Lakers Media Day 2025: JJ Extended, LeBron Reflects, Luka Sets the Standard + “Who He Play For”

For once, Lakers Media Day didn’t feel like damage control. No coaching hot seat. No “trade everybody” chatter. No chaos about roster overhauls. Instead, the vibe was calm, confident, and focused — a clean reset button in L.A.

JJ Redick set the tone with a brand-new extension and talk of “standards.” LeBron James admitted the finish line is “sooner than later,” while making it clear the process still fuels him. Luka Dončić promised better conditioning and real defensive effort as he enters his first full season with the Lakers.

Ricky and Kwame break down how different this Media Day felt, what it means for the Lakers’ identity in Year 2, and how the rest of the league set their tone. Plus — the guys play a round of “Who He Play For” with the latest camp signings and roster shakeups.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, what's going on? Y'all? Welcome to a new episode
of the Late New Lakes Show podcast powered by nineteen
Media Group. It is your host to Ricky and Kwame.
We did it. We finally did it, y'all. We made
it to Media Day. We have done it. It is
September twenty ninth year of Our Lord, twenty twenty five,
and the Los Angeles Lakers have just wrapped up the

(00:21):
Media Day press conference, interview, photoshoot extravaganza. We gonna get
into all things media Day, the quotes, the sounds, the looks,
who's in shape, who's recovering, who's new, who's not, who's retiring,
who's taking over as the face of the franchise. As
always make sure you are following Late Now Lake Show
wherever you get that hashtag good content. Kwame, my brother,

(00:44):
we did it, man. We survived a long, long, long
off season, and I would say that Media Day this
year it felt normal. It felt less chaotic than years before.
Who's your reaction as we get things kicked?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah? To your point, I don't know, there's a weird
almost like a calmness in Media Day, not nothing about
like like you know, it wasn't what's this team going
to be looking like going into the season, or you know,
how was the offseason or any storyline first year head
coach or you know, polarizing player. It felt like a calmness.
It felt like we got all that out. Likely when

(01:20):
the Luca trade went down, I think a lot of
that went out the window. A lot of the initial
shock values kind of worn off. I think at this
point most people are just kind of ready for the
season to kick off. But it was. It was a
good bead day from my vantage point. I I enjoyed
listening to the players. I'm excited for some of the
new pieces, the pieces that we have that got to continue.
One theme that I that I felt like I heard
a lot was there was a lot of conversation around

(01:42):
players bodies staying in shape, in a good shape this summer.
I feel like that was a really big emphasis for JJ.
He might be taking that out of the pat Riley
book because I hear how he works some boys down
in Miami with the regiment. So hey, if you want
to be a world class athlete, you need to be
a world class shape. So the guys were looking good today.
The guys good.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
They were man I'm I don't know. Like we said,
we were talking before the show, and it's a little weird.
We were trying to remember why this felt different talking
back on years past did last year obviously, JJ was
the first time head coach, to a lot of questions,
a lot of excidement, a lot of looking forward to
what he had to say as a rookie everything coach

(02:22):
in this league and in life. Right. Remember he had
not coached above his kids pick up basketball team. So
not only that JJ secures the bag. You know, we
always appreciate folks secure in the bag on this show,
and JJ Redick is no strangers to that. He adds
two years on to his contract, which I don't know

(02:43):
if everybody just realized he was a rookie head coach
last year and now JJ got an extension this year.
Must be doing something that the front office likes. Even
though that the Lakers went out in five in the
first round. Kwalme as we get into our quick hits,
bro JJ back is not new to this man. He
goes from playing in the league to being an ESPN analyst,

(03:06):
to being a podcaster with Lebron to being the head
coach of the Lakers, to get an extension after year
one must be nice your reactions to the JJ extension.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Honestly, in true Laker fashion, they're just giving from office
staff extensions in the wee hours of the night of
the offseason. Like we hear Rob Lincoln keeps getting extensions
out of nowhere, JJ got a silent one in the
midst of the night. So good for JJ, though, honestly,
I think he was He did a good job in

(03:36):
his first season as head coach. I think he really did,
outside of a few obvious blunders in the playoffs. He
even talked about that Game five starting small ball. He
said he put the team in a very awkward position.
So again, I do appreciate the humility, him willing to learn.
He always striked me as that type of person. But
I think this is just a testament to the Lakers
commitment to him and the Luca pairing. I think they

(03:57):
liked a lot what JJ was able to do with Luca.
A lot things he may have talked about concepts, whatnot
even the demands is a first year head coach coming
into the offseason. The demands he's asking of the team,
you know, get your body right, work on these types
of things, and it looks like the roster took it very,
very seriously. They're coming back in camp talk about, hey,
I worked on the things JJ wanted me to do
with the team where we talked about his aggression, stuff

(04:19):
like that that JJ had requested specifically from players to
work on a little bit. And that's that's big coming
from a first year head coach who again saw some
great success. But it's able to trust his guys, and
I think that shows both ways kind of how people
have some faith in him, some trusted him, But honestly,
I think it's a good parent. I was impressed by
JJ in his first season. Again had some blunders, but

(04:40):
it just is what it is. I mean, you can
find I guarantee, even heat fans with Eric spolsa top
fifteen coach all time, they complain about what he does. Heck,
I see what the Warriors be saying about Steve Kerr,
and you know he's highly regarded as a good coach.
You know, coaching is a tough job to evaluate properly,
especially when you're from the fans perspective. I'm not mad

(05:01):
at it. I'm again surprised that it happened, but like
I said, I'm surprised at every extension that goes under
our nose in Lakerland because they just don't publicize that
type of stuff like that. But good for JJ Man,
Good for him. I think again, this is a commitment
to him beyond the Lebron James years. So I think
that's even a bit of a reassurance to him that
he's on the right path. So hey, until for the

(05:21):
foreseeable future, we should get used to seeing JJ and
Luca as the you know, the coach player combo for
years to come.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah, signed through twenty nine thirty. Oh okay, you know,
I think growing up, bro, I think I thought about
what two thousand would be, Like what twenty ten, you know,
going to going to college? Right, maybe twenty twenty, twenty

(05:49):
thirty is that's a big number, and I just.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
That's flying card.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah sorry, yeah, yeah, Like I'm just hello, Like I
should be able to tell important stuff. You know, we
got you know, I'm just the iPhone Air is taking
over the streets, bro, Did you see the iPhone Air
as another phone kind of sewer? Did you see the
iPhone Air thoughts?

Speaker 2 (06:13):
I like the thoughts, you know, I kind of like
the Dow slim phones. I enjoyed it. I think it's
kind of cool. Also think like the Galaxy S twenty
five Edge or whatever. I thought that was really cool
to slim phones. But unfortunately I was watching some dirt
ability tests and those can ben just sitting in your
pocket and snap as.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, yeah, at least hey a for effort. I don't
hate them for trying.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
I don't.

Speaker 1 (06:36):
But as soon as they started, as soon as I
saw the bad camera and I just saw one dot
in just stead at three, I was like, okay, I
see what type of time y'all on to build this
skinny phone. You start to take it shit out. They
just started pulling what is this a battery power that
we've been using at least since you know, twenty twenty two,

(07:00):
twenty twenty one. There, it's if you got to sell
a battery pack with the actual phone. You know you
cooked on that end. But shout out to Apple solving
the problems that they create. Again, I'm not shipped on it, man,
it's a it's a statement. If you got time to
just have a spare phone, cool, but nah.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
They should have known the foldable route. But I digress.

