Lakers Lounge

Anthony and Raj recap a game three thriller between the Spurs and Knicks. Anthony can't hold back from laughing at a certain someone ruining the Knicks' vibes.

As much as we'd like for the Lakers to be able to play a certain way or for the roster to sit at a certain caliber next season, Anthony thinks the real lesson from these playoffs is how critical organizational culture is. Raj agrees.

If a team is going to reach the heights of those franchises still in real pursuit of a championship, they'll need to develop talent and keep them longer term than the Lakers have.

Anthony and Raj wrap up their conversation with a Q&A with the audience, which included a question about the relationship they'd like to see between the Lakers and their superstar.

This is a loaded episode, which features a discussion about Austin Reaves' contract and the complications it comes with. From there, they get into some new reporting on LeBron's contract and potential destination -- which leads to one of the more fiery debated Pete and Anthony have had in a little while. Anthony offers Pete his thinking on Myles Turner, then they answer some quick questions from the audience.

Anthony and Pete react to reports that Austin wants his full max salary slot for next season, first by saying, well, don't we all, but then also running through all the ripple effects of this information.

Anthony and Pete rarely disagree to the extent they do in this episode (which also extends into part three).

Anthony spent all last show trying to convince himself about Myles Turner, so now he spends a little while doing the same to Pete. They're still friends!

Anthony has watched enough of these playoffs to come to the realization that the Lakers are going to need to be able to play five-out next year. If they're going to do that, there really aren't many centers on the market with the skillset they'd need. So... sigh...

Myles Turner!

No please, come back.

The west is filled to the brim with incredible talent at the center position, both offensively and defensively. Anthony has always felt they need to focus on that spot, but now feels a specific player type is going to be necessary if the Lakers are going to keep up in that positional arms race.