Lakers Trade Frenzy: Biggest targets for LeBron & LA, Reaves vs. D’Angelo Russell | Hoops Tonight

Lakers Trade Frenzy: Biggest targets for LeBron & LA, Reaves vs. D’Angelo Russell | Hoops Tonight

All right welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume happy Friday everybody hope all of you guys are having an incredible week well as is generally been the case since LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers we’re two weeks out from the NBA trade deadline and it

Feels like there’s going to be a whole lot of turnover with the Lakers or maybe none who knows we’ll see but there’s drama as there always is for the Lakers around this time of year and I could think of nobody better than our friend Yovan bua to come on the show covers the

Lakers for the for the athletic and he’s going to help us get to the bottom of some of the Mysteries surrounding this team heading into the deadline yovon thanks for coming on the show I I want to before we get to the to the trade deadline I saw a mention that uh from

You on Twitter earlier today from I I believe you were on a a different podcast about Darin ham and we just recently had a situation where the Milwaukee Bucks had a clear understanding internally that their coach was not the right coach for this particular team and they did something

That is really difficult but I think was the right decision and they made it a a coaching change in the middle of the season and you I had heard say that that was most likely not going to be the case for this Lakers team who had some issues

With Darin ham I think he’s got a lot more support within the front office and the ownership group that said it was a similar type of situation where it seems like there’s a consensus around the league that Darin has not done a good job with the Lakers this year what are

You hearing about the leash dingham has for the rest of the season and do you think he will still be the coach by the time we get to the playoffs I do um you know I think that he does have the support of jeie bus and Rob pinka and you know that ultimately

Those are the two head decision makers with the organization and um you know I think some of the stuff within the locker room has improved over the last few weeks since our last discussion uh the Lakers did have three significant wins I I think that Clippers win uh was

Sneakily important for his job security uh but you know beating the Clippers beating the Mavericks beating the Thunder um they had some statement wins o over the last few weeks now they’ve also had some statement losses uh with with the with the Brooklyn loss and and

Losing I mean the whole thing that kind of spurned uh you know some of the the the push back against Arvin was that Miami loss but they also had the Memphis loss and they got blown out by Phoenix and um you know I I don’t really hold the Utah and Clippers losses against

Them no LeBron in either situation but uh you know from my understanding it it would things would have to go off the rails again uh but but for a more sustained period of you know let’s say a six seven eight game losing streak uh where it’s just clear the the disconnect

Is palpable um you know players are are just checked out and and you know I don’t think it’s gotten to that point like there have been comments in the media I think if you look at the postgame availabilities there’s there’s there’s some Jabs here and there and there there’s been a lot

Of praising of opposing coaches uh no play I mean since Shams and I reported what we we did uh no player has really come out and defended darham which I think has kind of been telling uh that there’s not been any comment along the lines of he’s our head coach you know we

Have his back we we have confidence in him like it’s really been Darin defending himself publicly and then also kind of saying well I have the the backing of of Rob and Genie and and ultimately that’s what matters but I think with the way that this season has

Trended they’re below 500 uh they’re currently in that 910 mix and if they end up missing the playin or or missing the Playoffs or losing in round one that’s where you start to I think this conversation becomes relevant again and the Lakers likely re-evaluate things over over the summer uh but until that

Point I think unless things just [ __ ] and they were getting there right like they were on a four game losing streak they they had the games coming up against the Clippers against the Mavericks against the Thunder it was like uh they have the Suns game in there as well it was like

If they go on you know lose seven of nine or something like that like it might just be the the time to move on about a month ahead of the trade deadline but they sort of rided the ship again they’ve had some bad losses since then but um my understanding is he does

Have the confidence of of the front office and and ownership they did view him as a coach that would come in with championship experience a lot of experience under bud but also kind of grow into his coaching style so that they are giving him a leash in that

Regard of they still think he’s not a finished product he can improve as a coach uh but it’s it’s a delicate dance when you have a win Now situation and you don’t have I think complete buyin from the locker room where it’s like you you know I think you saw it in Milwaukee

Where uh there was several situations of Giannis checking himself into a game and Bobby poris calling out the team after the inseason tournament that those things you know ultimately built up to a point of uh I mean I don’t know if you saw the video of the Bucks dancing

Before the game that’s that looked like a pretty happy team um so I don’t know if the Lakers would would quite respond in that you know way if they moved on from Darin but I do think there’s still some issues in there but with the rotation and some of the lineup stuff

But um I think winning Kira all and and they have won some games that they needed to win but uh clearly I mean they’re five- six in 2024 so it’s not like they’re out of the woods here like they are still struggling a bit uh so I

Think but for for my understanding he’s most likely safe through the rest of the season barring things just going haywi yeah I have this Theory and this is not based on any sort of reporting not anything you’ve told me not even anything I’ve I’ve talked to other

People about behind the scenes my theory is that they were done with him and then what happened was is it became abundantly clear that he wasn’t going anywhere and then everyone was like all right fine like we got to try to make this work one way or another you know

And specifically when it comes to the Lakers like the only real like I think LeBron and AD in and of themselves are tacticians and especially when it comes to the defensive end of the ball and game planning for specific teams I think there’s a lot of that that LeBron and AD

Can kind of take the load of especially over the course of a playoff series I think we’ve seen enough of that over the years to show that those two are constantly thinking the game and and going through that side of things also you know this this offense has

Masqueraded as a cool five out make the extra pass drive and kick offense for brief stretches over the course of the last you know couple of weeks but I still think deep down like in their basketball character this is a stuck in the mud type of Brute Force offense I

Think that’s the way LeBron wants to play I think that’s the way ad wants to play I think I think that’s their kind of like natural basketball identity and so in a lot of ways I don’t even think a brilliant offensive tactician could come in here and and like turn this offense

