Mitchell Staying in Cleveland? Darius Garland an Option? Plus, Chat GPT Hires the Lakers Next Coach!

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Lakers were among the teams that were ready to go with an offer for Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell should he become available. After all, there have been persistent questions about whether or not Mitchell would agree to a (very lucrative) extension with the Cavs, or try to force his way out.

Thursday, at least, seemed to diffuse that notion. Additional reporting suggested that Mitchell wants to build a winner in Cleveland, something bigger than a team that advances a round each year before getting bounced. Now, all of this could be posturing, and until he actually signs an extension people will wonder...

...but this does seem to indicate Mitchell is more likely than not going to stay in Cleveland.

So what's next for LA? On the one hand, there's a legitimate argument to be made that emptying the cupboard for Spida is not a good idea, because the Lakers would be painfully thin and asset free going forward. (There's also an argument to be made for getting him, because he's really good, is not even 30 and isn't positionally redundant to the team's other stars.) But bigger than that, if Mitchell isn't an option, that takes the "easy" road off the table, and demands Rob Pelinka make some harder choices, and do more crafty GMing. Is he up to the job?

It might help if the Lakers had a head coach, and to that end, the robots are weighing in with suggestions. In fact, the robots might be responsible for laying out the criteria LA is looking for in its next head man.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Donovan Mitchell may be off the market before he gets on it.

SEGMENT 2: If not Mitchell, who?

SEGMENT 3: Did ChatGPT provide the qualities Rob and Jeanie Buss want in a coach?

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