Speaker 1 (07:23):
I think so and so and so and so, but yes, yes,
it says all right. Other thing that stood out to
me with UH with JJ and I think that's a
great point about, like, you know, him being here past
the lebron gears is he is what feels like to me,
very focused on Luca and getting the most out of

(07:46):
him and promoting him as the guy who needs to
set the tone for where this team is going to go.
He's right, He's right, and everybody seems to be on
that same page. Dude, even Ruy in his you know,
in his UH presser, Luca was walking by, Ruis goes

(08:07):
my cop did It's like, okay, yeah, that's true. JJ's
quotes saying, you know, this is his life, this is routine,
This is just a daily commitment to the new standards
that he set for himself. And talking about Luka Doncic. Yeah,
I just thought it was It was very telling and
where the focus of the franchise isn't honestly where it's
been since they traded for Luka Doncics. So shout out

(08:29):
to JJ. Congrats on securing the bag, and congrats for
being married to a top five player in the league.
UH for the for the least what the next three
years of Luca's life.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
So no, you're right, he saw Luca and he made
sure to hitch that wagon as quickly as he could. Man.
And hey, that's how you get into history books. That's
how you solidify a legend. That's how you get to
be known as one of these these coaches that coached
You know what I'm saying. You look at Steve Kerr.
What's Steve Kerr without Steph Curry? What's Phil Jackson without
the Three Peaks and Kobe and Shaq? You know he's

(09:02):
trying to be one of those guys as well. We can,
we very well can be looking in the history books
in twenty years and they'll be you know, JJ and Luca.
I see what he's doing, and I honestly I applauded.
So let's get it. Let's deliver on that though show.
So Lebron James walked into his twenty third media day

(09:24):
and for the first time, the spotlight isn't on him.
It's not the spotlight for the for who is the
central figure of the Los Angeles Lakers or any team
Lebron James is on is not him. We're coming on
the heels at the end of his career, man, and
he addressed retirement head on and a lot of these conversations.
You know, we talked about not too many days left.

(09:45):
He loves the process and he still has the love
for the game at the end of the day. You know,
he said, there's nothing, there's no external force that will
speed up or slow down his timeline. It will simply
just be a conversation between his wife, his daughter, you know,
as immediate family. But beyond that, you know, it's still
kind of up and up in the air. So Rick,
I want to ask you, man, given all the talk

(10:07):
around Lebron james retirement, so many things that had been
said over the years, him coming in the media day
with a different air to him. You know, he feels
he even feels different. What he walked in felt different.
This is different. This is new in a Lebron James
team where the focus isn't necessarily on all on him.
It still is to a degree, but with retirement looming,

(10:28):
what are your thoughts on Lebron James going into his
twenty third NBA season.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, I mean I think it was I think what
we saw today and you know, I'm not saying that's
what we're going to see on the court. But to
be honest, I saw a mortal man. I saw a
man that knew that he is not going to be
Superman for very much longer. Right.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
You know.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
We've talked about it, you know, throughout the off season,
but Lebron is kind of letting everybody know that, Hey, one, yes,
we're all on the same page. I don't have a
lot of time left playing the game of basketball. He said.
He still loves the process. He still loves the game,
but he's still you know, in love with the process

(11:17):
even more, which is dope. Right. As a leader, you
want the face of the franchise as he's passing the
torch to still say he loves the pieces that make
basketball such a beautiful sport that he fell in love with, right,
And that's coming together of what fourteen to fifteen guys
plus coaches, all with one goal of securing an NBA championship.

(11:40):
The NBA season is the longest season in professional sports
for calendar months that it takes up time away from
your family. Is his life man? Twenty three years right.
You know a lot of folks are listening. You know,
didn't even have they weren't even driving by the time
Lebron James, you know, it reached year ten. So I

(12:02):
think it's dope to kind of see the guy, you know,
be realistic about where he's at. Right, A lot of
people like going out on their shield and still saying
that they the baddest on the planet, and you know,
rightfully so to each the own. But I think Lebron
is that smart in that, you know, realistic in more

(12:22):
so than anything about where he stands. But like, hey, also, Bro,
I think we wouldn't be seeing this what I would
say at piece Lebron if there wasn't these pieces around
Lebron and he wasn't sitting here. And let's just say
Anthony Davis was still on the roster, and I know

(12:43):
that's his road dog, right, but let's say that eighty
Lebron Lakers went out in five like the Luke of
Lebron Lakers. It feels different because now this is how
many years in a row with the same exact results. Right,
could see Lebron coming into this media day more fatigued,

(13:04):
more still realistic about where he's at, but maybe less
optimistic about what's going to happen this season. I saw
an optimistic Lebron that is, you know, focused on what's
ahead of him these next eight months and then going
to sess what's gonna happen for the rest of his
life after that. So it was exciting, man, I mean

(13:24):
it was cool. But you know, I think even more
interesting is how the media has no other option but
to ask everybody else about Lebron James and his retirement. Quap,
i'd bean, I don't know. I guess you get used
to it. But if you're a Lebron's teammate and folks
are still asking in year two and year three, what's
it like playing with Lebron? And do you think he's
gonna retire? Does that get annoy? Get all?

Speaker 2 (13:46):
Bro's got it right, Like they're probably like all right, Bro,
Like I mean, y'all keep asking us. We don't know either,
Like he ain't tell us, you know what I'm saying.
That's probably really what they're like, like, dog, we don't know.
But you know, you want to pay homage to a
great You understand what he means for the team, the league,
the sport in general, so you understand that. You keep
that in your mind. But to be honest, I feel
like and maybe let me know if you feel the

(14:08):
same way. I feel like this is the first off
season where we've come into media day and the previous
season didn't feel like a massive failure like outside the
championship year since Lebron has been on Lakers. This feels
like the first media day we walked in were last
year wasn't like, Man, remember how we got clapped, or man,
we were this close, or you know, we were at
the conference finals but we got clobber then we lost

(14:31):
in five to Denver. Oh we lost to Phoenix. Oh,
we didn't make the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
You know.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
It feels like this is the first media day that
even though we lost to the Timberwolves, there's a lot
of optimism around this season. It's not so much about man,
can we defeat the demons of the past, rather than
it's more the conversations more like, ah, the Lakers didn't
have enough time to gel We're gonna get a whole
training camp in and there's like a optimism about again,
not just this next year, but several years now that

(14:58):
we have a young super dupe were Megastar on the
roster and he just locked up for extra years on
the extension. So maybe that's what it is. Maybe that's
what's attributing to it that the future looks so bright
that last year's shortcoming doesn't even feel that bad. Am
I right on that assessment?

Speaker 1 (15:15):
Yeah, no, you're You're absolutely right, And I think it
ties in directly to the comparison, like the Lakers could
have had the same result with Anthony Davis and not
Luca Doncis, And I think this media day feels completely different, right.
I don't even remember how many questions even came up
about the Minnesota series. I think going into the Luca
trade and reacting to it. As the dust settled in,

(15:36):
the Lakers weren't able to pick up another center. You know,
there was still excitement about seeing the product on the court,
but you know, for all intentsive purposes, it was like,
let's just see where this goes. Let's make sure Luca
comes back healthy, doesn't you know, hurt himself. Let's make
sure that the car still's got some tread on the tires,
and then you know, let's get Lebron in and out
of here, you know, healthy as well. You know, we

(15:59):
saw the result, but you come into this off season,
the main topics are Luca's revitalized approach and his diet
and his summer and if Lebron's going to retire, notice
not if Lebron is happy in LA and wants to
play for another team and potentially take Bronni with him,

(16:21):
Like they spoon fetch all that poison during the summer
and called a content but not here, not here in
the late night, like shall we tend to see through
the through the bs? But yeah, man, it's it's completely
valid to think that because of the Luca acquisition, the
sting of how last season ended, you know that the

(16:41):
antidote of hey, you really didn't unwrap your Christmas present
all the way? This is technically year one. You got
a little preview, We got the beta version, right, you're
a beta tester on your iOS, were keeping the phone
combo going. You know, you expect the little bugs, right,
but then you expect when the official rollout happens. I e.
Twenty twenty five, we're ready to roll, and I think

(17:03):
the Lakers look ready to roll for Opening Night. And
that's exciting.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
Man. Yeah, no, I one hundred percent agree with you.
And again, I think once we saw that Mark Williams
trade fall through and Jackson Aves was going to be
our starting center for the rest of the season. I
think a lot of people deep down knew that that
season was gonna be a bit of a punt. You know.
It's just like, hey, let's see how far we can go.
But this don't mean none. We haven't gotten our real center.
This team was built for an Anthony Davis Lebron James team.

(17:30):
We got Luca and we haven't had time to play
around and build around that skill set. So you know,
it just is what it is. So I think that
also helped leave it up, leave the taste in our
miles from last season not sting as bad. But on
the Lebron James no man again, this is just the
same retirements talk. I'll be honest, this feels like he
might just dip out like a thief in the night.

(17:51):
I think he's really gonna play it almost year by
year again it is somehow miraculously and honestly, I don't
even think it's miraculously, But if they somehow pull out
a chance being shipped title, which is I think it's
pretty pretty pretty possible. This year, he's obviously leaving on
the top, Like why would he stick around and play board.
Outside of that, again, he said it won't be him

(18:11):
huddling up with his teammates like, guys, what do you
think I should do? He gonna look Savannah's eyes and
be like, am I gonna go again? How his body,
how his mind, how everything feels. That's gonna be on hymns.
You know. He made a comment even in media Day
where he talked about, hey, you know, being present, being
in the moment and appreciating every bit of it. You know,
might be a Tuesday night in some city he don't

(18:33):
want to play in, but he's got to, you know,
remember stay in the moment and say, hey, this might
be my last time here. That feels like retirement toward talk.
Remember Kobe Bryant said, I'm playing every away game. I'm
having to give all my fans and all these arenas
one final chance to play. If you guys, notice if
Lebron excluding injury, suits up for every road game, be
prepared for the end. I'm believing that you can't predict it.

(18:56):
That's like trying to figure out when the rapture.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
Is crying, go there we go, there we go. They've
been They've been trying to predict the Lebron retirement for years,
just like the rapture. You're not wrong, You're not wrong.
So you know, I'm just sifting through here the schedule,
and I'm trying to identify what cities Lebron was talking

(19:17):
about that he would be more tired than others to
play in. Shout out to my you know, my second
you know team closest to my heart, Memphis. But I
don't think Lebron's getting too excited going down to see
three six Mafia. Where else? Kwame? Where else is not

(19:39):
getting the juice.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
Is flowing in Detroit.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
Oh wow, well you know as a dead one, Okay,
as a Lebron lifer, right, No, no personal extra juice
still for Detroit, and like a Boston. I mean obviously
the Boston is different now because yeah, with the Lakers.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah nah, they played its at Little Caesars Arena. We
don't care about that.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
He said. The ghosts are still at the palace.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
Yeah, the palace at Auburn Hills. If they were still there,
maybe you could get me. But nah, we don't care
about Little Caesar's Arena. And it's probably better low key,
but we don't care.

Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, Phillips echoing, in the hallways if you walk through.

Speaker 2 (20:20):
You think he cares Utah. Oh no, there's some cities
here where it's like.

Speaker 1 (20:24):
There's a few on here.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (20:26):
I'm gonna be honest with you. I think he loves
playing Giannis. I don't think Milwaukee on that list of
places that's getting him too excited either.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
You're hoping that's not. I don't even stay over night.
They land in play the game at flyouts same night.

Speaker 1 (20:37):
Oh kwamee. We are Saturday for the Bucks game. That's interesting, Saturday,
November fifteenth. It's a Saturday game, a primetime b Yeah, yeah, primetime. Okay,
we're gonna be in there any event. Yeah, there's a
there's a few spots. I think the change would be
too excited for it. But yeah, it's good to hear
him say. And I think if you are listening to

(20:57):
people when they talk, these are very intention things. Lebron
just doesn't throw stuff out there right if he doesn't
mean it. So we know people are getting dissected. Thirty
ways to Hell anyway. So yeah, we shall see. Only
time will tell, he said. No man shall know the
time or place when Lebron James anounces his retiring somebody

(21:18):
that is not going anywhere anytime soon. Mister Luca donc
has his first media day in the Purple and Gold,
and he could have went the safe out right, talked
about and I'm happy to be here, YadA, YadA, YadA.
But no, he went straight to it. He got right
to it. He talked about the things that the people
clowned him for in years past, his conditioning, his defense,

(21:38):
and you know, he addressed those head on, and honestly,
I think that's how you went over the confidence of
the fan base and the front office, who just gave
you a pretty pretty extension to play with the Lakers
for the next three years. At least some of the
quotes from Luca directly today. Fatigue is the biggest thing

(21:59):
for me. I work till summer so I can go
hard every night, especially Defensively. Honestly, I think I had
a great summer. Obviously, we had some great pieces. We
added some great pieces. Excuse me. I'm very excited. We
show that we could play with an everyone, with anybody.
I think we could do some big, big things. I'm
not gonna rain on any parades. I'm not going to

(22:20):
try to, you know, be pessimistic about any of this.
I'm completely excited about a healthy, engaged, locked in Luca.
I you know, just think about players who are coming
back from injury play all summer and then are now
going to play for the next eight months. What that

(22:40):
does to the body. Like I said, he's in LA
with the best doctors in the world. Let's just hope
that this all in that we hear from Luca. As
important as it is on what he could do on
the basketball court, I'm just hopeful that off the court
is just as locked in, man, because that's what we
need together. If we do, we got a Luca Doncins

(23:01):
that can lead, you know, lead us to the Promised Land.
But Kwame thoughts on Luca's first media day as a
Los Angeles Laker.

Speaker 2 (23:07):
I thought it was good man. The trade having happened
last year's trade deadline, the newness was kind of gone.
He didn't seem as nervous, so as uncertain. He's like
a confident member of the basketball team who's excited to
see what we're gonna go into the season. As so again,
I think a lot of those awkward awkwardness of the trade,
and there wasn't a lot of conversation that I heard
at all about, Like, so, how are you feeling about Dallas? Like,

(23:29):
I think all that's been gotten out the several times
we've already met, spoke with him, interviews, you know, all
throughout the end of last season, so he came in
with a very refresh mindset. I'm excited for him. I
think he was fantastic in euro Basketball. You know, I
don't take too much stock in the defensive stuff, to
be honest, I don't. He's not gonna all of a
sudden turn into Clant Master Jones, Like, let's be honest.

(23:51):
But the one thing that he did mention is fatigue.
And I hope because he's not as fatigued on how
much he's giving on the offensive end, he's just a
cone on defense. That's why I hope that that level
raises is where he just has defensive energy. Again, I'm
not expecting him to clamp people up, but now with
better energy, can he jump those passing lanes? Can he
put more effort into staying in front of his man?