Around I I think it’s a lot a lot of it has to do with the personnel and I think you see a lot of games like the Nets game where they you know in the first quarter the ball’s just flying around and everyone’s making the extra pass and everyone’s driving and kicking and

There’s this real fluidity and they just can’t sustain that they can only do that for short bursts before they kind of res rever revert back to what their normal basketball character is when they originally hired Darin ham I liked it from the standpoint of being a motivational move like if you remember

Frank vogle Frank vogle the one thing he is great at you know really is that defensive tactician piece but I you could just tell towards the end of that 2022 season that everyone in the locker room was kind of done playing hard for him and I think that we saw guys like

Eeme udoka come in and we saw guys like tyo come in and we saw like even johy Bops are seeing a little bit of it with the with the Blazers this year but these young former player coaches relatively young I should say former player coaches that can look eye to eye with these

Dudes and be like I need you to do this and them actually do it is the the driving force behind why the Lakers went with Darin hand because in theory kind of like with the Adrian Griffin thing you’re like okay why would you hire a rookie head coach for this job that is

Very much a win now job or experience does matter and it’s more about personality management all these different things and I literally think they went with Darin ham because they View him as a motivator and the problem is is here we are a year and a half

Later and he can’t motivate these guys they’re the worst effort and energy team in the league and so it reaches a point where you’re not getting any of the good that comes with Darin ham and some of those bad pieces are starting to kind of

Float to the surface and it is what it is I think the I think the players in that locker room have just realized that they’re that he’s not going anywhere and I think that’s why you’re still seeing some of that inconsistent effort and I think what really the only hope for this

Team to kind of re-engage is some Personnel turnover and that Personnel turnover being what essentially causes the team to feel like it’s the first day of school again and then maybe they can go on a stretch and I’ve said this before I don’t think there’s any chance

The Lakers could win the title unless they have a 20 25 game stretch where they look like a you know 60 win 60 win team basically over that stretch they need to have that kind of stretch the NBA season is in full swing and when I

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Draftking Sportsbook with code Hoops that’s h o o PS the crown is yours so that brings us to the trade deadline because if there’s not going to be any sort of turnover in the coaching staff it has to be on the roster and so here

We are I believe if I’m not mistaken the trade deadline is two weeks away and and there’s been a ton of rumors uh surrounding the Lakers a lot of the classic uh the jockeying in the media for like oh well we’re actually looking wait to this summer so we can go after

Donovan Mitchell and Trey young and it’s like oh well they actually really want Bruce Brown and you know there’s all this like jockeying going on so can you give us a summary of Where the Lakers are from the standpoint of their front office and their strategy heading into this

Deadline yeah so the Lakers are currently weighing three different paths uh from my understanding uh one would be kind of call I don’t want to say punting on the season but sort of a aing like there might not be a move out there that is going to turn this around we we’re

Going to have to figure this out with the 14 guys in the locker room with the coaching staff and we’ve played better as of late we we’ve won five of our last eight and you know let’s stick with this more offensive-minded starting lineup we’re bringing in these kind of um you

Know athletic long uh you know bigger players Off the Bench and and sort of you changing the pitches in the second quarter third quarter uh and and let’s just retain our assets uh let’s keep our young players let let’s you know keep our one tradeable first- round pick and

Then come draft night we can now move three guys and be it the the Trey young and and Donovan Mitchell names or just retaining that for uh maybe the the 2025 trade deadline uh like they would have some flexibility there uh so that’s path number one path number two is basically

Emptying the cupboard uh and saying okay we’re g to give up uh you know DLo or or ruy uh we’re willing to throw in JHS or or Max some of our young Talent we’re willing to trade the first round pick we’re willing to add in a second round

Pick a pick swap like whatever it takes to get a deal done um and I think that would be a player like dejonte Murray um I think it would be a player uh you know Zack LaVine previously but like that that type of salary or or that type of you know Fringe Allstar

Um you know looking at can we upgrade the DLo spot essentially with a better uh a better third score just a better third option on on this team uh and then path number three is a small to midsize move where maybe you’re still moving DLo maybe you’re still moving ruie or or you

Can get off Gabe uh but you are basically drawing the line of like we’re not giving up the first round pick uh and and maybe we’ll throw in a younger guy or we’ll throw in a second round pick or two but we’re we’re mainly trying to swap salaries uh swap a spot

In the rotation uh maybe add a bench guy but we’re not doing anything drastic here uh so I think right now path two and and path three are the more likely ones I I don’t see them standing Pat and doing nothing uh you have a win Now

Situation with LeBron and AD I don’t think that would sit well with LeBron given how we know he’s always looking to improve his teams and um he has been critical of this roster at various points of the Season uh talk about the shooting or talking about the lack of

Size or or the defense and whatnot so I I think if if you gave LeBron tro serum he he’d want to do something at the deadline and I I suspect that the Lakers are going to do something at the deadline historically this front office has been aggressive uh it’s just a

Matter of are they doing something big and do they feel like they can give up that first round pick give up a pick swap a second round pick whatever and actually improve the roster substantially or are they drawing a Line in the Sand and saying hey like we’re

Looking for a more marginal Improvement but maybe swapping a player or two will get us in the right direction clean up the rotation you know maybe plug a backup point guard spot add another Wing whatever um so those are I I think more of the two paths that they’re deciding

Between right now um and I think if if they had their way it would be dejonte Murray from my understanding he is their top priority right now but barring them getting Murray I think it’s trending more toward a a smaller move um and some of the names out there you know Bruce

Brown’s I think more of a mediumsized move but but Bruce Brown Dorian FY Smith tus Jones Malcolm Brogden like those are some of the names I’ve reported on and other others have as well so I think right now it’s kind of empty the cupboard for Deonte or do a smaller move

