There’s rumblings of the Lakers prioritizing the 2026 offseason when they’ll have more flexibility. How does that affect this offseason? Would that make them out on Claxton, in on Gafford? Who else? Who do they target in 2026?

Anthony—great job as always. Can’t wait for the Great Western Forum! (Any trademark issues with that?). Anyway, since first round picks seem to be the best trade currency, I was wondering if you think the Lakers could get a 2026 first in a trade for Rui and/or That would avoid the Stepien Rule and enable us to trade 2 firsts to get a starter/potential All-Star. For example, if we had two trade able firsts, we could trade Dalton, Gabe and Maxi and those firsts for Goga and Anthony Black from the Magic. The Magic get offense, we get a center and a defensive guard/wing. And we’d still have Austin. Thoughts on the concept? Take care. Viva Exceptionalism

Off season thought here - If this years draft is as good as people are saying it is, do you think the lakers would use Dalton to get into the first round? Not sure how it would work but, Dalton to Brooklyn for picks 19 and 36 of this years draft. Brooklyn has 4 firsts and 1 second this year. Feels like they need to move some? Maybe he’s not worth that, but I like the idea of giving the lakers scouting team bites at the apple in a good draft. Thanks for the content, Anthony. Hope this off season is fruitful in news for you

Would you take Russ back on the Lakers at the minimum , what if he just replaced Shake Milton

1. How much of peak LeBron do we realistically have left maybe 50%? And if we ignore cap implications, would the Lakers actually be better off without him at this point purely from a basketball perspective? 2. What realistic trade opportunities did the Lakers miss out on because they were not fully committed to the LeBron-AD era? Was someone like Myles Turner ever truly on the table, and what other deals could’ve meaningfully changed the team’s direction?

Hi Anthony. Big fan of the show since the Russ trade when I was looking for Lakers content. Thanks for keeping it real even though sometimes I don’t want to hear it. I’m a big fan of AR and would hate to see him go but would the Lakers trade AR for Gafford and Max? I think it’s a win win for Lakers and Mavs.

Hey Anthony. Thanks for the show. Great stuff. I just wanted to ask. Had the Lakers traded for 2 seasons ago you think we could have still landed Luka? Obviously this is coulda, woulda, shoulda. But watching Myles these playoffs I’m disappointed once again in the organization.

Why do you ignore the Lakers' success against Denver, OKC, the Clippers, and Houston since the Doncic trade? Those teams don’t have enough big athletic defenders to cover LeBron, Luka and Reaves. And against the Warriors, Austin shredded their defense, so the outcome of that series would come down to how hot Golden State’s role players would shoot. (And I don’t think Green and Podziemski are going to make 10 of 14 3-pointers again.) Minnesota had a doomsday defense, plus size and rebounding, plus an athletic superstar in Ant, who could penetrate any defense. And without a center, the Lakers made Julius Randle look like a younger version of LeBron. The Lakers weren’t a championship-level squad because they had only one pitch and they faced the one batter who loved to hit fastballs. It’s that simple. If the Lakers were on the OKC side of the bracket, you would be gushing over their chances to beat Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals. And, if the Wolves made it, we would have the same disappointing results.

Hi Anthony - always appreciate your candor and willingness to give a voice to Lakers writers/analysts still working their way up the ladder. Just curious - have you heard anything about who the Lakers are targeting for Luka’s next running mate? Looking at the current assets the team has, it seems like rotational depth and size are the most viable path, but I am skeptical about their willingness to use that approach. Wondering if there are any early whispers about who they have in mind given their limited trade assets and LeBron’s shrinking window.

Hey Anthony. Love the show. Love that Raj and Harrison are still part on the team. Somehow, some way, you need to bring back Aaron. For depth, I’m hoping the Lakers consider a mass cut in April (Len, Shake and either Morris or Cam) for our 3 two-way players. Love the grit of Goodwin and Jemison, and while Koloko has been limited to the G league for game restrictions, he is really good. The two-ways are just better and would be a better break-in-case-of-emergency options. I’d lean on keeping Cam over Morris, just in case of a wing injury, but man, he is in JJ’s doghouse. Any idea what he did to not get ANY run even on garbage time? Keep up the energy my man

Could the lakers dump two mins, get under the apron, and then trade kleber and a swap for Rob Williams (cause they’d be able to take back 110% salary)?

