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<\/p>\nHello everyone and welcome to my first mailbag here at my new home, The Athletic. As the grandson of a letter carrier (fun fact) and as someone who attended every Los Angeles Lakers game a season ago, I\u2019m uniquely qualified for this very assignment.<\/p>\n
I sent the signal out on social media for your questions, and I\u2019m going to do my best to answer as many of them as possible, with neither rain, nor sleet, nor Eric Snow stopping me from delivering the answers.<\/p>\n
(Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.)<\/p>\n
What is the main change you believe the new majority owner of the Lakers will bring compared to the previous owner? \u2014@afamosajems<\/p>\n
A few of you asked questions about something that feels like way too much of an afterthought considering the impact it could eventually have on the organization. A few things first. The general sense I\u2019ve gotten from talking to my sources within the organization is that things are basically \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d currently. But no one who has paid any attention to the behemoth the Los Angeles Dodgers have become can realistically think that Mark Walter is going to just let the Lakers move forward powered solely by inertia.<\/p>\n
One thing that fans should know \u2014 modernization efforts began prior to the sale with the Lakers further investing in things like analytics and medical staffing. But there was, to some extent, a budget. With deeper-pocketed ownership, it\u2019s reasonable to expect the Lakers will be able to take more risks in the ways they spend on non-salary cap matters.<\/p>\n
A common critique of the Lakers is that they get the big stuff right and the small stuff much less right. Resources, if deployed, should help the hit rights go up. It won\u2019t solve everything \u2014 plenty of wealthy teams still make mistakes with minimum contracts and second-round picks \u2014\u00a0but the extra cash should help once the sale closes. But the process for things like the hiring of new strength coach Jeremy Holsopple started before the team\u2019s sale became public.<\/p>\n
Will this be LeBron James\u2019 last year with the Lakers? Is the Lakers roster built to contend deep in the playoffs? \u2014 @mattyicefalcon<\/p>\n
Also, do you think LeBron will retire as a Laker? \u2014 @lakeshow4ever8<\/p>\n
Yeah, OK so let\u2019s get to this. I write this with the explicit instruction to readers that I believe that very few people know what LeBron James is thinking when it comes to his future, and that at his age, figuring out how to get ready for the NBA season in front of him requires enough physical and mental energy to keep him from dwelling on questions about his career mortality.<\/p>\n
Here are the things we know: James has one year left on his contract with the Lakers for max-ish money (he took a slight discount last summer). He has a no-trade clause. He opted into his deal to be with the team. I think there are still questions that need to be answered about the ways he and Luka Don\u010di\u0107 look as co-stars on a championship team, questions that are probably big enough to not want to tie yourself to any one significant decision for next summer. It\u2019s also, undoubtedly, a strange position to take one of the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorers, a player still performing at an All-NBA level, and have him on an expiring deal.<\/p>\n
All indications are that James will be in training camp at the end of September and will play his 23rd NBA season with the Lakers. But I really don\u2019t want to make any guesses, informed or not, about how James views his future, either as a Laker or as an NBA player.<\/p>\n
Again, all I know is that when faced with chances to play for teams other than the Lakers, James has chosen to stay in purple and gold each time.<\/p>\n
If you had to listen to one song every day for the rest of your life, what record would you pick? \u2014 @ECreates88<\/p>\n
I love this because it\u2019s not my favorite song, but basically one I could never get sick of.<\/p>\n
The quick-look-through-my-playlist contenders: Neil Young \u201cHarvest Moon,\u201d Tom Petty \u201cWildflowers,\u201d Talking Heads \u201cThis Must Be The Place (Na\u00efve Melody),\u201d Father John Misty \u201cI Guess Time Just Makes Fools Of Us All,\u201d Curtis Mayfield \u201cMovin\u2019 On Up,\u201d Spoon \u201cThe Underdog,\u201d A Tribe Called Quest \u201cElectric Relaxation,\u201d Beastie Boys \u201cShake Your Rump,\u201d Modest Mouse \u201cMissed the Boat,\u201d Wednesday \u201cChosen to Deserve,\u201d Parquet Courts \u201cTenderness\u201d and MJ Lenderman \u201cShe\u2019s Leaving You.\u201d<\/p>\n
But ultimately, if I had to listen to one song every day, I\u2019d want it to be a song that made me as happy as possible, as quickly as possible. And I don\u2019t think any song makes me happier faster than \u201cAmerican Girl\u201d by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.<\/p>\n
How realistic is a Matisse Thybulle\/Robert Williams III deal for the Lakers by the deadline? And in the scenario that both Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Joki\u0107 wanted to come to the Lakers next summer, which player would LA rather go after? \u2014 @RyanLucas_LA<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just tackle the first question here. I have a hard time believing a team that\u2019s so close to the first apron that it can\u2019t currently sign a free agent would gamble on not one, but two guys that have no track record of availability. As far as the second part goes, I think the organization would reconsider its stance on the viability of three max players. (If I had to pick, it\u2019d be Joki\u0107.)<\/p>\n
