Power Shift in Purple and Gold: How Doncic Reshaped the Lakers' Future

it's tuesday, you know what time it is. Frontrunner. Podcast collector is back on the air. I am your humble host, vince, and on today's podcast, we are going to break down the drama. We're going to break down the soap opera that is LeBron and the Lakers and what it all actually means and who is going to come out on the better for this situation. The other thing that we are going to talk about is the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, I have been very hard on the Philadelphia 76ers. We do got an update on Joel Embiid. What does it mean? How does it affect this year? They got some young talent coming in. They got some talent returning from injury. They got some young talent coming in. They got some talent returning from injury. We always know that Joel Embiid is returning from injury, which is one of the sticking points of this segment thatba fans. Great for the world that our guy is coming back, and what is he coming back to exactly? That is the thing that we are going to talk about today.

Uh, before we get started with all of the stuff that we need to get to on this podcast, I do want to give a special shout out to everybody who is downloading the podcast. Thank you so much. We do this twice a week, tuesday and Friday, for your listening pleasure. Also, be a friend and tell a friend about the podcast. And the reason why I say those type of things is because of the fact that we do not actually have any sort of advertising budget whatsoever. All of the downloads that are coming are coming literally from you guys. It is coming from the word of mouth that you are getting out there to the masses. I can't be more grateful. Of mouth that you are getting out there to the masses, I can't be more grateful. So rea is so excited. She looked at the numbers today. She was like, are you kidding me? Like there are people who are more people in germany, more people in in england, more people in españa, spain, you know, more people in argentina and boliviaivia and Chile that are downloading the podcast. So I am humbled by this whole situation. And, of course, the United States of America is doing its thing. You know you guys are holding it down, you guys are standing on business. You know what this podcast is all about. We talk hoops, we talk NBA, we talk about the front offices, we talk about the draft, we talk about the players that you guys want to talk about, and today is no different. We got big, big podcast for you today and in one moment we're gonna get into it.

Um, the last thing that we kind of really need to discuss is that I don't know if it's going to be during this podcast, but we are expecting Bradley Bill to be bought out as of today or tomorrow I think 25% of his salary, and he wants to make sure he got that payment before the buyout. So my man is standing on his business, which is his cash. He was making sure that he was going to get his money Before any sort of buyout was going to happen. He needed that little influx of cash Into the coffers before we get going. So I think we're going to have a lot of news that will break this week after the Bradley Beal buyout and then where he's going to end up. Most likely it will be with the Clippers. That is what I am hearing, that is what my people are telling me, that is what you read the tea leaves If you read anything on the Athletic you, anything on hoop site and things of that nature. That's also what they're talking about as well. So I think we're kind of in the same. We're going down the same damn track. So everything is good there, but I do expect a lot of NBA movement and what have you to be coming up very shortly.

We've been in this stagnation period with the nba and why moves have not been made. Why is jonathan kaminga still a gold state warrior? Why is uh quentin grimes not been signed yet? All of it is kind of hinged on bradley bill and what's going on with him and who's going to get him and all these other type of things. So we hope to have some sort of resolution for that coming up very shortly. So my phone will be kind of on Twitter waiting for that to kind of happen.

And if something does break during the podcast, which you know, your boy is two thumbs up on that situation, right, we will go ahead and give you that as well and we'll kind of break that down. But we got a full podcast already. We don't even need Bradley Bill news. We really don't, because any time that you get to talk about the Lakers, any time that you get to talk about the Lakers, anytime that you get to talk about LeBron James, and then you throw in a little dash of Luka, a little dash, a little, a pinch of Luka in there. You know that you got a good podcast, so that's where we're going to start. We're going to start in the la-la, where I'm at. You know what I'm saying. You know how I do it. Represent the West Coast because it's the best coast. That's where we're going to start right now. So here we are. Soraya on the silent ones or two. She will be hitting us with producer notes. She got some stuff. I know she got crazy stuff coming for you guys. So you guys don't feel this heat, but let's jump into the LeBron drama. So we start.

It's a fascinating situation that's unfolding in the Los Angeles area. We're going to talk about LeBron James. The man is 40 years old. He's entering in an unprecedented 23rd year in the NBA. So 23 seasons in the NBA. So 23 seasons in the NBA. Lebron will be embarking on when training camp starts here in the middle of September. Think about this for a second 23 seasons. But the twist is LeBron, for the very first time maybe ever, is not the franchise's primary focus, which is a huge brand onto itself, which is the Los Angeles Lakers. That spotlight now belongs to Luka Doncic and folks that's shaking things up big time and helping it. We're gonna help us unpack this whole situation. As always.

This is our amazing producer, serea. She has notes on all of these types of things and we're gonna get into her first first note right now, and this actually comes from dan wilkie's article on the athletic I will, I will, implore you to support the Athletic as many times as you possibly can. This is a free endorsement. I do not get paid for this whatsoever. But they have outstanding writers. They have great NBA writers and some of our topics usually kind of derive from something that we might have read on the Athletic or whatever the case may be. But this is what Dan Welke was saying and Soraya pulled this from his article on the Athletic who highlighted how everyone's eyes at the Summer League weren't on the court but on LeBron James himself. If you saw the whole coverage on ESPN, it was kind of ridiculous. It was like they would.

Anytime something happened with the Lakers, they just they canned to LeBron James, which the funny part about that is is that if you are a Lakers fan, if you are part of Lakers Nation, did you see who was sitting behind LeBron? Did you see who was sitting behind lebron? Did you see who was sitting behind him. It was trevor lane. Trevor lane was sitting behind the host of laker nation.