‪Let’s get really spicy: are the lakers a better team in 2025 and beyond if the trade is Austin + Lebron instead? ‬ ‪Grateful for the trade and I understand it had to be done that way, but it’s fun to think about. ‬ Love the show keep it up.

His content is filled with lies. He doesn’t check his work. I feel like he just wants to stir angry responses based on lies.

Even if Bron finishes the year, because he has some in the tank with a player option…Kyrie-AD-Klay-Bron-Max and some role players

Sorry for the length feel free to paraphrase. With the trade deadline approaching I’ve been playing around with the trade machine. One thing I’ve noticed is we really aren’t that far from the 1st apron. We would need to shed just under $8mil in salary to drop below the first apron. Why would we do this? The buy out market is looking like it might have some absolute studs with players like Bruce Brown, Malcolm Brogdon, and Lonzo Ball all playing on tanking teams and with young players behind them in the rotation ready to soak up minutes. Trades are difficult in this transitional period from old to new CBAs which is why I see the likelihood of these guys with bloated contracts hitting the buyout market very high. Detroit lost Jaden Ivey to injury and has the cap space to absorb Gabe Vincent straight up in any trade. Gabe’s value is up this season and with Detroit making a push for the playoffs he could be seen as a valuable shorterm replacement. Using this principle in a trade for the Bucks Lopez or Indy’s Myles Turner when including Rui and either Wood or JHS, we can end up with a starting center, 2 extra roster spots, and enough cap space to drop us below the first apron which, in this situation, we would use to sign Bruce brown Brogdon and/or Lonzo. Ex Indy gets Rui, Malik Beasley, Lakers 29 Lotto protected FRP. Detroit gets Gabe and JHS 2 second rounders from LA and one from Indy. LAL gets Myles Turner Starters Bruce AR Bron AD Myles Bench (Brogdon or Lonzo) Max Vando DFS This would need to be executed knowing that Bruce or brogdon would be bought out and willing to sign with us but that plays into the time we need to see if Vando can handle a role on this team while we lead up to the trade deadline

It’s starting to feel like the best realistic outcome for the team is riding out LeBrons career and Jeanie selling majority ownership when his revenue stops coming in, allowing us to mercifully move on from Rob. Is there anything that can be done to pulls us out from this abyss? Love the pod, Anthony is a trusted source and has wonderful guests to balance out his depressing, yet truthful analysis

.New CBA is a blessing in disguise as it limits teams ability to charge a Lakers tax! Go figure.

Hi Anthony. When I was looking for a podcast to listen to someone who was honest about the state of the Lakers, I found Lakers Lounge. I typically like to stay in the background. Big fan of the show. I have some legitimate questions. I never knew the Lakers front office was Game of Thrones. I’m starting to wonder if it ego and hubris. I understand that LeBron wanted Russ but 80% of the roster construction issues are on Rob. What is it about this group that Rob Pelinka believes in that no one else wants? He dismantled the team that is now a blueprint for success for other teams. I still don’t understand why they couldn’t salary dump JHS and Max Lewis to keep Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince who both wanted to come back. At least they are rotation players. Alex Caruso said when he called back that Pelinka would not answer the phone. I’m sorry for the rant but I guess the real question I have is what would Kobe think about the job that Rob Pelinka has done/not done? If Kobe was alive would Pelinka still have his position? I really appreciate your refreshingly honest takes. Happy holidays.

I love listening to you frequently, but these commercials every 6 minutes are a pain, always while you’re talking. Any way to limit that, or do you have a paywall subscription plan? Just curious.

It took me a minute because I’m a longtime listener and I really wanted to hold out but compared to guys like Trevor Lane and the Kam bros you’re just a bit too whiney and negative about our team, front office, our stars, our young guys, our coach lol you don’t like anything and I’m realizing you’re just married to an old view of the team and haven’t embraced the new era we’re moving toward. I’m not the happiest either with some of the decisions that the FO has made but I don’t think I come off as gloomy and hater like as you do when I’m talking about the team with my other California natives. Good luck man! You should start covering the Clippers they could use you!

