic just doesn't. So I thought that that valuation was strange to have that second round pick attached. Take a step further. I don't understand the basketball fit really. I, I, I would assume for the Hornets he's going to be the Trey Mann replacement. Trey Mann had a back issue. His agent came out and was like, Trey's good to go. I'm sure they're just looking for a free agent deal elsewhere, but I don't love the fit there on that kind of weird Hornets team. And then for Nurkic, like in Utah, it doesn't make a ton of sense at all unless they're looking to trade Walker Kessler. Like if I, like if Danny Ainge was trying to, to trade Walker Kessler and he's trying to fleece a team like the Lakers or something like that, then it makes some sense. You're bringing in Yousef Nurkic to get you a guy that can play some center minutes. But I mean, at this point, like now the deandre Ayton buyout becomes super interesting because if like, let's say that Danny Ainge, because all the intel was like, Danny Ainge is not looking to trade Walker Kessler, like he's just not going to do it. And it's like, okay, well if that's the case and you got Kyle Philpowski, like what is the purpose for going after a Yusuf Nurkic? Right? Well, let's just imagine for a second that Danny Ainge is like, I'm eventually going to trade Walker Kessler to the Lakers, but I'm just going to string these dudes along as long as I can and then jump in and get the best possible deal. Well, now deandre Ayton's available potentially for a mid level exception where they wouldn't have to include, you know, potentially a Dalton connect or a first round pick. And it's like, would you rather have connect a first round pick you can trade later and DeAndre Ayton or would you rather have Walker Kessler, like that's going to get in the way of that sort of deal getting done. So I don't really know what the Jazz are trying to accomplish here. Either the Timberwolves did some business yesterday or over the weekend. I should say Julius Randle resigns on a three year, $100 million deal. I'm not a big Julius Randall fan, and I thought it was rather embarrassing, some of the stuff that he did in the Oklahoma City series, particularly when things weren't going his way. But one thing I'll say in his defense, Oklahoma City embarrassed a lot of guys in the postseason this year. And under any circumstances, a player with the ceiling that Julius Randle has getting 33 million per year in this NBA is a massive discount under any circumstances for a player of his caliber. The salary cap is going to be undergoing massive jumps every year with the new TV deal. And that deal, that Julius Randle deal is going to be very appealing as a trade asset in a year or two, especially as the cap continues to go up. And I mean, like, in terms of the discount. Like, look at James Harden, another kind of middling, underachieving star who, you know, is known for playoff flameouts, and he just got 40 million annual from. From the Clippers. So to get Julius Randle At 33 million, I think is a very good deal for Minnesota. They also resigned Nas Reed. Five years, 125 million. Basically the same deal that Jabari Smith Jr. Just got a little bit more. But mostly symbolically at that point, I would imagine. I do think Nas is the better player, so to get him for 3 million total more over 5 years feels like a great deal from a value standpoint. The Wolves are betting on internal improvement and continuity, which I think is a completely reasonable direction for a team that has made the conference finals two years in a row and is led by a star that has struggled on that stage both times. Ant wasn't good against the Mavs. Ant wasn't good against Oklahoma City. There's reason to believe that an improved Anthony Edwards could lead this team to a championship. As currently constructed, the Wolves are betting on him making that leap. They may have to make some pivots, but I think Nas Reed at that number, that's a tradable deal. Julius Randall on that number, that's a tradable deal. They won't be as deep. They're going to lose Nikhil Alexander, Walker, Mike Conley is going to be a year older, but they're maintaining the core of what makes the Wolves the Wolves while maintaining some trade flexibility. Even that Go Bear deal. I know he's older, but I mean, that right around 30 million is kind of just what a starting center, a good starting center goes for in the modern NBA. It just kind of is what it is at this point. Houston a lot of interesting stuff from them retaining some of their lower level role players. They re upped with Jabari SWEITH like we mentioned, five years, 122 million Dorian Finney Smith, they're trying to poach him away from the Lakers. Mark Stein reported that they're going to try to put together a four year offer that it might be around that like $60 million range. I really like the idea of Dorian Finney Smith in a Houston context where he's surrounded by just a ton of athleticism and physicality. That's a team that desperately needs shooting. You bring in a Kevin Durant and a Dorian Finney Smith, it just gives you so much more lineup flexibility with the UA to, with the ability to put different types of shooters in different spots on the floor. Houston's going for it man. And you know I am always going to, I'm always going to to advocate for teams that make these types of decisions. Especially when you're self aware. This was a Houston team that has an Amend Thompson that is a super exciting young player that I think has the potential to become an all NBA level type of two way talent. But his offensive development puts him in a situation where he's years away, he's years away from being that type of player. And in the short term he's still a super useful role player as this point of attack defender who's a vertical spacing threat who can. I think you're going to see a lot more four on three like short roll stuff from him this year playing off of Kevin Durant. Like you have a short term utility