Locked on Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs featured plenty of eye-popping (and bad) numbers, from Julius Randle’s shooting percentage to the Lakers posting more turnovers than assists on a day the silver and black put on a ball movement clinic. There were still a few small positives for anyone willing to squint though, and host Harrison Faigen was joined by Bryant Freese of Silver Screen and Roll to discuss Brandon Ingram’s new career-high, Jordan Clarkson’s new role, the greatness of Tyler Ennis, and much more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers did not trade for Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Paul George before the NBA trade deadline, despite numerous whispers and reports of his interest in a homecoming. Should the team have pushed harder, or put more assets on the table in an attempt to entice Indiana to make a deal? Or did the Lakers make the right decision in exercising patience with their young core, and possibly hoping to lure George in free agency, or deal for him this summer? Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin discussed all that and more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

With the trade deadline behind us and Magic Johnson squarely at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers, fans finally get a chance to catch their breath collectively. So, what better time to bring on friend of the show Chris McGee (or Geeter, as we’re all legally supposed to call him because Magic said so) of Spectrum SportsNet for a second time around to talk about everything that’s been going on. There is plenty to talk about. First, we get how he found out about the Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak and John Ireland firings — and how they affected the volleyball he was supposed to play with Luke Walton. Then, we got his thoughts on the move and what it might mean for the Lakers moving forward. Thursday was also trade deadline day, so we spoke to him about what trading Lou Williams means both for the team right now and what message it sends about the organization’s direction on the whole. The conversation then veers towards Walton’s coaching style, expectations for the season moving forward, and we send Marcelo Huertas off in style.

With Harrison catching a DNP-hoarse, I brought in Drew Garrison on today’s show, but whatever would we talk about? It was a perfectly quiet day for the Los Angeles Lakers, right? I guess we could start with Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss being shown the door in one of the more surprising moves in years. Or, if that wasn’t enough, the guy who will replace those two happens to have a statue out front of STAPLES Center. Oh, and the guy Magic Johnson has tabbed for Mitch’s old job happens to be Kobe Bryant’s old agent (and resident Rob Lowe lookalike) Rob Pelinka. Then, because a front office coup isn’t dramatic enough, Magic waited all of a couple hours before he made his first trade: Sending Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer and their first round pick in this June’s draft. Drew and I looked back on Jim and Mitch’s tenure, looked ahead to what this might mean both on and off the court and remind each other that without change, progress is impossible. Fun show today.

It seems like you can’t go a few hours without some new report about which Los Angeles Lakers might be on the move at this point and, with only a few days left before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, the rumors are probably only just getting started. So, with that to frame the conversation, Harrison and I spent a little while trying to figure out which kinds of the trades the Lakers should focus on. There are three types: “seller” trades, where the Lakers hope to help a playoff team in the short term and get some kind of long-term asset in return, “salary shedding” deals, in which an undesirable contract is attached to an asset to open up some financial flexibility and “buyer” trades, where the Lakers turn in some of their young assets for a known entity. Then, we react to the update that Magic Johnson and Jim Buss did not meet today, which is less than ideal.

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially viewed the frothy waters of the trade deadline, dipped their toes in a little bit, and said “thanks, but no thanks.” Reports surfaced Sunday night that the Lakers had reportedly engaged the Sacramento Kings in trade discussions involving perennially disgruntled big man DeMarcus Cousins, and passed on a potential deal for him when the Kings asked for rookie win Brandon Ingram as part of the package. Should the Lakers have made a move for Cousins before he was dealt to the Pelicans? Should Ingram really be untouchable? Host Harrison Faigen was joined by Gary Kester of Silver Screen and Roll to discuss all that, as well as the latest Lou Williams speculation and the shape of the earth on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

