LeBron James exercised his option to stay with the Lakers but is there more than meets the eye in LA? Bill Simmons and Kendrick Perkins got into it on social media. How did this fare on our beef meter? Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including Malik Beasley's gambling investigation, on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.

Time Stamps:

-3:30: ESPN NBA broadcast booth staying the same?

-11:03: Stephen A. Smith being totally gone from NBA postseason coverage?

-16:20: “Inside the NBA” will salvage ESPN’s NBA coverage?

-20:37: ESPN bringing back Finals features satisfying NBA fans?

-26:21: The NBA is happy about this Finals?

-32:04: Does it matter that NBA news breaks during Finals?

-36:15: Podcasts becoming a replacement for traditional NBA coverage?

-39:43: Amazon and NBC will make ESPN’s NBA coverage better?

-43:26: Hot mics

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