WEBVTT - LeBron's decision, Wemby's evolution, Kuminga's next team, Brunson's ranking & more | NBA Mailbag 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:16.959 The volume. All right, welcome to him tonight. You're at 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:18.880 the volume Heavy Friday, everybody, hope Bob. You guys had 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:20.840 a great week. We're actually recording this on a Wednesday. 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.360 I'm leaving on Thursday to go to my brother's wedding 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:27.440 in Houston, the last TIMP wedding, and then all of 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:30.680 us siblings will have officially been married. Very excited to 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:32.240 get to spend some time with my family. I haven't 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:34.760 seen them in a while since obviously we moved to Denver. 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.680 But we're recording this on a Wednesday, so obviously, as 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:39.960 of right now, Lebron James has not signed. We have 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:42.360 a couple Lebron related questions, but I don't think they're 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:44.279 going to matter too much as to whether or not 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:47.599 Lebron signs. By then, I am bringing my equipment with 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:52.160 me to Houston, so if Lebron signs, will obviously react 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:54.280 to it when it happens. But we got lots of 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.680 interesting questions from around the league from you guys. As always, 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:58.639 we appreciate you dropping questions. If you want to get 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.720 questions in the mail bag, going the full episodes on YouTube. 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:05.039 Mail bag, Colon, write your question that helps me sort through. 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:06.840 When we're looking through, you guys on the tripe before 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:08.559 we get started, it to subscribe Toups on YouTube channel 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:09.720 so you don't miss any more of our videos. We 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:11.040 still have a goal to get two hundred and fifty 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.080 thousand subs. You can help us get there by scrolling 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:15.959 down and hitting that subscribe button. If you already subscribed 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.400 like this video, sign up for post notifications. That helps 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.680 us a lot. All right, let's talk some basketball. First question, 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:25.920 assuming Lebron hasn't signed by the time you do this, 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.480 the longer this goes, is there any chance that the 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.360 Lakers come back to the table. Lebron obviously announced he 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:33.280 would play elsewhere, But if the Lakers came back to 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:34.600 him and said they want him to be a part 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.120 of the team, is there any chance that fence could 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.120 be mended? And obviously, regardless at the time you guys 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.479 hear this of whether or not Lebron is signed, I 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.320 think the answers know here, and that's why it doesn't 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:47.319 really matter as to whether or not he's signed. I 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:50.480 think egos have just been bruised too much as part 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:52.160 of this process, and I think I think it comes 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:55.120 down to two things. On the Lakers side of it, 0:01:55.760 --> 0:02:01.520 like it is deeper than just the Lebron piece. There 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:07.120 was a very clear intentional effort to completely overturn the 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.639 roster and the two main guys that I think are 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:17.080 key revealing pieces here are actually I'll bump it up 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:21.560 to three one. Choosing a Sondro Mama Kalasvili over a 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:24.520 Ruey Hachimura. They both made about the same amount of money. 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:29.280 You're basically saying, rather than continuity, and a guy that, 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:31.359 especially on the weak side off of Luca, can just 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:33.960 shoot the shit out of the basketball, you're straight up saying, like, 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.320 you know, mom, who's a different player. He's better at something, 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.120 better rebound or better at putting the ball on the floor, 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.440 not as good as a standstill three point shooter. They're 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.880 different players. But it's just you saying, like, regardless of continuity, 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.079 we're gonna take a gamble on this dude because we 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:50.200 just want something different. Another example like Marcus Smart. Marcus 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.880 Smart was very clearly by every statistical measure last year 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:59.960 the most valuable Lakers role player beyond Lebron, Austin and Luca, 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.720 and to let him walk for that deal in Houston, 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:04.920 which I Gain. I don't don't remember off the top 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:05.880 of my head. I think it was like two years, 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:08.240 twelve million or whatever it was. That two years fourteen million, 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:10.680 That six or seven million a year to let Marcus 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:13.920 walk instead of bringing him back is very clearly like 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:17.000 a we want to be done with that era of 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.560 Lakers basketball. Jackson Hayes. Jackson Hayes being a member of 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:22.960 the Utah Jazz right now instead of a Los Angeles Laker. 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.600 I think that is another kind of a bell Weather 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:28.280 for that sort of idea. So, like, it's very clear 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.280 the Lakers were like beyond just we want Lebron out 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:34.960 of the picture. It's like Luca and Austin are our guys. 