Lakers Lounge

Anthony and Ethan discuss Adam Silver's latest pleat to viewers to please baby please watch the All Star Game and their overall view of his tenure as commissioner.

In the latest entry to the Lakers season review series, Anthony looks back on JJ Redick's first season as a coach. Not just an NBA coach, but as a coach, ever. Still insane to think about. Overall, we have to split this season into two segments. He was fantastic in the regular season and a bit of a disaster in the playoffs. Anthony explains why, then discusses Redick's future as a coach.

We want to be absolutely clear about this: JJ Redick was fantastic in the regular season and that performance becomes all the more impressive when you consider all the context. Anthony lays it all out with the backdrop of Tom Thibodeau's firing.

Anthony in genuinely curious because even he goes back-and-forth on this... Does that brutal series from JJ Redick make you feel differently about the amount of success we saw from him in the regular season? He discusses that, then wraps with a fun question about youth coaching differences domestically and internationally.

Anthony was thinking about the whole "will or won't LeBron take the pay cut" subject and wondered whether people are going about that all wrong. He then explains how Dorian Finney-Smith opting out and walking wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing. He points out how Austin Ainge's new gig is just the latest example of nepotism in the NBA and then discusses the Jazz apparently coming to their sens...

In all likelihood, Dorian Finney-Smith is going to be back with the Lakers after either opting into his player option or after opting out and re-signing a longer deal for less per year. But, if DFS does leave, Anthony explains how it could open up options for the Lakers while also freeing up minutes at the four.

Anthony noticed a lot of people trying to have the nepotism conversation after Austin Ainge was hired to run the Jazz and decided to wade into those waters. After that super duper fun conversation, he offers up Ainge's message on tanking, and how this is a directly result of the flattened lottery odds (as he predicted a couple weeks ago).

Anthony wrote late last week about the two-timeline spot the Lakers have to navigate, as they prep for the end of the LeBron James era and the beginning of the Luka Doncic era simultaneously. He narrates that piece for this episode.

Loaded show, considering it's a Sunday without basketball. Anthony opens with a response to listeners not exactly thrilled about the all-time Lakers rotation draft from Friday. In it, he explains that building a rotation is a lot more complicated than just listing the best players in Lakers history. He then tells a story about why he thought James Worthy thought his actual name was podcast. He wra...

So, a lot of y'all were NOT happy about the results of Anthony and Pete's rotation draft from Friday. Honestly, we get it. Some truly great players went way later than they should've in the draft. However, as Anthony explains, when you're putting together a rotation that actually has to play together, you have to factor in fit. He explains all that, then follows up that segment with a story about...

A listener asked Anthony about the Lakers uniforms and whether it might be time to redesign them as the organization heads into the Luka Doncic era. It's honestly a pretty good idea, though Anthony has a specific kind of rebrand in mind.

Anthony is, frankly, sick of the same old conversation about this summer so he's going to reframe it. In this episode, he and Pete Zayas (LFR) participate in a snake draft to build out their ideal 10-man rotations using only former Lakers. From there, they discuss some lessons they learned from the draft and extend them to this offseason and beyond. They wrap with questions from the audience but n...

In a wildly entertaining exercise, the guys snake draft 10-man rotations of any players who've ever worn a Lakers uniform. They explain the parameters of the draft, then get into it. Also, Anthony commits a truly earth-shattering gaffe.

After drafting their all-time 10-man rotations, the guys offer up some observations about the exercise and extend them to some key factors the Lakers will have to take into account this summer. More importantly, Pete has two revelations that are absolutely incredible. They wrap with questions from the live audience.

Anthony and Harrison have one of *those* episodes, where they start with one subject and just kind of wander around. These tend to be their best shows. In this one, they start with LeBron and Luka and the notion of two timelines, but wind up touching on all the trade stuff, Jayson Tatum's injury, the upcoming finals series and The Last of Us.

Anthony is coming to realize that LeBron and Luka can obviously fit at least fairly well, but it's inherently short-term because of where LeBron is in his career. So, with that in mind, the guys set the table for a really tricky conversation about how the Lakers can do right by LeBron while also giving Luka his best chances at a championship asap.

The year is 2078. The podcast has been taken over by AI, and by that we mean Anthony Irwin IV despite Anthony's rants against nepotism. Somehow, some way, the guys are still debating the notion of individual talent vs overall fit.

We know, we know, but stick with us. If you enjoyed that show, you'll like this conversation. If not, well, it's the third part of a really long conversation that was mostly about the Lakers.

As usual, after Anthony write anything, he narrates it for you exclusively in the Lounge RSS feed. This time, he wrote about the how the Lakers view Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura internally and the back-and-forth about trading them taking place as the offseason nears.

Anthony dropped another report last night, this time detailing the internal debate within the Lakers organization on Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. He and Raj discuss Reaves and Hachimura's place in the Lakers core, the return the Lakers should be looking for in any trades for each, the risk with both in free agency and more.

With the OKC Thunder well on their way to a finals series they'll be heavy favorites, the guys give their thoughts on what the finals might look like. Anthony thinks OKC will roll. Raj thinks otherwise. From there, the guys launch into their conversation about Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura as part of the Lakers "core" and whether they should be considered as such.

Raj asks Anthony about honeymoon periods, which leads to a hilarious, ridiculous analogy. The guys talk about the Lakers' decisions impact on Luka Doncic, who will have an extension passed across the table to him this summer that the Lakers desperately need him to sign.

Anthony is joined on this earlier edition of The Lounge by Kirk Henderson (Mavs Moneyball, Pod Maverick) to discuss Luka Doncic's season, both in Dallas and eventually in L.A. The guys talk about the calf strain that never relented its grip on this season, Luka Ball, the need for a center and, eventually, a former teammate of Doncic's who the Lakers have an eye on.

Anthony dropped a report last night on the Lakers' center pursuit. He narrates that piece, plus a couple occasional nuggets here and there.

Anthony comes back from his little break with a bang, as he welcomes Trevor Lane (LakersNation) into The Lounge to talk ... about most of the same stuff we've been talking about. Centers stuff, the need for athleticism, Austin Reaves' trade market and whatever else comes up.