The Los Angeles Lakers were at their best before the season started – when on paper and according to the odds makers, they were considered among the favorites to win the NBA title.
Once the games started, the Lakers were average, and by the end of the season, they weren’t doing very well at all – a $150 million big-name roster and nothing to show for it.
The Lakers were eliminated from the post-season competition with Tuesday’s 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns, a fitting and disappointing result for the 2021-22 season.
A group of harmful factors unloads in a sea of trouble: injuries; bad list building, including trade with Russell Westbrook; inability to improve the list before the February trade deadline; A powerful and evolving western conference.
All this creates another problem: next season may be less promising than the current one.
The Lakers would end in a losing season, marking the seventh time in nine seasons they were below 0.500. During that time, the Lakers have had four coaches, and it could be a fifth if they decide to move on from Frank Vogel, who led the franchise to the title in 2020.
That tournament was significant, as the Lakers tied Boston with the most titles (17) in NBA history. There are teams that would like to win a title in the past four seasons, including teams that have not won a title or not a single title in five decades.
But the Lakers are not the most privileged. When they signed LeBron James four years ago and acquired Anthony Davis three years ago, they were expected to compete for multiple championships. And the Lakers only did it once. They missed the playoffs in James’ first season, won a title in the second Orlando bubble, lost in the first round last season and missed the post-season again in 2021-22.
No matter how this is framed from the Lakers’ perspective, more has been expected in the past four seasons.
The Lakers hurt, without a doubt. Davis missed 38 games, James 21, Kendrick Noone all season, Tallinn Horton Tucker 18, Trevor Ariza 30.
The healthy Davis and James certainly elevate the Lakers to the playoff team, but they aren’t sure that makes them a title contender. Durability is also an issue. Davis played half of Los Angeles’ games this season and half last season, and James has missed a third of potential games in the past two seasons.
If the problem persists, the menu changes will not be enough. The Lakers need healthy James and Davis to compete in the West.
And if James and Davis are healthy, they need a better slate. Westbrook’s trade, ominous and ill-advised, was a losing gamble. Westbrook didn’t have his best season and struggled to find a role that would allow him to thrive. His shooting ratios and turnover were similar to other seasons, and he wasn’t expected to match his scoring, rebounding, and assisting numbers on a team with James and Davis.
In 21 games, James and Davis Westbrook played together, the Lakers were only 11-10. Westbrook wasn’t a good fit. It was part of the problem, but it wasn’t the problem. The Lakers needed more players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Alex Caruso – specifically players they’d trade in for Westbrook or let them into free agency.
After acquiring Westbrook, the Lakers had no way to sign the kind of players who would provide the skill and depth needed to win in the West.
The Lakers did not do well from the start and had a winning record only several times during the season – from 6-5 to 8-6; 14-13 to 16-13 to 16-15; 20-19 to 21-19 to 21-20.
22-22 on January 17, the Lakers were never at 0.500 again, going 9-26 after Tuesday’s loss to The Sun.. Only the three-team win ratio was worse, and the Lakers were unable to make a result move before the February trading deadline.
Even in the All-Star break, Los Angeles was 27-31 and in ninth place — in position to lead the seventh seed, as well as 2½ games against Portland and 4½ ahead of New Orleans and San Antonio. When the Lakers needed to win games in late February, March, and April, they went 4-17. Only Portland’s win percentage was the worst, with San Antonio and New Orleans moving into contention to play.
The Lakers simply weren’t good enough – 23rd place offensively and defensively. The Lakers gave up a lot of points in the paint (27th in the league) and didn’t have enough outside shots. Owner Monk, perhaps the Lakers’ best free agent in 2021, hasn’t had enough depth, and his performances this season may have earned him an even better off-season deal with another team.
This season is over. What about next season? Doesn’t look promising.
In the short term, see what the Lakers do with Vogel. Sometimes, someone has to take the fall. With the menu’s limited flexibility, trying out a new sound isn’t unusual.
NBA draft? Well, there’s a tasty morsel here. If the Lakers pick falls between 1-10, it will go to New Orleans, a byproduct of the 2019 deal that sent Davis to the Lakers and Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart to the Pelicans.
Next, the responsibility falls to Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka. He designed this list, and it’s his job to improve it. It won’t be easy. The Lakers do not have a maximum salary cap space as long as Westbrook rejects player options over the $47 million he is owed in 2022-23. Between James, Westbrook and Davis, they gobble up $129.45 million next season, which is above the team’s expected $122 million salary cap.
They’ll need to build around the fringes excluding mid-tier taxpayers (expected $6.4 million for the season) and minimum veterans ($953,000 – $2.72 million). This is not a great way to rebuild a competitor. Their margin of error is narrow, and there is competition from better teams to sign the same players. If you’re a player looking for a title and want to sign at a discount, would you rather sign with the Phoenix or the Lakers? Nuggets or Lakers? Celtics or Lakers? Sixers or Lakers?
Trading with Westbrook is not impossible. Less than a year ago, The Wizards pulled it off, and they found a team desperate to make a move. It’s hard to imagine that same desperation in the off-season, especially at $47 million for 2022-23.
The Lakers could take the extreme option and try to trade Davis. This seems unlikely given James’ relationship with Davis, and that James and Davis are represented by the same agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
Any team with James and Davis provides a solid starting point even in a deep Western Conference that could do even better next season.
But Pelinka – if Lakers owner Jenny Boss decides to keep him in charge – needs to make quick fixes in a scenario where quick fixes seem unrealistic.
There is another wrinkle of the Lakers front desk machinations, and that’s the effect of former Lakers forward Kurt Rampes, who has an ambiguous nickname: Basketball Director. Rampes and his wife Linda, the team’s executive director of community relations and special events, are close to Boss. Their influence, and especially that of Kurt, is not to be underestimated when it comes to basketball matters.
The Lakers were adrift after the departure of Phil Jackson and amid Kobe Bryant’s final seasons. They rediscovered the magic with James and Davis in 2020, but this seems like an exception to the past decade of Lakers ball.
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