LAKERS PLAN TO KEEP KENNARD & HAYES, MAYBE RUI

What's going on everyone? So, in the mix

of all the LeBron off season chatter

from ESPN and particularly Dave

McMinnon, we got some news on a couple

guys that are potentially free agents

this upcoming offseason and Luke Canard,

uh, Jackson Hayes and Ruie Hamura. Um,

those three guys seem to be the main

guys that the Lakers are looking to

keep, looking to retain uh, next off

seasonason. You know, guys like Jakeia,

Jared Vanderbilt, uh, they're already on

contracts. Um, we'll see what happens

with Marcus Smart if he opts out um or

if he sticks around and then same thing

with uh DeAndre, right? So, and not just

that, like even if Marcus Smart leaves

or let's say or not leaves, but let's

say he opts out. I don't think he's

going to leave, but if he opts out,

right? Like then Lakers would clear that

extra money off their capbooks and they

could just give him a pay bump. And I

mean it would affect their numbers

slightly, but not a lot, right? Like

Marcus Smart isn't getting 20 million,

right? So like let's say he signs 2

years 16 million with like a player

option or something like that. So

instead of 5.5 million he's making 8

million like it just it would tap into 3

million into the cap space. So either

way I think that that would be fine for

the Lakers. So it's really just Ruachura

um Luke Canard and Jackson Hayes. What

are the Lakers going to do? But um

according to ESPN, the Lakers want to

resign Luke Canard and Jackson Hayes

this off season on top of their plans to

keep Austin Reeves this summer. Uh

again, it's per ESPN. Uh they will

entertain Ruie Hutchimmer returning, but

only at the right price. So

Jackson Hayes is the easy part. I do not

see a scenario where Jackson Hayes

leaves. Lakers gave Jackson Hayes a pay

bump, too. Um and it was really so that

way they could trade him if they needed

to. I could see them paying him at or

around what they did. I don't hate the

idea of giving him another like small

pay bump, right? One, it gives Jackson

Hayes an incentive, right? Like, hey,

you took strides between last year and

this year, keep doing it. Keep working

hard. So, kind of incentivize him. But

it also, if you sign him a one-year

deal, gives you that that opportunity

to, you know, trade him, like add him as

salary filler. He's only making 3.4

million this year, right? They only gave

him, I think it was like 1.2 million

more, something like that. So, like you

could do the same thing again, right?

they give him maybe say, you know, 4 a.5

million, right? Something like that. Or

maybe two years, 10 million, something

like that where he's getting 5 million a

year. I wouldn't give him a player

option, though. I'd sign him for the

two-year deal. So, you could do

something like that. Kind of incentivize

him a little more of like, hey, keep it

going. But, I'm not worried about

Jackson Hayes um leaving, right? Like, I

mean, he just got citizenship so he

could go play with Luca during the

Olympics and stuff like that. Like, he's

not leaving Luca Donic, right? Like, so

again, I just I think he'll probably

make around the same money he makes,

which I don't think will I think it'll

be fine, right? Like, the question is

Luke Canard and then Rui Hatura, right?

Lakers have to keep Luke Canard. Luke

Canard is a bigger priority in my

opinion than Rui Hatimura. Luke Canard

is the better three-point shooter at

roughly the same volume. Um, but he's

also been a better rebounder for the

Lakers. He's a better playmaker,

swingman, all of that stuff, right? Like

Luke Canard just does more for the

Lakers team than Rui Hachimura does.

Also, you're going to have a dude Theoro

next year and you probably want to get

him some minutes so he could get the

Wayne minutes uh that Ruie plays so you

can play him more minutes so he can kind

of be a rotation wan off the bench. So I

think either way, but we'll touch on

that here more uh in a moment. But Luke

Canard is on a one year or has one year

11 million. That's what he signed when

uh with the Atlanta Hawks.

The question is how much is he going to

make? So he he's still not 30. He'll be

30 in June. So talking about a

30-year-old who has really been unlocked

by the Lakers. He before this was just

looked at as basically a spot up

catcher, shoot three guy where the

Lakers have really allowed him to

thrive.

I think in that basically 8 to 11

million range I think is fair for what

he's done and what he provides and just

the the shooting and playmaking

abilities and just the things that the

impact that he can have on this Lakers

team. Ideally, you want Canard around

like 8 million, right? like eight eight

and a half million maybe again two years

17 million something like that you know

or or I've talked about maybe kind of

doing like a poison pill thing where you

give these guys you know maybe sign them

all to like fouryear deals and they're

like really cheap on the front end but

really expensive on the back end right

because the last year that one the cap

will keep going up so you'll kind of

offset that but the last year you'd have

like you know let's say Canard is making

13 million or 14 million

But that's a 14 million expiring, right?

Let's say you have Jackson A's making 10

million by the time like that's a $10

million expiring. There's 25 million.

Say Ryu Hachimura is making, you know,

you could do the same thing with Marcus

Smart, so on and so forth where, hey,

we're really trying to build the

contender this off season. So we'll all

your money will be guaranteed, but

you're going to get paid more on the

back end rather than the front end.

It'll be more backloaded than

front-loaded. And you know, you can have

the progression each year. So, you know,

and then have like a big balloon payment

or something like that at the end where

you know, so you know, Canard's contract

maybe is like 5 million next year and

then like 8 million and then like 11

million and then 14 million, right? To

where it's like, you know, it it

averages out to like 9 million a year,

but like you know, you're you're getting

more kind of on the back end, right?

Like and so you kind of get this

inflated contract. Maybe Canard would be

willing to do that. Not just that, but

like why would Luke Canard win a league?

He's gotten more opportunity, more more

freedom than he's ever had in the

league. No one's ran Luke Canard this

way, right? Like JJ Reic has really

unlocked Luke Canard, allowing him to

make decisions and play on ball and, you

know, not be more than just a spot up

catch and shoot three-point shooter.

Like if I'm Luke Canard, why in the

world would I like, yeah, maybe I can go

get $11 million from somebody else? Why?

Take less money, stay with the Lakers.

Let's go try to win a championship and I

have more freedom. I get more playing

time. I get more I get a bigger role.

All of it, right? Like doesn't make any

sense for Wait, I'm going to go to this

team over here just be a spot up catch

and shoot three-point shooter. Like

again, like no, at least with the

Lakers, I get to be more. I get to get

opportunities to make reads and do stuff

like that. Like show that I'm more than

just a catch and shoot three-point

shooter, you know? And you know, again,

like he's he's made good money,

especially for the the type of player

that he is, right? Which is been known

as this spot up, catch, shoot,

three-point shooter, right? So, again,

to me, I think roughly you're probably

looking at about like eight 8 to 10

million for Luke Canard. Like, if it was

like two years, 20 million or something

like that. I could live with that. I'd

be okay with that. Um, ideally, like I