Hello, Lakers Nation. Welcome into the Lakers Nation.com podcast. We are less than a week away from the NBA draft. Of course, this time of year, trade rumors they are flying. We've got free agency buzz to talk about in addition to just what the Lakers might do with their draft picks on draft night coming up June 22nd.

Joining me today is Yovonne Buha of the athleticic. Yovan, thanks so much for coming on.

Thanks for having me, man.

So as we started recording this, you had a piece drop for The Athletic about Chris

Paul and the Lakers potentially being connected with him.

Why don't we just start there?

What's the latest on that situation?

I know that's a player that a lot

of fans have been talking about. Yeah, well, the latest I've heard, uh, from the, the people I've

spoken to around the team, uh, is that the Lakers would have a strong interest in signing Chris

Paul if he were available. Of course, he'd have to be waived or stretched by the Phoenix

Sons. That would likely happen later in the month if it does happen at all. But if he is available,

the Lakers would have a strong interest in bringing him in. And I think that one of the more interesting

things with this would be what type of contract it would be.

I think the thing that would make the most sense from the Lakers side would be a vet minimum contract,

which would allow them to keep their cap holds on certain guys,

keep their either taxpayer or non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use on a different player because the way that it works is he has 15.8 million guaranteed with the Sons. And if he were waived or stretched,

the Sons would still owe him that money. But any contract he would sign that would offset part of that money.

But essentially, unless the Lakers are going to use cap space on him, which they wouldn't,

you know, Paul signing a vet minimum contract wouldn't be adding money to that 15.8.

It would only be subtracting it.

So him signing anything more than a vet minimum contract would really just be hindering

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