(24:11):
Can he you know, not get back door because his
hands were on his knees because he's out of breath.
So I'm hoping it's situations like that where that's where
his new fitness takes him. But again, I don't expect
him to be jumping out the gymount, expect him to
be locking people down. I expect him to, you know,
skying for rebounds and dunks like I expect him to
play very similarly, but again to his point fatigue, I

(24:32):
think will be a bit more curbed, especially again giving
his new bodies, new training regimen, new ways he's eating.
So I'm excited, man, And he makes a great point.
I really do believe they could play with anybody. I mean,
it was a small sample last year. We kind of
just threw those guys together and they were bawling, you
know what I'm saying. For the most part, they were
balling out. And that's what no training camp again. JJ

(24:54):
Reddick came in with the team, Lebron James Anthony Davis
left with Luka Doncic. Somehow like those aren't even the
similar style players. Did You had to revamp an entire
team and roster around, and like I said, we didn't.
We didn't win it all, but I think we had
some very favorable results. Now we're gonna get all that
additional time effort and working I think it's gonna be
good man. And you know I've I've been a Luca
fan for a long long time. I'm really excited for

(25:17):
this year again. I think he comes in with a
bit of a chip on his shoulder, especially how the
trade last year and Dallas went. But now he's in
a place where they absolutely adore him, they love him.
He's built for this type of spotlight. He's built for
this moment, and I'm just excited to see what he's
going to do. And I really believe that he's going
to put his best foot forward. So I'm excited. We'll
see what looks like on the court. But one thing

(25:38):
I know about Luca, he's good for thirty five. Literally,
anytime he walks into your building, good for thirty five. So,
like it can get crazy out here. I like what
he said, he said all the right things. I think
he's just he's just gonna have to go out there
and show us. But like I said, he was fat
Luca at the end of last season, coming off a
calf injury, and he was still dragging up thirty seven

(25:59):
thirty three, thirty five point games. Like I'm with his
hands aren't on his knees. He might really really go crazy,
So I'm excited will be his best season ever. Who knows,
but hey, what better than the Purple and Golds?

Speaker 1 (26:12):
Right, Yeah, I'm excited to see what we got for Lucas.
So we're gonna take a quick break and when we
come back, we're gonna jump into the supporting cast. We
got some new faces that we heard from for the
first official time, and some returning core pieces that we
got to figure out where is the room. A lot
of guys who've been Lakers for a few years now

(26:33):
that we loved as new shiny toys, and now we're
that Andy Mean from Toy Story. I don't want to
play with you anymore. So we'll get into all the
Lakers supporting cast members and try to find some rotation
minutes for him. Late Night Lake Show will be right
back late now Lake Show. It's Ricky, it's kwame. We
back new faces in purple and Gold, and we are
going to start with the man in the middle, DeAndre Aiden.

(26:56):
Fresh off the buy out from the Portland Trail Blazers,
he signs with the Los Angeles Lakers, filling a much
needed gap that you know, all respects to Jackson Hayes,
who has returned and is rightfully so moving to a
more natural position as the lakers backup center. DeAndre Aiden
sounds like a man who understands what opportunity this is,

(27:17):
not just with the Lakers, but in his NBA career,
and he seems ready and locked in to go. A
couple quotes from DeAndre Aiden from Media Day today, It's
the biggest opportunity I could say of my career. Some
people say it's my last leg, some people say it's
my last chance. There's an opportunity I could say I'm
truly not going to take for granted. I hope so. Brother.

(27:39):
It's almost like a wounded animal. I feel all the tension.
I know where I'm at. I've been to the gym
every day, and that's one thing I will say. You know,
any clip, any video of any picture I saw from
Aiden over the summer, besides leaving the young lady on
the trip, you know, because she didn't want to play ball.
He's been in the gym, he's been on a basketball court,

(28:01):
he's been getting shots up. And you know, not all
perception is reality, right, but you did this combined with
what the man is saying to us today, it's hard
not to believe that there is a guy who truly
understands the opportunity has in front of him. Kwame, after
hearing from the man himself, what is your thoughts on
expectations from Aiden his first year with the Lakers.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
I might be the minority year, but I'm high on him. Man.
I'm excited for DeAndre Ayden Man. I think that what
he can bring to the table, I think it's exactly
what we need. We need a big body, rim protection, rebounding, letticism.
You know, he's got good touches, a big man around
the rim, good sense, he's a good lob threat. As
a phenomenal year with Chris Paul the year they went

(28:45):
to the finals in Phoenix. I liked what he said
about you know, pressure is a privilege. Now, hey, pressure
also burst pipes my brother. So you know, I hope,
I hope you're going to deliver on what you say
you will, because you're gonna get what you ask for.
There's no pressure like the spotlight. You can't go out
there and put up, you know, triple singles and think
that everything's sweet. You know, Laker Nation will get on you.

(29:07):
The national media will get on you. So if this
pushes him too a whole different stratogpy in terms of
his talent. He talked a lot about being older and
how his mindset is different, and you know, he has
a better understanding about the league and how to be
a professional, and the game slowed down for him. So
I think he could be a really good asset for us. Again,
I hope he's not expecting to average like twenty on
our team. I'd be you know, I don't know if

(29:27):
that's going to be possible. But if he's ready to
play his role, come in and do what he needs
to do, I'm excited, But I can't i'd be lying
if I said I didn't have any concerns about his
motor very much as I did with Anthony Davis as well,
I had concerns about motor. DeAndre Aiden has been a
guy who we've seen kind of just you know, stand
there with his hands now while people are fighting for
rebounds and he's just you know, looking So I really

(29:50):
hope that it's different for him now. But like I said,
he'll get his fair share of opportunities as a lob threat. Again,
He's going to be like the fourth option on offense.
But if everybody's busy looking at Lebron, Luca and Austin Reeves,
it's gonna be a lot of opportunity to throw a
quick lot to the big man that these guys are
coming down the lane. So I'm excited for DeAndre aid
what he can bring. I think I honestly, coming into

(30:12):
this offseason, I don't think I could have thought of
a better five that we could have acquired, especially in
the nature we did in the buyout market.

Speaker 1 (30:19):
You know, like we're big on this signing.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
Yeah, Like you know, some of the options we were
looking at were rough.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
It's because you're so low on the on the options
that were available.

Speaker 2 (30:29):
Yeah, so you know, hey, this is a starting center.
This is a center that was on a team in
the finals. Like not a lot of players can say that.
I'll be honest, I don't know how many centers that
I could have imagined that we could have gotten that
were better than them. So I'm pleased with it. I'm excited.
I hope he can have a great season, stay injury
free because I think otherwise he's going to be a
very big player for us this year.

Speaker 1 (30:48):
You're not gonna get a one for one replacement for
Anthony marsh and Davis Junior. And I do want to
take a moment to just reflect and respect the era
that was the A D season now the ad Laker era.
This is the first media day since twenty eighteen that
Marshawn Davis Junior has not done well. Thank god we

(31:09):
got Luca man all right. So I do want to
talk about because Ayden, you know, I'm very much looking
forward to grading him when it matters, and it's gonna
be starting pre season. I need to see the product
on the court with this combination of Lebron James and
Luca Donchets, and also with Austin Reeves and also to

(31:33):
a smaller extent but important with guys like Marcus Smart
or your boy Shamar Moore gave Vincent. I want to
see how he performs when he's not with two bona
fide Hall of famers on the court. Right. Yes, it's

(31:54):
great to play high with the motor running when it's
lobs from Lebron and Luca, but I need to see
what eight minutes look like. Can he be dominating when
now he's the one or two scoring option on the
court right from you know, I listen to my boy
and Jonathan Lakers Legacy podcast. He can put the ball
in in the hoop. Man, he's got some, He's got

(32:16):
some you know some post game. He's more than just libs. Right,
So I'm looking forward because I don't know about you,
and I don't know about y'all listening. I noticed that
when we sign big girl name big men that have
a above, just be out there and be competent expectations,
not talking about a d I noticed that they look

(32:39):
really good with really good players on the court, and
then they look really bad when it's mediocre players on
the court. I think back to Dwight Howard and you
know not I mean not the Superman versions. Right, do
I look crazy? You know at first stinting with the
Lakers with the with the bigs, and then he was
running as the terror with that second unit. But in

(33:00):
that second stint with the Lakers, it was like, I
don't want Dwight out there unless he has adults around
him on the court, because he's gonna do some dumb shit. Right,
Is DeAndre Aiden have a little Dwight in him where
unless he's playing the most top level important moments of
a game, his focus will stray just to be determined, right,

(33:20):
So it's not a big thing. I'm just interested to
see if he's that, if he's as engaged of a
player when he's not with the starters on the court,
that makes sense. That's fair a long way to get
I'll away.