For a role player who can maybe come in and be the fit starter or be a key bench yeah that makes sense to me because I uh just to be quite Frank I think I I don’t think LeBron circling year 22 as his as his opportunity to to win the title

Right and like I just think if you punt on this season I think that’s essentially the end of the LeBron ad era I think at that point you’re you’re you’re probably going to be looking to move on unless you can bring in some Bonafide Superstar next year and again

Like if a superstar becomes available there’s just a lot of teams that have more to offer than what the Lakers have to offer so like to me that just doesn’t really seem tenable but there’s a lot of interesting names have been thrown around and I want to kind of dive into

The basketball of each guy but also take a kind of at least a a snapshot of the realistic nature of some of these names at this point in time so we’re going to play a game I’ve got seven names excuse me six names no it is seven we’re good counting a little struggling

To count get just getting back from vacation it’s taking me a minute to get up to speed so I got seven names for you and three of them are non- Lakers right now four of them are Lakers right now and I’m gonna ask you what the percentage chance you think is that they

Are that they are Lakers two weeks from now after the deadline that first name what is the percentage chance that Deonte Murray is a Laker in two weeks what is the percentage chance I would say 45% um so right under that 50% Mark I think naturally you have to be a

Bit more conservative when projecting trades this was a deal that I reported on was very close uh two weeks ago uh and the framework of that deal was uh D’Angelo Russell Jaylen Hood chafino uh a fir the 2029 first round pick and additional draft Capital be it they’re

Still trying to figure out is that going to be a pick swap is that going to be a second round pick um but that would be that that was the framework of that deal and uh part of the push back on Atlanta’s end was they want Austin

Reeves uh if they’re going to do a one forone deal which the Lakers obviously aren’t interested in doing uh and then they kind of the the second wave of push back was okay well we don’t want DLo so you have to find a third team to facil

Itate this so the Lakers over the last couple weeks have been canvasing the league trying to find a potential third team most likely a lottery team that would be looking to take on DLo salary Lakers give out uh you know a second round pick or maybe a couple uh to to

Kind of appease them uh maybe get back another player uh and you know add a couple pieces uh potentially you know expanding the deal uh but you know that that was so that’s been happening you know those talks got really close a couple weeks ago since then they’ve

Stalled but the Lakers have been canvasing the league um so from my understanding D jonte is their top priority uh that is the guy that they’ve targeted as uh someone who could be a better fit next to Austin Reeves in the back court um you know he has regressed

Defensively since his San anonio days but they still I mean he’s still a better Defender than D’Angelo Russell like yes you take a little bit I mean you take a solid hit in the shooting and and playmaking department but he does have that downhill Verve and athleticism

And speed speed that the team has been lacking since losing uh Dennis shuder last year so I think looking at Murray I mean he’s got four more years his extension kicks in next season uh he does have a $13 million trade kicker which could be spread out o over the

Next four years so his salary is a little bit higher than it appears on paper uh but I think it’s someone who you know late 20s he can grow with the ad Austin core I think he does compliment Austin pretty well and the Lakers have identified more so the the

Perimeter speed and athleticism at the guard spot as the the need that they want to improve upon uh I think you and I are in agreement it’s probably more of a three and D Wing is probably the bigger need but uh those guys are hard

To come by uh if you do swap D out for a three and D Wing you are potentially creating a different hole at the point guard spot you’re not replacing that playmaking and and um you know that that level of just you know ball handling and and command that he’s had over the

Offense recently so I think they view it as we are trading some strengths for different strengths but it is just a more natural fit uh W with dejonte and Austin and then on top of that you have this guy now for four years whereas DLo has a player option and that kind of

Puts you in an interesting predicament depending on how the rest of his season goes so um I would say deante wouldn’t put it above 50% just because with with these situation like once you have talks get to the 11th you know the the one yard line 5 yard line whatever

And they fall through there’s always the risk that they don’t get back to that point again uh but you know again from everything I’ve heard Lakers are prioritizing djon and therefore I would say about 45% feels right to me yeah I to be clear I like the dejonte Murray

Move in the sense that it obviously makes the Lakers better I mean we don’t have to we don’t have to Galaxy brain this like to me the D’Angelo Russell has a ton of playmaking value in the regular season but I do think that there’s a pretty extensive history that shows that

When the athleticism and physicality goes up a level D’Angelo Russell’s impact as a primary on ball guy goes down a level Once you turn into a guy who’s working off the ball a lot you’re there there’s a diminishing return compared to like a like a really skilled offensive player versus a kind of

Skilled offensive player there’s a diminishing return versus an on ball role right like even even when it comes to the Austin DLo debate like there’s no out that like Austin’s not capable of having a 27- seven stretch over a over a six-game stretch like this where he’s

Just picking teams apart as this primary offensive initiator and D’s been awesome over that stretch uh that said like when we get to the postseason it is going to be more LeBron and AD it is going to be more posting up and more in the mud kind

Of like Bully ball type of basketball and in that off ball role even though DLo provides a ton of value there he’s been one of the better spot up players in the league this year his value there is a diminishing return there de jonay Murray absolutely can play alongside

Austin Reeves to close playoff games I have no worries about that whatsoever d’angel uh dejonte Murray is a better defensive player than people remember him being uh from his time with the Hawks and you know even last night in the in the Warriors game like in that

First half in particular did a really good job on Steph and was a big part of getting him off to a rough shooting start he’s got quickness he’s got length in particular is a big one for him that helps a lot and it’s more just about

Whether or not he can kind of recapture that effort and energy but the the big thing for me is Doon can just beat people off the dribble like he just can’t there is a play in the first half of the Warriors game last night where he’s coming up the right side and he’s

