Lakers Lounge

In this segment from today's Lowdown, Anthony discusses the Lakers' disinterest in building on success and how NBA teams are now scouting for this. He also talks about the toll this whole Darvin Ham situation is taking on the Lakers, as a rift is growing within the organization because of the job he's done this year.

Anthony Davis took accountability for the loss Saturday night. What a concept. Our Anthony recaps another tough weekend and the fallout from it -- or the lack thereof as it pertains to Darvin Ham. That said, tension is building as those at the top still support Ham and those he works with more on a daily basis feel very different. Anthony also hits on the latest trade rumors as now D'Angelo Russel...

Anthony discusses Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka not necessarily doing Darvin Ham the favors they think they are with all the leaking signs of support, using Game of Thrones as the example. Then, he discusses how the defensive strategies the Lakers are implemented aren't helping and are specifically hurting someone like Austin Reaves. He also wonders how much LeBron James' recent play has to do with...

Anthony reacts to an absolute no-show on national tv against the Suns. As he was doing so, Darvin Ham dropped a quote that should stop every Lakers fan in their tracks, telling the guys to "man up." Yeesh. For a quick second, Sabreena Merchant joined the show to talk about everything going on but was cut short by a faulty power line. One of those nights.

Anthony and Aaron relay the latest trade reporting, plus what Anthony has been hearing, too. They also explain why the Lakers' options this trade season a little more limited than in years past and the impact that is going to have on their moves. They also spend a little time on Darvin Ham and whether these last couple wins have put all the drama behind him. How close was he to getting fired?

Anthony spends the opening segment admiring the season Anthony Davis has put together. He's been special, flat out. The Lakers need to stack wins while he keeps playing like this. From there, he looks at the trade market and combines the reporting already out there with what he's hearing, especially pertaining to Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell. To wrap things up, he discusses the latest on Rui...

Toronto's head coach lost his mind talking about the refs last night. This, with the fourth quarter free-throw discrepancy, led NBA Twitter to once again do the whole "the league is rigged for the Lakers" bit, which is pretty played out at this point. Anthony and Raj reacted to all this live and Anthony wasn't having it.

Anthony is joined in The Lounge by Raj Chipalu (All Access Lakers) to discuss a game the Lakers absolutely needed to win, and were able to behind Anthony Davis. The guys discuss the game itself, Davis' shooting impacting the roll he's on right now, and the Lakers finding a way to go back to him after they ignored him in the second and third quarters. Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic lost his min...

We're now years removed from both the ends of the Frank Vogel and Russell Westbrook era but the Lakers just can't seem to stop pointing fingers, with one person in particular consistently avoiding blame.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Darvin Ham and the Lakers hashed things out in response to reports about the disconnect there. This is exactly what we were hoping to hear. Anthony reacts to that and discusses what it might mean moving forward. In a quick aside, he points out the cheap shot fired at Frank Vogel regarding Russell Westbrook and marvels at Rob Pelinka's office politics game. J...

One of last night's segments had to do with a look at everything coming into last night's game regarding Darvin Ham and his current job security and then, following the win, a discussion on what that looks like now. Honestly, not much has changed, as the people who would make the final decision on Ham have never wanted to fire him -- for a variety of reasons.

Almost nothing would've led one to believe the Lakers would be the surging Clippers... and then they did. Anthony recaps a fun, somewhat ugly game that saw Darvin Ham and the Lakers at least temporarily rise above all the noise and rumors surrounding the team.

Anthony opens The Lounge to give the latest on Darvin Ham and add to it what he's heard recently. It does sound like the temperature is rising on Ham's seat. So much so that this month could really impact how long he remains the head coach of the Lakers. From there, he takes some questions and sends you on your merry way into the weekend.

As promised, we're clipping important portions of the show and calling them Appateasers (Anthony will explain on today's Happy Hour). Today's 'Teaser is a macro takeaway from all the reporting about the locker room. At some point, communication broke down and enough people said they'd had enough.

Anthony and Aaron react to reports that paint a pretty bleak picture for Darvin Ham. How did things go from that magical run to a locker room that doesn't seem to trust its head coach? Also, if you've been listening to this show for the last couple months, none of this should surprise you. Anthony adds his couple cents to today's reports.

2023 was actually a pretty successful year for the Lakers, as Anthony explains. He looks back on the year that was, then ahead to the year that might be. He then takes questions from Twitter and the comment section.

Anthony recaps a nice, comfortable blowout. Didn't always look like that would be the case, but we got there. He discusses the bench extending the lead, Rui Hachimura stepping into the starting group, and how that move from Darvin Ham might only further the gap between him and Austin Reaves.

Anthony and Aaron start the show with a quick explanation on the lengthy absence. Again, we are deeply sorry. We'll make sure Anthony never gets sick again. Then, they take you behind the scenes on the lineup story Anthony broke over the weekend and how it came to be. From there, they break down the new starting group and discuss what it signals now and why some in the locker room are annoyed with...

After a(nother) conversation about D'Angelo Russell, Anthony and Aaron wonder aloud why Rui Hachimura seemingly can't crack the rotation more regularly.

Anthony and Aaron react to the Lakers losing to the Wolves but it turns into a conversation about Darvin Ham. It's a little uncomfortable, and Ham isn't doing enough to quite the doubters (like Anthony).

Honestly, we're all going to get out of the way and let Raj cook here.

Anthony welcomes Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic) to discuss the season the Minnesota Timberwolves are having and how important organizational culture is. Then, the guys preview Lakers-Wolves Thursday and why it's a particularly fun matchup. The wrap with a conversation about the D'Angelo Russell experience and everything it can entail, both good and bad.

Anthony talks to Aaron about the Lakers outside the In-Season Tournament. Why is there such a stark contrast? Then, they talk about LeBron James' and Anthony Davis' minutes and whether they're concerned about how they're racking them up. Finally, they wrap by continuing Anthony's reporting on D'Angelo Russell and potential tension in the locker room.

Anthony recaps the latest frustrating, winnable loss, details some bad habits that have crept back in since the IST, and offers up some of what he's heard about some tension in the Lakers' locker room between some guys and D'Angelo Russell.

Anthony didn't like how he explained he trade primer Friday so he goes back and clears it up, hopefully. He then discusses the backup center situation and how the Lakers might address it before updating Gabe Vincent's availability and previewing tonight's game against the Knicks.