REPORT: SSR to bench aging veteran in favor of rising, younger talent, unlike some teams

Unlike the Los Angeles Lakers, the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast Network has had an incredibly successful season. Also unlike the Lakers, SSR is capable of having success and wondering whether things can continue to improve. In that spirit, an aging veteran will be hitting the bench in favor of youth and promise, according to league sources.

Sources close to the situation say that, starting next week, Raj Chipalu (@UnwrittenRul3s) will be inserted into the starting lineup alongside Sabreena Merchant on “I Love Basketball,” as Anthony Irwin will start coming off the bench for a new Twitter Spaces-based Q & A show Tuesday mornings. Talk-O Tuesday will continue to run Tuesdays, in no small part to undo any damage Anthony did earlier that day.

“We just couldn’t continue to allow Anthony to lie to our audience on a weekly basis by asserting that he ‘loves basketball,’” multiple sources said, all at the same time, in multiple email threads.

“Have you seen his eurostep?” One source asked. “Honestly, we all get why he hates the sport based off of that alone.”

Chipalu, co-host of “The State of Basketball” podcast steps in to “I Love Basketball” with incredibly small shoes to fill and a hilariously low bar to clear. Per four entertainment sources, Merchant, the current host and only likable presence on the show, hadn’t gone so far as threaten to leave, but welcomes the change all the same.

SSR had attempted to trade Irwin outright, but his bloated salary was too much for other networks and team sites to even contemplate bringing on, per sources. So at least the Lakers can relate to that continuing conundrum.

Per a source, Chipalu is set to appear on “The Anthony Irwin Show” later this evening.

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.