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:39.800 We want a completely new slate beyond that point. Obviously 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.280 other than the young players in like Bronnie James and 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:45.560 Adu Thierro that have been around. But like that was 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:49.320 abundantly clear in their strategy this offseason. It wasn't just 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:51.839 a we don't want Lebron anymore. It was we don't 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:55.840 want anything associated. We want to palette cleanse that entire 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:59.280 era of Lakers basketball now. I think that's a little 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.200 ridiculous if you if you dig into it, it's like 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.480 we're talking about, you know, guys who like a guy 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.120 that grew Hutch Murro made a Western Conference finals run 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:12.640 with the Lakers, right like you if you look into 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.600 those last couple of years, they won fifty plus games 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:17.880 each of those seasons, they won a playoff series, Like 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.640 it's rare to win a playoff series, especially in the 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:23.279 Western Conference. So like it's one of those things where 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:27.080 like I think this idea where the Lakers brass was 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.159 kind of like, ugh, like we're done with that era 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:31.920 of Lakers basketball is a little weird to me. I'm 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.520 surprised that they didn't value any of the culture from 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.040 the previous guys like a deeper than Lebron, like a 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:39.400 guy like Marcus Smart, who was clearly a very important 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:42.200 player to the culture that the Lakers were trying to build. 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.240 But it's abundantly clear on the Lakers side that they 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:46.360 were just kind of done with the whole thing. And 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:48.000 then on the Lebron side, you got to think about 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:52.599 it this way, like Lebron is at worst the second 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:57.000 best player of all time and a player who currently 0:04:57.120 --> 0:04:59.960 is at worst a top twenty player in the NBA 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:02.760 in the regular season, and at worst, a top ten 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:05.880 playoff player. Like, that's what we're talking about with Lebron. 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:09.760 He's still extremely good at basketball while also having the 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.640 deep resume of a guy who has a legitimate goat case. 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:16.240 So to be in his situation and to have a 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:19.480 basketball team literally go like no, thanks, dude, you know. 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:21.960 And again, like I know that the reporting around it 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.680 was different. There's you know, like a lot of posturing 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.040 in the public eye, and Lebron did get the final 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:32.120 word by saying he was leaving. But like between Lebron's 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.839 ego in the whole situation and straight up being told 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:36.800 by a basketball team essentially that like, you know, we're 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:38.960 ready to move on without you and basically everyone that 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:41.599 was associated with your era of basketball, I think it 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.560 just has caused a situation where there's just too much 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.280 damage done. And like I said this in the Wednesday show, 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:51.560 and I mean it like it's sad. It's sad because 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:55.400 I want to watch the Lakers from March with Walker 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:58.280 Kessler instead of DeAndre Ayton, in a deeper bench with 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:02.960 more athletic you know, win plays. I want to watch Lebron, 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:07.279 Luca and Austin continue to build chemistry together and figure 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:09.960 out how to be the team, like a better version 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.159 even than what we saw in March. I want That's 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.480 what I wanted, And I think it would have been 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:18.000 an awesome end to Lebron's career to just have like 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:20.720 a good nine to ten year stretch in a Lakers jersey. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.640 The Lakers would still have had room to build for 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:26.240 the future in the form of Walker Kessler and the 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:29.440 draft picks camcar and a do Thiero, and the development 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:31.599 of Bronnie James, who I know they value internally, Like 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:35.880 there there was a happy middle ground here where everyone 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:39.560 involved could have achieved their goals and the behavior and 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:41.359 I said it on Wednesday, and I mean it, like 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:45.200 it wasn't just all the Lakers not valuing Lebron, Like 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.240 the stuff with Rich Paul definitely started to strain the relationship. 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.280 It's a lot more complicated than it appears on the surface, 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.799 and there's a lot of people to blame. But ultimately 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:57.280 it's sad because what you're seeing is is you know 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.000 two entities that would be better off with each other, 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:02.279 that are going to be worse off without each other, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:04.479 and at least in terms of risk, like there's a 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.320 chance where Lebron goes off and and he finds a 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:09.840 team that fits really well and that he has a 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:12.760 very successful season. But I just think his chances are 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:15.680 as good as, if not better, in LA and it 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:17.520 just is kind of sad that it's not going to 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.040 work out in that way. Next question, If you ignore 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.480 the championship and the fact that it's the Knicks, don't 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:24.240 you think that it would be an amazing basketball fit 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.760 for Lebron Kat brunts in og and McHale. That's so 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.080 much shooting in so much space. Lebron like the ball movement, 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.160 he can play on in all ball, he can play 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.280 all on and off the ball. The competitive edge, an 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:39.080 older team that I like would be really fun for him. 