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Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops to Night Here

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Speaker 1: at the Volume. Happy Thursday, everybody. I hope all of

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Speaker 1: you guys are having a great week so far. Covers

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Speaker 1: of the NBA Playoffs Here at Hoops Tonight is brought

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Speaker 1: to you by Chase Freedom Unlimited. How do you cash back?

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Speaker 1: I should actually say Happy Friday, because I think this

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Speaker 1: is going up on Friday morning. But today we're just

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Speaker 1: gonna be doing an obituary on the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Speaker 1: It took several hours on Thursday morning to just kind

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Speaker 1: of stare at everything about this season, kind of recapturing

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Speaker 1: what I thought was a really interesting and up and

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Speaker 1: down Lakers season. We're gonna talk a little bit about

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Speaker 1: Rob Polinka and some of the narratives surrounding him in

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Speaker 1: this season, and then we're gonna go into the roster

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Speaker 1: and what I think are strengths and weaknesses and the

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Speaker 1: way that I would go about addressing this offseason. You

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Speaker 1: guys know the joke before we get started. To subscribe

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Speaker 1: to the Volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any more

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Speaker 1: of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jason

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Speaker 1: LT so you guys don't miss any show announcements, and

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Speaker 1: if for whatever reason you miss one of these videos

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Speaker 1: and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish,

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Speaker 1: don't forget. You can find them wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Under Hoops Tonight, all right, let's talk some basketball. So

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Speaker 1: I want to quick do it like a little review

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Speaker 1: of this Laker season, because I think, even in the

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Speaker 1: disappointment of losing in the conference finals, I think it

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Speaker 1: was undeniably a success, certainly relative to expectations. I tend

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Speaker 1: to disagree with the Jannis idea that there's no such

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Speaker 1: thing as failure. I would argue any season with Lebron

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Speaker 1: James and Anthony Davis on the roster that ends without

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Speaker 1: a championship is a failure, and I believe that Lebron

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Speaker 1: and Ad probably feel that way, and I think some

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Speaker 1: of the reporting coming out of the demeanor of those

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Speaker 1: guys after the game probably solidifies that. That said, if

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Speaker 1: you really look at the roster that they came into

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Speaker 1: the season with, there was no chance in hell they

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Speaker 1: were winning an NBA championship. Everything was based on a

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Speaker 1: potential trade. Everybody knew it had to be an absolute

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Speaker 1: home run. We knew a million things had to go right,

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Speaker 1: and it's just really hard to have a million things

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Speaker 1: go right in a season, and so I don't think

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Speaker 1: it's a failure relative to expectations, but obviously anytime you

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Speaker 1: have that type of talent, top end talent on the roster, technically,

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Speaker 1: it's a failure relative to your goals of winning a championship.

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Speaker 1: They started two and ten in large part because of

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Speaker 1: the front office. That was their toughest part of the schedule.

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Speaker 1: Just go look at the Lakers' first twelve games and

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Speaker 1: look at their opponents, and when you really factor in

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Speaker 1: that they had no shooting on the roster, no perimeter size,

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Speaker 1: and the jank russfit, it was just gonna be really

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Speaker 1: difficult for them to win those games. They dig themselves

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Speaker 1: in a two to ten hole. Now, one of the

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Speaker 1: most underdiscussed stretches of the Lakers season was everything that

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Speaker 1: happened from then to the trades, because there must have

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Speaker 1: been some sort of a message that was communicated from

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Speaker 1: the top down to Lebron James and Anthony Davis that

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Speaker 1: they were going to make a trade because there was

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Speaker 1: a level of effort and give a shit, so to speak,

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Speaker 1: from Lebron James and Anthony Davis that didn't really match

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Speaker 1: up with what their roster was and what their capabilities

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Speaker 1: were to start the season. And both of those guys

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Speaker 1: had independent stretches where where the other was injured, and

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Speaker 1: they floated the ship just well enough to keep them

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Speaker 1: alive until the trade deadline. So everyone knew they had

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Speaker 1: to make a trade. But they knew that. We all

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Speaker 1: figured they were gonna wait till the deadline. It was

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Speaker 1: known before the season, but it is what it is.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk about that in a little bit. But they

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Speaker 1: had to stay alive from the day the Lakers woke

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Speaker 1: up to and ten to the day they started playing

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Speaker 1: the players that came back in the rush trade. The

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Speaker 1: Lakers went twenty three and twenty one, so over five

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Speaker 1: hundred over a forty four game sample size doesn't seem

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Speaker 1: like much, but when you factor in the russfit, the imbalances,

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Speaker 1: and the roster, the lack of perimeter size, Lebron James

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Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis both missing significant chunks of that stretch.

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Speaker 1: Going twenty three and twenty one is a slam dunk

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Speaker 1: home run. And again then there was a stretch where

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Speaker 1: Lebron was out with a groin injury. Anthony Davis kind

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Speaker 1: of kickstarted the run. That's when he had that fifty

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Speaker 1: point game in Washington. He was incredible. Then Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: gets hurt and Lebron James and even Russell Westbrook, as

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Speaker 1: critical as I was of him over the course of

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Speaker 1: the year and a half, he was a Laker that

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Speaker 1: stretch there when Anthony Davis was hurt, russ was pretty

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Speaker 1: good and that was a big part of why they

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Speaker 1: won as many games as they did. And they just

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Speaker 1: stayed enough in reach for the trade to give them

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Speaker 1: a chance. So then they make the trade. Lebron misses

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Speaker 1: the first two games, they go one and one, they

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Speaker 1: beat the Warriors in Oklahoma City or they beat the

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Speaker 1: Warriors in Golden State, and then they lose to the

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Speaker 1: Portland Trailblazers. Then Lebron comes back and they go three

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Speaker 1: and oho in three games, including that big comeback win

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Speaker 1: against Dallas. But Lebron hurts his foot and misses the

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Speaker 1: next thirteen games. During that thirteen game stretch, Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: goes for twenty seven and thirteen on fifty six percent

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Speaker 1: shooting with two blocks per game, and the team goes

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Speaker 1: eight and five without Lebron and that was with a

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Speaker 1: couple of games in there that they basically tossed away,

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Speaker 1: the one to the Mavericks with the game winner from

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Speaker 1: Mexic Kiba and the game where Anthony Davis sat out

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Speaker 1: on the road in Houston. Then Lebron returns for the

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Speaker 1: final eight games of the season. They go six and

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Speaker 1: two and improbably after their two to ten start. They

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Speaker 1: finished the year at forty three and thirty nine get

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Speaker 1: the seventh seat. They beat the Timberwolves in the play in.

