On this episode of the Basketball Reasons podcast, Charles Diamond delves into the story of Trevor Ariza leaving his hometown Los Angeles Lakers to join the Houston Rockets in 2009, and the circumstances that led to the Lakers filling his void with Ron Artest a.k.a. Metta World Peace. After a musical interlude, Raj of Unwritten Rules joins the pod to help digest the Lakers' most recent win against the OKC Thunder, and look forward to Saturday night's national TV matchup against the Rockets.Raj on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwrittenRul3sSoHHL by KONS: https://soundcloud.com/kxns/sohhl-feat-yung-eze-prod-kons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WE BACK! 2019 brings new beginnings, including a brand new season of your favorite Lakers storytelling podcast, Basketball Reasons. Charles Diamond brings back season 1 guest and #KnicksTwitter celeb Sam Rodriguez (19:18) to compare the current situations of the Knicks and Lakers, and to also preview the upcoming matchup between the two teams. But first, Charles takes Basketball Reasons back to its roots (2:51) to discuss former Laker point guard Norm Nixon, including his pre-Showtime Laker tenure, as well as his role in one of the rarest oddities in the NBA: a protested game.Musical Interlude (18:37): "Gray" off the album Earth Tones Vol. 1 by pres.Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/prestxn/gray Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In signing LeBron James to a four-year contract, Magic Johnson has validated all of the hope, faith, and expectations placed at his feet by Lakers fans who were hoping the Johnson could once again bring Showtime to the Lakers, even from an office overlooking the court rather than sprinting up and down it. So this episode, we took a look back at the first instance of the Lakers putting their future into Earvin's hands; specifically, we examine from a historical perspective Dr. Jerry Buss offering Magic a lifetime contract. We discuss Buss's motivations, Magic's motivations, and a brief rant or two. Hope you enjoy this short episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Lakers refuse to trade their young core for a star for the second consecutive NBA off-season, Basketball Reasons takes a look back at a few previous instances of the Lakers acquiring big-name star players in trades, going from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and culminating in the possibly franchise-altering moment when Los Angeles refused to trade Kobe Bryant to the Chicago Bulls for Scottie Pippen. Before that, though, Charles Diamond gives some brief thoughts on NBA Twitter's response to the LeBron James to the Lakers move and ends with some perspective on the Kawhi-DeRozan trade that shocked the NBA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Basketball Reasons is back with part two of our NBA Draft Banter show featuring college basketball mastermind Adam Richardson. In this second segment of the NBA Draft podcast, Ric and Adam finally review the Los Angeles Lakers' draft picks in the 2018 NBA Draft: Moritz Wagner, Issac Bonga, and Svi Mykailiuk. Adam discusses why he thinks the Lake Show reached with Wagner and missed on Mykailiuk, while Ric, like the loyal Lakers fan he is, defends the picks and forecasts the Lakers roster circa mid-July. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

College basketball aficianado Adam Richardson joins the podcast for a special two-part episode, where he and Ric aimed to review the Los Angeles Lakers 2018 draft yet somehow didn't discuss it until they recorded an hour's worth of material. In this first hour, they connect DeAndre Jordan's year at Texas A&M, the failed Steve Nash trade, and Jrue Holiday's marriage to the much anticipated NBA Draft, and Adam even manages to fit some great analysis into Ric's tangents.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How exactly did Shaq decide on joining the Lakers? Was it always his number one choice, or did the Orlando Magic basically buy his plane ticket to LAX? Charles Diamond recounts the tale of Shaquille O'Neal's 1996 free agency, a story told originally by Joel Corry of CBS Sports, who was an assistant to Shaq's then agent Leonard Armato. This is a textbook case of how NOT to treat your star player-turned free agent, and a pivot point not only in NBA free agency history, but also Los Angeles Lakers history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Diamond ventures out by his lonesome for this episode that gets back Basketball Reasons' storytelling roots. On episode four, we examine Kobe Bryant's 1996 claim that he would eventually become the Will Smith of the NBA. We attempt to answer Kanye West's age old question of "What the f*** does that mean Kobe Bryant?" and take a look at their careers to determine if Kobe in fact made true on his promise. A shorter, more light-hearted Basketball Reasons episode to get us back in the swing of things, so we hope you enjoy it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Diamond welcomes Samantha Rodriguez a.k.a. FroMagnum to the pod to re-visit the 2015 NBA Draft and pontificate on why the Lakers passed on Kristaps Porzingis. They discuss whether DLo would have stayed Me7o on the Knicks and if the Unicorn would have survived Byron Scott's foxhole. This easy-going pod is a loose and relaxed listen, either due to the chemistry between Ric and Sam or the D'Usse that was flowing. You be the judge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ric welcomes Oklahoma City Thunder fan and Hoops Head Podcast host Abou Kamara, a.k.a. Hoops to the show to discuss whether or not Paul George wants to play for the Lakers. Ric makes the case for leaving, Hoops makes the case for staying, and the two end on a more harmonious note discussing potential trade packages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the inaugural edition of the Basketball Reasons podcast, Ric Lampkins a.k.a. Charles Diamond welcomes Chris Paul fan Omar Kamara to the mic to break down the namesake event of the pod, the failed Chris Paul to the Lakers trade. Omar gives his perspective on whether David Stern best served the league, Ric waxes poetic about where Stern went wrong throughout the process, and the two discussed the altered legacies of the players involved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.