Tuesday began with more news about the federal investigation into the vast business empire of Dodgers owner Mark Walter and the Guggenheim Group. It's complicated, for sure (more complicated than a couple of hoops podcasters are going to try to explain) but doesn't seem trivial, to say the least. And while it doesn't look now like the investigation will have any immediate impact on operations for the Lakers (or the Dodgers for that matter) it's obviously something that over time will be a story to watch.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are reportedly interested in adding more center depth. Now, they used to have a backup center in Deandre Ayton that was quite a luxury in that spot, given his resume. It's worth asking whether Ayton would happily (or happily enough) fill the role the Lakers would need him to play with Walker Kessler on board, but fair to say when the Lakers sent him to Washington, the common perception was that another move would be coming behind it.
That hasn't happened.
So what do the Lakers do from here? Are the street free agents (i.e. Nick Richards, Drew Eubanks, etc.) much of an improvement over Kevon Looney as a backup C? How would the Lakers open up a spot for one of them? What about a trade for someone like Jericho Sims? Is Daniel Gafford, were he made available, worth what would likely be a higher cost, given that he and Kessler almost certainly couldn't play together?
It's a spot that could be resolved, too, by improving at power forward, which could push Sandro Mamukelashvili into a high-minute backup role at both PF and C.
There's still time to iron stuff out, and a lot will depend on the resolution of the Peyton Watson situation in Denver. But it's something the Lakers are certainly watching closely.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Feds are poking around Mark Walter's businesses.
SEGMENT 2: What do the Lakers do at backup C?
SEGMENT 3: The Mamu question!
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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