Realistically, is it a long shot to consider Giannis or Joki\u0107 in 2027? Or do you think the Lakers have any considerable assets to possibly trade for Giannis? \u2014 @afamosajems<\/p>\n
Do I think either is realistic as a trade target? No, not really. The market would need to be way suppressed by a player saying they would simply walk to the Lakers in free agency so 28 other teams shouldn\u2019t even consider bidding, and still the Lakers\u2019 offer would be thin. Now, 2027 in free agency, should either Giannis or Joki\u0107 make it there, could be interesting, especially if Don\u010di\u0107 has the kind of season the Lakers expect out of him.<\/p>\n
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Could Nikola Joki\u0107 and Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u00a0team up on the Lakers? (Kevin Jairaj \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
What do you think is the biggest roster hole going into the season? I kind of like the roster makeup right now with the exception of backup big man\/rim protector. \u2014 \u202a@bdonedone.bsky.social\u202c<\/p>\n
Do you think this is the roster going into training camp? \u2014\u00a0@LakeShowJoe_<\/p>\n
Dan, do you think there\u2019s any chance LAL will make a minor trade with Maxi Kleber\u2019s or Gabe Vincent\u2019s expiring contracts before the start of the season? And if that happens and creates flexibility, could you see them adding Kevin Love as a veteran voice alongside LeBron in the locker room? \u2014 @Los_LakersBR<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think another move is coming for the Lakers before the season starts, and really, it\u2019s just a simple cost-benefit analysis of making one. The Lakers have two tradable draft picks as of now, one first, one second and some low-value swaps because, well, any team with Don\u010di\u0107 on it has a pretty high floor. To create a roster spot to sign a remaining free agent, you\u2019re spending at least one second and losing a veteran who you believe to some degree can help (or who can make as big of a difference compared to whatever player is still uncommitted here in August). As far as trades go, while talks could pick back up as training camp gets closer, I believe it\u2019s way more likely that the Lakers would rather look at the roster that they\u2019ve built, assess the strengths and weaknesses and try to improve during the season than use any of their limited draft arsenal to get a deal done now.<\/p>\n
Are you hearing anything about the expected rotation role of Adou Thiero? Was he drafted to be developed or to play right away, as the roster needs athleticism? With Dalton Knecht, did his summer-league performance affect the team\u2019s expectations and role for this year? \u2014@prettytile<\/p>\n
There were definitely some eyebrows raised around the NBA when Thiero missed summer league with a knee issue, but I can finally offer a little optimism (we\u2019re 1,000 or so words in so I probably should). I\u2019ve been told Thiero has been working out in the Lakers\u2019 facility and is expected to be participating once training camp opens at the end of September. As far as his role? It\u2019s gonna be crowded. But it\u2019s sort of a universal truth in the NBA. If young players want to get on the court, you do it by making an impact on the defensive end. And Thiero has the tools to make an impact on the defensive end.<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t go too in-depth on Knecht, other than to say that I think NBA evaluators haven\u2019t put much stock into his summer-league performance.<\/p>\n
Who is your favorite Laker of all time? \u2014 @theJayAquino<\/p>\n
Fun question! Never had one. I didn\u2019t grow up in Los Angeles, but my dad once took me to a sporting goods store in Chicago for a James Worthy New Balance signing. One of the first names in the NBA I remember knowing is Sedale Threatt. But let\u2019s go with Jason Kapono, who once had my favorite NBA quote<\/a> about his fading draft stock: \u201cI should have left UCLA after my freshman year, moved to Yugoslavia and changed my name to Jason Kaponovich. I\u2019d have been a first-round pick.\u201d<\/p>\n What is going to happen to Rui Hachimura\u00a0after his current contract? \u2014 @methmatthewman<\/p>\n Another great question and another very underrated subplot of this Lakers season. Hachimura, to me, represents a lot about what the Lakers have done right in terms of ID\u2019ing an undervalued player and molding him into a useful piece while also showcasing some of their weaknesses. (Were they really bidding against anyone when Hachimura was a restricted free agent in 2023?) And he does a lot of the stuff that should shine alongside Don\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n Another good season and you could argue that he should be with the Lakers for another multi-year stint, even if it eats into some of their future flexibility. But if the defensive gains weren\u2019t real and the shooting suffers (it\u2019s been two full seasons of being really good), keeping the books clean becomes the better option.<\/p>\n