Lakers Lounge

Anthony admits to the one story he was outright duped on this summer. Damn you, Brook Lopez. He explains why he reports the way he does but also understands why people may not like it if they see that reporting out of context.

OG listeners remember the original version of The Hook, which featured Aaron Larsuel. One of the questions today was about him, so Anthony offered up some good news. He also details a kind of transaction he thinks we'll see more of in this new CBA.

Anthony listened to an LFR pod in which Pete and Darius discussed NBA coverage and specifically with the Lakers. Given the summer he's had, Anthony wanted to pick up on that conversation too. So they wander around the topic. How did we get here? Can this be fixed? Where is it going?

Anthony and Pete look back at this summer and how they've taken it all in given the information they had in front of them. LeBron James was almost certainly not going anywhere. That didn't stop a weeks-long news cycle!

Anthony and Pete discuss the way the NBA's tv partners have covered the league and why it wanted something other than what Turner was providing.

Anthony opened up his notebook on his way out to California last week and finally got around to narrating the piece. You won't find more detail on this summer than right here.

Anthony welcomes a friend of the show to talk Lakers and Clippers. Mirjam Swanson (SCNG) stops by to talk about the sale and compare the two teams' summers.

With all the excitement of a typical NBA offseason, it seems most people have forgotten the biggest transaction of the summer. Anthony and Mirjam discuss the ramifications of the Lakers being sold.

Fan reaction to a team's offseason offers a real look into the fabric of fanhood. Anthony and Mirjam explore this concept and explain why they think the Lakers had a (much?) better summer than the Clippers.

Anthony felt bad for missing so much time recently that he hopped on the stream and stayed until he answered every single question from the iTunes and Twitter mailbags, while also addressing comments from the live audience. A ton of ground is covered here.

Anthony promised the birthday girl an appearance on the show and it pays off quite well. Then, he dives into the iTunes mailbag to discuss the Lakers' facilities compared to the rest of the league and what purpose their expiring contracts will serve if they don't want longer-term money.

More people are starting to notice how people reacted to finding out Luka wants to win now compared to how they reacted when they found out LeBron wanted more help than he's gotten the last few years. Another listeners asked about the part of the organization responsible for drafting coming under more fire.

Anthony had to be careful about this one. A listener wanted to know why the Clippers always seem to get positive press despite never accomplishing anything. This launches a discussion about access and what some teams have done to ensure the access they grant is for a purpose.

As was expected heading into the weekend, Luka Doncic inked his three-year max extension with the Lakers. It was the soonest he possibly could have. Anthony breaks down the deal, it's short-term impact, the long-term goal and the message it sends to the rest of the league.

Technically speaking, the Lakers have Luka Doncic at a pretty incredible discount. Anthony discusses what they'll need to do to maximize this opportunity. He also offers some context on why this happened so quickly.

Anthony was asked about the picture LeBron snapped in front of a Clippers logo. He explained what was going on and how it used to be something he would laugh at with other superstars around the league. He then segues into a preview of the year of Giannis-LA.

Honestly we're just as shocked as you.

Daryl Morey went viral for giving his thoughts on the Lakers' 2019-20 championship and Anthony is sick of those takes (though for a pretty important update on Morey, check out the Lowdown). Anthony says those takes need to go away forever. In the second half of the show, he discusses Jonathan Kuminga and the rest of the league's restricted free agents, to see if there might be value for the Lakers...

Daryl Morey's quote about the Lakers' championship led to another avalanche of takes on the matter and Anthony is sick of it.

Originally, Anthony was going to spend this whole episode on the Lakers and making a gamble on Jonathan Kuminga. Well seeing as that plan was derailed, he still dove into this subject but also touched on the other RFA's stuck in limbo.

Anthony saw the viral LeBron workout video and wonders whether James might be more excited about this season than widely assumed. He discusses that, what a lighter LeBron would mean to the Lakers and then dives back into the mailbag to completely clear it out.

Anthony discusses a workout video from LeBron James and how he looks a little slimmer. If he did slim down, that could actually help the Lakers and help paint a picture of a collaborative offseason with him and Luka Doncic.

For whatever reason, listeners have become really interested in where Anthony gets his information from. So, to the extent he can, he offers a bit of an explanation -- which also featured an origin story.

Anthony and Harrison have both seen the Luka Doncic interview and pictures and both want to personally thank Nico Harrison.

We're entering a dangerous stage, here, as Anthony is growing more optimistic by the day -- especially after seeing the transformation Luka Doncic has undertaken this summer. Harrison, for the sake of all Lakers fans everywhere, tries to talk Anthony down.