Hi Anthony, Great job with the podcast. It is pretty obvious that the Lakers are currently at a crossroads with the Lebron/AD era. It can go one of two different ways. The first is what Pelinka has done all summer, which is do nothing to change the roster. The reasons are plenty that you’ve covered. Ultimately, the Lakers in their current roster need upgrades at multiple positions: A big, a two-way wing and a two-way guard. Due to the Pelinka tax, I think the Lakers would need at a minimum of six first round draft picks to get those three types of players. They have the contracts to trade, but not the picks to attach to them. Right now, the Lakers have a 29 first and a 31 first available to trade. One immediate way to get more first round picks is to trade Reaves. You can probably get 2 firsts from him due to his under-valued contract and his production. However you would still be short and you’d have another hole to fill. A lot (all Lakers fans) have asked why haven’t they done anything and the truth of the matter is Pelinka can’t do anything. They simply don’t have enough assets to get the multiple players that are needed to fill the multiple holes. Trading 2 firsts to fix one of the three holes, will just leave the Lakers with two missing holes and no way to fix them. They’re a ship that’s sinking into mediocrity. The solution is apparent. The thing to do is to trade Anthony Davis. You’ve got Lebron James in his age 40 season still playing at an All-NBA level. Contrary to everyone’s opinion, he’s the franchise, not Anthony Davis. No matter how much people want to say it’s AD’s team. It’s not. It’s Lebron’s team. Just like it was Kobe’s team before him. The Lakers go as far as Lebron takes them. The trade is simple. Call up Golden State. Offer Anthony Davis for Steph Curry. You would need to add about $10 million in salary (Gabe Vincent) to make the money work and also trade one of the minimum guys (Reddish, would be my pick). No picks, no swaps. The trade is essentially Davis for Curry. Two All-NBA top 10 guys switching teams. We saw what Lebron and Curry did in the Olympics. Imagine that in a JJ Reddick motion 5-out offense. You couldn’t stop that pick and roll. Curry and Lebron are at a point where they need each other to win. Two lions in the winter who are stronger together than against each other. I know every Golden State fan is screaming the same thing: “Steph is a Warrior for life. He wants to say with one team.” Let me break something to you Warrior fans, everyone says things like that when you’re winning 4 titles in 12 seasons and you can get Kevin Durant during a cap spike year. Now, cut to your current situation, the Warriors didn’t make the playoffs last year. They made lateral moves and didn’t improve the roster. You’re really putting a lot of stock in Pods to be the next Klay. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a 2nd year player that showed flashes and not much more. Golden State is essentially in the same spot as last year (8-10 seed) in a much better, more stacked Western Conference. Everyone wants to be a Warrior for life when they’re winning. Talk to me when you’re not relevant, which the Warriors are very close to being this year. The reality is the Warriors would deep down probably agree to it. Let’s face it, they’ve had multiple chances to improve their team via trade this off-season. PG-13, Lauri, all trades that could’ve happened if they were willing to overpay. Guess what, you overpay when you have Steph Curry and you really believe you have a shot a championship. They didn’t and those players aren’t on the roster. The consensus is that the Warriors will trade for the next star. Guess what that… The next star is going to require 3-4 firsts, Pods, Kamenga, and filler. Just ask the Lakers; The price for AD was 3 firsts, multiple swaps, Ball, Ingram, Hart. It’s going to cost you and I don’t believe the Warriors want to spend that kind of capitol to give a soon to be 37 year old Curry another chance at the title. In this scenario, they get an All-NBA player to build around in Davis, who’s 5 years younger. The answer is Curry to the Lakers. Lebron gets a running mate in Curry and they open the championship window for at least three years. They still have multiple firsts they can trade to get another center (Myles Turner perhaps) who can help anchor the defense. It won’t be AD, but Curry even at this age is a better offensive player than Davis. Curry and Lebron can even elevate Reeves, Vando, Knecht and Rui. Now, if the answer from lakers fans is we would never trade a big for a guard. Let me take you back to the summer of 2011. Chris Paul to Lakers trade that was killed by David Stern and the NBA. That trade involved one of the best Laker bigs: Pau Gasol. The same Pau Gasol who was Kobe’s running mate, won 2 titles with the Lakers, made 3 NBA final appearances and was Kobe’s guy. If the lakers don’t do a Curry trade, this is what the future will entail: Lebron plays two more seasons, at best they get knocked out in the second round for the next two years. Lebron retires and the Lakers go big game hunting to get the next superstar. Only this time, every superstar looks at the roster and they see a now 34-year old Anthony Davis who is on the downslide, three firsts (because you know Pelinka ain’t trading those), Reaves, Bronny, Kenect, Rui, Vando and not much else. Good luck getting a superstar with that. Curry for Davis is the trade. It gives the Lakers a three year window, after which everyone retires and the Lakers have a completely clean slate and a bright future to get a couple of superstars. This is the way.