Shout out to our guy trevor, doing the good work in las vegas. He's back in los angeles now, but he was out there grinding trying to get lakers information and also putting in that work. And we always going to support the independent podcaster who's doing that work. So, trevor, salutes to you, my guy, and everything that you do. So LeBron, sitting courtside, stoic you know what I'm saying doing his thing, watching this kid play, getting buckets you know what I'm saying. Lebron James Jr doing his thing. And did he shake a couple people's hands? Yes, he did. Did he casually signal his presence? Yes, he did. But beneath all the smiles, the tension lingered. Lebron's agent, rich Paul, openly admits, and I quote we understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. Lebron wants every season he has left to count. Clearly there's a tension because the Lakers are caught in between honoring LeBron's desire for one last title run and preparing for the future, firmly anchored by luca donchik.

Shout out to dan walkie and congrats on moving on to the athletic he just got there. Our guy yovan buha he's moved on to digital media. He's kind of doing what we're doing as far as saying what he's doing on a little bit grander stage, but we love that dude and we love his information as well. So dan has been on the laker beat for a long period of time, so we know that the information is good when it comes from him, right? We know that he's been doing this for more than a decade and we we get somebody who has been in the inner workings of a franchise like the Lakers and it's really hard to get information out of that place. We got to, you know, we got to go to alternate sites, got to go to alternative situations to get this information, but this is where we stand right now.

Lebron Okay, this is what I need to start off with. Lebron James has always been about leverage, okay. Since the early days of when he was in Cleveland to Miami and then back to Cleveland and now in LA, lebron has played franchises masterfully, using short-term deals, opt-out and social media hints to keep everyone guessing. Classic LeBron right. But signing that four-year deal a little while ago with the Lakers, it signaled something, that of a big shift for him, and you started to understand that LeBron was maybe even understanding his own mortality when he came to the NBA. Now, when he came to the Lakers, it wasn't just basketball anymore, it was business Some of those businesses you know of Spring Hill Company, which is his production company, fenway Sports Group, which owns the Red Sox, and other groups such as Liverpool Football Club in the Premier League. As far as that's concerned, we all know about Blaze Pizza and you name it in LA.

It was strategic to get here. He built a home Well, he actually bought two homes in LA and basically in a sense combined them, and I think the work is almost done on the house. So congrats to LeBron on building his forever home in Los Angeles, where his son now plays for the Lakers and we'll get into that a little bit later and his other son, bryce, is now a freshman at the University of Arizona. He's a wildcat. I'm sick about that because I really would wish he was a UCLA LeBron. But clearly LeBron has made a shift and, yes, there's still competitive juices flowing as far as basketball is concerned, but he needed to go ahead and establish what he was going to be.

Looking at past basketball, he's done a phenomenal job. He's been over here for seven years now and you know, hey, you can't fault that man for being a really strategic business businessman. You just cannot fault him. He wins a championship, albeit everybody wants to talk about how it's fraudulent because it was a bubble championship. Get out of town with this man. A championship is a championship. For you haters out there that don't believe in the actual championship, hey, all I can tell you is that a ring is a ring. And for you, franchises that don't have one as of yet, I'm sure if you had that bubble championship you would defend it as well. But Bill Simmons might have put it perfectly Luka came to LA like the Santa Ana windstorms, clearing the way of anxiety and stagnation, giving the Lakers fans real hope again.

Remember, when Luka came to us, we didn't even believe it. We were like this has got to be a hoax. But it wasn't. It was real life, bro, and we were super excited about having Luka here in Los Angeles. Suddenly, lebron's playbook, those sub-tweets, the cryptic Instagram posts just aren't landing like they were before because the Lakers have the new apple of their eye and it just turns out that he's 26 years old and he's offensively brilliant, just like LeBron, and his passing is ridiculous and what he's able to see and what he's able to imagine in his head can usually be played out on a basketball court. So, amen, luka is a godsend.

We want to send out a shout-out to Nico Harrison. Thank you, nico. Thank you for all that you do, my guy, giving us Luka Doncic, for that very, very nice little package that we sent to you, which was, you know, not too meaningful for us when it comes to Luca. But hey, we appreciate you, my guy. I don't know how they feel about you in Dallas right now, but we appreciate you for giving us Luca. So LeBron loves to put pressure on the franchises that he's with now. This all dates back to Cleveland and we'll get into that a little bit later why that is, but it just he is motivated by hey, I'm gonna put pressure on you to get us the best squad possible.

Now, when Luka got here, we only had like three days to the trade deadline. Ok, once everything was settled and everything, everything was going on. It was a very short period of time, but the Lakers tried to make it work. They made a deal for Charlotte's Mark Williams, who's now in Phoenix. It showed LeBron something.

Now, lebron and AD had been asking for a center for a long period of time Luka gets here. They asked him a couple questions and, lo and behold, they're making a trade for a 7'1 center who's super athletic rim runs and all these type of things. Unfortunately, mark williams is made out of paper mache and they had to send him back. They had to get, they had to collect. Don't connect back all the swaps and, whatever case may be, they give it all back to us. Bro, going to get it all back because, yeah, we don't Listen. Ad is fragile. This dude is less than fragile. Okay, I don't even know what to call him.

So that trade gets reversed and LeBron is starting to look around and go hold on what's going on here. Because LeBron is starting to look around and go hold on what's going on here, because LeBron is turning 41 in December and at some point by the time, checks even the king. So the Lakers had to make a tough but frankly smart choice, prioritizing Luka, which they did, and it's about, basically, it's about sustainability. It's a good business practice and LeBron, deep down, probably respects the move, even though he hates it so much Hates it. Hates it Because here's the thing when he saw Mark Williams come over, he knew right then and there the landscape had changed for him. It was no longer hey, what is it that we can do to appease LeBron, it's hey, whatever we can do to appease Luka and you can say well, you know, if Luka's there and you're trying to appease him, it's going to be good for lebron. Well, lebron has been a superstar. Lebron has been basically the straw that starts to drink everywhere he's gone.