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:40.760 So this is a good one for us because we 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:42.800 know Lebron's not going to the Knicks regardless of whether 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:44.720 or not he signs. It's more of just a philosophical 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.920 conversation about basketball fit. My initial impression at first was, like, 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.720 I remember when I first heard this idea going around 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:54.040 when Rich Paul had the whiteboard incident, and he talked 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:55.680 about how like, if the Knicks hadn't won the title, 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.640 he'd be going to New York. One of the things 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.720 that I originally thought it was like, oh, well, you know, 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:02.680 Lebron kind of they kind of have like their starting 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:07.200 five like really ironed out right. And when I started 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:10.680 to think more about it, I think og and Andobe 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:12.760 because I think when it comes to positions, it more 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.880 has to do with what jobs you can do defensively 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:19.240 than what you can do offensively. And I think Ogannobi 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:23.560 is a versatile enough defender to guard enough positions on 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.360 the perimeter that he can easily be a three. And 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.040 I mean we saw over the years the Knicks go 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.280 to lineups at times that had Karl Anthony Towns and 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:32.160 Mitchell Robinson at the floor on the floor at the 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:34.240 same time with og and Andobe at the three. So 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.240 in this theoretical scenario, like a guy like Josh Hart 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:40.360 or a guy like Michael Bridges moves to the bench 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.800 and you go with like an og Lebron cat front court. 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:45.280 And I do think it would be a wonderful fit. 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:46.880 And when you start to dig into it, it's it's 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:50.079 like the off ball action stuff with kat as a 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.400 folk rum that we saw in over the course of 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.400 this playoff run, where Lebron could be both good off 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:57.960 the ball in that action and also as the folk 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.560 rum while Kat's running off ball screen for other players. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.960 There's I really think when you dig into the backup 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.480 ball handling piece, like the Knicks kind of pieced that 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:10.160 together with a bunch of different guys with Jose Alvarado, 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.960 with Michale Bridges, Ogana Noobi would get his reps, and 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.079 Karl Anthony Towns would run a lot of that off 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:17.920 ball action when Brunson was off the floor. But I 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:20.160 think it would have been really helpful for the Knicks 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.600 to just have like a rock solid ball handler as 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:25.920 like a secondary ball handler off of Jalen Brunson, which 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:30.440 Lebron would just seamlessly fit into. There's the I talked 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.480 about this a little bit with the Joki fit, but 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.719 like I have always thought about Lebron's post prime as 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:41.240 being weirdly impressive in terms of his rim frequency and 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:46.040 rim efficiency given that he's been playing with non shooting fives, 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:49.520 and I just think watching Lebron play in a system 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.719 where they can actually truly space the floor, whether it 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.840 was the Denver situation that I kind of talked about 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:59.400 in recent weeks or this Knixt situation with Karl Anthony Towns. 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.240 I just think think Lebron would absolutely annihilate teams at 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:06.400 the rim if they could actually space the floor with 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:09.160 him looking to drive the basketball. So like, I just 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:11.360 think in general, it would be a really natural fit 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:13.480 on both ends of the floor. And again it's never 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:17.080 gonna happen. But in terms of the actual basketball fit, 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.960 I would put it above Miami. I'd put it above Philly, 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:22.520 I'd put it above Cleveland. I really think only Denver 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:25.000 and Golden State are the two teams that I think 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:28.400 Lebron would have a more natural basketball fit than those 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:31.560 other teams. One of the things I talked about over 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:32.960 the course of the last couple of weeks is the 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.440 idea of like Lebron being in a situation where he 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.800 can be Lebron, you know, Like I know Lebron. I 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:42.679 knew the whole time, even when everyone was dragging him 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.040 through the mud last year. I knew Lebron was going 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:46.360 to be able to do what he did in March. 