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Speaker 1: They beat the Memphis Grizzlies, who had the fifth best

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Speaker 1: record in the league, without home court. They beat the

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Speaker 1: defending champion Warriors without home court. And that's the same

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Speaker 1: core seven players that hoisted the trophy last year. And

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Speaker 1: then they lose to the Nuggets. Now they got swept,

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Speaker 1: but all four games were relatively close, Like it was

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Speaker 1: clear that the Nuggets were the better team, but it

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Speaker 1: wasn't like a complete outclassing, you know, within the confines

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Speaker 1: of the series, every game was competitive. The Nuggets just

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Speaker 1: pulled it out. As a matter of fact, the only

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Speaker 1: game that didn't include a clutch situation, which is within

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Speaker 1: five with less than five minutes left, was Game two

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Speaker 1: when the Lakers held a double digit lead in the

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Speaker 1: second half. It was just that crazy shooting spurt that

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Speaker 1: put it away. So the Lakers were right there. So

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Speaker 1: the way I'd look at it is it was an

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Speaker 1: absolute success relative to their expectations. They were one of

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Speaker 1: the final four team standing. That's not nothing. That's top

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Speaker 1: four out of thirty NBA teams. But they also clearly

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Speaker 1: need to get better if they're going to beat Denver.

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Speaker 1: Denver has all five starters coming back next season under contract,

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Speaker 1: and they will probably lose Bruce Brown just because he

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Speaker 1: played so well that he'll probably get an offer, but

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Speaker 1: who knows, maybe they can retain him. And no matter what,

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Speaker 1: if they win the championship, which I believe they will,

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Speaker 1: they're gonna be able to bring back a couple of

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Speaker 1: solid bench players at discounts like you typically see alongside

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Speaker 1: an unselfish playmaking superstar with a team that actually has

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Speaker 1: a chance to win a championship. They'll struggle a little

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Speaker 1: bit with it being Denver, but I have a feeling

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Speaker 1: they're gonna be able to bolster their bench a little bit.

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Speaker 1: So not to mention, when you have the confidence of

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Speaker 1: being a champion, you play better so Denver's better and

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are gonna have to figure that out. So

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Speaker 1: the question is, how do the Lakers improve their roster

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Speaker 1: enough to knock off the Nuggets and win a championship

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Speaker 1: next season. We're gonna look at every single position group

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Speaker 1: and take a look at how I would approach this offseason.

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Speaker 1: Before we get there there, I want to talk a

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Speaker 1: little bit about Rob Polinka. So Rob Polinka got a

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Speaker 1: ton of praise after the deadline. The phrase executive the

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Speaker 1: year of the year was thrown around a lot, even

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Speaker 1: by some people that I respect a great deal, But

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of people looked at that whole

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Speaker 1: situation with rose colored glasses in a lot of ways.

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Speaker 1: So I want to try to give a fair encapsulation

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Speaker 1: of this season for Rob Polinka. Here's the good thing.

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Speaker 1: They managed to pull off a relatively successful Russell Westbrook

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Speaker 1: trade with only one first round draft pick. That's very good. Also,

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Speaker 1: Rob Polinka straight up stole Ruy Hachimura from the Washington Wizards,

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Speaker 1: who is a pivotal top four kind of like pillar

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Speaker 1: of the team. And so that's an absolute home run

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Speaker 1: for Rob Polinka. And again, as we shift over to

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Speaker 1: the details, a couple of things I want to kind

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Speaker 1: of establish. First of all, Rob Polinka was supposed to

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Speaker 1: block the Russell Westbrook trade. At the time of the trade,

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Speaker 1: Kyle Kuzma and KCP were both better players. I said

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Speaker 1: that at the time, most Laker fans felt similarly, most

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Speaker 1: Laker fans were targeting more of a kind of a

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Speaker 1: one for one type deal where it was going to

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Speaker 1: be Kyle Kuzma and Montrez Harral for Buddy Healed, where

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Speaker 1: Kyle Kuzma obviously was a very good player, but the

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Speaker 1: Lakers just needed a little bit more shooting. So it

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Speaker 1: was like flipping one role player for one role player.

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Speaker 1: And the Lakers were kind of done with Montrez's hair anyway,

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Speaker 1: because he didn't really fit into their playoff rotation right.

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Speaker 1: But for whatever reason, I'm sure there was a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure from Lebron James and I'm sure there was

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Speaker 1: a lot of pressure from Anthony Davis. But as the

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Speaker 1: executive of the team, it's your job to filter through

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Speaker 1: that and stop that from happening. He did not, and

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Speaker 1: he shipped off all the team's depth in the process

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Speaker 1: undercut the team's championship ceiling. So that is an important

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Speaker 1: part of the story. But even then, even just forgetting

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Speaker 1: that coming into this season, there was risk in waiting

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Speaker 1: to trade Russell Westbrook on a bunch of different levels.

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Speaker 1: If you guys remember I said before the season, I said,

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Speaker 1: I am sure that Rob Polinka can get twenty percent

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Speaker 1: better return on a Russell Westbrook trade if he waits

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Speaker 1: to the deadline. But those of you guys have been

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Speaker 1: listening to the show for a while, you remember I said,

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Speaker 1: but I view a great deal of value in training

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Speaker 1: camp to establish continuity that you used during the regular season,

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Speaker 1: and I thought it was going to dig them a

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Speaker 1: hole in the standings. And where Lebron James and Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis out, all of those things came true. They dug

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Speaker 1: a massive hole in the standings. They had to play

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Speaker 1: playoff intensity basketball for the last third of the season,

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Speaker 1: and Lebron James in particular had to play through a

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Speaker 1: foot injury and it absolutely impact him in this playoff runt.

