ESPN Dave McMenamin on the Massive Decisions Facing the Lakers This Offseason

ESPN's Dave McMenamin joined the show for the long-form conversation about the Lakers' offseason and the decisions stacked on top of each other for one of the biggest franchises in basketball.

The headline he came with was the JJ Reick game-ball story that has dominated NBA Twitter all morning.

The setup: a March 31 night against the Cavaliers. LeBron set the all-time wins record. Luka hit 15,000 career points. Hachimura hit 5,000. Reick locked in 100 career wins. Pelinka presented Reick the game ball.

LeBron walked out of the locker room in his practice shorts, ice bags on his knees, slide sandals on his feet.

"I saw with my own two eyes, the bags of ice were still on his knees," McMenamin said.

This was not about LeBron resenting Reick.

"He has a great relationship with, and it was a beautiful moment," McMenamin said. "The video of his children saying, congratulations Dad, beautiful moment. It was taken by LeBron to be another example of the Lakers not appreciating him and everything that he does."

The history that led to the moment, in McMenamin's framing, is eight years of accumulation.

"I think it's from an eight-year relationship that has had a lot of stuff build up now," McMenamin said.

He reported what LeBron told him directly after Game 4 against the Thunder.

"I said, is there, in order for you to come back to play for the Lakers, is there any static that needs to be cleared up in order for this to move forward?" McMenamin said. "And he said, there's no static from me."

The implication is real but not necessarily fatal.

"Even though he had this moment that was a real moment of indignation, it's not something he can't get over in order to keep playing for the Lakers," McMenamin said.

Rich pushed back. LeBron makes $50 million. That is how respect is measured.

"That's what the money is for," McMenamin agreed. "In many ways, in many metrics, in sports for sure, the biggest respect you can get is your paycheck."

The Luka trade question came up. Whether LeBron's resentment is sourced from the way he learned about the deal.

"I haven't been told that specifically," McMenamin said. "LeBron has on the record said that of course, if that trade comes across your desk, you make it. He understands. As close as he is with Anthony Davis and is to this day. I don't really think it's more about, once the trade occurred, the way the Lakers went about their business."

Rich asked the alternate-universe question. What if Pelinka had publicly handed the game ball to LeBron with the kids' video?

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," McMenamin said. "It might mean a lot to him. It might mean a lot to the group. But they don't have that relationship clearly."

The room dug into the management piece.

"That's how you manage a room," Rich said. "Does Rob not have this chip? Does he not care?"

McMenamin called it self-inflicted.

"It seems like a self-inflicted wound," McMenamin said.

He recalled what Ramona Shelburne had told him in the green room earlier about which milestones the Lakers were obligated to underline.

"Can they know which are the accolades that matter and which don't?" McMenamin said. "I don't know. Maybe. But this one, the most wins in all-time, that seems to be like one that you might want to underline. And you get it against the Cavs, where you're the team of your youth and the one you started for."

The McMenamin segment landed on the same place Rich's full hour-three Lakers discussion did. Keep LeBron. Keep Reaves. Bridge the air. And get to whatever Luka, LeBron and Reaves at full strength would actually look like in the playoffs.