Speaker 2 (33:35):
To get there, you know, hopefully again with as much
offensive firepower as we have. He's not the lone wolf
out there and we're just looking at six straight possessions
of eight and post up. Yeah, but I mean, I
think he's what a career seventeen and ten guys and
he hasn't always been give me that top one or
two option on his teams. I feel good about that.

(33:55):
Like I said, he's gonna know he's not averaging twenty,
he's not averaging thirty on this like he's probably honestly,
if he can give me fifteen and ten every night,
gave me everything I needed out of a DeAndre out
of the center position with Lebron, Luca Austin Reeves, all
these guys, fifteen and ten gets me everything I need.

Speaker 1 (34:15):
What's the line we say often these last couple of years,
when eighty goes to the bench or Lebron goes to
the bench and you're looking at who they're out there with,
and you're asking yourself, who else is going to score
the basketball? No, like, for real, who else is going
to be like, hey, hey, give me here, I'll take

(34:36):
a little pick, you know, I'll take a pick, or
I can go do iesol whatever we need to do.
But I feel good about creating something for someone else. Yes,
we have Luca, Yes that is another We added a playmaker,
absolutely right, So that is less that you need from
the rest of your roster. You have three bona fide
playmakers in Austin, Luca, and Lebron. Now, I do just

(35:01):
want to make sure right that when Aidan's doing his
thing out there, and maybe it's an Austin Ayton rotation
with Luca and Lebron on the bench, not saying that
that combination will happen, but maybe, right, I want to
make sure Aidan still knows this time to get busy time.
It's not just who the hell is Austin going to
pass the ball to. So, you know, I'm looking forward

(35:22):
to seeing those types of combinations where it's really good,
it's really you know, convenient to look really good with
guys like you know, Luca and Lebron passing it to
you every other place. So we'll see high expectations high
you know, I'm just looking forward to it, man, I
can't wait to see you know, what's a what version
of DeAndre and we get this season.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Yeah, that's that's good stuff. I got high hopes from
the man in the middle.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
So, speaking of Austin, he was also on the podium
for Media Day and a lot of the conversation around him,
a lot of the questions were around his future in LA.
You know, it's not hard to see why Austin, you know,
did decline to his extension of this offseason. He is
betting on himself. And you know, if you're a Lakers

(36:08):
fan that actually reads and listens, you'll see that this
is very clear what his stances. He wants to be
a Laker, he wants to be in LA. He wants
to play for the Purple and Gold. He also wants
to be paid more than a four year, eighty nine
point two million dollar extension. That is the max that
the Lakers could have offered him at that time. I'm

(36:29):
not here to throw gas on any fire. I personally
don't think there's a lot of smoke around Austin not
getting compensated by the Lakers. I think, if anything, the
Lakers are gonna break up with him first and ship
them ount. But we could talk about that another time.
But I think if he's here, he's gonna get paid.

(36:49):
They've learned for their mistakes with Caruso. But hey, Austin's
doing his thing as a professional. Kwame Austin Reeves comments
and his mediate day of parents your thoughts.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
It's interesting they talked a lot about Austin, and again
I didn't see too much of him playing basketball. A
lot of what I saw if it was playing golf.
JJ talked highly about him and his off season regiment,
how he was again his body right, getting in shape,
and it sounds like every session that they had with
the team where they were running scrimmages or whatever, he
was the best player on the floor. So I don't

(37:22):
think Lebron was back. I don't think Luca was back.
So I think of the locals, Sin Reeves was doing
this thing and as he should on this team. But
I think he makes some good points about his long
term fit track conversations. I think that's something that they
are going to continuously evaluate through this season whether they
resign him. Basically, for however long he's with the Lakers,

(37:44):
they will continue to evaluate his value around the league.
And I think to your point, if they see something
that really makes them jump that they think would sweeten
the deal to get a more ideal pairing with Luca.
I hate to be the guy, but I think the
Lakers pulled that as good as Austin reeves is a
lot of his skill set and abilities are very redundant

(38:04):
alongside Luca and even with Lebron. You know, it's a
lot of redundancy and skill set, and he doesn't make
up enough of Luca's weaknesses to then elevate it in
all intensive purposes of poor man's Luca. You know, he'll
get you some buckets. He could play, make a little bit,
he can handle the ball. He makes some tough shots,
but again, neither are necessarily playing a great deal of

(38:26):
defense or anything like that. Austin gives his effort, of course,
but I think there's too many similarities. Where is this
really the ideal pairing of the future. I don't know.
I don't know. Again, his skill set doesn't vary as much.
He's not like super athletic, you know, where Kyrie. I think,
even going back to the Mavericks, Kyrie and Luca a
lot of people that questions around their fit as well.
But they even though they're both primary offensive playmakers, how

(38:50):
they get their baskets is very different. I feel like
Luca and Austin are a little similar. And again you
look at the defensive end, there's not one that's like
superiorly athletic or shifty or whatever. Just you know, Austin
just does a lot of things Luca does, just not
quite to the same level. So I think to your point,
long term fit will be something that I think the
Lakers will continue to evaluate. And if they see a
star or somebody that they could throw Austin in the

(39:12):
deal and it makes it work, I don't think they
would hesitate to do that at this point. But I'm
all for what he's gonna bring this season. I'm excited again.
Austin's one of those players were in my absolute wildest dreams,
I would have never thought he became the player that
he is today. Like thinking about and we had this
conversation a few months ago or so, we were looking
back and I was like, the guy who was on
a two way undrafted player I never thought would be

(39:35):
able to average twenty five and five in the National
Basketball Association. Never in my life. I thought, at best
he peaks at maybe like sixteen points a game. And
he did this again, especially what the second half of
the season he was averaging like it was higher than
what he even finished for the season. So he was
able to do his thing. So I'm super proud of him.
If I understand what the Lakers fandom says, and they

(39:55):
feel like he's like one of those homegrown guys, like
they watched him, they raised him to see how he
is today, and there's a lot of pride in wanting
to keep that. But you know, in lieu of a championship,
sometimes those hard decisions got to be made. So the
future of Austin's to be determined, but we know his
role this season. He will be a you know, third option,
scoring option, and he excelled really well in that last year.

(40:18):
Especially one of our main guys goes down or is
out or resting or whatever it may be, he can
kind of pick up that slack. We saw some really
really big games from Austin in these last couple of
years when even Lebron and Ad had been down, and
he's risen to the occasion. I always think that Boston
game was crazy. That was crazy where he just went
out there and he absolutely balled. You know, he can

(40:39):
go out there and do his things. So I'm excited
for him. I really think he's going to be a
great player for us. But there's a lot of uncertainty
in Austin Reeves future, that's to say.

