Locked on Lakers

One of the few problems with hosting an (almost) daily podcast about the Lakers is that sometimes it’s hard to remove oneself from the day-to-day drama surrounding the team and just take a larger look at the overall state of the organization. To give such an overall look at everything going on around the team during an eventful summer their best shot, hosts Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen were joined by Keith Parish of Fastbreak Breakfast for a crossover podcast to discuss all of the main topics of the Lakers’ offseason, from Lonzo Ball to the possible addition of Derrick Rose. Oh, and breakfast, because of course.

The Los Angeles Lakers refuse to be boring, no matter the affect it might have on the hearts and souls of their fan base. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka reportedly held a meeting with Derrick Rose Thursday, because of course they did. To start the show, the guys try to put into perspective why the response to Rose tends to contain such vitriol, and why he just doesn’t make any sense given what the Lakers are looking for from their backup point guard. Not only that, there’s a non-zero possibility he actively hurts the team. Once the guys explained why he doesn’t check any of the necessary boxes and whether or not there are any actual good reasons to sign him, they went through other options and directions the Lakers could go in. As there are other able bodies out there who could step in and not be Derrick Rose. That’s certainly the hope.

Los Angeles Lakers fans are abuzz with hope unseen amongst the fanbase in years, and the last 24 hours showed why. The team capped a Las Vegas Summer League title run with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Monday night, and quickly followed that up by introducing their big offseason signing, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tuesday. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin broke down why these signs of potential feel so much more promising than prior summers and what they think of the Caldwell-Pope signing — and the enthusiasm it elicited from the Lakers front office — on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are on the eve of competing for a championship. Sure it’s the Las Vegas Summer League championship, but who needs that kind of minor detail to deter from the excitement currently swirling around the organization? Lonzo Ball is inarguably the driving force behind this run and has fans more consistently excited than any of the recent lottery picks who played in their first summer tournament. To discuss that excitement, we welcomed Darius Soriano of Forum Blue & Gold in Harrison’s stead and, as per usual, it was a one-sided trade. First, the guys tried to put into words what it is about Lonzo that seems to grab everyone’s excitement and imagination. Then, as Ball does have teammates, the other key factors or stories from the past week had to be covered. Finally, the topic was widened to the Lakers as a whole. What do the results of this offseason say about the process that got them there? Should the process even matter? All that and more as we get ready for the biggest Lakers game of way longer than we’d like to admit.

The Los Angeles Lakers are well on their way to possibly winning their first Las Vegas Summer League championship and now have a new shooting guard, so there’s plenty to talk about in this Friday episode of Locked on Lakers. First, the guys discuss the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signing and the reactions to it. People either seem over the moon about it or are seem to be wondering why those who are thrilled are reacting as such. Then, as it’s been roughly a billion degrees while we’ve been in Vegas, what better place to unleash our “Hot Takes That We Kind of Believe” game? First, both guys believe Lonzo Ball could take home some hardware at the end of the season. The takes only get hotter from there.

One of the biggest surprises for the Los Angeles Lakers at Las Vegas Summer League has been the play of rookie center Thomas Bryant, the 42nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Bryant joined hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin to discuss his succes so far, what he wants to work on, why he didn’t pick one of Kobe Bryant’s old jersey numbers and a whole lot more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers. Before Bryant joined the show, Harrison and Anthony briefly talked about Paul George’s latest comments, and after the interview the two hosts came back to discuss the latest Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rumors to wrap up their latest dispatch from Las Vegas.

Lonzo Ball had an up-and-down start to Las Vegas Summer League, with a poor-shooting debut contrasted against a triple-double in his second outing as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. To discuss whether or not they felt Ball lived up to their expectations so far in Las Vegas, hosts Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen were joined by Gary Kester of Silver Screen and Roll to debate Ball’s performance and share the rest of their Lakers summer league takeaways about Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, Thomas Bryant and more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been among the favorites to win Las Vegas Summer League the last several years, but fell flat out of the gate two years ago before falling apart late last season. Will this be the year the time the team actually gets it done? To discuss what we should look for from the team, host Harrison Faigen brought in Silver Screen and Roll Editor-in-Chief Drew Garrison to discuss what they expect from Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac and the rest of the roster. Plus, bold summer league predictions and more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had the opposite of a busy offseason so far. The team has mostly sat back and contented itself to offer just one-year deals. But with George Hill signing with the Sacramento Kings, the market is quickly drying up and the Lakers’ leftover options are starting to look a lot less desirable. To get into those options, host Harrison Faigen was joined by Lakers Outsiders editor and friend of the show Jacob Rude. The two debated the merits of players like Dion Waiters and Rajon Rondo before guessing which former acquaintances of Rondo would be the best and worst for him to put on his Lakers job application. Finally, with Nick Young likely on the way out the door, the two shared their favorite Swaggy moments for Wayback Wednesday on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in an all-too-familiar spot: As free agents sign elsewhere, they are stuck sitting on their hands on the off chance that maybe, a year from now, some superstar might be coming.  Others have pointed this out, obviously, but it’s worth repeating: However much the person making the decisions is liked (especially compared to their predecessor), that doesn’t change the fact that Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are repeating the exact same process that had so many frustrated with Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak. Also of note is how many of those who have been connected to the Lakers since free agency started have ties either to Rob Pelinka’s days as an agent or have recently played for the Lakers. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin discussed their thoughts on Rajon Rondo, Dion Waiters and more players that have met with the Lakers. Then, Fred Katz of Locked on Thunder joined to take us through the Paul George trade and how likely he might be to re-sign in OKC long-term.

