Los Angeles expects a lot from its sports teams. The city demands winners.
That’s a huge reason why the Lakers are so popular in Los Angeles. They win.
Watching the Lakers in the years following Kobe’s retirement was difficult at times. Laker fans are not used to prolonged losing.
That is why the Lakers had to make a difficult decision. Rebuild with their young core? Or go all-in with superstars?
They choose the superstars.
It got them their 17th championship, but it also got them bounced in the first round.
Was it worth it?
The Laker’s Season
The season did not end the way anyone expected. The defending champs rarely get knocked out this early.
Many feel that it was simply the product of being tired and injured rather than something more significant.
“The one thing that bothers me more than anything is we never really got an opportunity to see our full team at full strength. Either because of injury or COVID or something going on with our ballclub this year, we could never fully get into a rhythm and never really see the full potential of what we could be capable of.”-Lebron James
Anthony Davis agrees.
“We didn’t get a (full) summer, and it messed up the routines where you’re trying to recover from a season and get ready for a season. It’s all around the league, but now we have an opportunity as the Lakers to take advantage of this longer offseason and get our bodies healed.”-Anthony Davis
To be fair, the Lakers looked great before Anthony Davis got hurt. They were 21–6 at the time.
Lebron missed 26 games this season, and Anthony Davis missed 30.
In total, the Lakers missed a combined 163 games due to injury. This lead to them fielding 25 different starting lineups.
All that left the lakers with a 42–30 record. That was good for the 7th seed (after the play-in tournament) and a first-round loss.
What The Lakers Gave up to Get Here
The Lakers gave up a promising young core to build their current team.
They elected to go the top-heavy route rather than build around some great young pieces.
Jordan Clarkson
Jordan Clarkson showed a lot of promise when he was with the Lakers. A lot of fans thought he could develop into a 6th man of the year. They were right.
Julius Randle
There was a time when people thought Randle might be the next great Laker. After his breakout all-star season, lots of people are wondering what could have been.
Brandon Ingram
He averaged a career-high 23.8 ppg in each of his first two years away from the Lakers. The scary part is that he doesn’t seem to have maximized his potential yet.
D'Angelo Russell
Consistency is an issue with Russell. But, he is a former all-star which shows his tremendous upside.
Lonzo Ball
Ball is still a work in progress, but his improved 3 point shooting is promising.
Where do They go Next?
The Laker's next step is simple, stay the course.
They couldn’t turn back the clock if they wanted to anyway. They can only go all-in with this top-heavy roster and hope to win one or two more championships before Lebron retires.
The Laker’s coach Frank Vogel believes they can win without any big roster moves.
“We believe in the group that we have. And if we have the core of Anthony Davis and LeBron James healthy, we’ll build the right supporting cast around those guys, and we’ll have a chance to compete for a championship again next year.”-Frank Vogel
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to say if the Lakers made the right move giving up on their young core.
On the one hand, they got a championship out of it.
On the other hand, their current roster only works if they can avoid injury.
Regardless of how this season ended, Los Angeles is still a great basketball city.
And the Lakers will be competitive again soon, assuming they can stay healthy.