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Speaker 1: Before the injury, Lebron James averaged thirty points, eight rebounds,

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Speaker 1: and seven assists on fifty percent shooting. After the injury,

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Speaker 1: in the regular season, he averaged twenty five points, eight rebounds,

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Speaker 1: and six assists. On forty nine percent shooting. Then in

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Speaker 1: the playoffs he averaged twenty five points again, ten rebounds,

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Speaker 1: seven assists on fifty percent shooting. So clearly a thirty

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Speaker 1: point per game guy before the injury, a twenty five

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Speaker 1: point per game guy after the injury. It undeniably took

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Speaker 1: a level off of what Lebron James was capable of.

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Speaker 1: At the time that he injured his foot. He was

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Speaker 1: dealing with a stress injury in his left foot. As

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Speaker 1: many of you guys know, when you have an injury

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Speaker 1: in one of your feet, you compensate by putting a

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Speaker 1: lot more force and impact absorption and all those things

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Speaker 1: on the other side of your body as an attempt

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Speaker 1: to save your bad foot from taking contact. And literally

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Speaker 1: his right foot gave up on it. And so had

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Speaker 1: they made a trade before the season, I think it's

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Speaker 1: far more likely that they end up in a situation

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Speaker 1: where they can take it easy throughout the season and

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Speaker 1: Lebron James can take a little bit more time on

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Speaker 1: any one of those injuries, Anthony Davis can take a

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Speaker 1: little bit more time, and they have a better chance

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Speaker 1: to go into the postseason with a healthy Lebron James.

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Speaker 1: That's an important part of this story. So they absolutely

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Speaker 1: saved a pick, but in the process they hurt themselves

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Speaker 1: in the standings, forced their stars to play their injuries,

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Speaker 1: and you had to play three consecutive really good opponents

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Speaker 1: on the road in the playoffs. So, for instance, the

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Speaker 1: Lakers had to play Not only did they have to

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Speaker 1: try the end of the regular season, they had to

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Speaker 1: play a playing game against a very good Minnesota Timberwolves

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Speaker 1: team that was a knockdown, drag out fistfight. Then they

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Speaker 1: had to play a top five team in the league

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Speaker 1: in the first round without home court. Then they had

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Speaker 1: to play the defending champions without home court. Then they

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Speaker 1: had to play Denver. What did Denver have to do?

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Speaker 1: They coasted the last third of the season. They played

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Speaker 1: the worst team in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves,

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Speaker 1: Then they played a Phoenix Suns team that was a

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Speaker 1: middle seed that had some flaws, and then they got

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Speaker 1: to play the Lakers. So Denver, even though I do

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Speaker 1: believe they were better, they were also fresher. So again,

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Speaker 1: as we talk about the the trade from Rob Polinka

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Speaker 1: this summer and the job that he did, it's undeniable

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Speaker 1: that there's a lot of good to it. But there's

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Speaker 1: another side to the story, and it was another side

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Speaker 1: of the story that we all knew was the case

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Speaker 1: before the season and was really under discussed for a while. Now,

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Speaker 1: I want to just pretend for a reason, just as

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Speaker 1: an exercise. Let's pretend that before the season, the Lakers

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Speaker 1: make the Buddy Heeled in the Miles Turner trade. Now

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Speaker 1: you have to remember, the real reason the Lakers made

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Speaker 1: a long playoff run was they got Russell Westbrook off

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Speaker 1: the roster, which kind of invigorated the team and helped

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Speaker 1: them with their chemistry and with their on court chemistry

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Speaker 1: and off court chemistry. Also, Lebron James and Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: were legitimately healthy and locked in. At least Lebron James

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Speaker 1: was the level below, but the two of them were healthy.

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Speaker 1: The previous seasons, Lebron and Ady could not even play

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Speaker 1: to end the season, right. Lebron couldn't finish last season,

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis couldn't finish the season before. So this year

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Speaker 1: both guys were actually available to play in the postseason,

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Speaker 1: even though Lebron was somewhat limited. And then the third

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Speaker 1: big reason was Austin Reeves in the absence of Russell Westbrook,

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves got moved into the starting lineup, became a

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Speaker 1: primary ball handler and was awesome. Okay, that's why the

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Speaker 1: Lakers made a long playoff run. Malik Peasley was completely

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Speaker 1: out of the rotation by the end. D'angela Russell had

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Speaker 1: some playoff moments, but he also was unplayable for stretches,

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Speaker 1: and the same could be said about Jared Vanderbilt. So again,

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Speaker 1: did the trade help, Yes, not as much as people

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Speaker 1: were leading you to believe. So now let's pretend as

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Speaker 1: this exercise that they make the Buddy Heel the Miles

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Speaker 1: Turner trade in the offseason. Now you have a legitimate

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Speaker 1: backup center that allows you to be more functional when

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis rest's games, gives you a bench big so

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Speaker 1: Lebron doesn't have to play center in the bench groups

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Speaker 1: and gives you a two big look because Miles Turner

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Speaker 1: could shoot, So you had this other identity that you

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Speaker 1: could have had with two centers on the floor like

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Speaker 1: they did in the twenty twenty season. It's also a

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Speaker 1: more complimentary roster was shooting around Lebron James because you're

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Speaker 1: gonna have Buddy Heeled and Austin Reeves in the backcourt,

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Speaker 1: and they could still make the Hatchamura trade using the

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Speaker 1: Kendrick Nunn salary right. As a result of that, from

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Speaker 1: the start of the season, they would have had a

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Speaker 1: more talented roster that was more complimentary and ready to

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Speaker 1: go from day one, which would have given the Lakers

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Speaker 1: the ability to ease their way through the season. So

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Speaker 1: I just think as we're talking about Rob Polinka, he

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Speaker 1: still has, in my opinion, a lot of work to

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Speaker 1: do to make up for the damage that he did

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Speaker 1: to the twenty twenty roster, which was a bonafide championship roster.