Speaker 1 (40:47):
The least, and not us just talking about this. It's
so funny everybody wanted to ovid summer talk about Lebron
James possibly playing in Dallas because we're just gonna help
Alice create the Lakers in Dallas plus Kyrie. So in
any event, I'm still matach offer for adding fuel to that,
but I'm not gonna be honest. Excuse me, I'm going

(41:12):
to be honest. Austin said it out of his own mouth.
The week that he turned down his extension. He thought
that there was a chance that he might would be traded.
This was coming out of his recent New York Times
athletic article on the possible trade rumors. After declining the extension,
I thought there was a good chance for like a
week after I declined the extension that there was a

(41:33):
possibility I get traded. I mean it's still a possibility. Yeah,
I think we're all acknowledging the current state of affairs
where we're at. I do want to say though, I
totally agree, right, I do think there's some overlap at
the nice way of saying it, between Austin's skill set
and what now Luca brings to the table. But what

(41:55):
I've seen too much of recently would just roster construction
is sometimes we'll say, hey, we are over indexing in
one position, or there's one skill set and we just
have too many of this guy of this type of player. Right,
the Lakers would stack small guards, right, you know, for
a few years back, for example, But like in this case,

(42:16):
I would just hate because we know today we have
three ball handlers in Luca eight, Luca Lebron, and Ar
Lebron's going to be out of that equation in the
next twenty four months. Right now, looking at Luca and
Ar as your primary playmakers and ball handlers, I'm gonna go, Okay,

(42:40):
that feels good to me, even if they do have
more similar skill set. Figured that out and just staggering
and complimentary pieces where it makes more sense. But I
don't want it to be a situation where, you know,
and also you got to see what you bring in
for Ar, and it's got to be something that is

(43:02):
there for Luca. So I guess in that regard, it
depends on what you get back. But my point is
I think Ar and Luca can't coexist on a successful
Lakers championship contending team, especially when Lebron decides to hang
it up.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
I mean, I guess, you know, And and like I said,
I don't say this is like Austin Reeves can't be
a fit. I think there's better fits out there, probably
for the money that he's asking. Probably, I guess what
you always have to consider, and this is what the
Lakers are going to have to think of long term.
And I can't make that decision, you know, just is
what it is he really afford to have two non

(43:40):
defenders in your starting lineup or your closing lineup of
a championship roster, two non defenders at right and that's
a guard wing position. Could you afford to do that
and win championships? I you know, that's where they're gonna
have to take a real long look in the mirror. Again,
I don't think you can ever have too much offense.
I think that's I think eight get as many bucket

(44:01):
getters as you can get. Like you know, it is
what it is. But that's probably the concern that the
Lakers have to look at long term. Can you really
be having two guys that take up a bulk of
your salary cap, neither being plus defenders. I don't know.
That's where it gets difficult to me.

Speaker 1 (44:14):
So Austin Rieves also talks about wanting to be an
All Star. He feels that he can definitely put together
an All Star worthy caliber season. And when you take
a look at the recent list of teams that have
sent three players are more to the All Star Game,
it's a pretty respectful list, right. You know, you got

(44:37):
your twenty twenty one Brooklyn Nets, You're Katie, James, Hard
and Kyrie Irving. You got your twenty twenty Boston Celtics,
Tatum Brown, Kemba, Walker shot out Kemba. Then of course
you got your your all your goal State Warrior death
lineups Minnesota, the Timberwolves through three out there with Jimmy
Katt and Wiggins. How about Anthony Davis led New Orleans

(44:59):
pe with DeMarcus Cousins and Drew Holliday crom It just
goes to show that it is not uncommon to have
three players represent your team in the All Star Game.
I do think when you kind of take a look
at these these mix of players, there's definitely one guy
who is more of the you know, connective tissue. But

(45:21):
then again, a lot of these guys, Tatum, Brown and Walker,
they always trying to put the ball in the bucket.
So I think it's definitely possible from a historical standpoint
for AR to make an All Star team. Because you
can already write it in in Chislin and Stone that
Luca and Lebron will be there too. We think a
are gonna put together an all Star caliber season or

(45:42):
is there just not enough touches in a basketball game.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
I don't even know if it's touches. I just think
the Western Conference has always been really really really really
really hard to get All Stars into. Like, for example,
you think of a CJ. McCollum when he was Damian
Lillard's cohort in all those years, averaging like twenty three
to twenty five points per game, couldn't make it. Mike

(46:06):
Conley only has one All Star appearance outside of being
a guard in Memphis for a long It's hard at
the guard position because you're gonna get legacy players like
Steph Curry who will never let it go. Chris Paul
This might be the first time that he will let
it go, you know, fully, you know there's there, you know.
But then you got up and coming young guys who
also played those guard positions, like Anthony Edwards. Is he

(46:28):
gonna be able to beat out guys like that they
didn't even think like reserves? It gets it gets tricky
in the West. If he was in the East, I
think he'd had a much better case, especially this season.
But the West has been historically difficult for guards to
get positions on the All Star team. We were talking,
we didn't even think Steph Curry was gonna make it
last year just because their team wasn't super great, and

(46:48):
there's some really, really good guards in the West.

Speaker 1 (46:50):
So you know, an All Star.

Speaker 2 (46:53):
No, I don't think so. To my point, yeah, Jamal
Murray's never been an All Star. But to my point,
it's where you have these guards that again, hey, Luca
played last year. I don't think Steph Curry makes the roster.
You know, like it gets difficult. We talk about guards,
so Austin, while he could do it, it's gonna have
to be on the back of the Lakers brand. He's
gonna need these guys to be pumping in them votes,

(47:14):
the fan votes like crazy, because he's not gonna get
a lot of media love, you know what I'm saying.
So he's really gonna need somehow to get eked in.
But actually, the reserves are all picked by coaches, right
I believe so, yes, that's the case, and he has
no hope because he won't get fan voted into the
starting lineup, no shot, he will not get fan voted
into the starting lineup. His only hope is a reserve role.

(47:36):
And I'm not sure if again, they take a percentage
of the fan votes or if it's just straight coaches
and players. I don't know how the voting works these days.
I think the All Star games are very inconsistent. But
I find it very, very difficult for him to make
the All Star team in the Western Conference. Now, if
he was in the East and he's playing on Brooklyn
and he puts up twenty five to twenty seven absolutely true,
making one. But it's the West is hard, bro, and

(47:57):
it's historically.

Speaker 1 (47:58):
Yeah, I'm just looking at this man. People you're riding
in Stone right, Luca is the guard, Steph. I mean
I'm not writing Stephan Stone. I guess no, Yeah, you
got those are four.

Speaker 2 (48:10):
Guards right there. Bro.

Speaker 1 (48:11):
That Jalen Williams was an All Star last year, you know,
I think you have to respect that he made an appearance.
You know, Book, Book is always a guy that should
be in consideration, you know, you know, like we said Murray,
you know, I'm a big deeron Fox guy. You know,
I think he can be healthy. Doesn't sound like he'll
be ready for the start of the season down there

(48:33):
with the Spurs. But you know that's another name. It's tough.
That is a tough, tough group, bro.

Speaker 2 (48:39):
So yeah, it's hard. It's just hard. And that's nothing
against him. It's just there's too many talented players in
the Western Conference, especially the guard position. It's gonna be
very difficult for him to get that spot, very very difficult.
You just think, like again, teams just do good. Like
it's gonna be hard, you know, I mean, how many
All Star appearances ie on that like one. You know,

(48:59):
he is Jah Morant. He's got to go against two
jaws back John plays the same position. Like it's not easy. Yeah,
Like it's just not going to be easy for him
to get in. So, but does he have talent comparable
to some of those players? I would say so. I
would say so, But it's just not gonna be enough unfortunately,
because he's he's a third option. He's a third option.
He just won't get enough of a narrative behind him, unfortunately,

(49:22):
unless he gets.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
Is strong, we are strong, but them starters. Is a
popularity contest better, and there's a lot of popular players
in the in the league, a lot of popular guards
out west. So we here for they are. I'll say this,
if he does, that means the Lakers sitting pretty in
the standings. That's that's for damn sure. So maybe aar
in the three point contest this year because he Yeah,

(49:43):
I can see that's the way he does it, right,
if they are really really really establishes himself as just
a dead eyed three point shooter. Yes, I think that
there is an option where he gets to Klay Thompson
nod and gets in with Steph and Draymond at the
same time, right, so we'll see not not this Clay Thompson.

