Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

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BONUS SHOW: Hayes Rising While Ayton Struggles: Should Lakers Change Their Starting Center? Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

If you look at their splits over the last six weeks, on a per minute basis there's no question that backup center Jaxson Hayes is playing better than starter Deandre Ayton. So should the Lakers made a change in the starting lineup?

It's a trickier question than it might seem. First, Ayton has been banged up, with a bum knee keeping him ou tof the lineup for the last three games. It's possible the knee has been an issue for longer, which explains the downturn. Will the All Star break fix that? Also, Hayes does have the benefit of playing against (primarily) reserves. Would he perform as well against starters?

Do the Lakers even need to make the change, or could JJ Redick get more from the position just by tweaking minutes?

There's more than one way to do this sort of thing...

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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LeBron Triple Double (28/10/12) Leads Lakers to Win, 33-21 Heading to All-Star Break Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

LeBron James turned back the clock on Thursday, getting his first triple double of the season (28 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) as the Lakers beat the Mavericks at the Crypt, 124-104. It was one of those games that reminded you of everything the Lakers are capable of, good and bad. At times, they were great defensively, clamping down on Dallas and holding them to 41 points in the second half. In the first half, however, they allowed 63. At times the offense was excellent, at others the droughts were noticeable.

The Lakers built big leads (good) and lost them (bad). Ultimately, though, they used a strong third quarter to build a lead they wouldn't let get whittled down.

Game balls to LeBron, Rui Hachimura (21 points), Jaxson Hayes (16/7/4/3/1) and Luke Kennard (9/7/3) among others.

On the injury front, the Lakers were without Luka Dončić, who JJ Redick says ought to be fine coming out of the break. Same for Deandre Ayton, who didn't play Thursday but got a knee scan that came back clean.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: LeBron turns back the clock, leads Lakers to win.

SEGMENT 2: Lots of good performances.

SEGMENT 3: 33-21... not bad, but concerns remain.

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Jeremy Sochan to Sign with Knicks. Did Rob Pelinka Make a Mistake Signing Kobe Bufkin So Fast? Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

The buyout market generally doesn't yield impactful players. Moreover, it can be tricky to find the right guy to fill the right role -- often buyout players need to rehab their value around the league, and will choose a destination with that in mind. Cam Thomas (one high profile FA), for example, was always unlikely to sign with the Lakers because they couldn't offer him the opportunity he needed. Milwaukee could.

So over the weekend when the Lakers added Kobe Bufkin as the 15th guy, you could see it both ways - the Lakers locking up a guy that was ripping up the G-League because he was likely getting poached by another org. Likely to make an impact this year? No, but maybe could help down the road. Some countered that Pelinka should have waited longer, because a better opportunity might surface, and that's worth losing Bufkin.

Well, the better option might have come along, with San Antonio releasing forward Jeremy Sochan. Like Bufkin, he's young, and will be a bit of a reclamation project. Unlike Bufkin, Sochan has had some success at the NBA level as a rebounder and defender until falling out of the rotation this year. He will reportedly sign with the Knicks, who won his services over the interest of another eight or nine teams. The Lakers could have been one of those. Would they have had a shot to sign Sochan? Would the opportunity have been worth the cost of losing Bufkin?

Will there be other players the Lakers would want more, before the end of the buyout period? Did Pelinka jump the gun? Was this bad process?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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Luka Dončić (Hamstring) Out Vs. Dallas... Should He Skip the All-Star Game? Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Luka Dončić hoped he'd be available for Thursday's game against the Mavericks, because torturing the Mavericks is now and forever a priority for him. Alas, it is not to be. The Lakers announced Wednesday that Luka won't be in uniform.

He does, though, hope to participate in the All-Star Game this weekend, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. So is that a good idea? Would Luka be better off sitting? On the one hand... it's the All-Star Game. You could make a very solid argument that whatever rehab Luka is doing will be more strenuous than the game itself. On the other hand, if there's even a 2% chance of making this worse or tweaking it or whatever because he's not... quite... healed?