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Speaker 1: And so as we're talking about Rob Polinka, I think

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Speaker 1: it's inaccurate to just say that it was an executive

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Speaker 1: the Year type of season where he solved all the Lakers' problems. No,

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Speaker 1: he dug the Lakers in a really big hole. He

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Speaker 1: made some progress getting them out. He still has a

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Speaker 1: lot of work to do, and so this summer is

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Speaker 1: going to be a great opportunity for Rob Polinka to

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Speaker 1: establish himself as a respected GM in this league, in

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Speaker 1: my opinion, because what he has is he's got a

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Speaker 1: bonafide pairing of stars in Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

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Speaker 1: He's got a couple of really good start and Austin

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Speaker 1: reason in Rueyachimura, and he's got a boatload of options

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Speaker 1: this offseason, a bunch of middling salaries we'll talk about.

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Speaker 1: He's got a couple of draft picks he can use

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Speaker 1: he has, He's got a really good hand of cards here,

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Speaker 1: and if he plays these cards right, the Lakers have

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Speaker 1: a chance to win a championship next year. And so

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Speaker 1: the opportunity is there for Rob to kind of flip

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Speaker 1: the narrative about himself. So let's go by position group here.

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Speaker 1: I want to start with the stars and then we'll

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Speaker 1: go centers, wings, and guards. Angie's list is now. Angie

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Speaker 1: your home for everything Home. Angie doesn't just get your

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Speaker 1: plus years of experience combined with new tools to simplify

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Speaker 1: the process, Angie makes completing home projects easy. With over

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Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty thousand pros in their network, Angie

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Speaker 1: day and my refrigerator is just making this horrible grinding noise.

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Speaker 1: Or on Saturday, we were having a pool party, I

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Speaker 1: had to use a couple outlets that I hadn't used

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Speaker 1: in a while, and I found three or four outlets

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Speaker 1: around the house that just didn't work. And that's super annoying.

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Speaker 1: But the best part about Angie is it's a great

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Speaker 1: tool to help you find the best available deal to

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Speaker 1: get that work done and to get it done right.

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Speaker 1: And just a few taps and the Angie app or

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Speaker 1: clicks on the site, you can have Angie tackle your

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Speaker 1: home service project from start to finish. Download the free

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Speaker 1: Angie mobile app today or visit Angie dot com. That's

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Speaker 1: a NGI dot com. So with the Stars, Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: got his ass kicked by ass kicked by Nikola Jokich,

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Speaker 1: but he still proved he's a top ten player in

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Speaker 1: the league in my opinion, clearly was the very best

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Speaker 1: defensive player in the entire playoff field and is probably

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Speaker 1: the most devastating defensive weapon in the entire league when

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Speaker 1: he's healthy again. The only time I've ever discussed trading

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis was during his times when he couldn't stay

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Speaker 1: on the floor healthy. He demonstrated that he could finish

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Speaker 1: the season strong and stay healthy throughout. And so at

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Speaker 1: this point, there's no point in trading Anthony Davis. As

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Speaker 1: soon as you trade him, you immediately lose your championship

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Speaker 1: ceiling because of what he does with rim protection and

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Speaker 1: all the defensive versatility that he brings to the table,

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Speaker 1: and his ability to be complimentary with your ball handlers

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Speaker 1: and pick and roll and to score effectively in pick

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Speaker 1: and roll, which is where most of his scoring comes

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Speaker 1: these days. So like when we're talking about Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: trades like it's just it's a non starter for me,

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Speaker 1: unless AD just has a serious injury again, at which

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Speaker 1: point that's something that you have to start thinking about.

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Speaker 1: But he's healthy, he's gonna have a full offseason to

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Speaker 1: work on his game. You have to continue to build

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Speaker 1: around AD. The big thing that I want to see

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Speaker 1: from him this offseason is he needs to polish up

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Speaker 1: his perimeter game. He does not need to be what

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Speaker 1: he was in the bubble. I also think that was

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Speaker 1: an outlier. But he doesn't need to be a liability either.

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Speaker 1: He needs to be an effective knockdown jump shooter, and

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Speaker 1: he needs to be in a situation where you can

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Speaker 1: toss him the ball in the block or in a

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Speaker 1: face up situation. And he could score close to a

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Speaker 1: point per possession in this postseason run and Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: post up or ISO including passes was good for only

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Speaker 1: zero points. Seven to eight points per possession. Just not

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Speaker 1: good enough for a player of his caliber. He's capable

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Speaker 1: of much better. Needs to get in the gym this

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Speaker 1: summer and round all of that stuff out. Lebron James,

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Speaker 1: first of all, no, I don't think he's gonna retire.

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Speaker 1: I think that I think that Lebron, like most competitors,

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Speaker 1: can look discouraged and kind of succumb to the fatigue

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Speaker 1: of it all after a season. There was a moment

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Speaker 1: after the twenty fourteen finals when they lost to the

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Speaker 1: Spurs where Lebron had some similar comments where he was

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Speaker 1: like or no, it was in twenty fifteen after they

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Speaker 1: lost to the Warriors. So he loses in heartbreak to

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Speaker 1: the Spurs, and he loses in heartbreak to the Warriors,

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Speaker 1: and in the postgame presser, he's basically like, this is

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Speaker 1: really hard. And I can't remember the exact words, but

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Speaker 1: basically he said, is like to get this close and

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Speaker 1: to come up short as like devastating to his body

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Speaker 1: and to his mental Like it was just really really

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Speaker 1: hard for him, right, And I think that that's probably

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Speaker 1: what happened. He gave it all, risked his body literally

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Speaker 1: because of the foot injury, to try to make this happen,

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Speaker 1: and it didn't work. So I think he was just discouraged.