with the men Thompson but you look at it and it was like Jalen Green wasn't a star level ball handler in any sort of like dependable sense. Neither was Fred Shangun, you know, has his certain limitations. This was a Houston team that looked in the mirror and went we're not good enough. But we have a really strong foundation in one specific weakness in terms of high level ball handling. I'll give you two high level ball handling and off ball shooting. They're making aggressive moves to try to address those specific needs. They're shortening their window obviously, but they still have tons of assets in terms of first round draft compensation for a pivot. So you go after Dorian Finney Smith, you get a Kevin Durant, you make an attempt to try to win the title over the next year or two. But then you still have Shangoon, you still have Amen Thompson, you still have Reed shepherd and you Cam Whitmore and all these young Athletes, you still have a future that you can pivot to while also having a short term window try to make something happen. I think it makes a ton of sense. And you know Houston, I checked this morning on DraftKings, they have the second best championship odds at this point in the entire NBA. They're putting themselves in a really, really strong position on that front. James Harden New Deal 2 years 82 million now do I think the Clippers are going to go win the title next year? No. But I did find this to be really fascinating just in terms of a proof of concept of something I've believed for a long time surrounding James Harden. I talked a lot about this concept when we were talking with Sam Vicini in that pre draft episode. If you guys remember the idea of like read and react talent being super important. Guys that can catch and shoot, threes, drive, closeouts, make decisions when they're driving. Closeouts basically play with an advantage. And if you remember, there was another part of that conversation and one of the things I talked about was like most of the good teams in the NBA have a guy who specializes in generating advantages for his teammates. And James Harden still to this day is one of the very best guys in the league at generating those advantages. His ability to play out a high pick and roll and score from all three levels and playmake out of pick and roll, generating tons of short roll opportunities and catch and shoot opportunities and closeout attack opportunities. It makes it so that all of your players on the roster have advantages the majority of the time. I said before the season last year, even with the Paul George loss, I was like, this is an athletic team. It's got a lot of perimeter defenders and James Harden just gives you such a high floor on the defensive, on the offensive end of the floor that it just gives you a, just a very strong foundation for offense during the NBA regular season. And I think him getting a two year, $82 million deal even with his playoff shortcomings, even though he's not the same guy that he used to be, is just a a strong reminder that the ability to create open shots and closeouts in advantages for your role players is one of the most valuable things in the NBA. And James is going to keep cashing out until he can't do that. And another 80 million for James Harden over the course of two years. Lastly, some Milwaukee Bucks Bobby Portis signs a three year, $44 million deal. This is a really favorable number for Milwaukee and opens up a lot more options for them this summer. I've Been kind of a Bobby Portis defender for a while. There are a lot of Bucs fans that are not a big fan of his. I understand the shortcomings. I have seen some of the worst defensive tape that I, that I see around the NBA from a big. When I'm watching Bobby Portis at times he can be frustratingly inconsistent on that end of the floor, but he is a backup power forward, center, hybrid, and when it comes to backups, there's always going to be that level of inconsistency and you know, just more of a, of a, like a up and down type of approach. Right. Like, guys, if. If Bobby Portis was a good defender, he's a $35 million player. Like, because he can shoot threes at a high rate, because he can beat switches on the block, because he's a pretty solid read and react player. Bobby is a. His defensive shortcomings are what allow you to get him at a number like 3 years and 44 million. Now the Bucks need some premier athleticism. I'd be calling on guys like Bruce Brown and Caris Lavert and doing whatever I could to try to bring in some guys. I think Karris would be great for them as a guy who can handle the ball and can guard on the perimeter. Bruce, it's a little bit more clunky with the spacing fit, but they just need to bring in some guys that can really dribble, shoot, pass and defend on the perimeter, but actually run the floor and cover ground in transition. Bring just more of that athletic pop on the perimeter. Bobby taking that discounted deal just gives them a little bit more flexibility on that front. All right, guys, that's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We will be back. I'm not sure if we're gonna go tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm on the road in Denver, house hunting. I've mentioned this a couple weeks ago, but my wife and I are moving up here this summer. So kind of depending on just how shocking the news is, we'll either go tonight or we'll go tomorrow morning. I'll let you guys know. Just keep an eye on my Twitter feed. But we will have a video reacting to all of the free agency news from today no later than tomorrow morning. Again, I appreciate you guys for rocking with me and for supporting the show and I'll see you guys next time. What's up, guys? As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting Hoops tonight. They would actually be really helpful for us if you guys would take a second and leave a rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could take a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.
