- 2 days ago
Cody Decker is FED UP watching all these former Lakers showing out in the Conference Finals but Derek Fisher explains how the Lakers have been built for 40 years to win a banner every year and not think about the future.
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00:00Listen, we had ourselves an Eastern Conference final matchup last night.
00:04It was definitely a game for the first half.
00:09Again, the second half, not so much.
00:11The Knicks absolutely going crazy.
00:12But I made the statement to start today's show.
00:16Very, very definitively.
00:18And I think D. Fish is going to agree with me.
00:21Because I am a genius and I think he will firmly agree with this altogether.
00:25Or he's going to yell at me and tell me I'm an idiot Laker fan.
00:28Which is also true.
00:30I freely admit that.
00:32I feel like last night was a nightmare if you're just a Laker fan like myself.
00:39And I feel like it's made me change my mind on what the Lakers should do going forward.
00:45D. Fish is looking at me like I just asked him the square root of something.
00:49I'll feed him.
00:49Don't worry.
00:50D. Fish, last night we saw the Cleveland Cavaliers make an adjustment after game one.
00:56We came after game one.
00:58You and me talking about, man, you can't go one-on-one with Jalen Brunson.
01:02Harden.
01:02And Harden's getting all this crap.
01:04He's not putting his hands up.
01:06He's not playing defense.
01:07And you mentioned quite eloquently that that's not Harden's gig.
01:11That's not his job.
01:12That's not what he's supposed to be doing.
01:14We really can't just dunk on James Harden for not being able to stop Jalen Brunson.
01:18Who can?
01:20Fair.
01:20I totally understand what you're saying.
01:22So last night they make an adjustment.
01:24Jalen Brunson ain't beating us.
01:27Instead, Josh Hart beat him.
01:29Josh Hart didn't kind of beat him.
01:31Josh Hart beat their ass.
01:3326 points.
01:34Left him open.
01:34No problem whatsoever.
01:36Here's some sound of it.
01:37Down to Hart.
01:38Shot clock at five.
01:41Hart on the drive.
01:42Spin move.
01:43Falling away.
01:43One-handed shot.
01:44It's good.
01:45Everything going down tonight for Josh Hart.
01:49Everything going down tonight for Josh Hart.
01:51And that right there, of course.
01:52Hottest play of the game from next gen.
01:54The next generation of home comfort.
01:57But I don't want him to have the hottest play of the game.
02:00Because Josh Hart used to wear a Laker jersey.
02:03And now he's wearing a Knicks jersey.
02:06Doing these things.
02:07And I'm really getting really upset being at home.
02:11Watching the Lakers also at home.
02:12While Alex Caruso and Josh Hart are just studding it up.
02:17And now I'm sitting here thinking.
02:19D. Fish.
02:20If I'm put in a position where I have to make a choice.
02:23If I have to make the Sophie's choice.
02:25Of having to pick whether or not we keep Austin Reeves or LeBron James.
02:30I want Austin Reeves.
02:32And I'll tell you why.
02:33I know both will be fantastic next year.
02:36I know LeBron, if he goes somewhere else, will be LeBron James.
02:40I can handle that.
02:41Because he's always been LeBron James.
02:43He's going to go somewhere else and just do more LeBron James stuff.
02:46Okay.
02:46But he's only going to do it for what?
02:48One?
02:48Maybe two more years?
02:50If I see Austin Reeves go to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
02:53And him and Ant just juggernawed it up.
02:56And they're at the end of the playoffs.
02:58For five plus years.
03:01And we're sitting at home on May 22nd, 2027.
03:05I'm going to lose my mind.
03:07I think every Laker fan is going to lose their minds.
03:11I can't have it happen again.
03:12I can't have another Alex Caruso.
03:14Not with my sweet Austin Reeves.
03:18You're going to be okay, Cody.
03:20I don't feel like I'm going to be okay.
03:21This is hurting.
03:23D. Fish.
03:24Tell me I'm wrong.
03:25Tamp me down.
03:26Or agree with me because I'm right.
03:30No.
03:30You're not right.
03:34It's fair.
03:35I understand the point you're trying to make.
03:38It's like, yeah.
03:39There have been several younger players that have either been traded away.
03:45or, you know, had to move on, you know, due to the Lakers always going for championships now.
03:54But that's why you're a Lakers fan.
03:56Yes.
03:56If the Lakers historically had made decisions thinking three or four years down the line,
04:03the Lakers wouldn't be the Lakers.
04:05And so that's where people have to kind of try and hold on to when that, man, Alex Caruso looks
04:12good in that Thunder jersey.
