Lakers Lounge

Anthony and Raj both saw plenty of Lakers fans wonder what Austin Reaves' return in a trade could possibly be if Desmond Bane could fetch four first rounders. They both explain why it doesn't really work that way and also discuss how interesting it is to compare the returns on star players and stars in their roles.

Anthony and Raj discuss the Brook Lopez noise after Anthony tells the story about how he found out Lopez was not exactly in a hurry to stick around long-term with the Lakers. From there, they discuss the approach they'd prefer the Lakers take at that position.

It's a Hook Friday, so Anthony and Pete send you off into the weekend with some thoughts on which buy-low type players they think should be on the Lakers' radar.

Anthony makes a macro-level point about how the Lakers can maximize any buy-low move they make. From there, the guys dig into some potential free agents flying under the radar, then give their thoughts on these Finals.

Anthony hopped on Jovan Buha's show yesterday and, in this sneak preview, discussed who or what kind of player the guys would trade Austin Reaves for. They also addressed a fun hypothetical from a listener who wondered what the Lakers may have done at least year's trade deadline had they not made the Luka Doncic trade.

Most people around the league consider it most likely that LeBron James will opt into the second year of his contract this summer, but based on some of the stuff Anthony has been hearing, he anticipates James could take a couple other paths. He explains each scenario and their impact on the Lakers' summer.

With the Knicks seemingly calling everyone who may be happy with their head coach to see if they can pry said coach away from them, Anthony offers what he knows about the situation and explains how the Lakers may handle this situation should the Knicks come calling.

Absolutely loaded episode here as Anthony and Raj break down the Pacers' game two win over the Thunder, the series outlook from here on out and what Indiana has done to get to this point. From there, the guys talk a little about what the Lakers can learn from Indiana, then dive into a discussion about LeBron James' player option and whatever his contractual situation might be coming out of this su...

For some reason, Raj only seems to be available to come on the show if the Pacers win. Well, they did last night, so the guys broke it down. Anthony also ranted again about the NBA's role in how poorly ESPN has handled these Finals and the sport in general.

Anthony wrote a lengthy piece about LeBron James' player option and the potential discount he could give the Lakers if he so chooses. After offering up what he can about the situation, he and Raj have a discussion about what James could do in this spot, what's fair to hope for as fans and the impact of James' decision, no matter what it might be.

Anthony pissed off Twitter by saying he is out on Dalton Knecht and wondered what Raj thought about that discussion. This led to a few other topics and before you know it, it became a whole extra half hour of Knecht/Lakers/JJ Redick talk.

In Anthony's latest piece, he took a closer look at what the Lakers will look to do with their taxpayer midlevel exception. He narrates that piece on today's Lowdown.

Anthony breaks down Rob Pelinka's performance last year, which was defined by inactivity heading into the season and quite possibly one of the best trades in Lakers history. Ironically, the former doomed the latter, and makes Anthony a lot less confident than he'd like to be in the Lakers' chances of maximizing their opportunity with Luka fro here on out.

Rob Pelinka is known for highs and lows and no other season exemplifies that existence more than last year, where his decisions heading into the season damned the beginning of the miraculous Luka Doncic era.

Using recent history, Anthony explains why he isn't super confident in the Lakers maximizing the Luka Doncic era under Rob Pelinka and the rest of the upper tier of management.

Ron Pelinka has been able to run out the string on the end of the AD-LeBron era, but now that he's landed Luka Doncic, the pressure is right back on him to turn this team around this summer. Anthony explains why and how Lakers fans should be happy about the timing of all of this.

Anthony was cranky after watching yet another NBA Finals game in 720p, this time with emoji Finals trophies. He discusses OKC going big and how he doesn't like Indiana's chances as a result, then dives into the mailbags.

ESPN somehow found a way to make their presentation of the NBA Finals even worse. Anthony couldn't help but laugh at their attempt at bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy back to the telecast.

We all know the Lakers need a center. Every team they talk to also knows this. If everyone is trying to price gauge the Lakers, should they check in on a center who might actually be worth that increased price?

Anthony and Raj celebrate the game they just watched, wonder what the hell ESPN is doing with this telecast, marvel at Tyrese Haliburton, laugh at Mark Daigneault and extend lessons from both the Pacers and Thunder to the Lakers.

As thrilling as that game was, the whole time, both Raj and Anthony found themselves wondering why ESPN was treating this game like any other random Thursday night in February.

Anthony has obviously voiced his opinion on heliocentric offenses. Once again, the Pacers were able to stay attached and eventually win outright because of their diverse offense. The guys discuss why the Lakers need to take note.

In a loaded episode, Anthony is joined by Ethan Strauss to talk about, well, a lot. The guys hit on everything from this finals matchup and the inevitable poor ratings that will come of it, the discourse around this matchup heading in, Adam Silver's latest tweak to the All Star Game and LeBron taking yet another side-swipe at Brian Windhorst.

Anthony and Ethan have both noticed a rather standoffish stance from NBA media about this upcoming series and give their thoughts on this matchup and that narrative heading in.