Got Andrew Wiggins on him in a straight ISO and he just hits him with a right to left crossover and toasts him off the dribble and draws a foul at the basket it’s like there’s nobody on the Lakers that can do that this year not there’s

Literally not a single guy on the roster like even LeBron it’s way more bully Ball even with Anthony Davis it’s way more bully ball Austin and DLo needs screens like there’s a huge value that comes there jonte Murray is having a much better shooting season that he has

In the rest of his career a lot of people say outlier but I would say that in my time watching the Hawks the last two years deon’s gotten a lot better playing off the ball just as he’s had to play next to to Trey young so like I

Like Deonte Murray but I prefer Bruce Brown and I’m going to break it down but I want to start by a talk more about the realistic uh nature of that type of deal so what is the percentage chance that Bruce Brown is a Laker in two

Weeks I’d say 20% uh so a a significant drop off um I think there there’s a couple things there uh you know one the Lakers have had interest in Bruce Brown dating back to last summer I I reported on it uh where there was about a 48 hour

Window before he ended up signing with Indiana uh where the Lakers were confident he was going to sign with them for the non-t taxpayer mid-level exception uh because at that point that had been his reported market and he was weighing the the Lakers the Mavericks the Knicks there were several teams

Interested in uh him at that you know 11 12 million doll uh price point uh but all of a sudden uh you know a few hours before uh the fre agency starts Indiana decides to back up the Brinks truck and offer him this interesting two-year uh you know

4344 million deal uh W with a team option on the second year so really it’s a ballooned uh onee deal and you know he he ends up signing that and and now you know they’re able to flip that ultimately for Pascal siakam and and really improve their roster uh so the

With with Bruce Brown it’s an interesting situation just because he does have a a team option for 23 million next season and on paper probably not worth that amount of money um but if you don’t pick that up um you are risking him you know potentially leaving for for

Nothing and uh you know then you just traded an asset in in DLo or ruy for Bruce Brown and then you’re kind of just losing that asset this you know upcoming offseason so I think for the Lakers there’s definitely interest in him I you know he in my opinion he had his best

Series of the championship run against the Lakers so they saw up close in personal like what he could do but just his versatility offensively you know functioned basically as uh Denver’s backup point guard for a lot of that run uh but as we know in Brooklyn and

Detroit he he’s played small ball Center at times so he can really play one through five in in some regards and and just imagine slotting him next to LeBron and ad uh you could go bigger with with uh ruy if if they’re able to keep him in

That deal or or Vando or or you could go smaller and Bruce can guard up so like you just have have so much versatility adding him into the rotation they haven’t really had a guy like this uh maybe since Kyle kozma off the top of my head like that’s maybe different players

Of course but like just just that versatility to do several different types of things both offensively and defensively from The Wing Spot um you know it’s been a while for them so I think Bruce is going to have a a lot of league-wide interest um he is I think a

Lot of teams like I look at Philly I think he would be a great fit there uh so I I think there could be more of a bidding war ultimately for Bruce Brown as a temporary win now move and once you get into a bidding war the Lakers don’t

Have the assets really to outbid most teams so I I think uh whereas dejonte you know Atlanta wants essentially two first round picks that the Lakers so far have really been the only Suitor interested in giving up that much uh with JHS kind of counting as a first

Round pick in in that scenario so I think with with Bruce it’s just going to be so much League wide interest that that I don’t know if the Lakers can outbid a Dallas or a Philadelphia or New York once it really comes down to offering your best I think I think also

It’s a very non- Laker thing to do like I mean like go for the big name or go for the guy who’s the Dirty Work guy like it’s just it’s a very non it’s a very non- Laker thing to do and that that’s why I’m with you like I’m super

Skeptical about the realistic nature of a Bruce Brown to La move why I like it is is really simple to me it comes down to like some of my core basketball beliefs like right now I think the Lakers are are being hurt by something that is a consistent issue that we see

Around the league which is it doesn’t really matter how much athleticism and size you have in the front court at like power forward and Center if you don’t have that in the back court to complement it I mean we literally see this with with Milwaukee it’s like okay

Here you go you’ve got Giannis and Brook Lopez well they literally can’t protect the paint because they’ve got two of the worst point of attack defenders in the league and and two uh you know smaller players at the one and the two my is this a big part of why they went after

Terry rier they have this real athleticism and force at the power forward spot and at the center spot but they don’t really have it at the guard spot so they go after a guy like Terry Rosier like dejonte Murray to me is fast and he is long but what he’s not is

Strong he doesn’t bring a real a real Force to the position to me Bruce Brown is one of those guys in the same way that Alex cruso did in the 2020 season when you put him next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the same time in a playoff setting where you’re getting

Engaged LeBron there’s a certain amount of like wave after wave of like unbelievable force and power at every position group I think Bruce Brown at the two makes it so that Austin and Tori and as you’re one and three is no longer an athleticism issue I think I think

There’s a dejonte Murray scenario where he comes in and he looks more or less like Atlanta Hawks to jonte Murray and he gets you 20s something points a game and has some defensive moments but he’s kind of iffy I think there’s a question mark as to whether or not Darin and

LeBron and AD will be able to look at dejon and be like look dude we need you to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league that’s what we need from you whereas I think if they looked at Bruce Brown and asked of that

Asked that of him he’d be like that’s what I do in this league that’s what I’ve always done in this league of course I will do that for you guys you know what I mean and I think there’s a lot of upside there so like when I when

I look sheerly from the perspective of the basketball then when you when you add the simple fact that in the playoffs there’s going to be a lot of LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the ball so all of a sudden that all of those dirty work things and that off

Ball cutting and screening and stuff becomes so much more important than in the regular season like there’s no doubt that there’s going to be games Deonte turns up turns out to be a Laker there’s going to be games in March where he has 35 points and you win and it looks great