04:13Man, Josh Hart is playing well over there.
04:15I can't.
04:16Man, this guy, like, you have to try and keep in mind, historically.
04:22Now, does the plan need to change moving forward?
04:26The economics in the NBA are different.
04:28The way you put your rosters together are different.
04:31Yeah, that's true.
04:31Salary caps and luxury tax considerations.
04:34That's different than the way the Lakers built teams, you know, for 40 years, maybe prior to now.
04:41But you wouldn't be Lakers fans and you wouldn't have the championship banners and all the history if the Lakers
04:49were thinking about four years from now every time decisions were made.
04:54It's not in the DNA of the brand.
04:56That's not who Dr. Buss was and that's not what he was about.
05:00It was about right now, he wanted the best product on the floor right now.
05:04He wanted the fans to have the best night of their lives at a Laker game right now, not suffer
05:11for three or four years before you get to it.
05:13That doesn't work in L.A.
05:15None of that tanking nonsense.
05:17That doesn't happen in L.A.
05:18It doesn't work.
05:18Unless you want to count that D'Lo run, that first go-around.
05:23I'm just saying, those couple years were run.
05:25I'm not blaming D'Lo.
05:26If I mention the first years of D'Lo, we know what years I'm talking about.
05:31Yeah, but those were like Kobe's wind-down.
05:36Yes, wind-down years into that.
05:39But that also is a representation of the Lakers, right?
05:44A lot of organizations would not have necessarily provided that space for Kobe to finish his career here on his
05:52terms.
05:52They would have found a trade.
05:54They would have said, you know what, we're not going to re-sign him because he's not that guy anymore.
06:00But rightfully so, when you wear that uniform the way Kobe wore it.
06:04The way he did it.
06:05He gets to finish it on his terms.
06:07And then, okay, now you transition the LeBron era, etc.
06:12You've gotten another championship in 2020.
06:14The team has been competitive over the last few years.
06:17Yes, it has.
06:18But clearly, winning championships is what everybody wants.
06:22And so, sometimes to do that, yes, you need to take a step back.
06:26And the Lakers may have to start considering taking a step back.
06:30But you can't do that for a long period of time in Los Angeles.
06:34Completely agree.
06:35It does not work.
06:36So, when you say take a step back, paint a picture for me.
06:39Think of me like you already do.
06:41Like a complete idiot.
06:43I want you to think of me.
06:46Raj, that was, I could say.
06:47When you say it, it's insulting.
06:50Think of me this way.
06:51And paint me a picture of what taking a step back for the Los Angeles Lakers to, say, be a
06:58juggernaut in three years would look like.
07:03To take a step back right now would be to not, you know, make an intentional effort to resign LeBron.
07:14It would be to sign Austin Reeves to a really good extension.
07:18And then, you know, Luka at 27, Austin at 26 become kind of like the two cornerstones that you start
07:28to build around over the next few years.
07:30And you try, you know, it would be maybe a sign and trade with LeBron if you can get that
07:35type of partnership and conversation going with them.
07:41But, yeah, it would be to take a step back almost kind of regardless of the personnel decisions.
07:46Taking a step back means just you're not going all in on winning a championship this coming season in terms
07:52of the 26, 27 season.
07:54It would be to take a step back, look at some opportunities to flip players into draft capital and assets,
08:01try to pick up some second round picks.
08:02Try to, you know, can you do a sign and trade with Rui Hachimura to get a first round pick
08:09from somebody?
08:10And you would just kind of start making those moves that then, and then you look at the depth charts
08:16and the free agencies coming up.
08:18Who's a free agent this year? Who's a free agent in 27 and 28?
08:22And you position your salary cap space around that availability, and you try and, you know, everybody obviously is going
08:29to try to be ready for when Victor Wimanyama's a free agent.
08:34Oh, yeah.
08:35When, you know, certain guys are free agents again, young players that have come into the league.
08:39When is Tyrese Maxey going to possibly be a free agent in three or four years?
08:43Boy, that would be it.
08:43When is Vijay Edge come, you know, so you start mapping out when the guys that you feel like you
08:50could build around.
08:51Um, what would be available possibly?
08:54And you start planning your books accordingly.
08:56Uh, but that's, again, that's, you know, to ask Lakers fans to do that.
09:02It's a tough ask.
09:03It's a tough ask.
09:04Tough ask.
09:04It really is.
09:05So you can't have it both ways.
09:06You can't have, we should be winning the championship.
09:09We're frustrated.
