Rob Pelinka NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL dealing with LeBron & JJ Redick 👀 – Kendrick Perkins | NBA Today

Rob Pelinka NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL dealing with LeBron & JJ Redick 👀 – Kendrick Perkins | NBA Today

so with the Los Angeles Lakers striking out on three of the top free agents this offseason LeBron James could now take the full Max from the franchise during his free agency that’s according to wo remember our Dave McManaman had previously reported LeBron was open to taking a pay cut if they could find an impact player to use their mid-level exception on which is roughly $13 million but those players availabilities are certainly dwindling so let’s take a look here just at the Lakers depth chart they drafted D and connect in the first round but other than that I mean I don’t know about you guys there’s a lot of names up here so take it all in this looks really similar to last year’s team once you add in LeBron James that would be 15 guys on the roster so chenet joining us back at the desk here can the Lakers afford to run back this same roster and improve on on their standings in the playoffs this is a team that won just one playoff game left absolutely not I mean they need more players the roster is their biggest issue and I feel like the Lakers I mean teams are making moves and the Lakers are waiting for their glow up yeah I miss you thank you I’ve been here I’ve been chilling the whole time um the Lakers are still waiting for their glow up and it may not come I feel like Richard knows a lot about that you know a little bit when never came never came but if you think about you know the teams that were in the NBA Finals they both were the top two three-point shooting teams the Lakers are bottom three in that category they’ve hired an analytical coach in JJ reick but you still have to have the players you can’t have the coach shooting the threes for you you have to have the players so to me the roster is a big issue and if you’re striking out that puts more pressure on the coaching a firsttime head coach who’s going to try to make more with less and that’s a very difficult position per you know what’s crazy LeBron James basically beted Rob pinka 20 plus million dollars that he couldn’t do his damn job and guess what Rob pinka ain’t do his damn job we the world knew that LeBron James wanted Clay his mama call him clay I’mma call him clay they need shooting let me tell you something about LeBron James and JJ Rd we not just tossing around the the the the terminology of oh brilliant basketball Minds both of those guys are brilliant basketball Minds both of those guys are also sharks meaning when you get around them you got to be on your best what’s wrong no no no keep going you got with you you got to be on your best stuff iron sharpens iron right if ralink need to be careful and he need to step his game up because when you’re dealing with someone especially a guy like JJ and I know he’s the first year head coach but JJ he dots his eyes and cross his teas he’s in his book he is doing his homework he is doing everything behind the scene he’s one of the most hardworking guys that I’ve ever been around especially in this basketball space so you mentioned Klay Thompson Brian you laid this out that the Mavericks were always a step of ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in this because they created the space to be able to sign him to a deal that simply did not exist for Los Angeles two they made two trades to clear space to get play Thompson one was uh Tim hard and one was Josh Green today they made two trades they here’s the thing not six months ago not 16 days ago like last week when they introduced JJ re’s head coach Rob pinka sat up there in front of everybody and said we are going to focus on development of young players we’re going to focus on our draft picks we’re not going to trade our draft dra pick that’s what he said LeBron saying I’m going to take a pay cut for a guy in his mid-30s is not doing that what move have the Lakers made so far this this off season they signed Max Christie to a $32 million deal that’s a developmental player that’s a guy who didn’t even play that shows a plan that to follow through with what they said to keep the picks to to develop the players that is not with let’s trade a bunch of guys away and give extra picks to do it you know the Mavericks were I think they traded five picks to get rid of those two players to get Klay Thompson so the Lakers are trying to stick to a plan it doesn’t seem like it it equals what LeBron wants to do but they did draft bronny and LeBron’s about to sign for 160 million so it’s chess I think I know I think LeBron I think LeBron likes being a Laker and he’s going to stay being a Laker but the Lakers in Lebron are are not really have showing the same priorities right now the Lakers are a good team I mean I don’t mean that factiously they’re a good team in the Western Conference it’s a hard thing to be they’re not a great team as currently constructed that don’t really have a pathway to becoming a great team I think they’re going to do something in the next few days to Tinker on their roster we’ll see if it’s a big move a mediumsized move a small move but this is just what they are and they are telegraphing that we have to plan for a post LeBron world and part of that is Player Development staying flexible with a bunch of midsize contracts keeping our draft picks unless we could make a smaller trade we spent the whole year talking about what they’re going to have three picks to trade oh my God the mega players they could get maybe there’s a smaller mediumsized trade that’s like one of the picks and somebody goes out the door but they’re telegraphing what they want to do and they’re really saying there isn’t a big move that vaults us up to the top of the West we are who we are we’re good that’s fine it sounds like the Lakers are in Jeopardy so let’s bring in our Alex tbec here what is why can’t the Lakers improve here for a thousand Bobby Well here here’s where the Lakers are right now this is before LeBron James signs with them they’re at $140 million the dreaded second apron is $189 million and we’re going to go into that as far as what some of these restrictions are if LeBron resigns at a starting salary of $50 million Malika that gets you at the second apron so what is that mean that means a player like dangel Russell cannot be traded and more money comes back so if Russell is traded they cannot take back a player earning $20 million they cannot aggregate with ruy Haim and take back a player earning $36 million you cannot combine salary those are some of the restrictions that the Lakers face about LeBron James at $50 million that’s why we’ve been talking about the discount $38 million $37 million does it get you maybe Demar D rozan you got to be creative here so I think maybe keep an eye on D rozan over the next 48 hours possibly but it’s going to have to be at 38 $36 million it cannot be at that $50 million number because here are all your restrictions that Lakers have all right keeping an eye on Demar de rozan but we also know our Dave McMan said they don’t have endless time here LeBron James he wants to head into Team USA camp that starts this weekend with that contract signed so the Lakers they are under a little bit of pressure here to get this done Bobby thank you [Music]

Rob Pelinka NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL dealing with LeBron & JJ Redick 👀 – Kendrick Perkins | NBA Today
On the NBA Today Free Agency Special, the crew discusses how the Los Angeles Lakers’ current roster would fare next season.
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