Hoo-boy, that ain't worth it. The World (meaning the World All-Star team) will get by without him. Even Luka's fans, for whom he wants to play in this game to no small degree, would rather he be healthy.

Meanwhile, tanking has taken on a new feel this year!

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: No Luka vs. Dallas. No Flagg, either.

SEGMENT 2: The Lakers HAVE to win this game.

SEGMENT 3: Why tanking impacts even non-tanking teams.

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LeBron James: All-NBA Streak Will End. Luka Dončić is in Danger, Too? Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

The most interesting thing that came of Tuesday's blowout loss to the Spurs, one where the entire Lakers (preferred) starting lineup was in street clothes, is that LeBron James officially became ineligible for postseason awards. He won't reach the required 65 games, thanks to early season time missed because of sciatica, and then the maintenance required to get a 41-year old through an NBA season.

So that incredible streak of All-NBA teams ends at 21 years. Fair to say that one isn't likely to be broken anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Luka Dončić is also getting close to that threshold, now having missed 11 games with Thursday's game against the Mavs in question. What happens if he's close to that baseline and might need a night off? Would the Lakers ask him to sit? Would he pull himself out of contention for MVP and 1st Team All-NBA?

These are the sorts of questions getting more common around the league, and why ti seems very likely the NBA will make changes in the eligibility for these awards. The TV rules designed to get guys playing in the most important games? Those seem to work ok. But this threshold is artificial and needs to go.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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Wildly Shorthanded Lakers Lose to San Antonio. Meanwhile, Did LeBron Call Out His Teammates? Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

The Lakers were missing basically everyone. With Luka Dončić already out nursing that hamstring, the Lakers also sat LeBron James and Austin Reaves, both still avoiding back-to-backs (for different reasons). Marcus Smart? Street clothes. Deandre Ayton was downgraded to out shortly before the game.

So that left... not much as the Lakers welcomed San Antonio to the Crypt. And predictably, the Lakers got hammered. Final score, 136-108 in a game that was actually not as close as the score might indicate.

The major form of entertainment was watching Victor Wembanyama, who absolutely throttled the Lakers, scoring 25 in the first quarter, and 40 overall. It would have been a lot more had the Spurs not pulled the plug early.

So the big question now becomes who will be available for a need-to-have game Thursday against the Mavericks. Having dropped two in a row, the Lakers can't afford to drop games against struggling squads like the Mavs.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Down five starters, the Lakers get beat up.

SEGMENT 2: Not many highlights. Jaxson getting sued?

SEGMENT 3: Did Bron put the Lakers on blast?

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BONUS SEGMENT: Lakers Prepare to Build with Mark Walter. What's Rob Pelinka's Future? Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

The Lakers have long been a lean, mom and pop organization, despite the incredible weath represented by the franchise, and its ability to produce tremendous revenue.

That's why Lakers fans were so excited when Dodgers owner Mark Walter bought the team. The feeling was that finally the Lakers would have the type of infrastructure their brand and wealth would seem to support. And over the weekend, head of basketball ops Rob Pelinka talked about changes that are coming reasonably soon -- making a point to note that he and Jeanie Buss will be leading that process. The Lakers will be using the Dodgers model to build up areas where they'd been lean to this point.

"When Mark bought the team, Jeanie and I did a really deep dive with him on sort of the areas he wants to grow and move into and get aggressive," Pelinka told the assembled media. "Looking at the Dodgers and how they built it out has been a great sort of example and North Star. And so we're still going through that process of how we'll look in the offseason and what additions we'll make. But there will be some positive changes, and we will build things out."

So what will this look like, and will Rob really be in charge?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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Without Luka Dončić, the Lakers Fight Hard but Lose to Oklahoma City, 119-110 Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

There's no shame necessarily in losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, even when they're missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Lakers, after all, were without Luka Dončić.

