Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The market for restricted free agents is starting to heat up a little, and it starts with meetings! Both Walker Kessler and Jalen Duren are at least testing the market as free agency begins. Duren seems to be more in conflict with his current employers in Detroit than Kessler but both of them are taking meetings and considering offers. 

Can the Lakers compete? Particularly if Detroit and Utah will demand good returns on a trade as opposed to lower numbers on the contract? The Lakers don't have a ton to offer on the trade front, but do have cash they can throw at guys. Would that be enough? 

And which guy would be a better fit? Duren is a more dynamic athlete (though Kessler is a very impressive athlete to be able to anchor a defense at his size -- 7'2", 250) and the better offensive player. Great rebounder, great hands, great lob threat for Luka, and he's very young. Kessler? More limited offense, defensive metrics that are off the charts. Great rebounder, great shot blocker. Can the Lakers use him in ways that maximize his defensive talents? 

Meanwhile, LeBron James is considering the Warriors. That's not new. But now the rumors are that he wants to go there... with Anthony Davis? That would be fascinating. 

All the fun starts at 3 pm PT. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The big name centers are taking meetings. 

SEGMENT 2: Which guy is better fit? 

SEGMENT 3: What about LeBron? 

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In the long term, winning your first big press conference doesn't really win you much, but it was still a great introduction for Cameron Carr last week to the LA media. The newest Laker was enthusiastic, appreciative of the opportunity, and didn't seem at all overwhelmed. He understood the challenge in front of him, vowing to live in the weight room this offseason and promising people will know over time that he's doing the work. (This while acknowledging that he will always be a member of the skinny guy club.) 

For the Lakers, it's Step 1 in a long process of helping Carr develop into a quality rotation piece, which is something that simply has to happen after the team struck out on Jalen Hood Schifino and Dalton Knecht. 

So between Carr and the two-way players signed by the Lakers, fans will have some new faces to watch. 

Meanwhile, free agency kicks off in about 24 hours, and the Lakers are pretty quiet. Which is normal for them, but the fact that they seem on the periphery of so much of the conversation is a reminder of the narrow lanes available to them to improve. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

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Free agency is coming fast, and while the rumor mill is spinning on overdrive, the Lakers seem to be more on the periphery of things. 

Now that doesn't necessarily mean much, but it gets to some of the challenges they face. It's a big offseason for them, but the quality of unrestricted free agents isn't great. There are potential trades out there to be had (including some that have already been made) but the Lakers don't have a ton of assets they can use for such things. They have potential cap space to use, sure, but a lot of players of their own they need to retain, which would eat into that flexibility. 

So they have a lot of different ways to skin the proverbial cat, but probably will only be able to fully leverage one of them. The rest will have to come with some very clever and prudent maneuvering. 

So some of the names out there -- Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, Cam Johnson, Mamu (not writing that out until we have to) -- are they good targets? What about John Collins? Could the Lakers let Rui Hachimura go, if they thought there was a better option? How hard will it be to keep Marcus Smart? 

Plus, there doesn't seem to be a lot of talk between LeBron and the Lakers. Does that make it more likely he goes? We explain. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: What's going on in free agency? 

SEGMENT 2: Can the Lakers retain their own guys? Should they? 

FanDuel

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The Lakers are believed to be looking for a frontline center to pair with Luka Dončić. For that matter, they're reportedly interested in changing up most of the depth chart at center. The shakeup didn't start on Draft night, either with a trade or a pick. So what happens next? Names like Walker Kessler and Mitchell Robinson are still very much in the conversation, attached to the team. They are different quality players, and would come at very different costs. But what are the Lakers planning on doing?

Especially given that they seem not to have talked up big change to fans, but to Luka Dončić as well?

What's the cost/benefit to Ayton picking up or turning down his option?

Plus, what are the Lakers going to do if LeBron really does slow play his free agency? Now that Austin Reaves is settled, are the Lakers trying to get a handle on what it'll cost to bring LeBron back? If they don't think it's possible, how can the Lakers replace him in ways that, even if they mean a small step back this year in talent, help set themselves up better going forward?

The Lakers need to create a roster that can move together going forward, because cap space isn't going to be available for a while once this offseason is done.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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The NBA is percolating, with free agency kicking off next week. But for the Lakers, there is still a ton of interest in the guy they selected -- and actually seem ready to keep -- in Tuesday's first round of the NBA Draft. 

Cameron Carr, a 6'5" guard out of Baylor, rocketed up the charts this season, his first as a full time, high-minutes player at the college level. The athleticism is top shelf, and the shooting is considered NBA caliber. But what about the rest of the skill set? Where did he grow in his year at Baylor? What's left to work on? 

To break it all down, we spoke with Cam Stuart, host of Locked On Baylor. He provided us a more in depth view that comes from seeing him play a season's worth of games. Does Stuart thing the Lakers got a potential steal? Can his defense hold up at the NBA level? Can his very thin frame put on NBA level strength, and handle the level of physicality required to thrive? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: Who are the Lakers getting in Cam Carr? 

SEGMENT 2: Can the defense hold up? 

SEGMENT 3: Reaction! 

