The Lakers are in a relatively quiet place right now, but the rest of the Western Conference is not. We've discussed the craziness in Dallas, with changes in the front office and on the sidelines and how uncertain things feel in the moment. Nobody could top them, right? This weekend, the Portland TrailBlazers said "Hold my locally brewed artisanal craft beer." The imminent hiring of Chauncey Billups, itself controversial among some fans because of allegations (settled out of court) of sexual assault leveled against Billups as a rookie in 1997, was connected to Blazers star Damian Lillard, who endorsed Billups on the record in June.

That led to a beef between Lillard and Blazers fans, and Chris Haynes of Yahoo! reporting that frustration over the hiring process and fallout from it could be a factor in Lillard finally pushing his way out of Portland. So how did this happen? How did Lillard not learn the lesson LeBron James taught NBA stars. How does the process that has Lillard at odds with some segment of Portland fans (and perhaps elevating his frustration with the team, overall) reflect the downside of player empowerment, for players?

Finally, Frank Vogel still doesn't have a contract extension, and some, even inside the organization according to reports, are wondering why. This is not a good thing for the Lakers.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Lillard is beefing with Blazers fans. How we got here, and how Lillard should have learned more from LeBron.

SEGMENT 2: Ignoring the inevitability of Lillard being traded to the Lakers - let the memes fly! - was the process of bringing Billups to Portland better than the one that landed Kidd in Dallas? Is there a material difference in their histories?

SEGMENT 3: Kidd might be poaching members of Vogel's staff, according to reports. That's made easier because Vogel still doesn't have a contract extension, which would provide more security to his assistants. So what's the hold up?

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