Speaker 2 (50:02):
I'll be honest. I find it very hard to get
him in. It's just he was in the East. I
think he can have a solid chance. But the West, No,
there's just too much talent and all the young stars
are basically in the West. Bro It's it's gonna be hard.
It's gonna be hard. It gets hard you get it
before him, you.

Speaker 1 (50:19):
Know what I'm saying. Oh wow, Yeah, in.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
Town, they could they put together together a decent enough season,
both of them would get the before r would You
know what I'm saying. It gets tough in the West.

Speaker 1 (50:32):
That's that's I feel for.

Speaker 2 (50:34):
There's still James Harden in the West, you know, like.

Speaker 1 (50:39):
I feel for uh, yeah, I feel for for Austin. Yeah,
it's tough. It's tough. It's tough. A couple of quick
notes moving on to our most recent exciting white acquisition
and Jake lave At Knight had his U first press
conference with the Lakers, and yeah win as about as expected.
H with his interview said that he's prepared to, you know,

(51:02):
play any role, and the one thing that he can
control is his effort and that he is a team player,
and that he has just been working on overall in
his game and all the other nice stuff that you
can say about the young man. But you know, it's
just cool to kind of now tap in a little
bit into these guys' personality, what they could possibly contribute

(51:22):
a little bit more beyond just you know, uh time
on the court. Out of the rest of the acquisitions,
you know, you have the Rabia, you have Marcus Smart.
We already talked about eight, and but you know, out
of the rest of the guys that we did not
speak on Kwame, who are you most excited about seeing
sued up this season?

Speaker 2 (51:40):
I'll be honest, Jake Laravia, and I think that's because
I haven't seen a ton of him, But clearly Rob
and JJ saw something in him that it is like
what the first acquisition as soon as free agency open
for the Lakers, So I have high helps for him.
And again, you know, I know he didn't get quite
the role, but he seems to have all the physical tools.
He's athletic, he gets effort, He's six eight, you know,

(52:00):
big body. I think he could he could be a
very good three for us. Again, both offensive and Lee
and defensively. I'm curious again to know like he's catching
shoot numbers and then like his his on ball defense,
the screen navigation. I'm interested to see him in a
lot of different scenarios. But I think he's a rotation
player that they are excited for. Whose spot he takes
on that bench, I dkay, But I don't think they,

(52:23):
like I said, I don't think they jumped at him
to just let him ride the pond. I feel like
there's something about his skill set. Again, I don't know
a ton about him. All I know about him is
from what I've heard, and I've seen some very limited
game action from him. But I see the glimpses. I
see where he could be a good player. But how
does that fit in the scheme of things. We'll find
out when they play. I think when did they play
Friday this week?

Speaker 1 (52:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (52:44):
Yeah, so you know, we'll see after training camp, but
once we get a preview of him. But his slot
may be that that Dalton Connect minutes, those minutes that
were there for Connect those might be gone to Jake Laavia.
But again, I'm excited for him. I'm very interested to
see what he can bring. Nice young kid. I was
listening to him talk a little bit. I didn't expect
him to sound the way he did. I think he

(53:05):
got engaged and married this summer, so he was on it.

Speaker 1 (53:07):
Yeah, he was so good for.

Speaker 2 (53:10):
Him, man, So I'm excited to have him a part
of the Lake show Man. It's just we're just gonna
have to see. I can't really give much more of
a prediction than we shall see.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
Well, I think one thing that we can at least
acknowledges the traffic jam at that you know, three, four, four,
small five position. Not to say La Ravia would ever
touch the five, but like you said, he could be
be the four. He'd be a stret you know, be
a four on the court with a center Vando. He's

(53:42):
competing against Vando for minutes. He's competing against Rui for minutes.
He's mexical kind of also competing against competing against Maxie
Kleeber for minutes. Who is now, who's a four to
five hybrid? Right now? All of a sudden, you kind
of look at that those positions, and it's gonna be
a dog fight this training camp and this preseas's to
see how this shakes out. You know, Ruy himself had,

(54:04):
you know, his comments about hey, you know, I don't
really control the starting lineup, but I did notice did
you notice he kept putting in They're like, hey, we're
building on chemistry, right, this is now like year three
to year two or three of us this starting lineup.
Then you mean like, oh, you mean you wouldn't started lineup?
That's what you you talking about? You with Lebron in
the starting lineup, right, because a whole lot of other

(54:25):
those positions are now flipped over into other players. But
I get what you're saying, Ruy. So he's obviously, you know,
looking at this from a position as a guy whose
contract is also coming up, and where is the minutes
going to shake out? That's going to be a fun
narrative to watch during crany camp.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
Yeah, I think there's several spots that are up for
you know, competition again, starting lineup. There's maybe one slot
and I think that's a two man battle between Ruey
and Marcus Smart in the starting lineup. My personal opinion,
Who knows, maybe somebody else can squeak their way out
the woodworks. We saw Darvin Haam start Tory and Prince
for every opportunity he could, so you never know. Sometimes
coaches have their favorites.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
Break the rule, Kwabi, how you break the roll? Can't
be breaking the cardinal rules. Bro. We said this, We
established this, bro We took a blood. Oh now, shall
not talk about swine on the Late Night Lake Show
podcasts ever again? And you didn't in the pre media day.

Speaker 2 (55:25):
Hey man, it wasn't even in a negative light like that.
I'm just saying sometimes coaches have favorites and somebody can
squeak through. But again, I think it's a two man
cell battle for the fifth starting position. Now, the bench
is where it gets fun. You got guards that are
looking for spots, whether that's Marcus Gabe shoot. I'm sure
Bronnie would like to see some run, especially having the
successful summer league. Ronnie's probably looking for a can I

(55:47):
get a couple of ticks in here scratching his neck?
You got Dalton connect, Jake, Laravia, Van do Ruey, potentially
Maxi Jackson, Sero. We got guys who are all on
the bench that are gonna be looking for some minutes.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
Something Yeah, like the get healthy too.

Speaker 2 (56:05):
N all these guys, and again I think it'd be
situational offense defense size shooting I think JJ is gonna
use these guys. He's gonna use some guys interchangeably. But
you know, the players with more limited skill sets like
a fan tho per se or a dull and connect
per se. Those guys who are very this is my

(56:27):
role kind of one dimensional issue guys, they may struggle
to find their minutes. Man. So I'm interested to see
the battles at training camp and with JJ and his
staff end up deciding for the rotation. But I expected
to be through fluid throughout the season, man, I really
do that this starting position. Who knows even that could
be fluid. It could be situational smaller teams, Marcus, you're
in bigger teams. Hey, Ruie, we need you to be in.