How is JJ going to manage the locker room ? Seems like past coaches lost the players during the season

LA Olympic Slam Dunk Contest 2028?

Really ruins the flow of your show.

The front office are giving out player options because of the year that Monk had. Lakers know people will go there to rehab their stock. If Reddish and Hayes would’ve popped last year we would’ve been praising Rob for negotiating another year of control. Let him cook

Draft day trade or trade before July 1 while salaries are same as 23 season. LA: DJM, DFS - NETS: DLo, Vincent, 17 - HAWKS: JHS, Schroeder, LA 29’, 2nds from Nets. This would serve as the base of a 3 way trade give or take draft capital and a few min contract players — not sure if possible, but would then try to dump Wood and/or another minimum guy (Reddish) in Utah, lift restrictions on the 27’ pick and send some additional seconds to them and try to get Kessler to round out the rotation.

This podcast hardly touches on the Lakers, except for Anthony’s relationship to them. I’ve never seen such a grotesque display of Main Character Syndrome. The narcissism is simply astonishing. I went to listen to this JJ episode with Harrison — 5 minutes in and it’s all about Anthony and his reporting. I’m so thankful for the transcript feature because I was able to scroll through and found that, still, 20 minutes in, and it was all “I, I, I,” and “me, me, me” with references to his being an insider and his time at an old job. NO SUBSTANTIVE LAKERS TALK. It’s embarrassing. And apparently this is always the case. Rename to Anthony Lounge or perhaps pivot to actually talking Lakers? Just a little advice.

Hands down my favorite Laker insider podcast! Anthony Irwin keeps it 1000% as a journalist & a true Laker fan. With all the Laker trade options (or lack there of) could you see the Lakers being forced to deal with Chicago in search of a bargain steal with their remaining assets? As recent reports indicate the Bulls being more open to attach a pick with Lavine to off load his contract. Could you see the Bulls/Lakers being interested in 2 (Laker) 1sts for Lavine+Caruso+Drummond? (For DLo, Rui, & Gabe or JHS)

Hey Anthony, An idea similar to Harrison’s “tank the play in to avoid the Nuggets.” It would benefit the Lakers for the Celtics to win #18 this year, as much as I’d hate it. The Lakers org is so unstable & mediocre that reportedly cheap Jeanie having a fire under her to catch the Celtics helps her stay motivated to keep trying to win titles and spend $. I’ve lived my whole life with the Celtics having more rings than the Lakers, yet enjoyed watching 6 Lakers titles and amazing fandom. What are your thoughts?

Considering the first years of the last 2 Lakers head coaching hires have led to a championship and a WCF appearance, do you feel LBJ and AD show up extra hard for whomever the new head coach is? (Coughs in JJ Reddick)

The Nuggets thought they were the 2015 warriors, and they were the 2021 Bucks all along! Go all in Lakers, eff them picks. Thanks Anthony!!!

What’s more likely to happen, the Clippers win a ring or Raj understands a movie reference? This is the burning question that needs answering.

Love the show, Anthony! I was wondering if is there a way where we can trade for Dejounte Murray & Alex Caruso. I think that solves our backcourt problems. imagine if we were able to keep Austin I doubt it tho. What's your opinion on Lavine & Caruso I know it will cost everybody but Vando, Bron & AD! Might have to trade Vando because DLo might walk

I’ve been following your podcasts since 2020 and I love your podcasts. I think it’s awesome how honest you are and share your emotions through your words well. The sarcastic Harrison, raj, and Aaron are all have different takes and I think it’s great getting different perspectives. Keep it going

Hi Anthony, I am glad that your passion has turned into a career that you are able to support your family. I really appreciate that you are now giving us the options to listen to the podcast in full or in parts. Is it possible to denote in the title which episodes are a breakdown of a larger pod? As much as I love your unique style/personality, I do prefer only listening once to the long form podcast. Also, what restrictions do you face as a Laker’s Insider? Is it similar to the restrictions on what can be said that Pete/Mike Trudell face on the Lakers Film Room podcast?