And that’s amazing but I do think there’s something to be said about we all agree the Lakers aren’t winning the title unless LeBron and AD get near the 2020 level and and if they do that it’s more important to have a Bruce Brown than it is to have a Deonte Murray

Deonte would help a struggling LeBron and AD but a struggling LeBron and AD aren’t winning any titles to begin with so that’s kind of like my reasoning behind it I I am just a big believer in really good two-way role players around LeBron James and Anthony Davis and I

Always have been which brings me to another two-way role player what is the percentage chance that Dorian finny Smith is a Laker in two weeks I’d say about 30% uh he’s someone that they’ve also liked uh there’s kind of a trend here of of several of these

Guys that Lakers have had their eyes on for uh quite a while but DFS was someone that they were interested in dating back to last season uh over the offseason again that there was interest in you know trying to to find a way to trade

For him uh but I mean I I don’t know what what you thought of his performance against the the Lakers uh the Brooklyn win but like I thought he was defending Le a good job on LeBron such a good job like as well as anyone has defended LeBron uh to to my

You know recollection this season and uh you know he didn’t he didn’t have the the best shooting night and there was people complaining about it on Twitter of this is the guy you want to trade for but like if I could find a way if I’m the Lakers and I can upgrade

Uh you know Brey to DFS and now all a sudden you have that slotting of DFS is your starting uh you know starting small forward you still have the the Austin and and DLo back court and and now you know toan’s coming off the bench it just

Everyone’s kind of aligned in in more natural roles and I think he is the type of guy who uh you know can make the the Austin D pairing work and uh you know V’s been the guy of course but with the shooting and it’s been a little bit

Better recently he’s been more of an offensive weapon but that’s the Lakers hesitation is just you know is he going to uh tank the offense to an extent where it’s sort of negating having our four best players or our four best offensive players uh you know out there

Together uh whereas a guy like DFS he’s basically just going to do the dirty work he’s going to rebound he’s going to spot up uh he can finish in transition and he’s going to defend uh an opponent’s best one through three or one through four players so I think honestly

Among the options like he’s again he’s not the sexiest name but DFS to me might just be the the best fit with like the contract uh not having to give up as much potentially as certainly as as deante but even potentially as a Bruce Brown now there was a report that

Brooklyn’s looking for two first round picks for Dorian I I think that’s pretty high but again you hear similar things with Alex Caruso like so the the price point for these three in D guards and wings is pretty high um but if there’s a way for the Lakers to

Say let’s say they do the D jante trade but they Loop in Brooklyn as the third team like if you could get Dorian and d jante and now you are giving up DLo you’re giving up ruy you’re giving up the pick uh maybe you have to you’re

Giving up JHS maybe you even have to throw in Max but if there’s a way to get both of those guys like I would love that starting lineup of jonte Austin uh Dorian LeBron and ad with you know Christian uh Vando uh tan and you know

Gabe or or maybe you can get a buyout point guard and now all of a sudden like that ninan rotation makes a lot more sense to me uh you have a lot more uh you defense in the starting group you have more athleticism uh better rebounding and that that fiveman I mean

That that’s a fiveman unit you can actually close games with as opposed to I I think the current starting lineup so uh I think the Lakers have had interest in in in Dorian again he’s another guy who I think there’s going to be plenty like every team could use a Dorian finy

Smith in my opinion um so I I do think there’s going to be a lot of of interest in again you know D Dallas potentially uh reuniting with him but but Philly and uh so the Lakers are kind of in the the market for a lot of these guys that are

Are going to have multiple suitors but uh to me Dorian is a at a slightly lower price it is probably more realistic than yeah with Doran FY Smith in particular I I love I should say this with all these deals I like all these deals in the

Context of additional deals like I think that ideally what would cause me to have a lot more optimism about the Lakers and their Championship potential within this season would be to have a clear five and one of the problems that kind of materializes with any of these deals is

Like you it’s like okay let’s say they just trade for Dorian Finn Smith you’re like okay maybe that makes the Austin DLo back court more tenable I personally don’t think it’s tenable at all under any circumstances like I I I just think that I I don’t think you can beat the

Best teams in the league starting Austin and DLo together I think it’s cute for the regular season I think it I think it is the right move for right now in the short term to get to the deadline but but the bottom line is you you got to

Have some sort of athleticism and power in your back court it’s just too vital of a of a position especially in the Western Conference when you’re looking at the types of teams that that that you have to get through to get out of the conference

So like you bring in dor F Dorian finny Smith you have issues in the back court you bring in Deonte Murray and it’s like okay I’m really Austin Deon tan is a very thin group even though dejonte changes the length and speed at that two guard spot it’s still very thin right

You go after Bruce Brown you’re like okay well what about the offense now we still have these offensive issues uh when you get DLo out of the picture so there’s still these question marks so again if you’re in a situation where you’re needing to Red redirect a guy

Like D’Angelo Russell in a deal that brings back it to jonte Murray I would be doing everything in my power to bring back some sort of upgrade of tan prince in some way shape or form as part of that deal maybe I don’t know uh sadique

Bay is in a contract here may maybe you can get Atlanta to part ways with him too like maybe you uh like there there’s got to be some sort of like smaller upgrade out there that kind of coincides with these two because at the end of the

Day this Laker team is so convoluted in their rotation you have to make especially with Darin ham staying on board you have to make really easy decisions for him like you got to make it so that Darin has no choice but to play the you know these specific

Groupings and I think I think by by kind of simplifying that process at the one two three you you can accomplish that goal so now that we’ve kind of Hit the uh the three guys that they’d be targeting primarily let’s talk about some Lakers what is the percentage chance that