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Speaker 1: But a couple of things. He's way too competitive to

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Speaker 1: give it up, especially since the Lakers have a legitimate

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Speaker 1: championship roster to work with next year too. He's gonna

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Speaker 1: make fifty million a year the next two years, so like,

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Speaker 1: I think Lebron's gonna play at least one more year,

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Speaker 1: if not too. Even with the foot injury, he was

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Speaker 1: still a top ten player in this postseason. I know

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Speaker 1: he joked after the loss to the Nuggets. He goes,

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00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:46,080
Speaker 1: I'm better than ninety percent of the league, or maybe

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Speaker 1: ninety five. It's more like ninety eight, because he's clearly

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Speaker 1: one of the top ten players in the league. I'll

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Speaker 1: ask you guys this, and if you disagree with me,

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Speaker 1: I want to see it in the comments. How many

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Speaker 1: players in this playoff field were definitively better than Lebron,

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Speaker 1: not maybe better, definitively better. I had four Jimmy Butler,

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Speaker 1: nikolea Jokicic, Steph Curry, and Anthony Davis. Those are the

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Speaker 1: four guys that I thought were better than Lebron James

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Speaker 1: in this postseason run. Everyone else same level or worse

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Speaker 1: like Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Jason Tatum. If you really

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Speaker 1: look at the impact that they had on winning on

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Speaker 1: both ends of the floor. Lebron was right there with

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Speaker 1: those guys. So even if you put him at the

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Speaker 1: bottom of that list, he was the eighth best player

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Speaker 1: in the league in this postseason run, and I'd say

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Speaker 1: he's probably closer to that five to six area right

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Speaker 1: even when he's injured. He had the defensive versatility to

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Speaker 1: be able to help on the back line, to be

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Speaker 1: able to have some success guarding nikolea jokicch He was

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Speaker 1: an incredible playmaker in the Denver series and throughout the

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Speaker 1: playoff run. He rebounded at the high level when they

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Speaker 1: needed to he applied its hunt of rim pressure. Lebron

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Speaker 1: James ran a one hundred and thirty post ups in

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Speaker 1: ISOs in this postseason run, including passes, and scored one

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Speaker 1: hundred and forty two points. It's well over a point

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Speaker 1: per possession, and we were just talking about how Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis couldn't do that. So he's still a bona fide

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Speaker 1: top ten player in the league in my opinion, and

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Speaker 1: probably closer to top five when he's healthy, because I

431
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,000
Speaker 1: just broke down how he's the top eight player in

432
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,760
Speaker 1: this postseason run when he was clearly hampered by a

433
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:22,920
Speaker 1: foot injury. So you are starting from a very good

434
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,399
Speaker 1: starting point with Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Just these

435
00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,240
Speaker 1: versions of these guys are both top ten players, and

436
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,280
Speaker 1: I think both of them have an opportunity to get

437
00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:34,520
Speaker 1: much better this offseason, just in the sense that they

438
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,159
Speaker 1: need to fix their jump shots. Lebron James has been

439
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:39,679
Speaker 1: a great jump shooter his entire tail end of his

440
00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,080
Speaker 1: career except for two seasonsy fifteen in twenty twenty three.

441
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,080
Speaker 1: My guess is he comes back next season a good

442
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:50,680
Speaker 1: jump shooter. Anthony Davis, my guess is he comes back

443
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,760
Speaker 1: a functional jump shooter. So if that's the case, they're

444
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:56,840
Speaker 1: clearly one of the best duos in the league, if

445
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,760
Speaker 1: not the best, right Like, I had a lot of

446
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,760
Speaker 1: Nuggets fans being like, oh, Jamal Murray was better than Lebron. No,

447
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,880
Speaker 1: he wasn't. Jamal Murray is a great pull up jump

448
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,119
Speaker 1: shooter who hit a lot of shots. In Denver's offense,

449
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,159
Speaker 1: he was in absolute defensive liability and the Lakers attacked

450
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,080
Speaker 1: him NonStop and Denver had to do a lot of

451
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,280
Speaker 1: stuff to hide him. Jamal Murray's moved up a lot,

452
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,040
Speaker 1: and when we rank players this summer, I wouldn't be

453
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,359
Speaker 1: surprised if he's top fifteen. But he's not better than

454
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,800
Speaker 1: Lebron James, and he's not better than Anthony Davis. And

455
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,760
Speaker 1: so you have as your starting point for the Lakers

456
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,640
Speaker 1: the best duo in the league in my opinion, because

457
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:33,600
Speaker 1: I think they're better than Jaylebron and Jason Tatum too.

458
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:38,960
Speaker 1: So that's a great foundation. Let's look at the position groups. Center.

459
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,119
Speaker 1: Lebron is too old to keep playing backup center, you know,

460
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,200
Speaker 1: unless you're playing against a team that doesn't have a

461
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: backup center, which just doesn't happen frequently enough. So that's

462
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 1: a position of great need this summer for three reasons. One,

463
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,600
Speaker 1: it allows you to play functional basketball when Anthony Davis

464
00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,200
Speaker 1: sits out games instead of trying to play small ball

465
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,720
Speaker 1: all game. Run some traditional pick and roll coverages and

466
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 1: kind of maintain the same identity you had with Anthony Davis,

467
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,520
Speaker 1: even if you won't be as good. You need a

468
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,760
Speaker 1: backup center to be able to do that. You want

469
00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:10,480
Speaker 1: to have a two big look. A two big look

470
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,879
Speaker 1: would have been really interesting to unleash against Denver. They

471
00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,560
Speaker 1: unleashed it against Denver almost NonStop in the twenty twenty bubble,

472
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,880
Speaker 1: and they didn't have that look this year and then last.

473
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,840
Speaker 1: It prevents Lebron from having to take on those sorts

474
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,119
Speaker 1: of responsibilities even when Anthony Davis is available but is

475
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,639
Speaker 1: on the bench. So I think they need to get

476
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 1: a backup center now. I don't think Mobamba is that

477
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,520
Speaker 1: guy for the postseason, but I think he can eat

478
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,399
Speaker 1: those innings during the regular season. I also would consider

479
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,879
Speaker 1: bringing Tristan Thompson to camp. I thought he looked decent

480
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,080
Speaker 1: in that game against Denver. Just bring him to camp

481
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,400
Speaker 1: doesn't hurt anything. He's not gonna get an offer anywhere else,

482
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,040
Speaker 1: bring him to camp, let him see if he comes

483
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,000
Speaker 1: into camp and shape see if he can help your team.