With Kobe Bryant retired, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have a participant in the actual All-Star game this weekend, but there are still a few members of the purple and gold involved in the festivities. Nick Young will be in the three-point contest, while D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram will suit up for the Rising Stars game. Host Harrison Faigen and guest Bryant Freese discussed what they’re most excited about for All-Star Weekend (hint, it’s the endless possibilities of what could happen with Young in the three-point contest). Before they got to that, Harrison and Bryant also discussed Anthony Davis shooting down those rumors about he and Russell Westbrook planning to team up in Los Angeles on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers essentially didn’t show up for their last game before the NBA All-Star break, but even their blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns has been less of a botched debacle so far than Magic Johnson’s publicity tour since re-joining the Lakers as an advisor to Jeanie Buss. After talking about the game and D’Angelo Russell’s minutes for a bit, Harrison and Anthony discussed what they think the problems have been with Johnson’s mixed messages and the timing of his whole whirlwind of media appearances on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

Superstar team-ups are going to be harder to manage than ever under the NBA’s newest Collective Bargaining Agreement, but reality didn’t get in the way of a Monday report that Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook could be eyeing the formation of a new dynamic duo on the Los Angeles Lakers in a few years. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin decided to discuss the rumors, as well as what the next ridiculous Lakers free agency rumor might be, on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers. Later in the show, the two broke down the conflicting comments from new Lakers advisor Magic Johnson, as well as whether the Lakers might actually sign Larry Sanders.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, there is only one question on everyone’s minds: will the Los Angeles Lakers make a move, or stand pat as they run out the clock on another lottery-bound season? Host Harrison Faigen was joined by Silver Screen and Roll’s own Bryant Freese to talk primarily about Lou Williams’ trade value and role with the Lakers, and whether or not the team should (or even could) move him. The two also discussed whether or not there are any other players that should be on the block and more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

Since the Los Angeles Lakers announced that Magic Johnson would return in an advisory role to the franchise he starred for as a player, reaction has been mixed (as the reaction to most things on the internet is). But what will Johnson’s tenure really bring for the Lakers? To figure it out, hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin were joined by Darius Soriano of Forum Blue and Gold to debate what they think could be the pros and cons of Johnson’s return (plus a little bit on D’Angelo Russell’s minutes) on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

Well, after demolishing the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers laid an absolute egg against the Detroit Pistons, losing 121-102. There wasn’t much to talk about the actual game, outside of D’Angelo Russell’s minutes, but we made do. Russell followed a 20-minute effort with a 23-minute game, which had other fans and I wondering what might be going on between him and head coach Luke Walton. Harrison was out tonight, so I brought Ben Rosales (also of Silver Screen & Roll) on to cover this and a couple other subjects. After discussing what might be going on with Russell, we spoke about what this trade deadline might look like now that Magic Johnson is in the fold. The Lakers should be sellers, but they haven’t done that historically and with Johnson now advising Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss, it’s pretty hard to figure out how they’ll handle the deadline. Still, we tried. Finally, as we got yet another report on the Buss family dynamic, Ben and I discussed what it might mean for the Lakers moving forward. For the first time really ever, it feels like the steady hand we’ve had at GM forever might not stick around.

Rumors surfaced on Tuesday that former Los Angeles Lakers player and executive Jerry West might be interested in making a return to the franchise he’s most closely associated with after spending the last several years as a consultant with the Golden State Warriors. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin were in unanimous agreement that the Lakers should bring back “the Logo,” but what type of role should/would he have? They discussed all that (plus D’Angelo Russell’s comments on his minutes and if the Lakers would have contended for the playoffs without injuries) on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton made a move many fans have been clamoring for since almost the start of the season in the team’s win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday: he started Brandon Ingram. The rookie also wasn’t the only new starter, as Tarik Black got the nod with the first five while Luol Deng was moved to the bench and Timofey Mozgov was moved to the DNP-CD column of the score sheet. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin shared their immediate thoughts on the new lineups (as well as D’Angelo Russell’s limited minutes and Deng and Mozgov’s reactions to being benched) on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly “open” to making a trade, but will they actually move guys? It’s arguably the biggest story as the February trade deadline draws closer. With the Cleveland Cavaliers possibly sniffing around Jose Calderon, hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin shared their thoughts on the possibility of the team making a move involving him (or Lou Williams, Timofey Mozgov, or one of the team’s young players) on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers. The two also discussed D’Angelo Russell’s improved play and increasing minutes, their all-time Lakers five-on-five football teams, and said a poignant goodbye to Paul Pierce on the day of his final game in Boston.