I enjoy this show. They consistently upload, share their opinion on games, etc Anthony’s rebranding as a “Laker Insider” can feel cringe for long time viewers that know him as a super fan. Especially because it’s so forward and consistently mentioned, like he has some contractural agreement to mention it on every show. He pushed some pretty poorly researched breaking news regarding injuries that almost immediately got debunked. I understand his employment probably stipulated this, and I’m not about to fault a dude for trying to get his money. But it does degrade the quality of the show, which in all other elements brand itself as a show from fans for fans.

I understand yours and Harrison’s take about tanking the 7-8 play in game but it’s good that the Lakers won it because you can see that AD’s back was still bothering him and he wasn’t himself mobility wise and them winning the game vs the Pels bought him extra days to rest up. He would’ve only had a couple days to heal up the back and then be playing on Friday. Same for LeBron, he was getting gassed midway through the 4th. Another reason why you want Denver early is that is when you’ll have both LBJ & AD rested and at their max and not beat up after going already a round or two.

Way to negative are you trying to get views from laker other haters

Can you explain to me what Darvin ham does that a three day old ham sandwich couldn’t do for this team? Also does cam reddish have the worst hands in nba history? He can’t hold the ball and is always fumbling passes.

*NBA Insider Ace-man

Been a follower of you for years, seems like you have been one of the few who always keep it real on the Lakers. My question is, am i wrong to not even be excited about big Lakers wins anymore. This whole era has been annoying lol and I just don't see a scenario where this FO puts the pieces around Bron and AD to compete.

Congrats on moving to a new platform. Quick question, what do you think of Rondo as a potential coach for the Lakers? Thanks Rehan

Hey Anthony! My name is Alex and I’ve been listening to your podcast for a while now and you and Aaron really are my favorite laker media out there. I love the banter and that you guys don’t take yourself so seriously. I work a pretty stressful job and it’s always a treat when I get to listen to you guys on the way to work or leaving work. I met Aaron at the Palm Springs game last night and he let me sport the championship ring. Thanks again for that! It made my night! To end on the mail bag question I saw a guy wearing a Westbrook jersey at that game last night. I think I almost vomit in my mouth. What former laker jerseys immediately get your respect and what would make you cringe? Thanks Anthony!

Awesome show

Hey Anthony, Been following you for years and wanted to say thanks! Been saving a question until I had a good one. Told my 9 year old son Jonathan today that playoff rotations are usual just 7-8 guys and he wants to know which team wins. Team 1: Magic, Luca, Kobe, KD, Lakers Lebron, AD, Shaq and Bill Russell or Team 2: Steph, West, Tatum, Cavs Lebron, Bird, Duncan, Kareem, and Wilt. I have no idea where to start lol please help. Thanks again! -Nabil (and Jonathan) from Guam

Love the pod, keep up the great work. Question for you, have you heard any whispers of the lakers making a trade before the season starts to fill the backup big/ possible starting center position? Trudell mentioned on a recent pod that it’s unlikely we can fill this role with the remaining min spot. Any ideas for trade targets, and who is even trade eligible on our roster given we resigned almost everyone this summer? Thanks!

Anthony is tremendous and love his infectious laugh! I’m thankful for the great Lakers information and perspectives all throughout the year. Thanks so much!

The Lizzo of Lakers twitter. Please never do the Mitch Kip Jak thing again

First off, I love the show and when the Vox layoffs happened, I kept telling my wife about your potential comeback updates because I was so excited for you to come back. Now for my question: what is one of your worst/ignorant takes that you can remember? For me it was when the Lakers got Nash and Dwight, and I thought we were gonna be dominant. Now I look back and see that we added old/injured stars with a coach that runs a system counterproductive to our best player’s strengths.

Hey Anthony, have a question regarding our starting and closing lineups. It’s widely believed that Rui will start after his playoffs and big contract however I still believe Vando should start. If Rui starts, I worry about having poor point of attack defense. I believe DLo, Reaves, Lebron, Vando, AD should start with Vincent, Reaves, Lebron, Rui, AD as closers. Also, dare I say Christie could make a run at the closing spot over Vincent?? This creates some balance and ensures the closing lineup consists of two way players. What’s your thoughts on our best starting and closing lineups? Thanks for all the hard work you put in!