The Los Angeles Lakers have made one thing eminently clear with their words and actions since the season ended: they want a big overhaul, and they want it to happen in 2018. That goal leaves the team looking to keep its cap clear in 2017, which puts the team in interesting spot entering free agency. How can the Lakers acquire talent to fit their needs without cutting into their “sacred” cap space? To answer that question and plenty more listener queries, host Harrison Faigen was joined by Silver Screen and Roll Editor-in-Chief and “Main Brook Lopez Stan” Drew Garrison. The two talked about potential under-the-radar options for the Lakers in free agency, whether or not the team should or will offer big one-year deals, and much more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

Rumors continue to swirl around the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George, who is now reportedly attempting to get LeBron James and Klay Thompson to join him in purple and gold, all while the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers plot to swipe him in a trade. All of the new rumors gave host Harrison Faigen and Silver Screen and Roll’s own Gary Kester a ton to discuss (Anthony Irwin was once again a DNP-OLD). Do the other teams creating a feeding frenzy make it more necessary for the Lakers to offer up more assets for George? Harrison and Gary debated that question as well as whether or not Larry Nance, Jr.’s Dunk of the Year loss was the biggest snub of the year and their favorite Marcelo Huertas memories on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

All of the upheaval and rumors over the last week regarding rumors over potential trades for Paul George and the actual trade of D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets have distracted from potentially the biggest thing to happen to the Los Angeles Lakers in a long time. Lonzo Ball has officially joined the team, and he’s going to be really, really good. After releasing his first video in two years, NBA 2K community manager, Lakers hype-video master and purple and gold superfan Chris Manning (@LD2K on Twitter) joined Locked on Lakers to chat about why he’s so excited about Lonzo Ball, and why the rest of Lakers fans should be too. He and host Harrison Faigen (Anthony Irwin sat this one out) discussed what makes Ball so special, the transformative effect he could have on the Lakers’ style of play and culture, as well as offering their thoughts on the Russell trade and the newest scuttlebutt about George potentially heading to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

Heading into the NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers basically had to take care of two things: draft Lonzo Ball and trade for Paul George. The first was probably more important as it wouldn’t require giving up anything, but not accomplishing the second tasks certainly added to the leftover pain from trading away D’Angelo Russell. Can’t wait to watch Cap Space help spread the floor next year. To analyze the draft, we got together with Laker Film Room’s Pete Zayas, Forum Blue & Gold’s Darius Soriano and Silver Screen & Roll’s Ben Rosales. We covered the various narratives that came out of Thursday’s draft, such as how not having Russell in the backcourt affects Ball, Rob Pelinka’s interesting press conference, whether we think George might be on his way, whether or not some of us have lost faith in the front office and more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers (apologies for the audio quality being a bit rougher than normal).

It is with heavy hearts that we must announce Harrison Faigen has been traded to the Locked on Nets podcast in order to shed some salary. His time with the podcast has been great, but in the end, we want the cap space to sign Bill Simmons in the event he becomes a free agent again. The Los Angeles Lakers essentially made this exact gamble Tuesday afternoon when they dealt D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets along with Timofey Mozgov’s contract in the hopes of clearing enough cap space to maybe have a chance at LeBron James a full year from now. Suffice it to say Ben Rosales and Tom Fehr of Silver Screen and Roll (who joined me on the show in Harrison’s stead) were not thrilled with the trade, and it wasn’t exactly like I was there to defend it much, either. We go through its ramifications both immediate and down the line, as well as what insight this might give about the new front office’s intentions moving forward. Let’s just say this is quite the gamble, and it isn’t necessarily crystal clear the payoff is worthwhile.