(56:49):
But to me, I think RUI, I think he'd be
best utilized as Bronze like like uh sub his direct sub.
I think it makes the most sense at this age
of his career. Again, I know Lebron doesn't like the
minutes talk and he doesn't like feel like he needs restrictions,
but there's gonna be nights where Bron You're not gonna
be able to do it all. And hopefully looking at
a LUCA team Hopefully Luca's bombing dudes where it's not

(57:11):
like Bron's got to come and dig our team out
the grave no more. Hopefully Luca's bombing dudes and Bron
can sit for a fourth quarter. Ruy, come on up.
You know we're hoping for situations like that. So I
am really interested to know what this lineup is gonna
shake out to, because I think it could go so
many different ways. But like I said, I think ultimately
the starting lineup it's a two man cell battle, and
then the bench it's anybody's game. I don't know anybody

(57:34):
off the bench is solidified, like guaranteed to get minutes
outside of Ja Glaravia and Marcus Smart if he ends
up on the bench.

Speaker 1 (57:41):
Yep, agreed on all fronts. It's exciting stuff, man, And
I you know, I'm just hearing you talk and I'm
just like, this is all wow. We're talking about training
camp battles between competent players across the board, right, And
you know, if I said, who do you not want
to see touch a basketball or see the court under
any circumstances season, because that means we lost. But it's

(58:05):
a rookie, right, It's someone that means we're in garbage time.
This is a solid roster. I agree the ad acquisition
turned it from we are going to just see what
we have to this is a championship contending roster. Let's
go out and get it. And from top down, from
JJ's approach, his job security, and his focus. Right year two,

(58:29):
that man talking to Chad GBT for hours on end.
He on the Riki plan for success. Why not just
keep stacking the feedback with the robots because they're the
only ones that's gonna listen and not get annoyed. Right
all the way down through the captains, Luca lights aren't
too bright. He's not shocked anymore that he was betrayed
by the franchise that drafted him. Right, Anthony Davis isn't

(58:52):
here anymore, man. This is the team that is hyper
focused on what they have in front of them. By
the way, this might be your one and at max
second to last shot doing it with Lebron James in
this league. It's a lot of fun stuff to look
forward to. I will say that, and I will say nothing. Nothing, man.
This is one of the first seasons that we're going

(59:13):
into where we're not clamoring for a big trade.

Speaker 2 (59:15):
Yeah, yeah, we're kind of good.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
We're not thirsty four a roster overall.

Speaker 2 (59:20):
Right, Yeah, there's no player that's like specifically get him
off the roster, Like, we don't have that this year.
We all have this one player. We're like, we need
him off the team. We're kind of chilling what we got.
We'll see as it goes. And you know, as Rob
said like five hundred times in this presser last week, octionality, optionality.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
I love it, speaking of not having players, speaking of
not having players on the roster that we are trying
to extra dight out of Laker Nation. Russell Westbrook is
not on a NBA roster for the first time since
he was drafted into this league. And in honor of
Russ and his new home, which is his real home

(01:00:02):
at home with his loving and beautiful family, we are
going to play a quick game of who he played for.
Kwame is a fan of the league, He is a
student of the league. He plays fantasy NBA. I just
played fantasy football, and I only care about the Lakers
like that. But I got a list of players on
new teams, swam, and I'm gonna need your help. Let's

(01:00:24):
see let's see where you at? Brother? Are you ready?
We'll do a couple of toss ups. Who does Brandon
Ingram play.

Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
For Toronto Raptors?

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
There we go? Ding ding ding ding? Another easy one.
We just getting warmed up. Who does Michael Porter Junior
play for?

Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
Nuts? Ding?

Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
Ding ding ding Ding? Who does the Who does Jonas
Dallen Tunis play for?

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
Wasn't supposed to be the Denver Nuggets? Did he? Did
he show up? Did he report what happened with that? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:00:53):
He dead ass that he was done playing at the NBA? Yeah, TBD? Right, okay,
so he's not on the on the Nuggets roster they have.
It's not results Jayalen Green Phoenix very nice. Oh gosh,
it's going to be nasty. Uh. Let's do a couple

(01:01:16):
of tough ones. Who's Kelly and Lennox played for?

Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Now? Kelly Olennox? Yeah, I have no idea. Did they Pelicans?
They traded him from the Pelicans? Right? Is he in Toronto?

Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
No? Kelly Olynnock is now with the San Antonio Spurs.
He was traded from the Wizards to the Spurs and
the Mackay Brenham Blake Wesley acquisition. Any of the Who
does uh, who does Jimmy Neutron Duncan Robinson play for?

Speaker 2 (01:01:47):
Oh god, they just lost him. I don't remember who
he plays wars Hmmm.

Speaker 1 (01:01:55):
Out East he plays Lebron has no more love loss
for this franchise anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:02:00):
He plays for Eastern Conference team like Orlando Detroit Pistons.
The Piston.

Speaker 1 (01:02:08):
Duncan Robinson plays.

Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
For the Honestly, it's a good replacement for Mike Blik.
Beasley is probably not coming back. Wow, that's good Duncan robertson. Okay,
he finally left the Jaws of pat Riley.

Speaker 1 (01:02:19):
Mm hmm, mouse turner.

Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
Oh, he's on the Bucks, which crazy off a finals trip,
goes to play with the Milwaukee Bunks.

Speaker 1 (01:02:28):
Gracious last one a former Laker Danish shro Da.

Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
Oh my gosh, I don't know he was in Detroit.
I don't know where he is now. I have no
idea Sacramento. There's no way he's in Sacravo. They have
a million guards. They him, Malik, DeRozan and Zach not

(01:02:53):
that franchise.

Speaker 1 (01:02:54):
Three year, forty five million dollar deal.

Speaker 2 (01:02:57):
That's why they've been trying to send them. Eleik to
Golden State for Kamingo. They've been trying to get him
off that roster, but I'll take a leak back. I
loved Malik Monk when he's on the Lakers. I loved him.

Speaker 1 (01:03:08):
It was fun. That was fun. Oh sorry, bonus one.
Who's Jordan Clarkson played for?

Speaker 2 (01:03:12):
He doesn't play for Utah anymore. They let him go.
Oh is it the Knicks? Yeah? I felt like I
saw him in the Knicks jersey and I thought that
was kind of weird. All right.

Speaker 1 (01:03:20):
It was fun. Good job, good good job, good job. Yeah.
How about brook Lopez? You got anything on.

Speaker 2 (01:03:28):
That the Clippers. Isn't he next door?

Speaker 1 (01:03:30):
Yeah? Yeah, let's see what his contracts looking like exactly.
And then your boy d lo is a Dallas Maverick.

Speaker 2 (01:03:43):
I can't believe I know a D's like, oh.

Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
My god, I think he loves him. I think he
honestly loves D'Angelo Russell, like he would rather like him
as a friend than actually have that chemistry on the
court where he's.

Speaker 2 (01:03:56):
Like your homie that like you're cool with and he hoops,
but like you don't really like who being with him,
but like he's cool on the plane rides to you know,
play cards, with, you know, cool to jump on the
game with, cool to just chop it up about life with.
But you're not trying to see him on the court
like you like, bro, Like I'm good. I think that's
who Low is.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
Yeah, yeah, I couldn't agree more.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
Nail bit.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
All right, that's it, We're good. Let's get out of here, Kwame.
This is fun. A successful media day for a Los
Angeles Lakers. As Kwame just mentioned, the first game at
first first look at the new roster officially is on
this Friday against the Phoenix Suns at seven pm Pacific time.
We will be there to recap it for you guys.

(01:04:41):
The engines are turned on to full capacity. Leno Lakes
Show is off and running with the start of our
twenty twenty five twenty twenty six NBA season. He can't
wait to can't wait to experience it, ride through it
with you guys. The highs, the lows, hopefully more hides
and lows on the way to it is in the
next Banner fra Ke Show. So that'll do it for

(01:05:03):
this episode. Make sure you are subscribed to Late Now
Lake Show wherever you get your hashtag good content or Kwame,
It's Ricky he now Lake show were out.

Speaker 2 (01:05:12):
Peace