So this is a very unfamiliar position for him to be in at this present time and it also might feel a little uneasy for him. You imagine, you know you go your whole life and you're literally like hey, man, you're special and we are going to do everything for you, for you to, for you to continue to feel special, feel wanted, feel needed. And how can we support you in these and come together and compete for championships, right? So that's the backdrop. Shift to Luka Doncic isn't personal, it's just prudent. The analytics, which we'll dive into shortly, support this clearly and it is simple math Shaping of around a 26-year-old Luka Doncic is sound, and hoping and praying that LeBron stays upright and holding our collective purple and gold breath seems illogical at this juncture of his career. Listen, you're as loyal as your options, man. Okay, now I know a lot of dudes have heard that. I know a lot of dudes have might have said that that might be a lot of dudes' motto You're as loyal as your options. Well, the Lakers think about it.

Up until the Luka trade, we were kind of trying to figure out what was the next step. We were collectively holding our breath, trying to say man, is this the last year for LeBron, even though he didn't announce any kind of retirement tour? Because we know that there is going to be a retirement tour coming if LeBron is when when LeBron retires we know that's coming that man is definitely going out with some fanfare. I think he's deserved it. Personally, personally, you could say you don't like the histrionics. You can say that you know, maybe in your eye he's not as authentic as he needs to be or whatever the case, you know, but he's done the right thing by the nba for pretty much his whole entire career. So if anybody deserves a retirement tour, it's gonna to be LeBron James.

Now we're going to dive deeper into this and we're going to talk about LeBron and why he has used these tactics over the years, and we'll get into that momentarily. Um, but so far, do you feel like the Lakers have done the right thing, that they've pivoted towards Luka and what he needs and what's going to make him successful. What type of players surrounding him are going to flourish, and he's going to flourish with those players? I think Kalinka. Obviously there's a lot to be said about him, but at this point again we said it before this is sound strategy. No doubt we talked in context about.

I want to clearly revisit something crucial with LeBron's historical leverage game. Remember back when LeBron was in Cleveland for the first time and they made moves that were albeit they were trying to get surround LeBron with the right type of team. They clearly didn't use him as a partner and they made some very ill-fated trades and they brought in people. They brought in Shaq for a little while. They brought in what's our guy's name? Larry Hughes was brought in. Remember the Boogie Gibson years in Cleveland? There was a lot of stuff going on, but LeBron was clearly frustrated with the direction of where the team was going. So obviously, when he was able in 2010 to opt out and go somewhere else, he kind of at that point, understood what the blueprint was. So he goes down to Miami, he goes back to Cleveland and then comes to LA, but we're talking about Miami right now.

He's always using short-term deals as a way to keep the franchise's feet to the fire, so to speak. He's always keeping one foot out the door, using opt-outs to pressure front offices to make win-now moves and opt-outs to pressure front offices to make win-now moves, okay. So you know, we're going to bring in Mike Miller, we're going to bring in some of these other people, because if you don't, I might leave, and it's always worked. Classic LeBron. But now, at 40, and soon to be 41, the landscape has changed and shifted dramatically. No-transcript.

And at this point, at 40, lebron James is still performing at historically elite levels offensively, but the advanced dealer clearly backs this up. Lebron ranks in the 99th percentile on one-on-one shot making. He also is in the 98th percentile In efficiency and his playmaking skills Still are at an elite level At 99%. I mean, you can't. You can't get much better, especially at 40. Yet the scouting report starkly notes His championship window is extremely tight One to two years at best. Age-related decline is not just likely, it's imminent and you can start to see it, and you started to see it over the last couple years.

Lebron doesn't have the same explosivity, and I'm not talking about just his athleticism. I'm talking about the scoring in bunches and the amount of times that he can do it within a game or even within a stretch period. Yeah, there will be brilliant games. No doubt you will see 40-point games from LeBron Hell. We saw a lot of them last year but he can't sustain it over a long period of time. There used to be a situation where that dude I remember there was a stretch in I think it was in Miami where he scored 35 plus points for like almost three and a half weeks straight. You know, keeping that team afloat. That's what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about oh, can he score 40? Yeah, he can definitely score 40 one night. 100, he can score 40 points. Can he score it in back-to-back nights? That is where the question lies, and we haven't seen that for a while.

Historically, lebron leveraged his greatness into pressure, short-term deals, free agency rumors, social media break-crumbing. But the current reality, supported by these metrics, is crystal clear. Lebron no longer has that kind of leverage. Has that kind of leverage, the Lakers aren't compelled to bend because Luka Doncic is 26 years of age and he is at MVP-level metrics. So it's clear what the strategic priority is Luka. Why is that? Because you got a long runway with luca that you do not have with lebron james.

Think about what we were as laker fans, what we were looking at before luca got here. We kept on asking ourselves well, when's the shoe gonna drop? Ron might get a groin tweak, or he might get a calf tweak. Orron might get a groin tweak, or he might get a calf tweak, or he might get a hamstring tweak. And where does that leave us? Oh, we got Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis is a really good player, but he was never a number one. He was never that guy, and it's not any shock to Anthony Davis, it's just what it was.

Now you could say that he was being suffocated by LeBron's greatness. You can 100% say that. But at the end of the day, you know, if AD wanted to step up and say, hey, this is now my team, he would have had to voice that, and he never did. He felt comfortable in the role that he was in, and there's nothing wrong with that. Being a 1B to LeBron's 1A is a pretty good lifestyle to live. Plus you're in Los Angeles, plus you're getting the limelight, plus you'll be able to go to cool-ass restaurants and all kinds of stuff and get all the love because you're a Laker. So you know, ad kind of read the code, you know, just rode the coattails of LeBron, no biggie. And when we needed him as a defensive anchor, he was that guy.