5-Hour ENERGY

Odoo

KALSHI

Indeed

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More reaction from the news that Austin Reaves and the Lakers came to an agreement Wednestday that'll keep him in LA for the long term. 

Final terms, 4 years, $185 million. It's a lot of money, more than the Lakers likely hoped they'd pay, or maybe even expected to. But with interest heating up (the Pistons being the team most widely reported to be making preparations to free the space required to make an offer) the Lakers needed to make sure they didn't lose him for nothing. 

Because whether this contract makes you happy or not, that scenario would have been a total disaster. 

Still, it has an impact on the team, and will certainly raise no shortage of questions about performance, team building and more. But for the time being, the Lakers did what needed to be done, and they now have a very, very clear idea of what types of players will need to be put around Luka Dončić and Reaves to shore up their shortcomings. (Which is code for defense.) 

Meanwhile, would LeBron request a sign and trade to finish off his career in Cleveland? If so, could that deal bring back a starting center? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: More reaction to Reaves. 

SEGMENT 2: What this means for LA moving forward. 

SEGMENT 3: A sign and trade scenario that would please the Lakers. 

5-Hour ENERGY

Odoo

KALSHI

Indeed

Gametime

FanDuel

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On Tuesday, the Lakers gave fans a lot to cheer about, moving up a spot to draft hyper-athletic, sweet-shooting guard Cameron Carr out of Baylor. That was generally quite well received. 

Wednesday, in a significantly more important piece of business, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the Lakers had agreed to a four year, $185 contract with Austin Reaves, which will be signed near the end of the free agency period after the Lakers have made all their other cap space-related transactions. On the one hand, fans do love Austin. The story is undeniably fantastic. On the other, there will be plenty of them who hate this contract, and the idea of paying Reaves an average of $45 million a year going forward. 

Will Austin be as attractive a player now that he's being paid like a star? Will he play like one? And even if he does, can the Lakers put a roster together around Luka Dončić and Reaves that covers the shortcomings of that pairing while those two make as much as they do? 

Plenty to discuss! But one thing is for sure, this is probably where this was headed all along, especially with live reporting out there that teams like Detroit were preparing to poach him. Or to try, at least. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

5-Hour ENERGY

Odoo

KALSHI

Indeed

Gametime

FanDuel

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A lot of folks were expecting some zig, but the Lakers definitely delivered some zag. 

And after sending some cash to James Dolan's New York Knicks to bump up one spot in the first round, the Lakers selected 6'5", 21-year old guard Cameron Carr out of Baylor with their pick. Broadly, the expectation was that LA would select a big, or failing that, a more prototypical wing player, given some of the positional needs. But clearly the Lakers felt that Carr was the best player for the long term. And there is plenty of appeal to the skill set. Carr is seen as an elite athlete and a top level shooter, particularly off the catch. His open court skills are excellent, and from the guard position could be an excellent lob threat. 

And with a wingspan over seven feet, Carr has the body to be an interesting tool defensively, even if he's not considered a particularly good defender yet. (And even if he was better at it at Baylor, he's quite skinny at 185 lbs. 

So the D will need to get better, as will his strength. But the Lakers got a player that most didn't expect to be available at 24. The skill set makes a lot of sense on a Luka Doncic-led team. Nobody knows whether he'll be good or not, or if other players would have been better. Time will tell. But at the least, the Lakers got a player a lot of experts like, who has a skill set of genuine value. 

We'll see if they make any more moves to get into Wednesday's second round -- that's been the pattern of late -- but it's hard to find too much fault in their work on Tuesday. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers trade up, draft Cameron Carr. 

5-Hour ENERGY

Odoo

KALSHI

Indeed

Gametime

FanDuel

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The Los Angeles Lakers received Baylor guard Cameron Carr from the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Draft.

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The Lakers have some hard choices to make as they try and put a winning team around Luka Doncic, and one of the biggest is how to bring back Austin Reaves (which they need to do, short of using Reaves essentially to find his replacement, which feels like a long shot) but do so at a number that they're happy with. And more importantly, provides the type of flexibility to fill other important needs (especially defensively) that a Luka/Reaves long-term core creates. 

So what will the market look like? Monday's action around the NBA could have an impact. First, both the Bulls and the Nets spent into their available cap space as part of the three team deal sending Julius Randle to Brooklyn and Nic Claxton to Chicago. They could easily create more room to make a max offer to Reaves, but now have work to do if that's the goal. 

Meanwhile, Trae Young agreed to a deal for gobs of money to stay in Washington, and Ayo Dosunmu will stay in Minnesota for about $22 million per season. Where does Reaves fit in between those guys? And more importantly, is there anyone left to give him big dollars if the Lakers don't want to max him out? 

Meanwhile, while it seems pretty clear that barring something unexpected Reaves will be back, the same can't be said about Rui Hachimura, who has a very, very valuable skill set (shooting) but some obvious holes as well. The Lakers can definitely find a better fit and more well rounded skill set for the money it might cost to keep him, but it's also very possible they could take a step back. And in a market that could move very quickly, if the Lakers take too long to make a choice or push for other players, they could lose Rui and not get the guy they want. 

So it's a dicey proposition for an important free agent. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

5-Hour ENERGY

Odoo

KALSHI

Indeed

Gametime

FanDuel

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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