D’Angelo Russell is a Laker in two weeks i’ put it at around 40% so more likely than not that he’s traded uh I mean again we we’ve discussed this multiple times like let’s go back to the offseason that DLo contract was structured to be traded uh you know he

Waved his deao no trade clause which was a new stipulation uh in the new CBA and the the Lakers sign that with the thought of this is you know we can keep him of course and and see how the season goes see how he plays see how things fit

Together but with him having a player option on that second year uh it’s not this Albatross contract uh where you’re committing you know a bunch of money to to DLo and you can’t move it uh but the thing I’ve been trying to convey because I I know DLo and Austin naturally get

Pitted against each other within the fan base I see it on a nightly basis I you know anytime I I tweet anything it’s always like well why not trade Austin or or why trade DLo and um you know one thing that I think people have to

Remember is the Lakers are kind of in a lose lose proposition right now with DLo with his contract because in having a player option for next season uh 18.7 million uh either he’s opting in because he doesn’t have a market and you know maybe that the season hasn’t gone as

Well uh he regresses a little bit or he has another rough postseason uh series and now all of a sudden he’s looking at the market there there’s just not really a clear suor for him so he opts in and then in that case it’s not it’s not the

You know the worst case scenario but necessarily but it is like okay now we have a guy who probably isn’t worth the money that we’re paying him or like he opted in because there wasn’t a market this isn’t a great asset for us uh or option two is DLo continues playing like

This for the rest of the way Lakers keep him and now of a sudden there are several teams looking at him as okay you know DLo has put it together he’s been consistent for a a large stretch of a season maybe he had a good first round

Series or whatever and now it’s like okay well if if you’re the Lakers you either have to pay him for multiple years uh and and probably give him a you know solid raise or you risk losing him for nothing and then you had this asset that you could have flipped at the trade

Deadline but now you’ve lost him and you have really no way of replacing him given the the other salary you’ve already committed so to me um like sure there is a a middle ground where yo just ends up staying and and he plays really

Well and like but that to me is a little bit of a fantasy land it’s either he’s playing really well and he’s opting out and you’re probably losing that asset or having to really commit to just LeBron ad dowlo Austin like that’s our core and as we’re discussing like I don’t know if

You can really win without that force them together or again you are now you know having him opt in at as a potentially you know negative asset so for the lake Lakers again this was a contract that was designed to be moved it was supposed to be a tradable midsize

Contract that you could PIR with another one like say a ruy haimura or Gabe Vincent or just one kind of separate for again dejonte a Bruce brown one of those guys making like 18 to 22 million so to me for people kind of wondering why DLo

And not Austin Austin has two more years and it’s a very Team friendly uh you know he’s making about 25 $26 million total over the next couple years and to to compare that to potentially having to pay D 20 plus million next year if he

Ops out like you know even if you think D is a better player he’s not worth double Austin Reeves and and that’s how the Lakers you know view it and that’s kind of the tricky spot they’re in right now with DLo where again it was designed

To be traded and that’s ultimately why I think it’s more likely than not that he is moved by the so I’m so glad you broke that down because I think that’s a really really important piece of information for Laker fans to understand and like it is not just a straight up

Basketball conversation between Austin and DLo there are real uh cap cap implications I want to I want to give my two cents but I want to ask this question first because I think it kind of relates to the two so let’s talk about Austin Reeves real quick what is

The percentage chance that Austin Reeves is a Laker in two weeks I’d put it at about 95% um which is really high uh and you know everything I’ve heard like jeie bus loves him um and again as we’re talking if you have the if you have the approval

Of the owner uh that goes a long way there’s also a sense of uh he he’s the latest Laker Discovery the Lakers Pride themselves on their scouting department and finding these hidden gems late in the first round second round undrafted uh so to to have Austin I mean look this

Guy was just named a finalist for the Olympic team and obviously played for Team USA over the summer like and there’s a reason why every conversation Lakers have you know one of the first asks is we want Austin Reeves like in you know put Austin Reeves in this deal

They’re not saying that about D and I know again I think DLo has been the better player for the last couple weeks you could argue that in the aggregate of the entire season D has had the better season but just from a league-wide perception perspective Austin has a much

Better uh League wide approval rating compared to D’angelo Russell and that’s even taking out the contracts all that stuff just like how they are viewed as players Austin is viewed as a winning player whereas DLo is much more polarizing so I think from that perspective of having a guy under

Contract for at least two more years it’s a homegrown Talent who you know I mean LeBron loves him LeBron can’t speak highly enough of of Austin um well-regarded teammate you know beloved in the locker room all those fact and of course he’s a fan favorite and he’s

Super popular he’s just one of those guys that uh he moves the needle and uh you know I don’t know how much you factor that in but he is someone who uh you know is a very popular player and I think for the Lakers That Matters to

Some extent so I think you know from my understanding it would have to be a clear-cut third All-Star level guy like a Lori marinin if Utah’s putting Lori marinin on the table the Lakers can get in that conversation sure they would consider throwing in Austin Reeves in

That situation or if it’s maybe one of these bigger deals where they’re getting back to three you know highlevel starters or or rotation guys and Austin is kind of the difference in it they would consider it in that scenario but really I I just don’t see that playing

Out that way I think a lot of fans despite some fans starting to kind of sour on Austin I think a lot of people would be upset if they traded him again given the contract like to me that’s one of the best role playing contracts in the league considering the next couple

Years of how much they’re paying him so I think Austin is going to be a Laker past the deadline it’s really DLo ruy Gabe those are the three names to watch yeah I think I think the the like both Austin and DLo have had multiple phases where they’ve struggled this year and I

Think a big part of that is their own redundancy like it’s like oh Austin’s hasn’t been playing Super well in the last couple of weeks it’s like yeah and guess who has been DLo you know like that this is kind of how this works in a