You know he did all kinds of things to make sure the Lakers were as good as they possibly could be, but something was missing, and the reason why we say that is because here in Los Angeles, missing the playoffs is not acceptable. You can say what you want oh, you guys are spoiled. You can say that we're, you know, laker exceptionalism. You can say all those type of things and you're not wrong. You're absolutely not wrong. But the Lakers are accustomed to winning, they're accustomed to making long runs in the playoffs and if they're not doing that, they don't know what the hell is going on. But also keep in mind and I'm going to say this again because for the people who are sick of LeBron, I want you to go back to 2017 and tell me how you felt.

Then we had the baby Lakers. Everybody remember the baby Lakers. How terrible that was. How many games were we winning then? 26?, 22?, 24? It was bad, and not one of those players not one really stepped up and took the moniker of, like, I am going to be a 1a type superstar. We got d'angelo russell, we got brandon ingram, a couple other people. Still wasn't good enough. Julius Randle was here. You know what I'm saying. We didn't get that guy. Now we got that guy.

So we talked about where LeBron is as far as his numbers are concerned. But here's the problem. Now Luka changed the math entirely. Luka's entering his prime. That's what we're clearly about to lay out for you. Luka's offensive gravity is elite, 99th percentile, super elite. That's the stuff GMs dream about, even when you're building a contender. Lebron's great, historically Great, even at 40. But there's a volatility to the talent. Now it's a little more up and down like the stock market. The talent now it's a little more up and down like the stock market. Every front office move around LeBron becomes a high stakes gambling move, while moves around Luka feel like solid investments. The Lakers fans have seen enough sub-tweeting, enough passive-aggressive messaging and it used to work. But now it's just noise. You sound like the old man, you sound like me. Basically I'm old.

But again, bill Simons pointed out, the Mavericks practically gifted Luka to the Lakers, rescuing the Lakers from mediocrity and the Lakers are now done with gambling for year to year and now they're thinking five years at a time. Okay, that's what they're thinking now. It's like, okay, what can we do right now? How do we want to keep our flexibility? So then, when there are free agents that hit the open market or we have the ability to free up some of these draft picks and we'll talk about that momentarily that we can be in a mode where we will be aggressive when there is a opportunity for us to be aggressive. That's what they're looking.

Now we got some more numbers that will like blow your mind, absolutely blow your mind. Lebron's peak efficiency 60.3% true shooting percentage. He's a 2.62 offensive LeBron, which is the 97th percentile. They have a stat named after him. That's how great he is. They got a damn metric, an advanced metric, named after the dude. He's in the 97th percentile. That's exceptional for his age. But the analytics also indicate declining defensive impact and growing injury risk. The Lakers must approach lebron remaining years cautiously. One bad injury or or rapid decline changes and you don't know when the cliff is going to come. So it's just like playing like roulette and you're just hoping that it doesn't like bang on double zero. At this point we're going to dive into some more numbers here, so let's get to it.

We're going to talk about the man of the hour, luka Doncic. We watched Luka evolve from EuroLeague prodigy to a walking triple-double in the NBA. Well, what he did in the offseason you know. Now he's coming to LA. We know he's working out. We know that there were conditioning issues when he got here. He was coming off that calf strain that seemed to debilitate him. And you know what, with all the Achilles injuries that we saw, the devastating Achilles injuries that we saw over the second half of last year Jason Tatum, our guy, tyrese Halliburton, obviously, damian Lillard you know these things. We gotta take precaution. We gotta make sure he's healthy, and Luka did that.

Now, did he look out of shape? Yeah, he was, but he has now been traded. His whole foundation has shifted now and for the first time, he might have some motivation behind him, that's saying oh okay, you just left me for dead. You thought I'd go into some sort of cocoon and that would be it. That would be the last you hear of me. Nah, I'm super competitive, bro, and I'm coming for your head.

That is Luka Doncic in a nutshell. It's not about his star power, it's about his gravity. You felt it when he was um, you know, like I said, not in shape at all. That dude had a couple 40-point games that just captured the imagination of all Laker fans all across the world. Luka came in like we say, came in like Santa in a windstorm. He revitalized the Lakers fan base and had grown uneasy. That imagery says it all. But before Luka arrived, the Lakers were in a holding pattern and with an aging roster, murky direction and no real edge strategy. But now, man, it's just blue skies everywhere. You know what I'm saying. Our food tastes better, coffee is stronger, but it tastes awesome.

Everything is great with Luka Doncic in the fold. There's a pathway, with Luka being 26, 6'8", an offensive savant, already one of the five best players in the league. That changes everything when it comes to team building for rob kalinka. And it should, because, as good as lebron still is and he's still a top 15 player the foundation of the modern nba team has to be built on sustainability. Luka gives you that in space. Front office prioritizers are now built around Luka and his needs, not what LeBron demands. Think about that shift. It's not just basketball, it's institutional. It's wild how fast all these things change. You know what I'm saying.

Luka walks in oh my God, let's go get Mark Williams because he needs a rim-running center. You know that can just dunk on people's heads all the time. He needs a guy like that and all of a sudden LeBron is playing the backup role. Now I mean the backup role, like he's playing backup role. What I'm saying is like he's just kind of chilling in the cut and watching all this go down. So you see him watch this thing with mark williams and then you know it gets rescinded.

But had to stick in his head like hold on, wait, on, wait. Weren't we behind the scenes like asking for a center? Me and AD, we were asking for one. So what does that tell you? What does that tell you If you're a Laker fan? What does that say to you? How does that speak to you? Because alarm bells should be going off in your head. It's like yo man man, we went down this road with you and we'll talk about the russell westbrook situation in a little bit but we went down this road with you on a trade and you said, oh, you can make this work and we'll get into it later. But the brilliance of lebron could not make that work. You wanted clarity, direction. Hope Luka brings that to you. He's not trying to run the franchise, he's just hooping and killing it. That gives the front office permission to move on, even if there is not saying it publicly. Lebron's camp understandably doesn't love this situation.

