Free agency begins this week in the NBA, and the Lakers have a tremendous amount of work in front of them. But as the curtain rises on rebuilding yet another brand new Lakers roster, there's more smoke billowing around the Kyrie Irving-to-LA conversation. Not any fire, yet, it would appear, but with careful NBA reporters saying that LeBron James and Kyrie are communicating and that there's some substance to the interest, it's not nothing, either.

And with James Harden reportedly set to take a less-than-max-length extension with Philadelphia, does that change the arithmetic around Kyrie's leverage, whether in Brooklyn or L.A.?

What about LeBron's leadership? In an interview with Bloomberg, Golden State's Draymond Green noted that LeBron's presence would help mitigate Kyrie's relative lack of leadership skills. Certainly not a guy you'd want as a frontman, for sure... which means LeBron has to be here as long as Irving would be. Is James committed to Los Angeles in that way?

Finally, as free agency starts, we open up the mailbag to look at some of the team needs, and whether or not the team will recalibrate its strategy around signing free agents. Should they bring back anyone? Dwight Howard? Carmelo Anthony? Should they guarantee spots for Stanley Johnson or Wenyen Gabriel?

It's gonna be real tough to pull together a coherent roster on minimum deals and one taxpayer exception, that's for sure.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Kyrie rumors are percolating. Credible sources say there's something to it.

SEGMENT 2: Draymond Green weighs in on how LeBron's influence could help it work, should Kyrie land in Los Angeles.

SEGMENT 3: Should the Lakers bring Carmelo Anthony back? What about Dwight?

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