00:00But I think the appropriate starting point is actually the decision that was made and the response that followed with
00:07LeBron leaving the Lakers and then the Lakers pushing their chips in for Walker Kessler and signing a couple of
00:15guys, you know, following Mamu, Quinton Grimes, Colin Sexton and trying to reshape that roster.
00:24And it's a kind of, you know, two-piece setup, but I'm going to try and blend the decisions, okay?
00:32I don't think Coach and I need to spend time today rehashing if LeBron's time in L.A. was a
00:37success.
00:37Honestly, it's silly. We all know it was.
00:39And, you know, Coach and I will just kind of agree and then start yelling at people who don't.
00:43We get it, okay?
00:45But there was an element to this that I feel, which is Laker fans being annoyed that LeBron left would
00:54be angry at the wrong people.
00:56It's their own fault.
00:58And then, you know, you constantly, the Luka era, the Luka era, right?
01:03Oh, you got to move the team forward for Luka.
01:05So they make this Walker Kessler deal.
01:09Everything about how the Lakers operate tells me that if LeBron was on the roster, they wouldn't go all in
01:15for Walker Kessler.
01:16And that's why it's their fault that LeBron left.
01:20That's insane.
01:21LeBron James was one of the 20 best players in the NBA last year.
01:25Certainly the second best Laker and was the driving force between that team getting into the second round of the
01:30playoffs.
01:31Luka Doncic, his best teammate was LeBron since he's been a Laker, not Austin Reeves.
01:39So you had an excellent win-now piece next to Luka, but because they just kept saying LeBron's fault, LeBron's
01:50old, LeBron will leave,
01:51they cost themselves legitimate years of Luka Doncic because they wouldn't make that move as long as LeBron was on
02:03the roster,
02:03which is why people like myself, obvious known LeBron fans, wanted LeBron to go.
02:10The bizarre piece of the Lakers' decision for Walker Kessler, though, is they gave up.
02:19It's like they overpaid to prove to Luka how much they love him.
02:24You did not, under any reasonable world, have to give up what they gave up for Walker Kessler.
02:30Walker Kessler has 10 career games of 35-plus minutes.
02:34He played five minutes last year.
02:36He was a restricted free agent.
02:37How did you have to pay him max money, which I'm not sure Utah would have been willing to,
02:43and give up multiple picks with swaps, locking up your draft capital for seven years?
02:48I just, we can talk about the fit, coach, but I think the Lakers showed in a quick window why,
02:59despite the fact that they have a player like Luka or Haddle, they're poorly ran,
03:04and it's not a group that you should be inspired by.
03:10Kevin, they were the fourth seed in the West last year.
03:17Let's just go through this real quick.
03:19Next year, Oklahoma City, better.
03:21San Antonio, better.
03:23Denver, better.
03:24Houston, better.
03:26Minnesota, better.
03:27Ready?
03:29Phoenix, better.
03:30Portland, we got to see what they're doing, because they got four point guards.
03:33Someone's got to get moved, right?
03:36Depends.
03:36If LeBron goes to Golden State, Golden State, better.
03:40If they're healthy, Dallas with Dusty May, better.
03:44Like, to me, the Lakers put all this to make Luka happy.
03:50You think Luka's going to be happy playing with that roster?
03:53Like, is that going to look at Luka and be like, this is a team that inspires me?
04:00They're – it was a panic move by an organization.
04:07Let's be honest, Kev, before LeBron got there, they were hot trash.
04:12They were hot trash.
04:15LeBron goes there, and this is why – I know we're not supposed to get – but I've got to
04:18say this.
04:18And I'm not – you know me.
04:20Everybody knows.
04:20I'm a Jordanian.
04:21I'm more than a LeBron guy.
04:22But I've got to give the man his flowers.
04:25He saved that organization.
04:27And they pissed on him on the way out the door.
04:30So now you're going to see the Lakers go back to right where they were beforehand, and that's irrelevant.
04:36And the only reason why they may be a little bit more relevant is the Clippers.
04:41They're worse off than the Lakers, so they're still the better team in their own building or own hometown.
04:49Although I still think they're probably one of the five, six worst teams in the Western Conference going into the
04:54next year.
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