NBA free agency kicks off Friday at 3 pm PT, and while the Lakers aren’t likely to be first out of the gate—that tends to be the teams with real dollars to spend—they’ll most certainly be paying close attention to where the first wave of players land, and who might be left over.
A big (or bigger than the Lakers can make, at least) offer to someone like Dennis Schröder could change the landscape a little, too, because it might mean the taxpayer mid-level exception people expect the Lakers to use (and currently, in theory, earmarked for Schröder) would go somewhere else.
It’s a thin year for free agents, so who is out there that might make sense?
And what about Jalen Hood-Schifino? There’s still plenty to learn about LA’s first round pick from last week’s draft.
There’s nobody better to handle the intersection of these stories than Jacob Rude, who covers the Lakers for Silver Screen and Roll, and Indiana hoops for Locked On Hoosiers. In a fabulous moment of serendipity, his worlds have collided in a major way. He joins the show to break down what he saw from Hood-Schifino last year at Indiana, and continue deliver insight into the first rounder. How does he fit with the backcourt the Lakers seem likely to bring back? What about his mental game? His approach to the craft?
Rude, who watched every game the kid played last year, breaks it all down.
From there, it’s back to the Lakers and free agency looming. Before they get there, the Lakers have to make decisions about Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley. Do they pick up those team options? Why would it make sense to bring both back? And what about potential free agents? Would a veteran like Kevin Love make sense, if he’d take the midlevel? Jeff Green? And why does nobody ever mention Troy Brown in those “run it back” conversations?
Should he be? What about Lonnie Walker IV?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with guest Jacob Rude!
SEGMENT 1: More deep dive into Jalen Hood-Schifino.
SEGMENT 2: Can JHS play enough D to stay on the court? How should the Lakers handle Beasley and Bamba?
SEGMENT 3: Potential free agents… Kevin Love? Jeff Green? What about Walker and Brown?
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19 Comments
Stick with the young guys with a couple of veterans mixed in.
The goal should be to sign Brook Lopez to a team-friendly deal (Brook loves LA/specifically Disneyland). Dude was runner-up for DPOY this season and shoots 38% from 3
Brook Lopez or Steven Adams. Period.
Get either Vanvleet & Jacob Poeltl.. Sign for Veteran Min. Thompson & Gabriel or if they can sign Kevin Love for Vet Min.. thats a great addition..
If AD comes out playing like an MVP . The Lakers will have a championship team .
Brook won't come for the money!
Can we get jerami grant?
ONE THING GOTTA LIKE BOUT FINO TO CONTRIBUTE "IMMEDIATELY"_____NBA "BODY" (makes max look like a "kid"…..hope i'm wrong but max a disappointment)
Nice – I remember Jacob from the Lakers Outsiders podcast.
Curious if we have a shot at josh hart if he opts out. I’ll give him the mid level. Need perimeter d
I could see DLO taking a 1+1 prove it deal if he doesn’t get an offer he likes. He could go to a bad team that would give him a lot of time on the ball
Keep everyone except for Beasley and Tristan. Oh, and guys, Thanks for keeping Hy!! Raising Arizona is LIFE!!
Second Apron is 178 million
Lebron 47 mill
AD 41
Reaves 11.5
DLO 20
Rui 17
Beasley 17
Bamba 10
JHS 3.5
Christie 1.7
Maxwell 1.4
They might be able to bring everyone back as long as they don’t use the MLE
Keep Beasley and Tristan.
The Lakers need (A) knockdown shooting (still their biggest need), (B) two defensive bigmen (one for Jokic and one for everyone else), and (C) frontcourt scoring off the bench (with Rui starting, a PF or big SF who can consistently score in near double figures off the bench playing 20 minutes a game):
(A) Seth Curry with the MLE (12 mill).
(B) Nerlens Noel for the minimum and, for Jokic, a bigger, beefier defensive center like Tristan Thompson or Dwight Howard. This second defensive big can be signed midseason while they give Mo Bamba time and a chance to show if he can earn that role. The Lakers should pickup his team option and give him spot minutes to see if he proves himself better than Nerlens Noel and/or Tristan Thompson. With the 10 million dollar bump in salary cap space, they can now afford him. If he proves himself to be inferior to Noel and to what you know Thompson can bring, the Lakers should trade him midseason. His size, shotblocking, and shooting will intrigue some team into giving him a look. If no takers, simply cut him, eat the money, and bring in a more capable Jokic deterrent.
(C) Thomas Bryant or Danilo Gallinari or Trey Lyles with the bi-annual exception (4.5 mill) or Markieff Morris for the minimum.
Resign Reaves, Hachimura, and Russell to bargain deals (all at or around 15 mill per) and your team looks like this:
PG – 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 —– 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 ——– Schifino
SG – Vanderbilt – 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝘆 (mle) — Christie
C — 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘀 ——– Noel (min) —– Bamba
PF – James ——- 𝗕𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻𝘁 (bae) – Gabriel**
SF – 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗮 – (Reaves) —— Lewis
**sign Gabriel with whatever money is left under the $172 million apron, if not, the Lakers go with a 13-man roster and their three 2-way guys.
Lakers need to go get Dwight Howard back, somebody that can push Joker around because Bamba and Glass man AD can’t do nothing with him.
Bamba never got the opportunity Ham buried him on the bench
• Keep: LBJ/AD/MaxC/Vando/Bamba/MaxL/FINO
• Re-Sign: AR/Rui/D'Lo/BrownJr.
• Sign: JevonCarter/Watanabe
• Trade: Beasley for Hield or Trent Jr or Alec Burks and if that can't happen then, Release Beasley and get Seth Curry or Donte DiVincenzo in FA.
📌 Restructure Bamba's Contract to $5ish Million a Year
This is not good at all with the same guys that you currently have to bring all these guys back that means there's no help for LeBron you need a player that can come in and lead the team and LeBron is a year older so I mean all the other teams have gotten a lot better and you're trying to win a championship so it's all in a bust all in or blow up the team And at this point you need like a Steph Curry to come and play for the Lakers in order to play with these other teams that have gotten a lot better so I don't know what the Lakers going to do