NBA Free Agency: How tanking might be the best way to lure LeBron James
By David Early
Los Angeles Lakers
Years of Misery: 2014-2018
Wins: 27, 21, 17, 26, 34
Four Year Record Rank (2015-18): 30th, Dead Last
Ahhh yes the Jan Ulrich of tanking, often finishing just “behind” Lance Armstrong (Sixers). Hiding in the 76ers’ shadow, and picking almost as high in numerous drafts but avoiding much of the stigma, we have the Lakers.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne has masterfully covered the front office turmoil, sibling rivalry, owner heartbreak related to coaching decisions, and bad luck over the last few years. Injuries to Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant were crushing blows at the time, but much of the bad luck and dysfunction also clouded some of the more umm…serendipitous pivots they’d make along the way.
You probably recall the narratives that surrounded the Lakers over these years: they were no longer a destination for elite NBA talent and the Hollywood mystique had lost its luster. We were even force-fed foul tasting small-market aphorisms like “players are beginning to realize now they can be stars in any city” stuff.
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But let’s be real. People still like Los Angeles. The Lakers were a joke with no future, a fractured front office, a maxed-out aging Kobe, no analytics department, and all the elite free agents knew it. Oh, and the coach! They literally hired the coach, Byron Scott, who had “lead” the Cavs to three-straight top 4 picks! And he was even better at losing with LA! He resisted the 3-point revolution all the way to two consecutive top two picks. Over five consecutive seasons between Cleveland and L.A. Scott averaged 20.4 wins per year!
But here’s how hope returned: between all that and the fact that they would only retain draft picks if those picks were really, really good, he Lakers were “forced to rebuild the old-fashioned way.” Here is what Silver Screen and Roll said in 2015:
"“This has led to mediocre acquisitions and whether it was intentional or not, squads that were eminently capable of tanking….Somehow, not just in spite of their failings but rather because of their failings, the Lakers have succumbed to those soft terms we’re not used to seeing in LA.They’ve built through the draft and the young nucleus could very well be in place.”"
It wasn’t.
In fact, they’d be even worse over the next two seasons. Sure, they kept trying to land top free agents, but they also kept failing. And they kept pivoting the other direction. Can’t land Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James? Grab Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer! Can’t get a meeting with Kevin Durant or seduce LaMarcus Aldridge? Call Roy Hibbert!
It’s like trying your best to ask out the hottest girl in school to the prom, and then when she says no, you show up with…Roy Hibbert.
Some of the pivot signings they made were good values like Lou Williams, and some were awful like Timofey Mozgov or Luol Deng. But what many of the veterans signed by L.A. over this time ended up with in common, from good to bad, they were all too good to actually play much.
Healthy scratches like Lin, Boozer, Ed Davis, Jordan Hill, Lou Williams, Timofey Mosgov have been disappointed or frustrated and said so. And Williams even contends that he was eventually traded because he “refused to tank.” Without a pick this season, new coach Luke Walton is still prioritizing player development which may not be sitting too well with Brook Lopez.
But here they are. Finally, like Cleveland before them, fresh off being the worst team in the league over a four year stretch, they drafted very high. They’re equipped with some cap-space thanks to Magic Johnson, who said in 2014 “I hope they lose every game.”
It wasn’t long after that when he was hired as Team President and able to help with that exact goal. With promising young talent like Lonzo Ball (2nd pick), Brandon Ingram (2nd pick) and Kyle Kuzma (27th overall pick, acquired in a trade for 2nd overall pick, D’Angelo Russel) they are now prepared to offer max contracts to perhaps LeBron James and Paul George this July! And unlike the years when the Lakers had almost nothing to offer but a path to celebrity, now there is a path to victory.
Lessons for teams today: It doesn’t matter if your front office is in utter disarray, or you can’t lure top free agents. Just make sure your players are “eminently capable” of tanking, and healthy scratch or trade the ones who are not! The worse you are, the higher your picks. Do this for enough years in a row and even you may find some gems.
Oh, and don’t forget supplementing with some later picks too. You won’t get the chance to draft three-consecutive second overall picks and also offer two superstars max-contracts in the same summer while vying for an 8th seed, right? If the worst team in the league over the last four years can do it, so can you!