Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

It's only early January, but we've already seen the first big deal of the year, as Trae Young was sent to Washington. Giannis says he's not asking out in Milwaukee, and the Bucks are reportedly trying to find ways to improve. 

Yep, we're in the thick of it. 

For the Lakers, it's a tricky proposition. With 23 wins, they're among the league leaders. But their 12 losses have all been by (famously at this point) double digits. So their flaws are pretty clear. So what's available to help address them? ESPN on Thursday put out a few hypothetical deals for teams around the NBA. One included Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III, a player the Lakers would love to have. Would LA have a shot? What about defense-first guard Keon Ellis, who is expected to move from Sacramento? Could the Lakers put deals together for either? 

And what kind of trade would the Lakers make? Would they be willing to take on salary? Would they be too tempted by the very potential of getting someone like Giannis in a summer or two? Would the Lakers prioritize flexibility? Would they take a risk on a player they'd have to commit to financially, even if it's not at a huge salary, even after getting burned by contracts for Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt? 

Keep in mind, the Lakers don't exactly have a treasure trove of assets. Only one tradable first rounder, only one second round pick, and a few swaps. The only remotely appealing expiring contract (meaning a player that other teams would deem useful) is Rui Hachimura. No slam dunk young assets to offer. 

So it's a tough assignment for Rob Pelinka. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: It's tradin' time! 

SEGMENT 2: What can the Lakers do? Is Keon Ellis an option? 

SEGMENT 3: What would they be willing to do? 

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It's hard to fault the effort, but the Lakers—who added LeBron James to the list of guys in street clothes, to go along with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura—ultimately were out-talented Wednesday night in San Antonio. Final score, 107-71. 

It was a sloppy game, for sure, but the Lakers did what they could to stay in it. What they needed, though, was a night where the whole team shoots well from downtown, offense came from surprising sources, or maybe both. Those things didn't happen, so the Lakers were essentially left with a very, very good Luka Dončić, who was involved in basically every bucket the Lakers managed to score. He finished with 38/10/10. Jake LaRavia finished with 16 points, but the rest of the starting lineup (Deandre Ayton, Jarred Vanderbilt, Marcus Smart) combined for TK points. The bench wasn't of much help, either, with only Jaxson Hayes cracking double digits (10 points). 

San Antonio, on the other hand, also had a rough night shooting as a team, but even without Devin Vassell available, just had significantly more firepower on hand to get the job done. 

It shows why it was so important for the Lakers to win on Tuesday in New Orleans. Even if LeBron played, the end result (if not the path to get there) could have looked much different. 

So now the Lakers come home to kick off a stretch of winnable games, specifically five games in a row against teams currently under .500. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: Lakers are shorthanded, and the game goes as expected. 

SEGMENT 2: Lakers don't have much offense in the supporting cast. 

SEGMENT 3: Five critical games coming. 

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It wasn't a work of art, but it was enough to get the job done. 

After being outplayed in the third quarter, the Lakers entered the fourth down seven in their visit to New Orleans against the Pelicans. At that point, LeBron James took over, looking extremely spry as he put on an offensive show (including one steal and finish at the other end). Luka Dončić hit a pair of improbable 3's late, and the defense held down the Pels en route to a 111-103 win. 

Overall, it was probably LeBron's strongest game of the year, finishing with 30/8/8. He was able to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim, which should help him get a little more space on his jumper. (James was 3-5 from 3-point range on the night.) Dončić didn't hit a three in the first half, but had two big ones late - including one circus shot to bail the Lakers out on a bad trip - and along the way, threw two of the most incredible lob passes you'll ever see. FInal line, 30 points (11-22 shooting) along with 10 dimes. 

The Lakers also saw very strong contributions from Deandre Ayton (18/11) and Jarred Vanderbilt (7/8/4, with tons of energy). 

And the defense really tightened up. New Orleans was held to 17 points in the final frame, and while some of that can be attributed to it being the Pelicans, but overall the Lakers did a good job with specific strategic actions, like putting heavy ball pressure on Zion Williamson. 

