Lakers in Holding Pattern After Joe Tsai Rebuffs Durant's Ultimatum. Plus, the Ham/Russ dynamic.

Monday, it was revealed that Kevin Durant served Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai with an ultimatum: You can keep me, or you can keep coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks. But you really can't keep both, if you want to keep me happy, at least. Tuesday, Tsai revealed his response: We like support our coach, our GM will make decisions based on what's best for the org and will do it on our timeline. So there you have it. Many Lakers fans saw the news and assumed that KD and the Nets are now at loggerheads, and that a trade would have to come fast. And hey, maybe it does, but unfortunately for the Lakers (who want to swoop in on that fallout and snatch up Kyrie Irving), Durant and Brooklyn being at an impasse doesn't necessarily mean the trade will come quickly, or that the Nets automatically trade Irving even when it does. And big picture, what we've seen over the last couple seasons with the failures of the Nets and Lakers could usher in a major culture change in the league, regarding how teams regard stars, and the willingness to do EVERYTHING to accommodate them. Finally, last week Jovan Buha of The Athletic wrote that Darvin Ham will have more freedom and flexibility to do what he wants with Russell Westbrook next year. Bench him? 6th man? Reduced role? Whatever. And may saw that as a shot at the autonomy/will of Frank Vogel. But people reducing it to something that simple are missing a massive bit of context. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: A public service message: Some people think we're too negative. We explain how we operate the show, and why. Pluuuuuuuuus, Tsai answers Durant's ultimatum. SEGMENT 2: What comes next for Brooklyn, still, may not help the Lakers anytime soon. SEGMENT 3: Why Darvin Ham has more flexibility to deal with Westbrook as he sees fit. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices