NBA headlines have been occupied by the trade demands of James Harden from Philadelphia, and Damian Lillard from Portland. Tuesday, NBA headlines were occupied by journeyman guard Austin Rivers talking about those trade demands. He doesn't think they're good for the game, and are contributing to what he sees as a bad deal for players in the new CBA.

So beyond the philosophical questions about whether he's right, there are implications for the Lakers in how fans, media and owners view these expressions of player empowerment. The Lakers, after all, have a long history of being central in power plays, whether in trade demands made by Lakers players (think Kobe, Shaq) or perhaps more importantly, players trying to force their way to LA (most recently, Anthony Davis). The Lakers will always be central in these conversations, as a crown jewel of the league and a very popular place to play.

Meanwhile, the economics he's discussing around the NBA's middle class getting squeezed and how large contracts will get handed out in the future—has the NBA finally figured out a way to institute a hard cap in everything but name?—directly impact the Lakers. When spending is constrained to try and develop parity, big spending teams pay a penalty.

Finally, we open the mailbag!

Questions include:

• Cole Swider and the role of the two-way players this season. (Hint, of the three players the Lakers have under these contracts, Swider could be the least likely to make an impact).
• Second year improvements from Darvin Ham.
• Would the Lakers have made the Finals in 2021 if Davis didn't get hurt?

Keep the questions coming!

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Are trade demands from stars bad for the NBA?

SEGMENT 2: How would a shift in the player empowerment era impact the Lakers?

SEGMENT 3: Mailbag!

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