So the passive-aggressive IG posts the going golfing trips to Cleveland, where we have plenty of great courses here in Los Angeles. I'm sure Austin Reeves could have shown LeBron all the great courses that my man has played on. You know what I'm saying. Austin Reeves is an avid golfer. That's all he likes to do in his off time. He likes to chill, he likes to work out, he likes to play hoops but he likes to golf. He'll go to top golf if he has to, but my guy likes to get it in. So I'm sure LeBron could have teamed up with our guy Austin Reeves and got some golf in. But my man flew to Cleveland, put on a welcome home hat and put it out there on IG for everybody to see, just stoking the fires of just dissent, just stoking the fires of uneasiness and almost unrest here in Los Angeles.

But the Lakers didn't blink, ralph Palenka didn't blink. And you know why? Because Luke is here. That's the reason. It reminds me of the hard and rocket years when Houston just said, yep, yep, this is our guy Built, everything around him Flaws and all. It wasn't always pretty, but it gave them an identity. And Luka gives Los Angeles that same blueprint. The only difference is he's doing it in the perfect goal and at 26 years old, and he's got a decade left in him.

Soraya drops this From roster construction standpoint. Luka isn't just your engine, he's your GPS, he's your North Star. Every piece on the roster now gets evaluated by one question Does this help Luka? And does this help Luka hit his ceiling? Our anonymous scout confirms this 3.27 offensive gravity, 2.98 three-point creation and 4.15 offensive LeBron score. Yo, this is crazy numbers, this is elite usage indicators.

We dug deep into the crates for you today. That's why the Lakers aren't clearing the future cap space and holding off major commitments. They're not planning for LeBron next year, they're planning for Luka for the next eight. So yeah, lebron, still luxury, still legend, still worth every bit of attention that he can command. But the franchise, the franchise's heartbeat, the Lakers' heartbeat at this present time, it belongs to Luka Doncic and it's not any shade whatsoever. It's just the evolution of things, and we'll tell you why right now.

Here's where things do get tricky. Though you got LeBron, he still won the top 15 players in the league, right? We talked about that before. He's not a great defender, he's not always healthy and absolutely not someone you can leave unsupported. You can say the same thing about Luka as well. So now, except for he's not healthy all the time, or whatever the case should be. So now the front office has to riddle to kind of figure out how do you build for both timelines without screwing up either.

If you ask lebron, rob palinka has wasted some of james's brilliance, and it all goes back to the russell westbrook debacle. We all knew it when it happened, except for lebron himself and the Lakers brain trust. They were hopeful that LeBron's offensive sorcery could elevate even an ill-fitting Westbrook to the Lakers court. The Lakers still feel the pinch of acquiring Russell Westbrook and the subsequent trades after two untied the knot that they self-inflicted onto themselves. We still feel it to this day. You know, one of the reasons why we don't have any second round picks is because of some of the things that we had to do to get off of westbrook and then bring in d'angelo russell and do all these things. Man, it's just been a mess and we're still paying for that trade.

So let's start here with LeBron. Here's some numbers for you. Elite defenders, at point of attack and in health, can't shoot threats. Who can shoot 38% plus from deep, a mobile big for rim protection, but who won't clog the paint. One more secondary creator to lighten the load yeah, ad. So here's the thing. Remember when we had AD Russo, danny Green. That was a model that works, but only if Bron doesn't shoulder 35% usage every night.

That's how you break him in February. What do you do? You get him off ball right. Remember you had Austin Reeves when D'Angelo was here. Even though he made a ton of mistakes, he got off the. You know, lebron was able to get off the ball. Now you got Luka. He just wants the ball, he wants to have it in his hands all the time.

So you flip the script to what Luka needs. Right, this is what he needs. Okay, switchable wings to insulate his defensive prowess, if you want to call it that. Spacing, spacing and more spacing. A good movement shooter, not just a corner. Three standstill, three shooting. Dude movement shooter, not just a corner three standstill, three shoot. And do you definitely need the vertical log threat? We'll see if Aiton can be that to exploit the pick and roll gravity that Luka can cause. Secondary ball handling Well, we got that LeBron so sound familiar. It's almost the complete opposite of what LeBron needs. Because this is what LeBron needs. He needs catch-and-shoot threats that shoot 38% from deep but like stand in the corner A mogul, big for rim protection but won't clog the paint. One more secondary creator that lighten his load. So these are the type of things that are different between the two.

The problem for Kalinka. So what is Rob supposed to do? You can't sign two full rosters and you damn sure can't keep patching it together with minimum wings and asking LeBron and asking him to make it work. That's how you burn out all legends and alienate stars like Luka, who are paying attention to whether this front office has the juice or not. Here's the thing. The West is brutal. Now Kalinka has to got to consolidate. That means two, maybe three guys off the book in exchange for one legit point of attack defender or a combo wing think alex caruso, uh, derrick white or even someone like herb jones.

You can't waste LeBron's last run, but you also can't let Luka look up in February and see Max Christie. Actually I would love to have Max Christie back. Can we get Max Christie back? That would be great. You can't have Dalton Connect. I was thinking Max Christie, because there's a trade that's out there that I read about before I came and did the recording. But you can't have Dalton connect out there standing next alongside Luka in February and thinking you're going to make a long playoff run. It's just not feasible.

Now here is where the rubber meets the road. If the Lakers can wait one more season, just one more they open up a bunch of draft picks. The Lakers are trying to keep their 2026, 2031, and 2030-33 pick in play. Now if you start doing swaps and things of that nature, you can't do anything with it Because they can't trade the 2026 pick until draft night of 2026 draft. So by that time, either they're going to keep it or whatever. We'll see how it all works. But at the end of the day they can't trade that pick in this year's trade deadline or whatever case may be. They just can't do it because of step-in rule. Now that's why they've been a bit stingy.

