Excellent analysis on THT, Spencer. I agree 100% with your opening comment that “the construction of the Lakers roster necessitates that Talen Horton-Tucker develops his game soon.”

The two areas where THT must dramatically improve are ‘on ball defense’ and ‘3-point shooting,’ both of which will be a major challenge for the 20-year old to accomplish in time to earn major rotation minutes on a ‘win now’ championship bound team that’s exceptionally deep at two guard.

Frankly, I don’t see how THT can earn major minutes this season unless he makes significant progress in both of these areas. The competition on this roster is too good and the Lakers need to win now too great for them to waste minutes on player development that does not also translate into wins right now.

Besides building a roster with a lot of competition for THT, the Lakers are going to face real challenges trying to upgrade the current roster at the trade deadline or next summer because of a lack of tradeable contracts. Other than THT’s $10M contract and Nunn’s $5M contract, the Lakers don’t have any trading chips other than vet minimun deals.

That means THT and Nunn could both be bundled with a third vet minimum player to bring in a player like Buddy Hield making between $18M to 22M per year. So both THT and Nunn will be under pressure if the Lakers have a hold they need to fill or get presented with an opportunity they cannot refuse during the season or next offseason.

Bottom line, I will be rooting for Talen but think he’s facing a tough road ahead to earn a permanent role with the Lakers. To do that, he MUST play better defense and hit his threes this year. Otherwise, he will be gone by next summer.

Great read Spencer. I couldn’t agree more on your observation in regards to his ability to get to the rim being limited. I hadn’t read your article yet prior to the podcast yesterday but it echoes a lot of what I’ve seen: mediocre at verticality shots, no floater, not a knockdown jump shooter unless it’s off the bounce.

I completely agree with your observation that the Lakers chose THT over AC and I think this will come back to bite them. The Great Caruso, the one that got away…

Excellent take on the Ben Simmons situation. As in all things, hindsight is 20/20. The 76ers best shot at getting equity out of Simmons was likely January/February of last season. As you astutely pointed out his value really couldn’t be any lower than it is right now. Whether it be the way he played in last season’s playoffs, his lack of anything resembling an NBA-ready offensive game or the fact he’s gone AWOL from the team in terms of basic communication there is nothing about that scenario that will make a GM consider trading him for an All-Star, to say nothing of the ever-increasing value of draft picks. Especially to teams in contention.

There’s a lot to like about your analysis of Ben, I’ve often thought he has hooves for hands when it comes to his jumper. There’s nothing about it that looks smooth or natural, not to me anyhow. Like Lonzo Ball when he first came into the league, the problem starts at the free throw line and just snowballs from there. Not making free throws means you avoid contact which means you avoid committing on your drives into the paint which means you are already over-thinking what should be a reactionary exercise. Unlike Lonzo Ball, Ben has rarely shown the ability to hit free throws consistently. To say nothing of space-creating three pointers.

The other thing that you didn’t get too much into in this article, possibly in one I have yet to read, is that Ben has pretty decent injury history already for a guy who has been in the Association for only 5 seasons. His entire first season he missed due to the foot injury and since then here’s the list that has forced him to miss games:https://www.foxsports.com/nba/ben-simmons-player-injuries

Again, when you’re talking about compensation in the range Morey expects it gets outlandish to even consider pulling the trigger on a trade for an oft-injured, gun-shy break away transition player. That’s quite a niche role considering the implications of trading away All Star talent and draft picks. I don’t see it happening, frankly.

The question now becomes two-fold. Can Simmons return to the 76ers and play at least as well as he did last season? I think he has to, even if he wants to leave and the 76ers want to trade him. If he becomes adamant that he won’t show then it becomes a very quick game of chicken between Daryl Morey and the other 29 GMs in the NBA of “Who blinks first and lowers their demands?” Morey pulled off some magic in Houston in terms of trades and figuring out how to get the players he sought around James Harden, I don’t see Philly as having the same draft capital he inherited in Houston.

In the end, I think your notion of sending him to either Chicago or Portland will be the result. Both franchises are in beyond win-now mode, especially Portland who does not want to deal with a Dame trade request in any way, shape, or form. Now…does Ben Simmons elevate them to potential champ status? No, so I think it would take some coercion on Morey’s part in the form of other teams being involved and Simmons ending up on a rebuilding team like Orlando or Minny.

