Windy wants DEFENSIVE HELP for the Lakers! + The Warriors should TRADE Klay Thompson?! | First Take

Windy wants DEFENSIVE HELP for the Lakers! + The Warriors should TRADE Klay Thompson?! | First Take

How should the Lakers best help themselves at the deadline okay obviously LeBron wants them to make a trade to help the team that’s he might as well tattooed on his forehead okay you know that’s that’s clear all right so when you look at the Lakers let’s just talk about some truths they are

Over the last 15 games and they did just have a very good six-game road trip I was looking at this trip going man this could be two and four one and five of it’s a disaster especially since LeBron and and AD were a little bag up they go

4- two awesome great they come back above 500 in better position when they left terrific you look at the last 15 games they’re in the bottom 10 in defense in the league and that is with some good defensive performances at the end of this trip that’s just not getting

It done you also look at their three-point shooting they’re 28th in the league and three-pointers per game they have shot a better percentage as The Season’s gone along but Molly they enter every game basically knowing they’re going to get outscored on the three-point line line so you don’t need

To have Jerry West running your team or red hour boach running your team to say that they need defensive help and they need three-point shooting um and especially since Jared Vanderbilt who’s one of their best perimeter Defenders suffered a foot injury on this trip that

Could knock him out for a long period of time if not for the rest of a regular season so that’s what they need they need th a guy who can maybe defend and shoot in the perimeter by the way half the NBA is looking for that type of

Player now we know that what do they have to do to do to get that player they have one second one first round pick that they can trade in 2029 LeBron will be retired I think uh ad pass his prime they got to be real careful giving away

That pick unprotected they’ll give it away but they got to be real careful the other thing is they have ltin Reeves they don’t want to give him away they’ve got him in the starting lineup with D’Angelo Russell it’s working right now they don’t they don’t want to do that so

That’s what they got they got that first round pick and they got this need and they got competition with scarce with scarce players available the the the recipe isn’t right for that to lead to a really impactful deal by Thursday not impossible but the recipe isn’t right especially when one they don’t know

Whether LeBron is going to pick up his option I think they probably he will and that I don’t think that that’s like keeping them up at night but they don’t know that and two if they do wait until June they would have three first round picks to trade a better idea of what

Happened with this team and a better idea in a potentially deeper market and so that’s the table Molly if you can figure out how to to do that give LeBron a call you know you know what the Lakers when you have Anthony Davis and LeBron James you’re built on what championships

Every single season you go into the season is all about championships it’s nothing it’s nothing more nothing less there no in between it’s no oh we made a great playoff run it’s all about championships that’s all what LeBron James is about so when you see LeBron body language or you see his social

Media and you see the signals right and it’s obvious that he wants them to make make a move and I understand that but what move is it out there that’s going to actually take the Lakers over the hump right I hear a lot of speculations about the jonte Murray I I think de

Jonte Murray is a hell of a player I don’t think he moves the needle enough for the Lakers in the Western Conference to get them past the likes of a Denver Nuggets a Los Angeles Clippers or even a Minnesota Timberwolves who I believe they haven’t beaten once this season so

When I think about the Lakers and I understand Brun he wants to move the gold post he wants to move the needle he wants to make a move but I think everybody need to keep a cool booty I think everybody need to keep a cool booty because let me say this the way

That Anthony Davis has been playing of late that’s the person that’s going to take them to wherever they need to go we saw it last season in the uh second half of the Season ad was arguably the best player in the season right now ad should

Be at the tops a defensive player of the year that that performance he put on in Madison Square Garden was something special a defensive Clinic last night he T he got a triple double doing it at All Phases this is the healthiest we have seen them so I’m looking around the

League unless you maybe could you know Swap and do some things and bring back a Alex Caruso a dog on the perimeter I think the Lakers got to stay in pack because D’Angelo Russell has been balling let’s be honest and I was at actually the one saying hey they need to

Package him up and send them somewhere but he’s proving me wrong over the last what 10 to 15 games uh by the way guys NBA trade deadline is 3 pm Eastern on Thursday I know you two will be a part of it NBA today will have you covered they’re

Going to have a special 1 p.m. Eastern ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday Malika and the crew so set your DVRs for that if people still set their DVR I might be dating myself right now I have YouTube TV um all right you mentioned the Clippers I got a quick

Take for you perk uh there is another team in La that’s thriving and that would be those Clippers they’ve won nine of their last 10 games after beating the Hawks and are 26 and five since December 1st perk tell me this best team in the west right

Now they’re the best team in the league Molly when you look at them they have the they have the best depth in the league they’re stacked at the center position they’re stacked at at the wing position when you think about Kawai Paul George uh Coffey Terence uh uh Trey man

When you look at all those guys they are stacked and also James Harden that leadership at the point guard position has been spectacular they have the best one of the best coaches in the game and let me let me say this when it comes down to the most important player that’s

Going to take you over the top in the in the in the league is kawh Lena right now I mean I’m picking him any day of the week over anybody else in the league when it comes down to him matching up in the seven game series he looks healthy

On both ends of the floor he’s playing at an MVP type level this team is clicking on all cylinders and let me be the first to apologize because I was one I was one of the ones that was crucifying them but damn it this team looks unbeatable in the seven game

Series you know what I feel so bad Molly for Klay Thompson right because in in in in the world people want to call him washed and people want to say he had he’s done he has nothing left in the tank I honestly don’t believe that and

For the life of me I don’t understand why the Warriors won’t stop the bleeding Trey Kay Thompson Steve cerr has done nothing wrong right he has done an excellent job for us with he his ingame adjustments finally uh uh putting a microscope on Jonathan kaminga him and