Now it's not about this year, it's about flexibility. But here is the kicker you only hold luca if he wants to stay, and that means looking competitive this year, not in that abysmal project 2027 thing that you see online that everybody's talking about. So, yes, the Lakers can't fix everything this particular time, but they can't. They must fix something. You can't sit and stay stagnant forever. So, whatever it's going to be, palenka needs to get in the lab and do what he needs to do. Bottom line is that these two all-time greats one at the start of his apex, the others at the last hill before the decline the front office has to balance urgency with restraint, ambition with foresight. Balance urgency with restraint, ambition with foresight. And, honestly, they better act fast Because both timelines will expire before they cash in.

This Project 2027 mess is floating out there on the internet and the rhetoric that Kalinka is saying right now you know he's talking about we got to have flexibility. This is part of LeBron's frustration Like bro, I don't know how many years I got left, but you sitting around here telling us, oh, we're going to wait until 2027. I don't know if I'm going to be playing in 2027, man, I might be out here trying to play with Bryce and Bronny now, depending on if Bryce can even have a good year at Arizona, to even make it feasible for him to come out next year. But you can't sit there and just be like, okay, we're going to hold off for two years. Even with Luka, you can't do that. But this is going to hold off for two years. Even with Luka, you can't do that. But this is going to cause friction. Friction that is more than the normal annoyance that James had already had with the Lakers over some time now. He's been asking them to pull the trigger on trades for like two or three straight years and the Lakers have just refused to do it. So now here we are. We're going to take a side-by-side comparisons of Luka and LeBron right now and we're going to go from there and see how this looks.

Lebron 40, right right, 101 shot making 2.92, 99 percentile. Elite. True shooting percentage 60.3 percent, 77 percentile. Pretty, pretty damn good. By the way, he's been shooting the ball better from three-point land for like the last three years. Playmaking talent 2.57, 99th percentile.

Lebron overall impact and again you have a stat, you have a metric named after you. How sick is that? 2.28, which is in the 96th percentile, is at 2.28, which is in the 96th percentile. Defensive impact defensive LeBron is negative 0.34, which is in the 29th percentile. Well, here's the thing. He's 40 years up. He turns it on when he can, um, you saw a little bit of it last season when he had to, when AD was out and then got traded, we saw LeBron's levels go up. The problem with that is he got hurt. He had a meniscus tear. What happened? Let's look at him. His offensive gravity 3.27. 99th percentile. 3 point creation 2.98. 100th percentile. Three-point creation 2.98, 100th percentile. So, dude, it's super elite Playmaking talent 3.06, 100th percentile. Lebron impact score 4.18, 99th percentile. And defensive impact is .03, which is in the 51stst

percentile. Luca is not a great defender. What I would like to see luca do as a defender is be a little more physical, um, and just be like a more resistant defender, don't just be a turnstile. Luca is a walking offense onto himself, his heliocentric to the core. But, unlike LeBron, his age means these numbers will hold. And the right and with the right defensive cover, he can make a team deep every year for the next six to eight seasons. But he needs wings that are aggressive on the defensive end every year for the next six to eight seasons. But he needs wings that are aggressive on the defensive end. Here's the

truth. If you're a one-wing defender or one shooter away from a title to build around LeBron right now, no hesitation. To build around LeBron right now, no hesitation. But if you're not there, if your roster is flawed, your depth is shallow, then you need to build around Luka. Every metric tells you this. What do you do? You don't get that with a 40 year old. You don't get time with a 40 year old. You don't get time with the 40 year old, not in year season 23. No, you

don't. Lebron needs to basically, kind of I would say, allow this, to allow the inevitable to happen, and what that means is basically just pave the way for Luka. So how do you build around both of them? Right? I'm sure there's people asking that question now. So what you need? If you need a point of attack defender, uh, a la drew holiday. Now, I'm not saying you get this specific guy when I'm talking about a guy like this. So, drew Holiday, a Derek White type, a switchable 3 and D wing like OG Ananobi, I guess, to a lesser extent, herb Jones. You definitely need a vertical live threat. Let's see what Aiton can be A movement shooter like Duncan Robinson. He's already off the market, but somebody like that? Malik Munk is like that, but I don't know if you need somebody diminutive like

that. It is a delicate balance I've seen in the modern team building. If you're the Lakers and you mess this up, you risk losing both of them. Luka could bounce If the vision ain't there. Lebron could fade if the help doesn't show up. That's the window that Penelope is juggling right now. One foot is with the future and one foot is trying to stay with the one more ring mentality. But this isn't just about stats, it's about tone. Lucas earned the keys, lebron still is in the garage and unless the Lakers make this team run like a hybrid engine, they'll start somewhere in March and by May they'll get in

Cabo. We crushed the numbers, we measured the gravity. Now we need to talk big picture. Let's be real. We talked about rosters, we talked about scouting, but none of it matters at the top of the pyramid unless it's aligned. And now and right now, the Lakers' top is

changing. Enter Mark Walter and the Guggenheim group. Big money, big brains, big plans. And this isn't a group that's trying to chase LeBron's last dance. This is a group trying to build post-LeBron dynasty with Luka Doncic at the core of it. So Rhea points this out. The Lakers are protecting their cap sheet, not for now, but for the summer of 2026 and the summer of 2027. 2026, and the summer of 2027. When they'll have access to first-round picks, which is 2026, 2031, and

2033,. The Guggenheim group expect to modernize the front office structure, add more analytics talent and streamline the basketball ops. Most importantly, they want to keep Luka happy. That means giving him a reason, not just money, to sign the extension that's coming up August 2nd. This is the franchise, not LeBron's retirement party, and I'll tell you this Players feel the shift before the fans. Do LeBron feels it, rich Paul feels it and do Bron feels it. Rich Paul feels it and Luka definitely feels

it. The Lakers didn't publicly announce the transition, but the moves screaming. And also remember when LeBron opted into his contract, there was not a mention on social media from the Lakers organization whatsoever. They didn't go hey, lebron has agreed to opt into his contract. You know it's great to have him back in the fold. Blah, blah, blah. You know how all the social media teams do it for the NBA. Now they don't even do it for like the 13th dude on the team. They were like oh, we re-signed such and such, they got nothing for LeBron

