Do the Los Angeles Lakers regret signing LeBron James? They should
The Los Angeles Lakers performance this past season left many critics wondering what exactly went wrong.
As a LeBron James fan, watching the Lakers struggle this season is disheartening for me. And it is even more disheartening to watch LeBron James struggle.
LeBron not making the playoffs is bad for the NBA and it reduces the excitement of the playoffs. Arguably the three best players (Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and LeBron) in the NBA are not currently playing in the playoffs – though, Durant will hopefully return for the NBA Finals.
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However, this year’s playoffs has still proven to be exciting. So, what could the Lakers have done differently to make the playoffs? What if the Lakers had not signed LeBron James? Should they regret it?
Signing LeBron and other veteran players in the 2018 offseason has undoubtedly changed the Lakers’ roster. It seems like the Lakers changed their entire roster and strategy to acquire LeBron, and to a certain point Lonzo Ball. And rightfully so. Any team would.
If the Lakers had not selected Ball in the 2017 NBA Draft they could have drafted De’Aaron Fox or Jayson Tatum. Also, they could have kept D’Angelo Russell at the point guard position. There is no denying the type of player that Russell has developed into this season.
He is coming off an all-star appearance and a career year in which he averaged 21 points and seven assists per game this season.
Meanwhile, Ball is coming off a season in which he averaged 10 points and five assists. While some analysts may argue that the Lakers had to get rid of TimothyMozgov’ss contract, the Lakers would have been better off keeping Russell and Mosgov for an extra $14 million than drafting Ball.
Last season, the Lakers also traded away Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. for Channing Frye and Isaiah Thomas. Additionally, the Lakers let go of Julius Randle who had somehow of a breakout season with the Pelicans this season, averaging 21 points and nine rebounds per game.
Brook Lopez was also not re-signed and is now a starter for arguably the hottest team (Bucks) in the NBA.
It could be argued that most of these aforementioned decisions were made because the Lakers wanted LeBron James and Lonzo Ball on their roster.
If the Lakers had kept their team from last year and signed LeBron James, this summer’s free agency they would have a roster that consisted of a more developed Julius Randle, Brook Lopez, Josh Hart, Zubac, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. And this does not take into account that the Lakers traded away Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. midseason.
Perhaps not signing LeBron would’ve given this team a better shot at George, but that could be debated.
It seems that the pursuit of LeBron James and Lonzo Ball to bring showtime back to the Los Angeles Lakers has failed the team, and set them back even further.
And now with LeBron on the Lakers’ roster, it will undoubtedly deter other free agents like Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant this summer.
But this is a two-way street. You can also make the argument that LeBron would’ve been better off not signing with the Lakers last summer.
Most great players retire when they are close to LeBron’s age. Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls the final time at 34 years old. Bill Russell retired when was 34 years old. Most players LeBron’s age do not take on the task of rebuilding a broken and lost franchise.
Signing with the Philadelphia 76ers or re-signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers seem like better options in retrospect.
However, talent is not the issue for the Lakers franchise at the moment. The Lakers have too many parts and, to make matters worse, parts that don’t exactly fit together. Could they fix it all this offseason? It remains to be seen.
The Los Angeles Lakers signing LeBron James and drafting Lonzo Ball may have been more about business and less about winning championships. From a business perspective for the Los Angeles, drafting Lonzo Ball and signing LeBron James may have been a safe bet.
From a basketball perspective, this does not appear to be the case. To some extent, it did increase the Lakers’ relevancy in the NBA. However, what the Lakers failed to realize is that relevance doesn’t always lead to winning in the playoffs.