The curious case of the Los Angeles Lakers
Digging into the curious case of the Los Angeles Lakers and their long road ahead
It’s been almost six weeks since the end of the 2018-19 NBA regular season drew to a close. That means it’s been six weeks since we have had a LeBron-less postseason. While there have been other big name stars who have captured our attention – including Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Damian Lillard – it has also been another playoff story without the Los Angeles Lakers contending for the Larry O’ Brien trophy.
This is the sixth consecutive season that the Lakers have missed the playoffs. Like many other NBA fans, the assumption was LeBron would lead the charge and bring Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and the rest of the young Lakers for the postseason party.
Instead, the whole plan backfired. LeBron sustained a groin injury, missing 17 games in which the Lakers limped through a 6-11 stretch without him.
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Then, rumors swirled about Pelicans star Anthony Davis joining the Lakers for several players on the Lakers’ roster. It not only fragmented the locker room, but it also damaged the team psyche, particularly those younger players who were being sent the message “we don’t need you!”
All this to say, the Lakers are a royal mess right now, and there aren’t any easy answers. From 2011-19, the Lakers’ head coaches have included Mike Brown, Mike D’Antoni, Byron Scott and Luke Walton. They had a combined won-loss record of 245-390 or a winning percentage of .386. Those numbers would improve slightly if you include the stint of Bernie Bickerstaff in 2012 who went 4-1 in his five games as an interim coach.
Only time will tell how their latest hire, Frank Vogel, will fair. One of the successful marks of the Lakers of the past was that they had great coaching, actually Hall of Fame coaching. Bill Sharman (1971-76), 246-164 over five seasons, 1972 Coach of the Year, one championship. Pat Riley (1981-1990), 533-194, over ten seasons, 1990 Coach of the Year, four championships. Phil Jackson (1999-2004, 2005-2011), 610-292, over 11 seasons, five championships, and all three of these men are enshrined in Springfield.
Perhaps the Lakers would be better served looking for a coach with a proven winning pedigree instead of posting their head coaching position on godaddy.com and settling for second rate leadership.
Another characteristic the Lakers had on their side was a connection to the past. The Lakers have 34 Hall of Famers who were connected to the franchise at one time or another in their basketball careers. These include recent stars like Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O’Neal, and Steve Nash. But consider, Magic Johnson, a “Laker lifer” recently resigned as president of basketball operations. Vlade Divac played eight seasons for Los Angeles is now serving as the general manager for the Sacramento Kings. Jerry West, “The Logo”, NBA champion (1972), NBA Finals MVP (1969), and a 14-time all-star is working across the hall for the Clippers.
The Clippers?!
Maybe the Lakers should at least think about bringing in Kobe Bryant in some sort of ambassador role before some other team offers him a boatload of money and snatches him up.
One other thing, perhaps it’s time for new ownership. When Dr. Jerry Buss owned the team from 1979 to 2013, Laker basketball was the model franchise of the NBA. It produced Showtime and the “Three-Peat”. All the major stars of the league wanted to play there, Shaq, Dwight Howard among others. Now, it’s a dumpster fire.
It looks like current owner Jeannie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka are in way over their heads trying to get it back to some form of respectability.
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Ms. Buss, maybe it’s time to sell. Perhaps this is where Kobe comes in and saves the day. But who’s kidding who? Nobody wants to buy this once proud franchise. It’s damaged goods, maybe even broken.
On second thought Ms. Buss, just put the franchise for sale on Craigslist, you just might get something for it.