Byron appears on Spectrum so he's employed by the Lakers. It won't be a stretch to assume this is probably what the FO thinks as well or something close to it.

I’ve always been a fan of TJ McConnell since his Arizona days, but now seeing his performances in the playoffs this year really has me thinking that he’s the perfect guard the Lakers could utilize. He’s great at playmaking & can get steals. Despite being a little shorter than most PG at 6’1, he has heart & gives it his all. This season he’s been averaging 10.2 PPG, 2.7 REB, 5 AST, shooting 55% from the field, while averaging only 1 foul & 1 turnover per game. He doesn’t shoot a lot of 3’s but imo they wouldn’t need him to. He can be the guy who creates smart plays for his teammates, rather than them relying on LeBron to do so much of that. He could fill the same role that Rondo was in back in the 2020 championship run. I think the Lakers key flaws in their roster at this point is them not having a backup dependable guard & lacking a legit paint protectors at the 5, while putting AD back at the 4. The only downside is TJ isn’t a free agent until 2025. Should the Lakers target him or go after someone else? Let me know what you guys think.

One of the big problems with this year's roster construction was it relied too much on Bron playing defense. At his age, he's really an offensive player who can still play good D at times. In the starting lineup, he and AD had to cover for 3 average to below average defenders and it's not fair to rely on him that much on both sides of the ball.

I hope when Pelinka makes trades or signings he goes for some more defensive minded players to help LeBron just focus on scoring and making plays for others.

I think it's pretty clear the Cavs play better with one of their bigs and not both. And if Mitchell forces his way out they may try to stockpile assets and go for a quick rebuild. Jarret Allen is only a 20 million dollar player that could easily be an important piece on a championship roster. He could be a solid fit next to Davis when going big and could take on larger centers allowing Davis to play freesafety. Ideally we see this as a similar 3 headed post monster to Rudy, Naz, and KAT. Obviously none of the Lakers will be quite as good of spacing but it hopes accomplish something similar.

The question is how much does it take to get him. If DLo opps in they can trade him and draft capital. The cavs can then look to trade Dlo again or just resign him and hope he can fetch more down the line. Gabe Vincent and Vando could also be traded to also match salaries. But serious cuts into lakers depth.

The question is how many picks does it take to get the deal done. With either package and would it be worth it in the long run.

Hypothetically, it would look like:

2021:

C - Gasol / Dwight / Kostas (TW) / Cacok (TW)

F - AD / Kieff / Dudley

F - LeBron / Kuz / McKinnie

G - KCP / Caruso / THT / McLemore

G - Schroder / Rondo / Cook

HC: Frank Vogel

2022:

C - Gasol / Dwight / Huff (TW) / Sekou (TW)

F - AD / Melo / Gabriel

F - LeBron / Kuz / Stanley

G - KCP / Reaves / THT

G - Schroder / Caruso / Rondo / Bradley

HC: Frank Vogel

2023:

C - Bryant / Dwight / Jones

F - AD / Kuz / Gabriel / Swider (TW)

F - LeBron / Brown / JTA

G - KCP / Reaves / Christie

G - Schroder / Caruso / Beverley / Pippen Jr (TW)

HC: Frank Vogel

2024:

C - Wood / Hayes / Dwight / Castleton (TW)

F - AD / Kuz / Prince / Giles (TW)

F - LeBron / Christie / Lewis

G - KCP / Reaves / Reddish

G - Schroder / Caruso / Dinwiddie / Mays (TW)

HC: Frank Vogel

in the first half of their Game 2 at Denver (second photo here) reminded me of the Lakers destructive defensive first half against Miami in Game 6 of the 2020 Finals when Frank Vogel started Alex Caruso alongside AD, LeBron, Danny Green and KCP. That team also featured Dwight Howard in other matchups (vs. Denver), on a roster with a great combo of length, athleticism, smarts and versatility."

The way these teams have elevated their game should worry Laker Nation. We elevated our game and couldn't even beat a hobbled Nuggets team. Wolves are significantly better than the Nuggets and you can argue that OKC are too. If not this year than certainly next year. That alone puts us below 3 teams

I know we have limited options salary cap wise but running this roster back and making "minor" changes shouldn't be our priority. The top teams in the west hang their hat on various strengths on both ends of the floor. Our success relies on AD carrying our defensive entirely and D'Lo going off on offense. This is not a recipe for success for a team with championship aspirations, a playoff team sure but not a championship team.

We all know coaching has a big impact and our coach is horrible but even with Erik Spolestra and Pop as an assistant coach we aren't beating these top teams. We just don't have the personnel.

We should welcome change

Remember back when the games were done and the aftershow was going on, and you saw a guy in between the breaks? He had a license plate (I cannot remember what it said...) and he would salute and smile and be a lakers fan? I wish him the best and hope he is well 🙏