09:10You know, we shouldn't have this guy.
09:12We should have done this, which, you know, is all about winning right now.
09:16And then when we look out and see young players that were here doing really well, Brandon Ingram's an all
09:22-star.
09:23You know, like, one, it speaks to, like, the Lakers have drafted well at times in the past because all
09:28these guys were drafted by the Lakers.
09:30All these guys were drafted by the Lakers.
09:32So they could play, but then whenever there's an opportunity to swing for winning a title and putting another banner
09:40up, it's going to happen.
09:42It's not even a thought.
09:43It's going to happen.
09:44You mentioned, like, the idea of, like, when Wemby's eventually a free agent.
09:47And obviously everybody's got that date kind of circled.
09:50But doesn't Wemby kind of strike you as that guy that he's not seduced by the bright lights of L
09:56.A. or New York?
09:57He seems like a guy that would, like, very purposely re-sign in San Antonio and play his whole career
10:03there.
10:04Agreed.
10:05Yeah.
10:05Yeah, he's...
10:06He seems like he's in his home.
10:07Yeah.
10:09To say he's intentional about every single thing he does is a severe understatement.
10:14He's a different cat.
10:14Like, I feel like there's, like, we need more guys like him, though.
10:20Because what he's done this year, I should hate Wemby for what he has done and will continue to do
10:25to the Lakers.
10:26I should absolutely hate him.
10:28I find it extremely difficult to do so, though, because we live in, like, an era where...
10:35And it's a narrative.
10:36I don't think this is a true narrative.
10:37And it drives me a little nuts.
10:38And I think it's overblown.
10:39But, you know, because of what the NBA's gone through over the last, like, 10 years.
10:43You know, oh, the tanking teams.
10:45Oh, the load management.
10:46And all these negative kind of phrases that have kind of been either justifiably or often unjustifiably put onto the
10:54league.
10:56It's so refreshing to see a player who cares so much.
11:00And that's what Wemby is.
11:02He cares that much.
11:03And when I say that, even down to, like, the All-Star game.
11:06A thing that has been pretty maligned for a couple of years.
11:09No one wanted to win that All-Star game more than Victor Wembenyama.
11:13And you know what?
11:13It fired me up as a fan watching it.
11:17Well, he's wired that way.
11:20He's studied the greats.
11:22He wants to be one of the greats.
11:24And so all of his decisions are in alignment with his vision for his career.
11:29You know, how he wants to play.
11:31We talked about it yesterday.
11:33You know, similar to Otani, who's been an MVP multiple times, four times.
11:39He wants to win a Cy Young award.
11:41What?
11:42Like, everybody's brain doesn't work that way.
11:45How many guys in baseball ever even thought of being able to do both of those things?
11:50We all did when we were seven.
11:53Not when we were in our, like, nearly 30 and winning MVPs.
11:57Right.
11:57So, you know, that's how Victor's brain works.
12:01It's like he wants to be the MVP of the league and the defensive player of the year in the
12:07league.
12:07He wants to win NBA titles, et cetera.
12:09So, he's only going to play in places, which could be San Antonio forever, but he's only going to put
12:17himself in position where the things that he envisions for his career and his path and his journey, that the
12:24team, the ownership group, the front office, all believe in and support that vision.
12:31And there's not going to be many places on that list that would align with all of those things.
12:38There just won't be.
12:38So, yeah, to your point of, you know, watching guys that used to be on the Lakers go out and
12:46have success in other places.
12:49You had 26 points last night, D-Fish.
12:51It hurts.
12:52Yeah, it goes both ways.
12:53But how many guys on that list of guys that have gone other places and done well, other than Alex
13:01Caruso, who's won a championship?
13:03Fair.
13:04I can't think of one right off the top of my head, for sure.
13:07Right?
13:07So, that's the risk and the reward of like, okay, yes, we're letting or allowing these younger players that could
13:15help us win championships in the future to get away or we're going to move those guys away.
13:20But we're trying to do things that can help us win titles now.
13:25And, okay, the Lakers have won.
13:27Alex Caruso has won.
13:28None of those other guys have won.
13:30So, who really won out necessarily if you look at it that way?
13:35Right?
13:35It's kind of a wash.
13:37True.
13:38Nobody has the advantage.
13:39There's also the added aspect of Josh Hart making all of these New York Knicks fans happy is just also
13:47bothering me.
13:48It's bothering me a lot.
13:49I don't know why.
13:50Maybe it's because Knicks fans, I find them to be the most annoying.
13:52I don't think they are, but I do find them to be that way.
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