Podcast: What does Trevor Ariza have left in the tank?

Trevor Ariza is making his long-awaited return to the Lakers. What can he offer coming off a hectic last couple seasons?

Trevor Ariza last played for the Los Angeles Lakers 13 years ago. At that time, he was a springy wing defender with an inconsistent jumper who almost immediately became one of the most popular role players in franchise history. This week on “I Love Basketball,” Sabreena Merchant and I give our thoughts on what he brings to the table all these years later.

While Ariza clearly isn’t going to have anywhere near the same levels of athleticism that he legitimately swung playoff series with back in 2008 and ‘09, it’s no coincidence teams have been heavily in pursuit of him en route to postseason runs every year since his departure.

Given the role he’s going to be filling on this Lakers team and the athleticism that will be surrounding him on the court, both Sabreena and I are optimistic of how Ariza’s return will play out.

What does get somewhat tricky is figuring out what that role might actually be. Suffice it to say that things fall into place a lot more easily with Anthony Davis playing more center. Shocking, coming from me, I know.

Then, in the second half of the show, Sabreena and I have some fun comparing people from the Lakers organization to characters from “Succession,” seeing as both new seasons are returning days apart from each other. This is the perfect time of year to have a little fun and, if you’re a fan of that show, I think you’ll love that segment.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.