
May 12, 2025
The Lakers offseason is underway and trade rumors are already flying. Let’s start with the obvious. Luka isn’t going anywhere. Let hope he isn’t hitting every food truck in LA between now and training camp, but he’s probably going to sign an extension of some kind. I don’t care what kind of drama you think he’s creating, Lebron isn’t going anywhere either. That brings us to Austin Reaves. He’s a bargain at $14 million, but he’s going to be due a massive payday. He can easily get 3 times what he’s making now annually on the open market come next summer. He’s one of 11 players in the league that put up the numbers he did last season, and the other 10 are all-star players. Austin is a great third option, and he’s young enough to continue to improving and become an all-star. However, if the Lakers have an opportunity get a top 10 player in the league in return, they should consider trading him. That probably means only Giannis, because Joel Embiid is a major health concern. Acquiring a player like Giannis bring a whole host of other questions like is it worth it to send every asset you have for a player like that and will you have enough depth left over to compete, but the point is that’s really the only reason to trade Austin. Only the Lakers are a franchise that can imagine these types of scenarios, because historically, that’s what they’ve done. It’s exactly how they got Luka Doncic 3 months ago.
Meanwhile, you’ve gotta wonder how the Clippers are truly viewing their own team. The year went better than they thought, and Kawhi got back to where they hoped he would be. So did James Harden. The question is how much longer can Harden do this because he’s 36, and how much longer can Kawhi stay healthy because he hasn’t proven he can do it for long. The problem is they locked themselves into the Kawhi business for the next 2 years, after he signed an extension last year. They also don’t really own their own 1st round picks for two more years. So they have to try to compete with what they have now. Their best bet is to try and sign Harden to a 2-year extension if he opts out, and try to compete with what they have, while they have Kawhi under contract. It may not be ideal, but they proved they aren’t terrible if healthy. Besides, the strip club industry would be devastated if Harden left LA. Then in 2027, they can figure out how to move forward with their books clean and all their future draft capital in hand.

Who are you cheering for now that the Lakers and Clippers have been eliminated from the playoffs? To me the equation is simple, especially if you’re a Laker fan. You don’t want the Celtics, Nuggets, or Warriors to win the championship. Any other result is perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, despite being down 2-1 to the Knicks, Boston still looks like the best team, and the Nuggets aren’t out of it with OKC either. If the Nuggets and Celtics played in the finals, Laker fans would probably be hoping some kind of a meteor hit the arena to take out everyone.
Since we last spoke here on Jock Talk LA, a lot has actually happened with the LA Kings. They parted ways with Rob Blake, their GM of 8 years, which was a good thing. However, Luc Robitaille is still their President of Hockey Operations, and Jim Hiller is still their coach, which is very awkward. So how do you hire a new General Manager with a coach in place who proved he doesn’t know what he’s doing? “Hey we would love to have you as our GM, but you’ll be forced to have this completely useless figurehead as your coach!” Sounds like a great sales pitch. I’ve heard a lot of names, but the reality of it is, if the Kings name some internal replacement like Marc Bergevin then this is a stupid exercise. It might just be nothing more than Luc Robitaille trying to save his own butt. Only time will tell, but can’t say I’m optimistic.
The Dodgers split a 4 game series with Arizona over the weekend, and have reclaimed the best record in the Major Leagues for the time being. They still have a lot of issues to work through over the next few months, but they have time. The biggest part of these issues with their lineup is Max Muncy, and his performance at 3rd baseman, along with some inconsistencies in the outfield. Muncy has performed maybe a tad better in the last week or two, but still has a way to go before you can consider him a reliable option at the plate. Andy Pages has improved his hitting of late, but can you continue to trust him? We’ll see. The starting pitching though is a major health problem. They only have 4 healthy starters, and 14 pitchers on the IL. It’s nice to see Tony Gonsolin back and pitching well, and Clayton Kershaw is on the way, but it doesn’t seem like Blake Snell or Tyler Glasnow are coming back anytime soon. Dave Roberts said the bullpen usage is currently not sustainable. However, I don’t know if Andrew Friedman’s computer is aware of this.

The Angels lost 2 of 3 to the lowly Orioles over the weekend, and there’s nothing great to feel about. Mike Trout is still on the IL, the offense stinks, and the pitching is in shambles. To add insult to injury, Griffin Canning, who was struggling with the Angels, is off to a phenomenal start with the Mets. He’s 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA. I was told this guy just didn’t have it with the Halos, and could not be turned around. Well it turns out that if you have some decent player development, many of these guys can actually become good players. Imagine how great Reid Detmers could be if he had some decent player development around him. Arte Moreno and his lack of investment in these areas will continue to be a problem.

Finally, I don’t know what’s taking so long for the rams to trade for Jalen Ramsey. I know he has a big contract, but it should be done by now. The fact it is not makes me think it’s just not going to happen. That makes me think Les Snead has something else up his sleeve like maybe a
Tre’Davious White or another veteran cornerback. Stay tuned!