And importantly, the Lakers had (with the exception of the opening minutes of the third quarter) played hard, even when they weren't playing well. Which matters a lot. Had they sleepwalked through bigger stretches, they could have dropped a very important game. 

Wednesday, the Lakers are in San Antonio, and will still be shorthanded. Really big to pick up the win on Tuesday. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: Luka and LeBron come up big, Lakers win. 

SEGMENT 2: It helps to try all the time. 

SEGMENT 3: Who plays against the Spurs on Wednesday? 

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It's not exactly a rumor, more a suggestion. On the "Run It Back" podcast, former Laker DeMarcus Cousins suggested the purple and gold swap Austin Reaves for Dillon Brooks. No doubt, the Suns wing, who is having a fantastic year, has been linked to the Lakers in rumors before, but the suggestion from Cousins got a lot of attention. 

Could it happen? Suns owner Mat Ishbia shot it down on Monday, for whatever that's worth. Brooks, he said, isn't going anywhere. Nor does it seem likely the Lakers would make that offer, anyway. 

But the whole conversation says a lot about the trade market the Lakers are facing. It's a very competitive one, and they won't enter it with a lot to offer. 

Meanwhile, Deandre Ayton, like the rest of the squad, has seen his production drop off a little over the last couple weeks, and noted that as a big, he doesn't get to give himself the ball. JJ Redick has said it's not unusual -- human nature, actually -- to lose a little intensity defensively and on the glass when you don't feel the ball on offense. Especially for a big. So what can the Lakers do about it? How much is on Ayton? And how much does this conversation reflect the vibes shift around the team? 

Finally, the Lakers botched a lot of ATOs on Friday, and got their act together on Sunday. But why so many mistakes? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The "rumor" of Reaves for Brooks. 

SEGMENT 2: Why Ayton needs touches! 

SEGMENT 3: Are the Lakers slipping in a lot of fundamental ways? 

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At halftime, Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies looked like it might be one of the more frustrating losses of the year, as LA allowed 65 points to an undermanned Memphis squad, and couldn't get any real rhythm to their offense. 

By the end, all was well in the word. 

Final score, 120-114. A strong push in the fourth quarter from LeBron James (26 points, 10 assists, one turnover) combined with a strong game from Luka Dončić (36/9/8) and another good one from Jake LaRavia (26 points) was enough to give the Lakers the margin they needed. More than anything, though, the Lakers found more energy on defense, perhaps because the ball began to swing more on the other end. The Lakers just moved with more purpose on both ends in the second half. Helps, too, that they hit some shots, after an ice cold first half. Deandre Ayton was particularly spry defending the rim down the stretch, finishing with three blocks to go along with 15 points and eight rebounds. 

So like Friday's game, there were many things to like and some other things that less fantastic. 

But in a time with guys in street clothes (in addition to Austin Reaves, we learned Sunday that Rui Hachimura won't travel this week for the New Orleans/San Antonio back-to-back, so the Lakers have at least two more games without him, and many more without Reaves. 

Plenty of work left to do, but the Lakers got it done in a doubleheader against a weaker team. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The lakers beat Memphis 120-114. 

SEGMENT 2: A new, if temporary, Big Three. 

SEGMENT 3: Improvements, but still a lot of work left to do. 

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HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

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After Tuesday's loss to Detroit, JJ Redick noted that the Lakers have an identity problem. In the sense that they don't really have an identity. 

For Thursday's show, we talked about part of that equation, namely leadership. The team is in a transition from a LeBron-voiced squad to one where Luka Dončić is both the face and the leader, and unquestionably the team's best player. But the styles are very different, and both elevating Luka and having LeBron step back are muddling things. 

But another part of the lack of identity? 

Roster. 

The Lakers just aren't built to effectively maximize Luka on either side of the ball, which inherently makes it harder to build a culture, or identity, or discernable style of play. So is that something that can be fixed? How did we get here? 

To say the least, Rob Pelinka has work to do. 

And so does JJ Redick, broadly, and Friday against Memphis because the team is again shorthanded. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are down more guys against the Grizz. 

SEGMENT 2: How much does roster construction hinder building an identity? 

SEGMENT 3: What can be done? 

