Lakers Lounge

The Lakers have one of the most dynamic offensive forces in the sport in Luka Doncic. The tendency would be to hand him the keys on that side of the ball and still be really good. In order to be as overwhelming as they can be, a balance needs to be struck. Anthony talks about that, the stakes at play and how he actually sees Doncic's season playing out.

This show does everywhere. Anthony loves Luka's Lakers minicamp. He opens up about how he balances optimism and pessimism as a host. He discusses LeBron/AD's similar frustrations that Steph probably feels right now. Then, he dives into a particularly wandering Q&A with the live audience.

Anthony reacts to the report from ESPN that Luka Doncic is hosting his Lakers teammates in Slovenia for a team trip/minicamp. This is objectively great news, that puts on display something Anthony is looking for heading into next season: Luka stepping up as a leader.

Anthony spends some time discussing the similar leaks he's noticed from the Warriors that brought him back to the end of the LeBron/AD era with the Lakers and the root issue for each situation. He discusses that, why people might think the Warriors have done more lately for Steph, sports journalism issues and more.

Anthony breaks down the Lakers options now that they've apparently figured out they're a bit thin at the center position (after losing two really good backup centers). He then felt bad about how few questions he answered from Twitter yesterday, so he dives back into that thread as well as the live chat to wrap up the episode.

Anthony discusses some of the rumored center options for the Lakers as they have apparently realized how thin that rotation is now. From there, he asks the pretty natural follow-up: Uh, why trade away Deandre Ayton if it leaves you in your current circumstance?

Anthony finishes up his extended mailbag with the audience by comparing and contrasting Adou Thiero and Jarred Vanderbilt, discussing whether the Lakers are set up to succeed in the playoffs and more.

Anthony comes back from the weekend with a slight update to the Jonathan Kuminga situation. Cam Johnson has been presented as a backup plan, but Anthony doesn't consider it particularly likely. He discusses all that, then dives into a lengthy and productive Q&A with the live audience.

Anthony updates the Jonathan Kuminga situation now that Mario Hezonja is back in the NBA and on one of the teams that was interested in Kuminga.

As great as Cam Johnson would be, Anthony doesn't think (as he didn't with OKC) Denver will just help the Lakers be better to avoid the second apron. He explains why and answers other questions from Twitter and the live audience.

Anthony noticed an interesting trend after rant and raving on Friday's episode about a small percentage of the fan base who've been vocal about how happy they are that LeBron James is gone. For the most part, commenters thanked him for calling out that extreme minority. He speaks on this after a listener asked about how James will be remembered as a Laker.

Anthony and Harrison jump on the pod to record an emergency episode that truly went all over the place. We apologize in advance to your reactions to Anthony in particular. He's on timeout.

LeBron made his decision. He's a Sixer. Anthony and Harrison discuss the news and some Lakers fans' reaction to it -- which launches one of the more epic rants from Anthony... maybe ever?

Anthony wraps up his rant about the number of people telling him and other Lakers fans they aren't true fans for not supporting the front office telling LeBron to go away. Then he promises that, after the deeply reported piece he's writing about the LeBron-Lakers partnership, he'll try to leave this alone.

Anthony and Harrison both think fans might be getting a little ahead of themselves with Adou Thiero. They discuss this and several other subjects by way of questions from the live audience.

Anthony welcomes Khobi Price back into The Lounge to discuss, well, you probably guessed already. Still, really fun and informative conversation with a pod favorite.

Anthony and Khobi, like the rest of the NBA, are watching their vacations approaching while LeBron takes his time making his decision.

Anthony and Khobi run through a few possibilities if the Lakers are able to make room for and acquire another big.

Anthony and Khobi dive into the live chat for a few questions, including one that could have been a whole pod episode of its own.

Anthony asks Harrison whether the way LeBron is carrying out this decision could be used as proof to vindicate the Lakers' own decision to tell him to go away. He then explains why he doesn't think so, after Harrison gave his explanation on that point too. From there, the guys discuss the final few moves the Lakers are waiting to make, answer some questions, and hit the eject button before Harriso...

LeBron has everyone waiting on a decision and it's holding up a bunch of business and now Anthony finds himself wondering if the Lakers are looking at this latest manufactured drama as proof they were right to move on from LeBron when he did. It's hard not to feel like that's their stance, so Anthony and Harrison discuss whether that's the right way to feel about things.

Anthony and Harrison put a bow on the LeBron-Lakers convo, then wonder how the Lakers might go about landing another big. From there, they wrap the episode with a quick little Q&A with the live audience

Anthony welcomes Brad Rowland (Locked on Hawks) back into The Lounge to discuss this whole big dumb standoff between the Lakers, Hawks and Jonathan Kuminga. Why are we here in the first place? What are Kuminga's options? What are the Hawks looking for from all this?

Jonathan Kuminga is certainly talented. He's not a bad dude. He can really help a team. So why is he staring at one of the darker timelines of any current free agent?

We're sure you've done it too. Anthony and Brad take a look around the league to find other scenarios for Jonathan Kuminga that make more sense than starting on the Lakers. There... aren't many -- if any at all. Anthony also plays the most important sound on the show, which gets a good chuckle out of Brad.