Nothing. So are the tea leaves starting to change? Maybe LeBron's 52.6 million contract this year? That's not just the sunk cost. There's value in that Marketing jersey sales symbolism. But that's what I'll standpoint. Let's say they focus already on 2026, right, keeping cap space clear, looking at extension and what are we going to do? So we love a good last dance story, but this ain't Chicago in 1998. This is Los Angeles in 2025. It's the la-la baby and the curtain not closing on greatness, but the lights are dimming on LeBron's gravitational

pull. And this line sticks with me. Lebron's value is historical, luka's value is structural. That's the crux of it. And unless something seismic shifts this season, this is likely LeBron's last truly meaningful year in the purple gold. So LeBron can post hint mean all he wants, but the Lakers are building for Luka now and everyone from the locker room to the luxury suites knows

it. So, at the end of the day, build around Luka, do what you need to do, because you know what it has more of a long-term dividend process than what you're gonna get with our guy lebron james. So no hate there just telling you what I think. So we gotta land this plan right. We gotta talk about what are they gonna do. How are they gonna do it? Best case lebron stays healthy, clinko pulls off a midseason trade, or a 3-D wing or a defensive guard, the Lakers reach the Western Conference Final. Luka is going to sign August 2nd his extension and it's kumbaya. You know what I'm saying. Or the alternative LeBron misses 20-25 games, which is all possible, but the team survives. Luka carries the team to a 4-5 seed. The Lakers exit in the second round, but Luka buys in for the long term Not sexy, but sustainable and it

keeps. I think what the Lakers need to do is see if they can go out and get some sort of point of attack person. I don't care if it's a 6'3", 6'4" guard or somebody 6'6", 6'7" who can, in a sense, basically play, defend three positions, like two through four, but they need to do something. They need to have a dude in there that can play some damn defense something. They need to have a dude in there that can play some damn defense, because if you're starting a team with Austin Reeves, luka Dodgers and LeBron James and you're probably going to get 120-some-odd points every single night. I don't care if DeAndre Hayden's back there, I don't care if Will Chamberlain's back there. You are not with those perimeter defenders, as in LeBron James, luka Dodgers and Austin Reeves. Are you going to be able to stop anybody? Let me know your thoughts. Lakers fans you know we've been on this for a while now. We've been on this for a minute about what's going on with the Lakers, but I just need to hit that real quick and you can hit us up on Twitter at FrontRunnerPC or at Rhea underscore Funch

FRPC. Now we need to pivot to the 76ers they are pot committed with our guy Joel Embiid. Joel Embiid wants the future. Now the franchise's biggest question mark in Philly's front office there's no walking away from his $200 million extension. The knees they're not routine, despite the press releases. In fact, the word around the league is Embiid still hasn't played five on five since what was called just a cleanup. Five on five since what was called just

cleanup. Frpc told you this isn't just about injuries, it's about risk, it's about faith, about whether a player's body or mindset can take you where you want to go. Remember last spring the Sixers playing and B's out here rushing back from a knee surgery and Philly's just holding their breath again. And what happened? Somebody ran into the back of his knee, he was hurt and he was compromised for that first round War against the New York Knicks. And then he was never the same and we'll get into that a little bit later. The process is over. What we're watching now this is survival, and if you want to survive, you need more than just Joel and me on a knee race and a prayer. You need a roster, top to bottom, who can keep you in the hunt in October to April and maybe, just just maybe, surprise the world and come playoff time you'll be ready to

go. So let's talk about some of the X-Factors on the Philadelphia 76ers Tyrese Maxey awesome, he's the present and maybe the future. He's more than a secondary star, he's now one of. How far can he carry them? The question is, in every big game, philly is betting on his all-NBA lead and if you look at his number, scoring, efficiency, leadership and he's trending up at just the right moment. But can Maxie be the best player on the playoff team If, on these sets, early turns are super unclear about that and it's always the touch-and go situation that a dominion to guard faces. Could he lead the team to the promised land and not name steph curry? We don't know because we've never seen it. We're about to find out because, guess what? They're gonna give maxi a whole bunch of opportunities. We need a bounce back gear from call

george. No doubt you know he came back to philly or he came to philly. Um, he's 35 years of age. He's had so many lower limb injuries and whatnot. Uh, he's still one of the best uh league skill set wings. If he's still one of the best league skill set wings, if Embiid's healthy, his health is a question mark. But if he stays healthy, in terms of type option 1A, a two way defensive force shot creator veteran who knows how to navigate deep playoff runs, I don't know about that. We'll

see. Dude gotta stay healthy. I mean literally. That's what it comes down to. You know the Jerry McCains of the world, the VJ Edcoms of the world this is great. You know he's a. You know McCain is a sniper with swagger, already drawing Tyrone Hero with defenses comps. He smokes applesides. He only played in 23 games last year but it looked special. And DJ Escombe was super athletic. What an absolute steal that they got in that area of the draft. But Joe Longby runs the 76ers. You know how he goes is usually how they go. Now if you wanted to tear it all down and start all over again, you can do that, but I don't recommend it. I do not recommend it Now. This roster if Joel and V is healthy, it could win a 50-plus game. No doubt that's if Joel and V plays more than 55-plus

games. The front office for the Philadelphia 76ers they're playing long game. Darryl Morey and the 76ers front office have to move from trust the process to trust the math. Let's close back the curtain a little bit on these moves and the mindset. The old process was patient. The new process is insurance, with Embiid's body in question, morey's loading up on shot creations, which were wings and playoff depth. Why, paul George, start upside NB insurance, tradable contract. Why this much guard depth? To avoid another play-in disaster if injuries hit. We talked about McCain and Edgecone earlier. We don't really need to bring them back into it, unless somebody has something where we have to talk about