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.920 I knew he could be like, I'm versatile enough and 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.800 competitive enough and want to win enough to change my 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:58.360 game to fit this like smaller role as a as 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:01.080 like kind of a Swiss army knife on both ends 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.200 of the floor for the Lakers, and he showed that 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:05.840 I never thought that was going to be a problem 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.720 for him. That doesn't mean necessarily that it's the best 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.920 use of his resources, though, right Like Lebron, what I 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:15.520 like about the idea of like a theoretical Denver fit 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:18.360 which isn't going to happen, or a theoretical Golden State fit, 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.120 which I don't think is going to happen, but is 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.600 a possibilities. At least at the time of this recording, 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.959 I was thinking about it as more of like a like, 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.760 this is a situation where Lebron and what he's great 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:35.520 at still at age forty two, really fits what this 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.160 team is trying to do. So you can have not 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:40.960 only the team have a great amount of success, but 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:45.480 also watched Lebron be a very happy version of himself 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:49.480 because he's being used appropriately, And that's kind of why 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.320 I was drawn to that specific kind of idea. But 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.080 I think the Knicks are a similar idea and that 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:57.160 I think it would be a really natural fit for Lebron. 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:02.000 Next question. As a it's been really interesting to see 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.920 the Jonathan Kaminga saga continue. Seems like he still wants 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.040 a bigger role than anyone wants to give him. In 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:09.800 your opinion, which team is his best fit right now? 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:12.680 What role is he best suited for on the court, 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.040 and how do you think that aligns or doesn't with 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:19.720 what he wants or envisions for himself. So it's tricky 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:24.480 because there's not really the trouble with Jonathan Kaminga in 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:28.520 his specific skill set is it's hard to find a 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:32.400 team that is competitive and looking to win that could 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.760 really actually use his skill set, you know, ironically, a 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:37.680 team that hasn't been brought up. I was trying to think, like, 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:39.640 what is a team out there that's like in position 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:43.439 to win, has need of a player at his position group, 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:47.119 but that also would like throw him the ball sometimes 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.520 and let him do some work. And ironically, the team 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:51.640 I came up with was Denver in the sense that 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:56.439 they have some injury vulnerabilities at the power forward spot 0:12:57.040 --> 0:13:00.920 and Jonathan I think would fit rich nicely as like 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.040 a baseline cutter off of Nikole Jokic. And that's a 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.720 team that's actually looking for more ways to initiate offense, 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.320 especially when they get away from the Murray jokicch two 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.079 man game. The problem is is, like I don't think 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:15.480 Kaminga can play the three alongside Aaron Gordon, So like 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.760 he's a bench role in that specific case, which is 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:20.480 why he's not looking there. He's looking at some of 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:22.360 these other options because he's looking for a place that 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:24.440 he can start. You want to know why there's Lakers 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:28.720 buzz there. Rob Polinka has been known to give promises 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.680 to players in free agency. I could see universe where 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.560 Jonathan Kaminga gets a promise from Rob that he gets 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.679 the starting power forward spot as part of a of 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:40.360 a deal. And so but here's the thing. If he 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.520 starts in La or even if he ends up going 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:46.720 to a place like Cleveland, whether they start him at 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:49.520 the three or whatever they decide to do, you're talking 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.640 about spread, pick and roll teams with multiple ball handlers 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:54.920 that are gonna put him in situations where he's a 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:58.400 play finisher. And if you're a play finisher on the 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:01.640 court alongside Walker Kessler, or you're a play finisher on 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:05.280 the court alongside Evan Mobley Jared Allen, you are a 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.200 spot up shooter basically in a spread pick and roll system, 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:10.080 and similar to what we were talking about with Lebron, 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:14.199 Like there's a diminishing return on a Jonathan Kaminga if 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:17.400 he's being used as a spot up shooter. So Jonathan's 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:20.440 in this weird situation where like ironically, what he really 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.680 needs is to go to a team that's willing to 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:25.160 give him the ball a lot and just let him 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:27.520 have an opportunity to kind of build out that side 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:30.160 of his game. But it's hard to find those opportunities 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.160 because they're developing other younger players that have shown more 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:37.200 promise and are especially are young enough to have that 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:41.120 like plausible like maybe they can become this better