Lakers Lounge

Anthony and Trevor kick off their conversation with some bbq talk, then dive into the playoffs that continue to roll on without the Lakers. These games demand the question: Are the Lakers close? If they are, then how can that gap be bridged? If not, then is it smarter to keep their powder dry for when they can more sustainably compete?

In that 2019-20 season, the Lakers brought back Dwight Howard and had a very honest conversation with him about his career at that point. Anthony makes the case that a similar conversation could help a very talented center turn things around in L.A. Trevor is a little less sold.

Anthony did a little digging and one thing resonates far above everything else as it pertain to noise surrounding the Lakers' offseason: They know they need at least one center and are in the market for a couple. He discusses how that pursuit is going so far, the speed bumps they've already hit and how a chaotic summer might really help them. He also explains why it seems unlikely Jaxson Hayes wil...

Honestly, the guys could've spent the entire show marveling at the game they just watched. But, they're professionals, so instead, they marveled at the game they just watched and then fantasized about some of the players they just watched being on the Lakers.

The Knicks just lost in one of the most excruciating ways ever seen in the history of the sport and have only themselves to blame.

There's a really good chance the Pacers might start looking at their books this summer and decide there is a guy here and there they won't be able to keep. Anthony thinks this might present the Lakers an opportunity. He and Raj discuss this, and the notion of trading talent for fit.

Anthony and Raj continue their conversation but the most striking thing in this segment (other than the live questions) was everything they learned about Luke Kornet.

Anthony has noticed a take that he just can't quite wrap his head around from a particular faction of the fan base. They want LeBron James gone. Anthony explains why it wouldn't help and where he thinks the take is coming from, then dives into what the Lakers will need to do to make it work with James.

Anthony records every episode with an image of Kobe behind him. He was once the obnoxious Kobe stan. He thinks there's a good chance that faction of the Lakers fan base is also the one that has been waiting for a reason to demand LeBron James go away.

LeBron James and Luka Doncic were asked to completely rethink the way they play the game in a matter of a few months then try to let that carry them through the playoffs. It's going to be legitimately fascinating to watch these two basketball geniuses try to figure this rubix cube out.

One of our absolute favorites stopped by The Lounge today. Dan Woike (L.A. Times) is back from the NBA Draft Combine, where things are considerably quieter for the Lakers than when he was there last season. The guys talk about the "mourning period" the Lakers went through and the work they're doing to avoid that next year.

The Pope is a White Sox fan from Chicago. Dan Woike is a White Sox fan from Chicago. This is the closest Anthony will ever get to talking to the Pope about the Lakers offseason.

Anthony and Dan finally get around to the Austin Reaves portion of their conversation. All they keep hearing is how unlikely it is Reaves will be moved for a variety of reasons. They wrap with a bit of offseason rapid fire as they try to design out the ideal Lakers summer.

The conference finals matchups are set and, now that we're two rounds in, Anthony offers up a take on what it takes on offense and defense to enjoy postseason success -- and how it runs contrary to what is valued across the league. From there, he brings the conversation back to the Lakers by answering questions from the iTunes, Twitter and youtube mailbags.

As much as teams have focused on efficiency through shot selection, Anthony found a notable trend across most of the conference finalists over the years and their ability from two-point range. Between that and the defense we're seeing from the teams left, the Lakers have their work cut out for them this summer.

A listener wanted to know what it would take for the Lakers to play the kind of defense we're watching from the remaining teams and, well, we have some bad news...

After years of trying to find some way to record a regular pod together, Anthony and Pete finally have that opportunity and will be recording episodes of "The Hook" every other Friday or so. This is their first such episode and in it, they talk about the potential for a quieter summer than fans may expect, what that would mean and what's on the line in this first transaction window since the Luka...

Given how little the Lakers have to work with, Anthony is concerned the team will probably look pretty similar to what we saw this year. If so, and if the Lakers want to compete for a championship, then any improvement will need to come internally. Anthony asks Pete about this notion and... Pete isn't sold.

One thing that's become impossible to ignore is that, outside of keeping his job, it's pretty difficult to figure out what Rob Pelinka's top priorities are in building a team. The organization has lacked much of an identity and this is probably a reason why. Anthony and Pete discuss this and more.

Anthony and Raj break down what they just watched as the Nuggets extended their series to a game seven in OKC thanks to Julian Strawther stepping up. Identity matters in basketball, turns out. From there, they have THE DEFINITIVE AUSTIN REAVES CONVERSATION as so much attention has been paid to his trade market. They also hold THE DEFINITIVE CHRISTIAN KOLOKO CONVERSATION which doesn't exactly have...

The guys discuss everything they saw from Nuggets-Thunder game six and how frustrating it was to watch the Lakers wander away from their identity in their series against the Wolves. That can't happen again. They also discuss the differences between regular and postseason basketball and why Anthony was always skeptical of OKC.

Arguably the best case for not trading Austin is how much it would suck to trade him at maybe his lowest value following that disappointing playoff run. Raj makes that case, then Anthony plays devil's advocate.

Raj has a quite frankly weird amount of things to say about Christian Koloko and what he considers a wasted opportunity from the Lakers to grab the $100 bill they saw floating down the sidewalk (Anthony's analogy).

Well, the Celtics extended their series and now are applying a whole bunch of pressure on the Knicks to win Friday. Please, Knicks. Take care of business. Anthony then pivots to the Warriors' elimination at the hands of the Wolves and how the NBA playoffs have become a minefield of star injuries. He also takes a look at a relatively weak-looking Pacific Division heading into next season.

In kicking off this year's season review series, Anthony thought long and hard about the most important figure to the season and eventually landed on Anthony Davis. He explains that decision, reviews Davis' season and the Luka Doncic trade, then discusses why Davis' jersey will eventually hang in the rafters. He wraps up with some questions from the live audience, too.