it. And basically what this comes down to is can Joel Embiid be there? And the reason why I say that is because of the fact that he just hasn't been. He hasn't been healthy in a long, long period of time and I understand some of the great seasons he's had, some of the statistical anomalies he's been able to achieve and all those sorts of things. But if you can't get on the court, your best ability is availability. And I know that sounds corny, I know it sounds contrived, I know it sounds cliche, but at the end of the day, if you're not on the court, you can't put up the 35 points or whatever that you think you are able to do at this point in time. It's theoretical, it's just super theoretical at this point. And how long can the Sixers sit there and continue to do this with him? But they already got him under contract. So the hope is that you can get him kind of nursing through 55 plus games or whatever you know, kind of shut him down a little bit before the playoffs and hopefully you get that guy, that guy you need. It's 35 and 18. That's all they need. But I'm skeptical that that guy still exists. And I'm not saying because he's washed, I just think the needs of maybe put him in such a bad way. It's just like, no, I'm not doing

it. Now onto some good news, ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for. Victor win by Yama is officially cleared, the NBA's unicorn is back and the Spurs' next era is primed to begin. The thought that Wimby Hype was peaking last season just wait until you see him with a reloaded roster and a chip on his shoulder. So let's rewind. Five months ago, went by Yama's sophomore season Was derailed by a blood clot DVT which is deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. It was super scary and the numbers that he was putting up before he got injured was pretty historic. It was 24 points a game, 11 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.8 blocks and 3.1 three-pointers made. So he was super athletic. And then you topped that all off with De'Aaron Fox, who they picked up, acquired from Sacramento in the trade deadline last year, stephon Castle, who was the 2024 lottery pick. And then they got Dylan Harper with the number two overall pick. He's a big creative guard who can get his own shot and set the table for others. That sounds like De'Aaron Fox but bigger. All these guys are under 23 years of age, so you know that you got a long runway with

them. Getting Luke Cornett from the Celtics to be a steady backup to win me and play heavy minutes in the regular season was a stroke of genius. Personally, I think so. Last year's team couldn't load up on Wimby. Now you double him, fox or Harper, we'll make you pay, and I can't wait to see it. Now Mitch Johnson takes over for Gray Popovich. This is something that has been in the works. Remember Pop having a stroke early in the season last year and they didn't know when he was going to come back. If he was going to come back, whatever, he'll be able to stay around the whole area or whatever, and be able to continue to be a curmudgeon and have press conferences that don't tell us anything. Can't wait for

that. Why is this year so important to the Spurs? Easy, A healthy victory, win by Yama and a more formed, fleshed out team should pay and spell dividends for the San Antonio Spurs. We're not asking them to be like a top three seed in the West. What we're asking for them is can you make the playoffs? And they should be able to With this talent that's on the roster now the developing talent which is Dylan Harper, and there are other picks as far as that's on the roster now the developing talent which is Dylan Harper, and there are other picks as far as that's concerned, I think this team is ready to make a real big jump and I think it will propel them right into the

playoffs. So I love what they've done. I love everything about it. I think that Glimby can be the face of the league, no doubt. Castle, harper and Fox are perfect complements to the modern basketball era and to victory in Guayama. There will be ups, there will be downs, but in the end, for Houston, that is it. So I personally love this situation. I can't

wait. It's going to be a great time we get Winnie back, we get him doing all the crazy stuff that he was doing before the injury, you know, before the deep vein thrombosis man. That was scary and the last person to have that was Assure Thompson, and he came back pretty well. But before that it was Chris Bosh, and Chris Bosh never got back into the NBA, and that was the one thing we were kind of a little nervous about when we heard about it. We were like damn man, this dude just got here, basically, and we don't know if we're going to be able to see him. But thank God they cleared him. Thank God that everything is okay. Super excited about that. It's just more enjoyable with him on the

court. So, with that being said, I would like to thank my producer, soraya, for providing the stats and some of the quotes from the athletics writers and things of that nature. I'd like to thank the rest of our crew for what they do. Thank you for holding it down for us, and I'd like to thank the audience. Thank you, guys, for showing up for us. You guys have been doing it big time. And remember two things we still haven't really got this off the ground yet. If you are on social media and you ride with us and you follow us, or whatever case may be, if you put something underneath like what are our posts, we are guaranteed that you know if it's good. Just don't end up on the pot. So make sure you're following us on twitter or x, make sure you're following us on blue sky, make sure you're following us on ag, uh, ig, instagram, um, and make sure you're following us on youtube. So we're to start kicking that back in pretty soon. So, for that being said, I'd like to thank Soraya again. I'm Vince

Also. The best part of you is you Make sure that the people in your life are supporting you and supporting your endeavors and giving you nothing but positivity that goes along with that. Now, if they're giving you words of encouragement, they're giving you words of wisdom that you can discern and all those types of things and exhibiting those behaviors, you got to acknowledge those people. You got to make sure that they feel appreciated. They got to make sure that they matter as well, because it's a you know, it's an exchange policy that's going on at that point, and make sure you just let them know how important they are in your life. And then, if you're doing all that, we definitely want you on our

team. Frpc is the way to go. Front Runner Podcast Collective does it big on two days, we do it on Tuesdays, we do it on Fridays and, hell, if there is a big enough situation, we will do an emergency pod, no doubt because the NBA never sleeps, and neither do I. I make sure that you are up to date on the information and I do that with my crew and again I thank them very much for what they do. They work tirelessly to to make me look good, and that's real hard to do because you know I'm saying this this face was made for a radio with M for TV. But anyways, with that being said, you guys have a good week. We'll see you on Friday, deuces.