version 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.200 of themselves. So it's hard to be like take the 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.120 ball away from that player and give it to a 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.680 Jonathan Kaminga who now has been in the league for 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:50.640 half a decade, right, So, like it's a very tricky 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.440 situation that he's in. The best case scenario for Jonathan 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.960 right now is a situation like that Laker situation because 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:02.080 he would get minutes. They're so they lack depth at 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:04.200 that power forward spot, and if you really dig into 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.560 some of the specifics, I think Soandro Mamo kailash VILLI 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:09.840 will play some four, but I bet you he ends 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.960 up playing a lot at the backup five because Keavon 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.280 Looney I don't think is a great fit there. I 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.360 think he's more of like a third center, and I 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.000 think they like the idea of a spread like a 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:22.840 spread out five five out kind of look that they 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:26.080 can go to. So I think with your other with 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:30.200 your four spot basically being like some Sondro Mama Kailash 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:33.800 Vilely and then like maybe it's Matist Staibel, I think, 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:35.840 you know, can play some four, but he's like a 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.520 three to four. You know, maybe it ends up being 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:40.960 some Jared Vanderbilt in the short term, maybe it ends 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:43.480 up being some Adu Thiero, Like it could be a 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.880 we'll see if Arthur Kaluma can play some minutes there. 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:48.600 But there's just a lot of like if a real, 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:52.640 like legitimate NBA Power Forward comes in, that dude's just 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:54.720 gonna get thirty minutes a night at the Power Forward. 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:56.680 And that's really the best thing for Jonathan right now. 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.360 The best thing for Jonathan is just consistent time on 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:03.320 an NBA even if the fit isn't great, And is 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.720 the fit great in La No, but it's a place 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.680 that I think he can go and get thirty plus 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.800 minutes a night, and if he at least twenty five, 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.560 and like, just doing that for a couple of years 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.160 could go a long way to him rehabbing his value, 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.760 becoming a better basketball player, and positioning himself for more 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:25.160 of a long term lucrative deal. So I know that 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.640 the Lakers can't offer very much and assign and trade, 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.680 and I know that a salary would amount to less 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.360 than probably what he wants. But at this point, dude, 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.640 you can't keep playing this game every summer where you 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:37.640 want twenty plus million a year, but no one's willing 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:39.840 to give it to you until you prove that you're 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.200 able to play at that level. And the best way 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:43.920 for him to prove that is to get on the 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:46.280 NBA court. And the best chance for him to get 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:48.360 on the NBA court is to find a situation like 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.400 the Lakers where they're like, yo, dude, we need a 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.200 starting power forward. This is your job, and you could 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.280 play big minutes for us. And so that's why I 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.280 think the Lakers fit makes the most sense, and that's 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.600 what I'm hoping ends up happening for him. Also, I 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.880 think the Lakers offseason becomes a little sketchy, even though 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:05.840 I like some of the bench pieces, it's sketchy if 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.640 you don't get a starting caliber player in there. Jonathan 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:11.280 Kaming guy, I think at least gives you more talent 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.680 upside in that starting lineup. Today's show is brought to 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:17.600 you by a presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet Sportsbook. 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In Indiana, if you or someone you 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:51.639 know has a gambling problem and wants help, call one 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:54.879 eight hundred and nine with it in Arizona, Ohio, and 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.280 Virginia called one hundred My reset gambling problem called one 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:01.440 hundred gambler in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, or Tennessee. 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:06.280 Next question, can you give us your opinion on the 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:08.159 ongoing topic of the salary cap in the first and 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:10.640 second apron A good example is the OKC Thunder giving 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.440 their homegrown talent their money, but with Shay's contract getting 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:15.840 a huge boost next year to sixty million, between the 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:18.159 three of him, J Dub and Chet, they're going to 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.159 be worth a little over one hundred and forty of 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:21.560 the two hundred million before they get to the first 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:24.439 and second apron. So I actually had another question from 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:26.800 one of you guys that pitch this idea. So this 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:29.720 is and this is not exactly some groundbreaking idea. We've 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.000 talked about it on the show before and it's been 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:34.359