484
00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,360
Speaker 1: That's an interesting option. You can look at the veteran

485
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 1: minimum market. I would see if you could poach a

486
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,280
Speaker 1: guy like Brook Lopez from Milwaukee for the taxpayer mid

487
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 1: level exception, or you could be aggressive in the trade

488
00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: market for someone like Miles Turner. But no matter what,

489
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,320
Speaker 1: but you can't finish next season going into the playoffs

490
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,560
Speaker 1: without a solid backup center. I think they can get

491
00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,160
Speaker 1: away with a less than solid backup center during the

492
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,639
Speaker 1: regular season, but during the playoffs, are gonna need a

493
00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,919
Speaker 1: solid backup center. Looks look at the forward position. I

494
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:19,480
Speaker 1: think Lebron James, Jared Vanderbilt, Ruy hot Chamura is about

495
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 1: as good a group as you can find there around

496
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,679
Speaker 1: the league. It's a really good group of forwards. The

497
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,800
Speaker 1: only downside is Ruey has some defensive limitations depending on

498
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,600
Speaker 1: the matchup, but really only against super small teams. I

499
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:33,880
Speaker 1: thought he was effective in two of the three playoffs

500
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,480
Speaker 1: series that they had, and even in the Warrior series. Like, yeah,

501
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,200
Speaker 1: it sucks when you're asking him to chase a guard

502
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:39,879
Speaker 1: around screens and stuff, but I still think that he

503
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 1: could have played more in that series had they needed

504
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,480
Speaker 1: him too. And then Jared Vanderbilt obviously had some issues

505
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 1: in the offense with teams ignoring him and conceding corner threes.

506
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,840
Speaker 1: So a couple things ruy working another summer with Phil

507
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,520
Speaker 1: Handy getting better as a score. I thought he made

508
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,120
Speaker 1: huge strides just in one half season with Phil Handy.

509
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,960
Speaker 1: I would imagine Wizards fans are devastated to see where

510
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:04,760
Speaker 1: we look as good as he did. So one more

511
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,879
Speaker 1: summer with Phil Handy goes a long way. Jared Vanderbilt

512
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 1: just shooting a million corner threes this summer would go

513
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,800
Speaker 1: a long way towards helping him be playable, and then

514
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,400
Speaker 1: Lebron James fixing his jump shot. So I think they're

515
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:18,920
Speaker 1: already a really good group of forwards and it's only

516
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,800
Speaker 1: gonna get better this season as the guys get in

517
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,200
Speaker 1: the gym. I think the Lakers are in good shape.

518
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,639
Speaker 1: There were things get interesting is than the guards, So

519
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:28,960
Speaker 1: I'm gonna split it into two groups. On ballguards and

520
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,560
Speaker 1: more like second side, you know, off ball guards. So

521
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,280
Speaker 1: the only on ball guard that they're most likely gonna

522
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,880
Speaker 1: have back next year is Austin Reeves, who knows if

523
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,879
Speaker 1: someone's gonna offer him a giant contract and the Lakers

524
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,159
Speaker 1: have to match. Hopefully the Lakers can get him for

525
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,560
Speaker 1: that four years, fifty million or whatever that they're hoping for,

526
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,119
Speaker 1: but we'll see either way. I expect Austin Reeves to

527
00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,600
Speaker 1: be a Laker on next year. He was incredible in

528
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,439
Speaker 1: this first playoff run. He averaged one point two to

529
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,159
Speaker 1: one points per possession in spot up situation, still one

530
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,360
Speaker 1: of the best shooters and close out attackers in the league.

531
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,920
Speaker 1: He shot sixty nine percent effect did field goal percentage

532
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,520
Speaker 1: on catch and shoot jumpers in the playoffs, forty nine

533
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,160
Speaker 1: percent in effective field goal percentage on pull up jumpers.

534
00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 1: In this postseason run, he was solid and pick and

535
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,080
Speaker 1: roll just under a point per possession. He was over

536
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:15,320
Speaker 1: a point per possession in isolation. He averaged seventeen points

537
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:18,960
Speaker 1: per game on sixty two percent true shooting, averaged five

538
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,679
Speaker 1: assists per game, and had a two point nine assist

539
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,040
Speaker 1: to turnover ratio. And I thought he held up really

540
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:28,160
Speaker 1: well defensively. So that's like five stars for a young

541
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 1: undrafted guard in his first playoff run. I think he's

542
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,560
Speaker 1: the perfect starting guard starting two guard, probably to have

543
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,680
Speaker 1: next to Lebron James and Anthony Davis off ball guards.

544
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:40,480
Speaker 1: And again I'm not talking about the guys that they

545
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,959
Speaker 1: could retain. I'm going to focus on who they are

546
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,360
Speaker 1: for sure going to have for now. So the only

547
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:47,240
Speaker 1: guy I think they'll for sure have back is Max

548
00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,320
Speaker 1: Christy as an off ball guard. I think he's going

549
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,360
Speaker 1: to be a big rotation piece for the Laker next

550
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,040
Speaker 1: Lakers next year. Allegedly he's grown a little bit closer

551
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,400
Speaker 1: to six to seven. He was a knockdown three point

552
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,320
Speaker 1: shooter this year. He shot forty two percent from three.

553
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,920
Speaker 1: He's very good defensive players, got good length, quick feet,

554
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,680
Speaker 1: navigates screens well. I expect him to play a lot

555
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,760
Speaker 1: next year. Wouldn't even be surprised if he played some

556
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:09,280
Speaker 1: small forward for them, if the if the muscle mass

557
00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:11,080
Speaker 1: that he's gained in his length has improved as much

558
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,000
Speaker 1: as it has. So couple of really good options there.

559
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,680
Speaker 1: But you're gonna need three more guards, a couple of

560
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,400
Speaker 1: specific types that I'd look at. I think they need

561
00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,600
Speaker 1: a really good athletic guard, and I mean with some

562
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,879
Speaker 1: real like strength to him. Lanni's a good athlete, but

563
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 1: he just couldn't hold up again in the physicality against

564
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:30,640
Speaker 1: some of the bigger, stronger guards. Kind of like what

565
00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,320
Speaker 1: Bruce Brown was for the Nuggets this year, or what

566
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:35,760
Speaker 1: Alex Crusoe was to the twenty twenty Lakers. A guard

567
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:39,360
Speaker 1: between six four and sixty six who's like a solid

568
00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:42,120
Speaker 1: two hundred and fifteen pounds or more that can move

569
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,679
Speaker 1: his feet well and can just be a functional, smart

570
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 1: offensive player. Both Bruce Brown and Alex Kruse are excellent cutters.

