Lakers Lounge

The funny part in all of this is the league itself says it's still working through some stuff. This leads to some questions from Anthony on why this needed to be announced right away, and what doing so says about Adam Silver.

If you just want to be purely machiavellian, the NBA's anti-tanking measures help the Lakers -- who don't think they can tank anyway. So if no one can, well, all the better for the team that won't.

The NBA has, historically, enjoyed its most prosperity by way of superstars and super teams. Adam Silver has methodically built a league that stands ten toes down against those ends. Anthony realized this live on the air.

Anthony dives into a particularly full mailbag slate, with listeners curious about how ownership might feel about Rob Pelinka's efforts to fill out the front office, late draft picks vs. UDFAs, the impact LeBron leaving would have on the Lakers and Bronny, and more.

A Twitter follower asked if Anthony Davis could ever return to the Lakers. This one is kind of tricky, but Anthony tries to navigate it nonetheless.

Anthony got a tip while he was on the air right towards the end of the episode. Before that, he expanded on what Rob Pelinka has riding on this summer (with a Star Wars analogy).

Anthony and Harrison discuss the Lakers hiring their first of two assistant GMs and the nagging questions that have been bugging Anthony. They also discuss the Knicks dominating the Cavs and the impact that might have on LeBron James' offseason.

Anthony and Harrison explain why this is, for the most part, an objectively net-positive for the Lakers. But still, that really annoying voice in the back of their minds just won't shut up about a couple unfortunate truths about what led to this hire, instead of some higher-level talent from more respected organizations.

Anthony and Harrison continue their conversation about the Lakers' efforts to become more like the Dodgers and the speed bumps they've run into, as people around the league aren't sure who will be in charge for how long. They also touch on the Knicks run through the east and, more importantly for Lakers fans, the Cavs falling squarely on their face. LeBron can't possibly look at that and think Cle...

The Lakers need superstar talent and have the ability to potentially add one in some pretty unique circumstances this summer. Anthony and Pete discuss why they want the Lakers to make their push for him, all the while understanding why some Lakers fans are less than sold on the idea.

Anthony has spent this week trying to convince two different guests on trading for Giannis. He finally has someone who has spent the year selling him on the idea.

The guys continue their conversation about Giannis, this time focused a little more on LeBron. They also tackle why Lakers fans are iffy about trading for him. The episode ends with the blackjack analogy to end all blackjack analogies.

Anthony welcomed Yaron Weitzman back into The Lounge, this time to talk about his latest piece, which detailed Dodgers management helping modernize the Lakers. From the sound of things, the process isn't going as smoothly as some might hope, so the guys discuss why not and what it might mean for those involved.

Anthony has spoken in the past about what Mark Walter wants to do with the Lakers and, with that process now underway, he brings in Yaron Weitzman (Yahoo!) to detail its early stages -- which don't seem to be going as well as everyone would like.

Yaron noticed the reaction to Kurt Rambis being involved in the interviews for open positions with the Lakers and offers a fairly simple explanation for why that is still the case.

Anthony and Raj break down the series they've watched so far and marvel at the level of basketball they've seen from these two teams -- neither of which are 100%. From there, Anthony pitches Raj on Giannis. The guys detail some of the noise coming from the Lakers' efforts to build out the front office, then wrap with a Q&A.

Anthony and Raj have loved this Spurs-Thunder series. Anthony can't believe how much he likes this Spurs team, though that might have more to do with how much he hates this Thunder squad.

Anthony once again makes the case for Giannis, this time to Raj -- who is against the idea. Anthony says he's gonna keep receipts on this one.

Anthony and Raj wrap up the episode with some questions from the live audience, who all agreed Spurs-Thunder feels like the finals. Are we ever going to see the west properly represented in the playoffs by way of 1-16 seeding? (no, is the answer -- and it sucks)

Anthony and Harrison's annoyance with Giannis' will-he, won't-he ask for a trade has come full circle because of the caliber of basketball the Lakers would have to play to compete with the likes of OKC and San Antonio. Anthony makes the case for trading for Giannis on several levels, including as a means to convince LeBron to take a little less.

Anthony has watched these playoffs and walked away from them so far wondering how the Lakers can bring in the kind of upper tier talent that would bring them closer to the classes of the league. He can't believe he's making this case either, but what about Giannis?

Anthony makes the case for Giannis with an additional benefit being value contracts the Lakers would sign if free agents look to latch onto a contending Lakers team.

More often than not, owners don't let their front offices go straight into a rebuild after trading a superstar. If that trend continues, the Lakers don't have much of a chance at Giannis. If Milwaukee does accept their new reality, then a Lakers package makes some sense.

Anthony explains why there was a bit of a break between episodes, then discusses Luke Doncic finishing so far behind the top three in MVP voting results. From there, he offers up some macro-level thoughts on the teams left heading into the conference finals. Finally, he opens the iTunes mailbag and answers some questions and comments from the live chat.

Anthony uses Luka finishing so far behind in the MVP voting results to explain why he's so fed up with this process on the whole.