Can the Lakers Build a Culture That"s More Than Just "Superstars?" Guest: Kevin Arnovitz

Heading into this season, the Lakers, with a superteam headed by LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, were considered among the favorites to win a championship. But like the equally star-laden Nets and Clippers, now find themselves with questions to ponder after a massively disappointing season. Around the league, is chasing stars at all cost emerging as a faulty approach? Joining today's show is ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz, one of the smartest basketball writers out there, who introduced the idea in a column a couple weeks ago. One major problem he identifies is culture and chemistry, and the challenges sustaining either in situations where stars come from the outside and don't have any proverbial skin in the game. The Lakers certainly had problems with both this season. Do they need to create some sense of culture that reaches past "Superstars!" What are the problems that can come with the "all mercenary" superteam construction? Wh does it matter if players don't have deeper skin in the game, that can come from spending time in an organization during more formative periods? What might be happening on Earth 2, where the Lakers made a point of leveraging the talent of the "Baby Lakers," rather than making it abundantly clear that the only purpose of the young guys was as trade fodder for a star. What is LeBron's future with the team? Why it might benefit the Lakers to build a culture that goes deeper than "superstars... and go!" HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky (Guest, Kevin Arnovitz!) SEGMENT 1: Why the Superteam! construction might be in peril. Where they tend to go wrong. SEGMENT 2: What can the Lakers rebuild a culture given all their roster turnover? SEGMENT 3: Do the Lakers use "Win at all costs" as a shield to avoid making harder, and potentially unpopular, decisions they'd have to explain? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! PrizePicks Check out PrizePicks.com and use promo code: “NBA” or go to your app store and download the app today. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Shady Rays EXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. Athletic Greens To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NBANETWORK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices