The aftermath of the Lakers’ disastrous season has so far resembled more or less what the team looked like on the court: a mess. From the mishandling of Frank Vogel’s firing (leaking the news before telling him) to the anonymous reports playing the blame game, nobody in Los Angeles is coming anywhere close to a sense of accountability for what was one of the most incredibly disappointing seasons in recent NBA history. With LeBron James—still the most important figure in the franchise—approaching his 20th season, he and the Lakers can’t afford to mess up another summer. That means both sides need to stop wasting the other’s time.
Let’s start here: Even with another championship banner added to the rafters, James’s Lakers tenure has leaned more toward disappointment than success. Compare James’s first four years in L.A. to his four-year run in Miami, his second stint in Cleveland or even his final four seasons during his first Cavs term, and the Lakers experiment has arguably (I said arguably!) been the worst one. James made the Finals every year in Miami and during his second Cleveland stint. From 2007 to ’10 he played in one Finals, a conference finals and the second round twice—the latter three times losing to the team that would represent the East in the championship round. In L.A., James has failed to make the playoffs twice, and when he did, the Lakers made it out of the first round only once.
When you have James on your team, the goal isn’t to win only one ring. Sure, the expectation of winning literally every year is also unrealistic. But it’s definitively not too much to ask—based on James’s own standards—for him to at the very least be playing for a legitimate contender every season.
James and the Lakers were a very sensible marriage on paper. James was the superstar the franchise desperately needed after a mostly lost decade in the wake of the 2010 Finals. Meanwhile, James headed to a new team that once again offered him flexibility to recruit other stars to join him, a task much more difficult when he was in Cleveland. And yet neither side has been able to fully capitalize on the benefits the other offers.
The Lakers’ front office deserves credit for acquiring Anthony Davis, a move that directly led to a title. They’ve also missed on too many moves. The Lakers with James should be having their pick of ring-hungry vets who can make an impact on a good team. His best lineups over the course of his career have almost always included 3-and-D types who can give him space to operate. Instead, the Lakers have often skewed too old or too heavily in the direction of non-shooters. And that’s even before we get to the Russell Westbrook trade, not re-signing Alex Caruso, initially not hiring Ty Lue or the organization’s fascination with centers with AD right there. As much pressure as James puts on a front office, the recipe for the type of team to put around him is not like the formula for Coca-Cola. It’s obvious what works, and even when the Lakers had something good, they went away from it.
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James is not blameless, though. He played a heavy role in bringing Westbrook to the team, a baffling miscalculation that has severely handicapped this stage of his career. James’s motives every time he switched teams contained multitudes, but largely, his free agency decisions also gave him an incredible chance to win. Teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh was a no-brainer. Ditching a declining Wade for Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love was shrewd. Based on the best versions of his championship runs, it’s hard to decipher why Westbrook made sense to James. And with Los Angeles such an attractive market to so many players around the league, how do you zero in on someone whose fit is murky at best? What if James had demanded Caruso come back? What if he went after Patty Mills as hard as he did Westbrook?
Even with a championship in hand, this hardly feels like the best James and the Lakers can do together. Neither side has held up their end of the bargain when it comes to building something sustainable. And with how effective James remains on the court, it’s frankly inexcusable for this team to be so far lost in the wilderness.
There’s still hope for the Lakers. The last offseason James and Davis had a full summer to get their bodies right, they led the team to the best record in the West and an NBA title. Of course, that was the same summer the front office traded for Davis. If history is going to repeat itself, then James and the Lakers need to stop squandering the advantages at their disposal.