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After the loss Tuesday to Detroit, Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked about the team's identity, and whether they've been able to forge one.

His answer... not really, but they're trying.

There are plenty of reasons. Injuries, first and foremost. The Lakers simply haven't been able to keep not just individual players on the floor, bujt run with a reasonably consistent rotation since the beginning of the year. All three stars have missed time. Every supporting player, basically the same. The number of starting lineups at this point is pretty crazy.

Still, it seemed earlier in the year like they had one... so what changed? Was identity -- at team that played hard, took care of small things, had a collective spirit, etc. -- really just a group held together by elite Luka play, and high All-Star work from Austin Reaves?

What about leadership? Things do look different since LeBron came back. In terms of forging identity, how does the transition from a LeBron team to a Luka team factor in?

We break down some of the big issues of leadership. For Friday's show, we break down the roster. Do they have the personnel to create a consistent identity? One they would want, at least?

Happy New Year to all!

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
 

SEGMENT 1: Do the Lakers have an identity?
SEGMENT 2: How LeBron complicates things.
SEGMENT 3: The change in leadership style from LeBron to Luka.

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The Kings on Sunday provided a brief respite from their troubles, but the Lakers were neck deep in them again on Tuesday, with the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons in town. The Lakers seemed to be outplayed in the first half, with the Pistons shooting 68%, Cade Cunningham shooting 9-13, and the Lakers turning the ball over 12 times, yet the purple and gold entered the break down by five. 

They managed to keep it close in the third, even managing to pull even, despite many, many moments where it felt like Detroit would pull away. 

But in the fourth quarter, the dam finally broke. An eight point deficit became 17 by the six minute mark, and eventually cracked 20. The Lakers got incredibly loose with the ball, a combination of carelessness and an attempt to force the action to find offense, and Detroit capitalized on all of it. 

Offense was just incredibly hard to come by. Luka Dončić and LeBron James were both under 50% for the night. LeBron had more turnovers than dimes, and Luka had eight of his own. Deandre Ayton was the only other starter in double figures, but he also only had two rebounds and was broadly a non-factor in the game. Jarred Vanderbilt had eight points in the first half, none in the second. Nick Smith couldn't follow his strong Sunday with a decent Tuesday, missing all but one of his field goal attempts. 

The Lakers have some winnable games on the slate, at least in theory, but the W's aren't going to come unless they can clean up the offense. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Lakers lose to Pistons thanks to self-inflicted wounds. 

SEGMENT 2: The Lakers have some issues scoring. 

SEGMENT 3: What happens going forward? 

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Technically, the last time LeBron James missed the All-Star Game was ... last year, when he couldn't play because of injury. The last time he wasn't on the team? 2004, in his rookie season. 

But that streak is in jeopardy. James, who has only played 14 games this season, is way behind in the first round of fan voting, released Monday by the NBA. If he can't make an electoral comeback, he'd have to find an alternate way onto the team, and given his (by his standards) relatively modest output to this point in the season, there's certainly no guarantee he'd be added to it as an at-large guy. Obviously there's still time between now and when the teams are finalized, but currently it's reasonable to believe James is on the outside looking in. 

Which is weird. On the other hand, he's turning 41 on Tuesday, and the idea you're having any sort of conversation about this for a guy this old is pretty amazing, but the "Yes or no?" question is relevant for more than just history. The Lakers need All-Star LeBron, especially while Austin Reaves is on the sidelines. The Lakers need to figure out how they're going to maximize LBJ while at the same time keeping him on the floor and performing. 

Meanwhile, against the Pistons Tuesday night, the Lakers should have Jaxson Hayes back in the lineup, but could be missing Rui Hachimura, who sat out practice on Monday. But regardless of who plays, the Lakers will need to find a way to build on the better level of play they produced against the Kings on Sunday. Who are the guys who step up after Luka Dončić and LeBron? 

Finally, JJ Redick had some revealing comments at practice Monday about the composition of the Lakers' roster. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: LeBron is turning 41.
SEGMENT 2: An All-Star Game without LeBron? 
SEGMENT 3: An interesting comment about skill sets from JJ Redick. 

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