Steph Curry arguably has been the one of the top Duos in the league scoring wise but when you think about clay right I don’t think that he’s done I think he’s mentally not there and it’s been that way before the season even started when they was negotiating and trying to come

With a contract extension and the Warriors made an offer and Clay didn’t accept it because what clay saw was he saw Draymond Green get 100 plus he saw Andrew Wiggins get 100 plus he saw Jordan P when he was there get 100 plus and so now Klay Thompson is it’s all in

His head and when you’re not there psychologically and mentally you’re not going to perform at your best and for the reason for the life of me I don’t understand why the Warriors are so afraid to move on I know it’s not easy task but Klay Thompson need a change of

Scenery for the best of him his contract ends this season this is probably going to be his last opportunity to get his big bag it is a business do right by him and send him to another destination so he can have the best opportunity to maximize on his money Wendy yeah you you

Go ahead they’re not trading Klay Thompson I mean I I they can’t trade Klay Thompson Klay Thompson’s gonna have a statue outside the chase Center someday you can’t you can’t trade Klay Thompson now what they can sign him to that’s a different story because he is

Not a $45 million player anymore he is a very valuable player he still shoots even though this year he’s not having a good shooting year at all he still shoots better than average um but you can see in that interview Molly he’s in anguish right now and I’m gonna talk

About Mr Perkins because when when Kendrick was 33 years old perk I know you remember this well because it’s one of the most impressive things you did in your career when you were the same age as Klay Thompson you know do you remember where you were you were in the

G League you were a guy who was a starter and a fi multiple finals teams made very good money highly respected won a championship and you were at a point in your career where you’re like the best thing for me right now to go forward is

To be in the G league and I’m not saying Clay’s in the G League what I’m saying is is that players get to the point in their careers where they’re past their primes and they have to wrestle with how they with how they can go forward and

That’s what we’re watching clay do in real time this happens with virtually every athlete um and he happening in real time and we’re seeing it and he’s emoting and reacting in real time and that’s not something we normally get but something that everybody does you know

What perk you went to the G League you got back into the NBA you got back and you played a role in the NBA after that Klay Thompson absolutely can play a role going forward and he can play that role with the Warriors it’s just happening at

A time where the entire franchise is grappling with basically the same thing now I think he will remain a warrior I think that they will they will work out a contract and you’re right about Draymond Green and about um Andrew Wiggins getting contracts the thing that happened on those deals is they both

Took pay cuts and Clay obviously is G have to take a pay cut too and it’s a difficult time for the whole organization but I still think clay believes in himself I still think the Warriors believe in clay it’s just going to be a little bit different at the age

33 34 35 than it was when he was in his late 20s yeah yeah and W look Wendy I’m glad you shared that story because the G League was the best thing Molly that ever happened to me in my NBA career one of the most humblest humbl humbling

Things I ever went through right but at the end of the day I just still don’t believe that Klay Thompson is is is done I don’t think I still think Klay Thompson has a lot left in the tank I still I strongly believe that Klay Thompson is still a third option on the

Championship Contender I just feel like he needs a change of scenery new like basketball player brings so much an organization that Stills believe in you right now I don’t see that same belief because if it was there then Steve cry would have him in in a crunch time right

But it’s not there the chemistry is not there for us with clay and and the team and that’s okay right the worst thing in the world that could happen Wendy and Molly is that it could end up on bad terms a bad breakup right say clay leave

In the offseason I didn’t seen that happened so many times especially with the Boston Celtics and Ray Allen right I saw Ray Allen leave and go to Miami right when Boston actually offered him more money to stay but remember that transition Doc Rivers had put made him

Start coming in off the bench as a six-man guy then all of a sudden Ray went to Miami he still played a similar role but a bigger role and won another championship but I’m saying to y’all is is that in the basketball space it supposed to be your sanctuary where when

Your mind is cluttered when your mind is cluttered you’re not going to perform at your best ab abolutely you can only compartmentalize so much sorry Wy I didn’t mean to step on you and I love you guys staring that sharing that g- leak story because I think a lot of us

Can learn a lot from that uh perk obviously sometimes hitting rock bottom in the moment doesn’t seem so great but it ends up being the best thing Wendy tell me this what can the Warriors do to turn the season around at the deadline we’ve been talking about it all morning

300 p.m. Eastern on Thursday well this is something they’ve been working on for a while Molly trying to figure this out um first thing they they can do and they’re already doing is they’re playing Jonathan kaminga more minutes um he’s playing about 10 or eight or 10 more

Minutes now in the last 10 games than he was before and he’s producing at a higher level so they’re they’re making sort of a shift to being more kaminga focused even though his style of play is a lot different from the classic warrior style of play he’s not a higher volume

Three-point shooter Etc but in terms of what they can do by Thursday I I really do not believe they will trade Chris Paul for for three or four different reasons I believe that I’m not saying they won’t have phone calls on that I don’t think that’s going to Happen

On First Take, Brian Windhorst and Kendrick Perkins join Molly Qerim to discuss what the Los Angeles Lakers need to do to help themselves before the trade deadline and if Klay Thompson will be traded away from the Golden State Warriors.

0:00 What can the Lakers do ahead of the trade deadline?
3:00 Can the Lakers get over the hump?
6:30 Should the Warriors trade Klay Thompson?
9:30 Windy breaks down Klay Thompson’s role on the Warriors

#espn #firsttake #nba #lakers #warriors #klaythompson

✔️Subscribe to ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/youtube
✔️ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔️Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
✔️ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV