Lakers Lounge

The guys open the conversation up for a quick Q&A and listeners wanted to know about Rob Pelinka. Anthony and Pete explain that the Lakers PBO/GM is safe, even after the firings of both Buss brothers.

After a great conversation about name choice, Anthony and Harrison discuss the Lakers' ceiling as currently constructed, what it would be with one trade and what they're capable of if they have the perfect trade deadline/buyout season. The guys also discuss the Lakers' win over the Clippers and, honestly a whole bunch of other random stuff.

Yes, a song.

It's small sample size theater, but the numbers on the starting group are pretty damning. They're so bad that they're sinking the net rating on Luka/LeBron/Austin minutes completely, something that can't continue. The guys discuss the Lakers' ceiling now, then what it'd be with one realistic move.

If the Lakers are truly going to contend for a championship *this year* it's going to require a very successful (if not perfect) trade deadline and buyout season. Anthony and Harrison discuss what that would look like and the team's ceiling if Rob Pelinka was able to pull it off.

This was a fun one. The Lakers beat the Clippers. Luka, LeBron and Austin looked great. Jaxson stepped up in more ways than one and the audience was down for a fun Q&A -- well, most of the audience was.

The Lakers routinely put the Clippers into spot where all they could do was hope Luka, LeBron, Austin or whichever open Laker was shooting would miss. That was a clinic. Anthony breaks it down.

The Lakers are winning but are lacking in a couple important aspects of the game and most notably in terms of athleticism. Anthony explains how the starting group has affect the amount of athletes JJ Redick can put on the court downstream from that group, then goes into the ways the Lakers can address this issue. He hits on other topics the live audience wanted him to.

The Lakers have 12 wins, eight of which happened on the road. They have managed to do so through most of the season without at least one of their stars. They can't make threes, either. If you want to believe in this team, there's plenty of reason to do so. Unfortunately, if you're a skeptic, there's reason to doubt, too. Anthony explains where he sits on this team, then dives into the mailbags.

To quote the great philosopher Darius Soriano, yes and no.

A listener wanted to know what the Lakers might do with Rui Hachimura and Anthony explains that, while he certainly has fans within the organization, he's not off the table.

Anthony and Raj break down a relatively ugly win in which the Lakers showed very clearly they didn't respect the Jazz. They guys discuss the starters continuing to start slow, the Lakers' point differential continuing to hover far lower than their competition and some of the reasons why that has been the case. They celebrate what they saw from Maxi Kleber then share their concern for Austin Reaves...

Anthony and Raj, like most fans, walked away from this game pretty underwhelmed. They discuss what was going on and a stat that Anthony is starting to notice more and more.

Anthony has been paying closer attention to the first shots Austin is taking every game and that needs to get better. With Luka and LeBron also out there, there should be no need for Austin to take so many grenades.

Hey just checking in here...

Anthony welcomes Raj Chipalu and Daman Rangoola on to discuss the implications of Jesse and Joey Buss being fired, their statements afterward, some behind the scenes details and where the Lakers go from here.

Anthony lets Daman and Raj discuss their reactions as fan to Jesse and Joey Buss being fired by the Lakers.

Anthony, Daman and Raj discuss the implications and message sent by firing Jesse and Joey Buss the way they were.

Anthony asks Raj about the experience of watching LeBron's return to the Lakers. The guys talk about the vision for this team moving forward and whether it can get there.

Anthony explains how this came about, why Jesse and Joey Buss are out and where the Lakers go from here.

Anthony welcomes back his favorite beat reporter, Jovan Buha, back to talk about the start the Lakers are off to and where they think things go from here. In an eoffrt not to get too optimistic (for your own good), the guys discuss the choices ahead with the starters, some downstream rotation issues and plenty else. They also discuss LeBron's debut, Vando's future and trade rumors in general.

Anthony and Jovan discuss the Lakers' exciting start to the season and, in an effort not to get too excited and thus damn the team, dive into the direction JJ Redick took the starting group. This leads to a fun conversation about fit, process and ignoring wins and losses for the sake of the greater good.

The Lakers had their full offering of players the other night and the only player to catch an outright DNP-CD was Jarred Vanderbilt. Anthony and Jovan discuss what might be next for Vando both as a Laker and/or in the Lakers' attempts to move him.

Huh. Who'd have thunk it? Anthony and Harrison recap the game, everyone's approach to it and how the Lakers eventually snapped out of their early game funk. Also, Anthony details one of the weirder days he's ever had and, hilariously, the impact it's going to have on his coverage moving forward.

Anthony starts the show with a story we guarantee you won't see coming. Then, the guys laugh at the notion that LeBron would come in and make the Lakers worse.