Good read, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Spoken like a true smartass! Bravo 👏👏👏👏👏Spencer hahahaha

Great read, Spencer. I continue to be impressed with your writing skills. Beautifully constructed despite being an 11 minuite read with a superb and detailed analysis of what Russ brings in terms of advantages and challenges.

Here are a few of the gems to show you what you’re missing if you don’t follow Spencer and read his work:

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Russell Westbrook is arguably the most polarizing NBA star of the past decade. He is as indefatigable and relentless as he is stubborn and enigmatic. He is a former MVP who, even as he ages, continues to create statistical anomalies that the NBA has never seen, but he is also an embattled, aging veteran whose tendencies can alienate his superstar teammates. One could argue the 32-year old is a unique talent whose strengths are under-appreciated; another could argue that he is a highly flawed player whose weaknesses are magnified in the postseason: neither opinion is wrong.

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Westbrook, invariably, will make LeBron’s workload easier. If James wants someone to bring the ball up the court, Westbrook can do it. If he wants to rest on offense, Westbrook can run pick and roll. After the 2021 Playoffs, I have a better idea of what LeBron does to conserve his energy: he spent most of Games 2 and 3 shooting a high volume of threes, making passes from the perimeter, and letting players like Dennis Schroder and Anthony Davis attack the basket. LeBron would sometimes go out of his way to let Schroder soak up possessions with isolations and pick and rolls; Westbrook will assuredly be more effective than Schroder in those situations, and he will create “drive and kick” opportunities for three point shooters.

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As Pete Zayas of Laker Film Room likes to say, the Lakers, under LeBron and A.D., have adopted a philosophy of being “bigger, faster, and stronger.” They are “bigger” than other teams because of LeBron and Davis’ ability to punish teams in the paint. They are “faster” than other teams because James and Davis are faster than most power forwards and centers in the league. Lastly, they are “stronger” than other teams because, at most positions, they have an excess of athleticism and size relative to most NBA teams.

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Westbrook, of course, is the epitome of being “bigger, faster, and stronger” at the point guard position. He offers them a new level of athleticism in the backcourt. He also is a one man fast break: the Rockets, when switching from Chris Paul to Westbrook, went from one of the slowest teams in the league to one of its fastest.

L.A. was so good in the NBA Bubble because their elite defense created many opportunities for the team to play in transition or semi-transition, where they were extremely effective. While they’ve lost some perimeter defense this summer, they will have a player in Westbrook who, irregardless of his team’s defense, creates fast break opportunities just by being opportunistic.

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I’m not sure if L.A. will be able to create a team that perfectly suits Westbrook on offense with just veteran minimum contracts and a taxpayer mid-level exception. Names that the team are rumored to be interested in, such as Avery Bradley, Markieff Morris, Wes Matthews, Carmelo Anthony, and Rudy Gay won’t move the needle enough in terms of floor spacing and versatility to make up for Westbrook’s shooting woes.

That signals to me that Westbrook must adjust. It probably won’t be enough for Westbrook to continue to playing the same style he has for over a decade. It’s time for Westbrook to start cutting to the basket off the ball, playing better off-ball defense, and cleaning up his shot selection.

L.A. could win the title next season just based on James and Davis’ individual greatness alone, but if the team wants to build a sustainable contending roster, the onus is on Anthony Davis to play like an MVP and Russell Westbrook to finally adjust his game.

Only time will tell if Westbrook, a player who has stayed true to his game despite many criticisms over his career, will finally change his ways.

Hi, Spencer. The Lakers surprised everybody by pivoting from the Kings trade to the Wizards trade. Caught Woj and Shams too. Right now, trade needs major help in the form of shooting for the Lakers. Once we get that, I will love the trade. Lakers realize they need a Big Three to compete with the Nets and the trading chips heavy Warriors.

I think the Lakers have a master plan that includes Westbrook and Hield and I expect the trade to be expanded to include the Kings since it cannot be finalized until Kuzma’s poison pill expires on August 6th. That will enable the Wizards and Lakers to continue to expand and improve the trade. For example, the Lakers could use Davis Bertans at small forward for his shooting. I expect the Lakers to include Schroder once we’re in the new NBA season. The Wizards could use Dennis and the Lakers could then offer Kuzma (and maybe Caruso) for Hield.

Finally, the other thing I like about the trade it confirms Mark Stein’s report that the Lakers wanted a ‘difference-making playmaker’ so they could move LeBron to the four and AD to the five. With Russ added, it’s clear the Lakers aren’t going to go with a McGee or Howard at center this season. Time to get serious about winning #18.

Perimeter defense gonna be an issue.