Lot of cases like you when you’re a skill guard and there’s another skill guard on the team and so there you know the ball kind of has to be in your hand in a certain way for you to impact winning to or I should say put up the

Numbers that you’re accustomed to like of course there’s going to be an EB and flow there to me there are three reasons why D’Angelo Russell is the obvious guy to trade instead of Austin one you mentioned the contract just from the standpoint of salary filler Austin makes

$12 million this year so if you want to go get a really good player you’ve got to give up Austin and more whereas D’Angelo Russell makes more than 17 million this year it’s just a little bit easier to match salaries with them secondly the contract is just better for

The future of the Lakers it’s a like you mentioned it’s a discounted deal for a highquality role player in this league so to be honest like it it just makes more sense to use DLo because you might end up using Austin in a trade down the

Line uh to go get a better player or like you might have a point three years from now where you’re really glad that Austin makes what he makes as you’re building a certain type of roster around him and Anthony Davis right and then the last piece it’s really this simple to me

Uh every game during the playoffs last year you wanted Austin on the floor for any sort of important moment uh with ELO it depended on the night some nights you were like oh man like he saved our ass against Memphis in game four you know some you know there were a couple

Warriors games in there too where he looked really good but then there were these others where you’re like oh DLo doesn’t have it tonight you got to get him off the floor he’s downright destructive to us right now that was what it was like and so like Austin I

Would just I call it like matchup uh like uh resiliency like like Austin is just capable of being on the floor in those fiveman groupings against more different types of playoff opponents and so when you combine those three things it makes it pretty uh pretty pretty simple uh and straightforward from that

From that standpoint and you’re right like Lakers fans have just kind of pitted the two of them against each other and it’s it’s they’re both really good basketball players who do very different things I know they’re both skill guards but even within that context they’re very different right like I mean even just

D’s way way better off the ball I think or on the ball I mean uh I think Austin is a better connector off of LeBron and AD than D’Angelo Russell is so like there’s all these like different kind of uh uh uh elements between the two of

Them and they’re kind of stepping on each other’s toes a bit and you need upgrades at the two and three D’Angelo Russell is just kind of like collateral damage there in a lot of ways and like I I almost feel bad for DLo because he has

Been such a good leader this year and he has had such you know uh impactful stretches and like there’s just there I said before the season uh with you on this show that I thought D’Angelo Russell getting traded was the safest bet in the NBA this year and I’m

Actually surprised that it’s only 60% at this point but I think you and I would agree like six games since joining the starting lineup 27 and seven on 5050 90 like the dude the dude’s hooping right now and I think that that’s kind of added a little bit of a question mark to

It but I think when the cooler heads prevail everyone’s going to remember that’s the best option all right we’re going to go rapid fire through these last two because we’re going a little long today uh what is the percentage chance that ruy hamura a Laker in two

Weeks I’d say 65% uh so more likely than not um I do think the Lakers are going to look into moving ruie uh in a couple of names we just mentioned Bruce Brown Jr Dorian finny Smith um I think in in those types of Trades they would prefer

To put ruy as the centerpiece rather than D and you know again keeping DLo and and putting him next to DFS or even putting him next to Bruce Brown like I think they would view those guys as as plugging some of the wing holes and and

Maybe being a a cleaner fit uh with that back court in comparison with ruie who um you know despite I think playing much better as the season has gone on has still kind of had his his minutes capped he’s sort of been in just this 18 to 22

Minute a night bench roll despite however well he’s playing and I think you were mentioning making things easier for Darin I think if there is a way like you know we can you know we we talk about how great ruy is as an asset or or this or that

What whatever we like about his game but like if Darin and the coaching staff just isn’t viewing him in the same way uh and you can go out and turn him into a player that they will view in that light that’s where I think that you know

The Lakers are considering some of those things um so with ruie I think now the flip side is ruie is a a polarizing player he’s been a polarizing player since Washington there are a lot of people who scoffed at the Lakers paying him uh the contract that they did this

Offseason I think that’s crazy I think it yeah I mean I I I obviously am I’m I’m more in the Lakers side with this but there are ruy to me is more of an eye of the beholder asset of there are people who will look at the playoff run

And and um some of the the highs with ruie and then there are people who will look at the Washington stint and like I mean if you look at his regular season production before breaking out in game one against Memphis he was pretty Inc consistent and and part of that was his

Role and part of that was the way the Lakers used him but part of that has just been like ru’s been somewhat inconsistent he has dealt with a lot of injuries in his short career he’s dealt with multiple injuries this season uh so

I I think ruie is a little bit more of a a it’s more of a negative asset than DLo is he does have two more years on his deal so that’s another thing whereas D could be technically an expiring if he opts out uh ruy you’re you’re committing

Not just this season but two more years so I I think I don’t think it’s a bad contract personally but I I do think around the league there are people who view it that way and I think ruie trading that contract is a little bit harder than getting off of say DLo who

Just has a player off see I I’m so surprised by that um perception around the league just because like the thing the thing with ruie that’s so simple to me is like he’s a big strong athlete that can actually impact games or impose his physicality on playoff game like to

Me that that that that is if that’s not worth in the teens of millions in the NBA I don’t really know what is um I’m I’m genuinely surprised by that there’s offensive inconsistency with him but a huge part of that is his role and some

Of the way that that is fluctuated to me ruy hamur is a guy that I think like the dead giveaway for this by the way is if the Lakers traded ruy half the fan base would be pissed off about it that that’s how you know Ru is really good and to me

Like he’s another redundant see he plays the same position as LeBron that’s why he doesn’t get a lot of minutes Darin clearly views him as a guy that he can’t play on at the three next to LeBron and AD especially in specific matchups so again like you said why would you pay