Still, Monday's 119-110 loss at Crypto.com Arena was frustrating. The Lakers looked at different points like this game was going to get away from them. They kept turning the ball over, Oklahoma City was hitting 3's at a high rate. Points were hard to come by for LA, especially from the perimeter. But after the break, the Lakers came out and played better ball. LeBron James, who was part of the turnover problem in the first two quarters, not only cleaned things up, but also found ways to get the ball in far more advantageous spots. He punished OKC with some old school, old man basketball.

Austin Reaves made some buckets, Jake LaRavia was huge in the third as well, turning hard work inside into points. In the fourth however, the lid went back on the basket. Only 19 points as a team, including some big moments where they simply needed to have a bucket and couldn't get one.

Side note to this one, the officiating was very frustrating. JJ Redick used and won both of his challenges, the second coming on a call so obvoiusly wrong it was absurd the Lakers were even put in a position to have to challenge it. OKC is a very, very physical team, and while the Lakers tried to meet them where they live, it was clear they thought they should be getting calls that didn't come. Hard to argue, on a lot of them.

Tuesday night the Lakers will be in San Antonio. No word yet on who will be available, whether Luka, LeBron or Reaves.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers fight but lose to OKC.

SEGMENT 2: Rare late game execution where they aren't all that good.

SEGMENT 3: Who plays heading into the break?

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Luka Dončić Out Monday... and How Much Longer? Plus, the Lakers Fill Their Last Roster Spot With Kobe Bufkin Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

The Lakers will be without Luka Dončić on Monday against the Thunder. But the good news is, at least according ot JJ Redick, the Lakers may not be without him for that long. Luka appears to have dodged the worst outcomes, and is considered day-to-day.

No question, the Lakers are going to be cautious with him, so it's certainly possible he'll sit out the final three games before the All-Star break. But between the week-plus from the injury to the break, then another week-plus during the break, there's currently no reason to believe Luka won't be available once games start up again.

That, it goes without saying, is huge.

Moreover, the Lakers will have Deandre Ayton in the lineup, after he missed Saturday's game against the Warriors. And the Lakers have Luke Kennard in the fold, who was excellent Saturday in his debut, and gives the Lakers a badly needed dimension of excellent shooting and secondary playmaking, which becomes even more valuable as the Lakers hunt for buckets without Luka. Maxi Kleber, who has been in and out of the lineup all year, is coming off of his two best games of the season, doing all sorts of little things that help teams win (and make coaches happy). Add to that the Lakers having a full roster, having signed Kobe Bufkin to that 15th and final roster spot.

That last part- the Bufkin signing - was a little controversial among Lakers fans, many of whom hoped the Lakers would find more help in the buyout market, and bring in a more established name.

That's not totally off the board, but it's off the board for a while at least.

So all in all, are the Lakers better set to get by without Dončić for (potentially) three more games?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: No Luka -- how long will he be out?

SEGMENT 2: Kennard's debut and what he brings.

SEGMENT 3: Kobe Bufkin?

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Without Luka Dončić & Deandre Ayton, Lakers Beat Golden State 105-99 Feb 08, 2026

Show notes

The Lakers knew they'd be without Luka Dončić ahead of Saturday's 105-99 win over Golden State at the Crypt, thanks to a groin injury suffered the other night against Philadelphia. They learned shortly before it started that Deandre Ayton would join him in street clothes, thanks to knee soreness. It's hard to say the Lakers were sharp or looked particularly excellent on Saturday, but they won, and as it was against Philadelphia, they got contributions from basically everyone who played.

LeBron James wasn't great, turning the ball over seven times against 10 assists, and making only six of 17 shots. But six Lakers finished in double figures, and guys like Maxi Kleber who didn't reach 10 points made a lot of important plays. New guy Luke Kennard was a very positive presence, making four of his seven shots, including 2-4 from downtown. But as James pointed out in his ESPN on-court interview after the game, it was the other stuff that went beyond shooting that made an impression.

It's pretty clear Kennard will be a tool JJ Redick will enjoy deploying as the season goes on.

The Lakers get a big win at home, keeping up with the Joneses in the Western Conference, where the gap between the third seed and the seventh seed is only a couple of games.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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