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The Volume.
Zoe Saldana
This is an I Heart podcast.
Podcast Summary: Hoops Tonight - Lakers Free Agency Qs: Will LA Trade LeBron James, Sign De'Andre Ayton, Retain Dorian Finney-Smith?
Podcast Information:
In this episode of Hoops Tonight, host Jason LT delves into the recent flurry of NBA free agency news, with a particular emphasis on the Los Angeles Lakers' potential maneuvers concerning LeBron James, De'Andre Ayton, and Dorian Finney-Smith. The discussion is anchored by the latest developments, including Ayton's buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers and intriguing comments from Rich Paul about LeBron's future with the Lakers.
Jason LT kicks off the discussion by addressing De'Andre Ayton's buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers, which is paving the way for him to become an unrestricted free agent. The consensus is that Ayton is likely to join the Lakers, a move driven by the team's desperate need for a competent center. Jason highlights Ayton's downsides, particularly his lack of competitiveness, noting:
"Deandre Ayton is not that type of competitor. And he's basically openly admitted this." ([15:30])
Despite these concerns, Ayton's skills make him a valuable asset for the Lakers:
Jason emphasizes that while Ayton may not be the most passionate competitor, his current capabilities and potential improvement under the Lakers' environment make him a strategic acquisition:
"A disengaged, unfocused Deandre Ayton is still several orders of magnitude better than any center the Lakers currently have in house." ([10:45])
Shifting focus to LeBron James, the host discusses recent statements by Rich Paul regarding LeBron's commitment to the Lakers. There's speculation about whether LeBron is signaling a trade request or reaffirming his stay. Jason interprets Rich Paul's quote as a push for the Lakers to remain competitive:
"LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future." ([22:15])
Jason explores four potential trade destinations for LeBron, considering factors like team urgency, salary cap flexibility, and championship viability:
Cleveland Cavaliers:
New York Knicks:
Denver Nuggets:
Dallas Mavericks:
Jason concludes that while LeBron's move remains uncertain, these destinations represent logical scenarios based on team needs and championship potential.
The discussion also touches upon the Lakers' decision to retain Dorian Finney-Smith, positioning him as a crucial component in their strategy to build a competitive roster around LeBron and Ayton. Finney-Smith's versatility and defensive capabilities are highlighted as key assets that complement the team's overall dynamics.
Towards the latter part of the episode, Jason provides a rapid-fire segment covering various NBA transactions and signings, including:
Jason LT wraps up the episode by reiterating the Lakers' strategic positioning in the free agency landscape. The potential acquisition of De'Andre Ayton and the retention of Dorian Finney-Smith, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding LeBron James' future, set the stage for an intriguing offseason. The Lakers appear committed to maximizing their championship window, whether through internal development or strategic acquisitions.
"If I was a team that is literally the most desperate team in the league with respect to the center position, you bet your ass I'd want him there." ([18:10])
Listeners are encouraged to stay tuned for further updates and engage with the show's social media platforms for ongoing discussions and analyses.
Notable Quotes:
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions from the Hoops Tonight episode, providing listeners with an insightful overview of the Lakers' strategic considerations in the ongoing NBA free agency period.