By Byler Henry
One of the most historic and prestigious franchises in the NBA has gone from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley. Even when they had down years before, you knew they were rebuilding to come back stronger and win it all. With 17 titles under their belt (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954,1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020) how did a storied franchise turn into a joke from 2018 until this year? I have an educated guess and all I am saying is he wears the number 23 (LeBron James).
Ever since he became Lakers, management has made some good decisions but also some bad ones. Back in 2018 when the Lakers first signed LeBron, the roster was full of young talent which could’ve been a good team if given time to gel, but when you have veteran LeBron on your team he doesn’t have time for younger talent to develop so all the talented young pieces were traded away for other vets. This move wasn’t a complete waste; they ended up getting Anthony Davis in 2019, winning the championship that same year. This tactic for LeBron is nothing ne as he did the same thing in Cleveland, trading some young developing pieces for veterans.
I believe one of the main reasons that Lakers are in disarray is because of LeBron constantly needing a scapegoat and a revolving door of head coaches. LeBron changes Head Coaches like people change clothes. In his seven years in L.A. the Lakers are on their fourth head coach. Darvin Ham was showing promise, but after two years he was fired and replaced by current head coach JJ Redick. His first year coaching the Lakers Darvin Ham went 43-39, won the in season tournament and made it to the Western Conference Finals, losing to and being swept by the Nuggets. The next year the Lakers improved in wins going 47-35, losing in the first round of the playoffs. Many coaches have had hiccups in the beginning, but Darvin wasn’t given a chance to learn and grow from his hiccups. Current coach JJ has not been an improvement over Darvin. Just knowing X’s and O’s does not always make you a great coach. JJ has had no coaching experience even at the collegiate level. He played 15 years in the league, but he hasn’t even been an assistant coach. Also, JJ can be arrogant! He seems to think he is the smartest guy in the room. He is learning the hard way that coaching is easier when you are not on the court. When you’re arrogant you better back it up and produce results.
All in all, it seems that the Lakers problems are not only on 23, but also management for not knowing when to not make certain decisions the “star” player wants to make. I hope to see things turn around for the better and get back to championship glory.