571
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,760
Speaker 1: That's kind of like more important than them knocking down

572
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,560
Speaker 1: spot up threes necessarily, although that obviously helps. Then I

573
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,240
Speaker 1: think they need another guy who can take on primary

574
00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,520
Speaker 1: ball handling responsibilities. I'm talking about that in a second,

575
00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,280
Speaker 1: so I'm gonna pause there, and then they probably need

576
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,919
Speaker 1: a third guard just off the bench for depth, and

577
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,159
Speaker 1: that's probably gonna be a veteran minimum guy. So as

578
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,560
Speaker 1: we zoom out, I think they desperately need a backup

579
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,160
Speaker 1: center and they need to fill out that guard rotation. Now.

580
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:16,680
Speaker 1: A lot of people are talking about Kyrie Irving, and look,

581
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,520
Speaker 1: I agree, he's literally perfect. He fulfills the roster's biggest weakness,

582
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,040
Speaker 1: which is over the top shot making. He's great on

583
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 1: and off the ball, super complimentary with Lebron James and

584
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,919
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, and when engaged, he's actually a solid defensive player.

585
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 1: But it's just unbelievably unrealistic from the standpoint of obtaining

586
00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:36,960
Speaker 1: him without giving up too much. So I think Laker

587
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 1: fans need to move on from that idea, at least

588
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,360
Speaker 1: for the time being. So, yes, we'd love to see

589
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 1: Kyrie in a Laker jersey, just don't think it's realistic.

590
00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,000
Speaker 1: So what would I do if I was running the Lakers.

591
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,760
Speaker 1: I would just bring everybody back and I'd hang tight

592
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,480
Speaker 1: and I'd wait for the perfect trade. So let me

593
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,480
Speaker 1: break this down for you guys. I'd match any offers

594
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,720
Speaker 1: for Ruey Hatchamura and Austin Reeves. Hopefully, if you're lucky,

595
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 1: you can get them both for about the threaty million

596
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:05,160
Speaker 1: a year combined. I'd pick up Michael Malik Beasley's option.

597
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:11,280
Speaker 1: I guarantee Obama's contract. I guarantee I'm having trouble talking today.

598
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:14,720
Speaker 1: I guarantee Jared Vanderbilt's contract, and I'd try to re

599
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,960
Speaker 1: sign D'angela Russell on some sort of team friendly deal,

600
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:18,240
Speaker 1: which I think you're gonna be able to do after

601
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 1: how much he struggled in the postseason. So why because

602
00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,400
Speaker 1: the shortcoming of this roster that we saw against Denver

603
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,600
Speaker 1: was over the top shot making, right, Yo Kitchen Murray

604
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,560
Speaker 1: beat them making jumpers over contests when Lebron James and

605
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,960
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis could not. That was the fundamental, biggest weakness

606
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:41,280
Speaker 1: in my opinion. Obviously, you want Anthony Davis to defend better.

607
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,480
Speaker 1: You'd like to have another body to throw at Yo Kicch. Obviously,

608
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 1: when you get swept there's more than one reason, but

609
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,240
Speaker 1: the biggest reason in my opinion is the lack of

610
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:53,960
Speaker 1: over the top shot making for the Lakers. So that's

611
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,600
Speaker 1: not going to bother you in the regular season. That's

612
00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:00,560
Speaker 1: a playoff problem. In the regular season, the Lakers is

613
00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,160
Speaker 1: currently constructed, are gonna win a shit ton of games,

614
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:05,920
Speaker 1: So this is not a problem you need to solve

615
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,520
Speaker 1: this summer. If you bring back Dangel Russell, Malik Beasley, Mobamba,

616
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,240
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt, and you run the same group, you're gonna

617
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 1: win a shit ton of regular season games. You're gonna

618
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,440
Speaker 1: be sitting at you know, thirty seven and twenty two

619
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 1: or something at some point during the season you're gonna

620
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,479
Speaker 1: win a lot of games, so that that's the route.

621
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,040
Speaker 1: Then you have all of this tradeable salary Mike Malik

622
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 1: Beasley's contract sixteen million, Mobamba ten million, Jared Vanderbilt five million,

623
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,920
Speaker 1: Dangel Russell probably around twenty million dollars a year. Right,

624
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:42,840
Speaker 1: So even if you do, even if you don't get

625
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,560
Speaker 1: d Lo, that's thirty one million in tradable salary that's

626
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 1: tradable immediately this summer, and then if you wait till

627
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:52,040
Speaker 1: the deadline, you get that plus whatever Dangel Russell makes.

628
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:53,840
Speaker 1: Let's just for the sake of making the math easy,

629
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,520
Speaker 1: let's call it fifty million in total tradable salaries. There.

630
00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,000
Speaker 1: You can attach them there. That's a bunch of different sizes, right,

631
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 1: I've got a twenty million salary slot, a sixteen million

632
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,840
Speaker 1: salary slot, a ten, and a five. You can piece

633
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 1: those together in any combination to get any type of

634
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,360
Speaker 1: player that you need. You have two available first round

635
00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,200
Speaker 1: draft picks as of draft night to trade, and a

636
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,040
Speaker 1: bunch of second round picks. So I would be patient.

637
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,240
Speaker 1: I've heard a lot of people mentioning guys like Fred

638
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,320
Speaker 1: van Vliet, for instance. I don't like that idea fred

639
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,720
Speaker 1: is a solid defensive player, but he's an inefficient score

640
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,040
Speaker 1: and he's small, so he doesn't help them in their

641
00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,760
Speaker 1: contested rebound situations, which were a big problem in really

642
00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,920
Speaker 1: in every playoff series. If they were to go the

643
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:37,840
Speaker 1: route of just getting some mid level guard, I'd go

644
00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,280
Speaker 1: after a guy like Terry Rozier. But even then I'd wait.