That much money for a guy that you’re only going to pay 20s something minutes a night and sit on the bench for every closing group right and I do think there are teams out there that would be like oh like he’s a good Heth Defender and rebounder who has shown that he can

Knock down spot up threes and attack mismatches in the post like that’s a useful archetype especially if you can make sure he’s the fifth best player in your lineup and there are going to be teams out there to like I you don’t think Sacramento could use a guy like Ru

Haimura you don’t think a team like well Indiana before the seak trade a team like Oklahoma City could use a guy like ruy hamuro when they don’t have a real fourman like there are lot that he plays a very important archetype I think he

Has real value um and I like him I like to me if you can turn DLo and ruy which is two redundancies that you want to bench at the end of games into two guys that are obvious guys that you’d play at the end of games why not and so from

There like I don’t even understand why it’s not on the table that the Lakers don’t do a DLo centered package towards Atlanta for dejonte Murray and then turn around and do a Ru hamura Center package to Brooklyn Brooklyn by the way another team that does not have a power forward

They just don’t have one so like like you don’t think that that that guy couldn’t look good next to Nick Claxton in a helps side role as a guy that can shoot and attack mismatches next to their thin wings like to me to me they’re I’m genuinely surprised by that

But I I do think uh I do think that they have to do their due diligence to at least look to see if you can turn him into a player that fits in the starting lineup all right last guy before we get out of here what is the percentage

Chance that Gabe Vincent is a Laker in two weeks I would say about 70% um you know he he’s I mean he’s the most negative of these three uh in terms of of League wide perception right now just because he’s coming off a knee surgery uh we saw

Not too long ago what happened with Kendrick nun and uh that bone bruise turned into a season ending injury and with a guy coming like already a a guy who’s you know more of a bench player um you know probably a seventh eighth man uh ideally in like a contending uh you

Know pecking order uh but that guy coming off a knee injury uh and you have two more years on his deal for about 22 million or so over the next couple years uh you know Gabe is someone that uh you I think the Lakers would have to attach

An asset to be it either a younger player or you know a second round pick or two um or or whatnot so I I think more likely I see Gabe as like if they are expanding a deal and they have to match salary and there’s a way to add

Him in and you know add in again whether it’s a younger player or or a a second round pick something like that that’s where I could see Gabe getting moved um I mean you could argue that W with that uh1 million salary or so that you could

Flip him for um you know could you go get tus Jones and and you you would have to you know attach assets to make that enticing for for Washington but like is that enough for at tias Jones or someone in that kind of 12 to 15 million range

Um and again maybe you add in Max or JHS to to kind of make the salary work and entice them so you know here’s a a young player that can be part of your future core but uh Gabe right now the Lakers are looking into moving

Um you know I think that’s that’s kind of the most natural upgrade of just a player who’s injured and and not contributing right now and if you can add a rotation player like that that’s a home run um so they’re looking into it it’s just right now uh no one’s really

Um you know bending over to to you know trade for a a player who’s injured and and has two more years left on his deal with kind of an uncertainty of like what what are the long-term ramifications of this this knee injury that has now clearly become serious enough to keep

Him out for a couple months he comes back and immediately uh isn’t feeling right and then he has to have surgery yeah I I the reason why I brought it up is he’s got a good midsize salary to throw into traits and the reason why the main

Reason why I brought it up is like I actually view it as pretty low as well simply from the standpoint as of um in the event that you try D’Angelo Russell you could probably still use a skill guard Off the Bench and I do think

There’s I I I would imagine he can still come back in a month or so like I I don’t think he’s done for the season right so like from that standpoint it’s kind of like a shoe in it’s almost like you’re trading for Gabe Vincent after

The deadline if that makes sense um but then again like that’s where I look at it if you could somehow package him with a you know a couple of second round picks and get tus Jones it’s like okay now you’re you’re upgrading that backup skill guard position and tus Jones is a

Guy unlike D’Angelo Russell who’s super comfortable coming off the bench and running bench units and just kind of being in that specific role but I thought it was worth asking given his contract information all right Yoon I thought you did an incredible job today breaking down for us not just the

Types of targets the Lakers are going after but also just the reasoning behind it and I think that’ll help Lakers fans understand uh a lot about you know how this process works uh is there any uh thing that you can shout out in terms of uh articles that you’ve been working on

And other stuff with the athletic right now yeah um I have a mailbag coming out Friday morning um so by the time you’re listening and watching this U you know it should be out so I’ll be diving more into some of these these trade questions and and different things to to watch for

Ahead of the deadline so uh be on the lookout for that on the athletic and be sure to follow me on all social platforms all right thanks as always for supporting the show everyone we’ll be back tomorrow with some game breakdowns and then we also have an instant

Reaction video on Saturday night for Lakers Warriors I will see you guys Tomorrow he

Jason Timpf is joined by The Athletic’s Jovan Buha to discuss the top players the Los Angeles Lakers will target at the NBA’s trade deadline. Who has the best chance of coming to LA? And who best fits with LeBron James and Anthony Davis? The guys also discuss the likelihood of head coach Darvin Ham surviving the season as well as why D’Angelo Russell is the preferred piece over Austin Reaves.

Timeline:
00:00 – Will Darvin Ham remain Lakers coach?
10:07 – Lakers trade deadline strategy
15:36 – Laker trade target game
15:59 – Dejounte Murray
22:37 – Bruce Brown
29:26 – Dorian Finney-Smith
35:47 – D’Angelo Russell getting traded?
39:14 – Why trade D’Angelo Russell over Austin Reaves?
40:03 – Will Austin Reaves be traded?
46:17 – Rui Hachimura trade likelihood
51:30 – Gabe Vincent staying?
54:55 – Check out Jovan’s stuff!

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