645
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:44,640
Speaker 1: I'd wait. Unless you can easily get Kyrie Irving without

646
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:49,200
Speaker 1: sacrificing depth, I'd wait. So again, I think if you

647
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,280
Speaker 1: can float in the regular season, you just see what

648
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,440
Speaker 1: pops up over the course of the year. And I

649
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,360
Speaker 1: wrote down a couple of options. So let's say, for instance,

650
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,440
Speaker 1: somebody like let's say like the pacer struggle this year,

651
00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:10,360
Speaker 1: and you can poach Miles Turner for Mobomba and you

652
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:16,040
Speaker 1: know Malik Beasley and three seconds, Like, that's a fantastic

653
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,760
Speaker 1: trade that gets you a backup center that costs you

654
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,959
Speaker 1: almost nothing and doesn't affect your rotation. Like, that's a

655
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,080
Speaker 1: really interesting deal that I look at for the Lakers

656
00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 1: during the season. Maybe it's a smaller move like that

657
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 1: for a guard like Terry Rozier, like I talked about,

658
00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 1: Or maybe you get lucky and someone like Damian Lillard

659
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,600
Speaker 1: comes available, or someone like Bradley Beale becomes available, and

660
00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:41,760
Speaker 1: then you can offer as the salary filler. But you

661
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,200
Speaker 1: can offer two first round draft picks and a second

662
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,480
Speaker 1: round pick, or three second round picks or whatever it is.

663
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,960
Speaker 1: Whatever that option is that comes available over the course

664
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,239
Speaker 1: of the season, you are poised to jump on it

665
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,120
Speaker 1: when it arrives right that to me is the best route.

666
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,760
Speaker 1: You already are good enough for the regular season. That's

667
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,320
Speaker 1: a problem you just need to solve by February in

668
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,560
Speaker 1: terms of that top end shot creation. So just be patient,

669
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,640
Speaker 1: hang tight. You never know what's gonna happen during the

670
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: regular season. Maybe some superstar gets hurt on a team

671
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:17,840
Speaker 1: that like, maybe Kawhi gets hurt again, and the Clippers

672
00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:19,800
Speaker 1: are like, we're looking to get rid of Paul George.

673
00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:21,920
Speaker 1: Maybe you can jump on Paul George, Like, you don't

674
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,520
Speaker 1: know what you'd You never know what's going to happen,

675
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 1: and so I don't think they need to be super

676
00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,200
Speaker 1: aggressive to make a big move this summer on some

677
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,120
Speaker 1: ancillary piece that's not gonna really move the needle. When

678
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,320
Speaker 1: D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reeves, Jared Vanderbilt ru Hatchmurr whoever it

679
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,520
Speaker 1: is that plays a three Lebron James, Anthony Davis with

680
00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 1: mobomb off the bench and and and Max Christy and

681
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,200
Speaker 1: Malik Beasley. You're gonna win enough regular season games, you

682
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,960
Speaker 1: just are. There's just there's no rush. So I would

683
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,400
Speaker 1: be really patient and just kind of look to pounce

684
00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,760
Speaker 1: on the right move this summer, and I'd go big.

685
00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:59,200
Speaker 1: I'd go for a really good shot creator that can

686
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,080
Speaker 1: be the guy that go toe to toe with Jamal

687
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:03,080
Speaker 1: Murray running spam and pick and roll at the end

688
00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:05,280
Speaker 1: of a game with you know, Anthony Davis and the

689
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,680
Speaker 1: dunker spot and Lebron James Setton screens or Lebron spotting

690
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 1: up in Anthony Davis Setton screens. That's the way that

691
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:13,160
Speaker 1: I would go. Or hell, Lebron James running pick and

692
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:16,839
Speaker 1: roll with whoever that star player you bring bring in

693
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:18,640
Speaker 1: as the screener. You can open up a lot of

694
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:20,319
Speaker 1: stuff there that Lakers had a lot of problems with

695
00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:24,080
Speaker 1: the Nuggets hiding Jamal Murray on Denna Schroeder for instance,

696
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,200
Speaker 1: for that very reason. So I would be patient. So

697
00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,759
Speaker 1: as we zoom out, the concept to the team is

698
00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,560
Speaker 1: you have four core players right, Austin Reeves, Zurihach, Murray,

699
00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:34,960
Speaker 1: Lebron James, Anthony Davis. You need a reliable fifth starter

700
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:37,239
Speaker 1: that you can run in closing groups, right. And you

701
00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:41,080
Speaker 1: need a backup center to reach your eventual playoff ceiling. Right.

702
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,360
Speaker 1: But you have De'angela, Russell, Malik Beasley, Mobamba, maybe a

703
00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:46,319
Speaker 1: guy like Tristan Thompson if he does well in camp

704
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,080
Speaker 1: to fulfill those responsibilities during the regular season. Eat the

705
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,160
Speaker 1: innings until the right move pops up. I just wouldn't

706
00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,680
Speaker 1: cash in all the chips for an average player before then.

707
00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,560
Speaker 1: I think this team is the clear number two to

708
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,880
Speaker 1: the Denver Nuggets head into next season. They have a

709
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,839
Speaker 1: bright future with a bunch of young players around their

710
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:07,640
Speaker 1: older Lebron James. I think Lebron still has two good

711
00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:10,640
Speaker 1: years left. So it's it's an exciting time to be

712
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:12,960
Speaker 1: a Laker fan, and there's a lot of opportunity in

713
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,640
Speaker 1: the next calendar year for the Lakers to do some

714
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:17,120
Speaker 1: damage in the NBA. All right, guys, that's all I

715
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:21,120
Speaker 1: have for today. I will be back. Actually, I'm not

716
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:22,719
Speaker 1: sure what we're good. I think we might be taking

717
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:24,640
Speaker 1: the weekend off. It just depends I'm recording this before

718
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,600
Speaker 1: Game five of Celtics Heat, so it might be Game

719
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,600
Speaker 1: six Celtics Heat, or it might be a weekend off

720
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,200
Speaker 1: before we get into NBA Finals stuff next week. As always,

721
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:56,279
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys, and I'll see you. Then the

722
00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:56,880
Speaker 1: volume