The LA Lakers are a failed experiment
The LA Lakers are a failed experiment
In the summer, when LeBron James chose to come to the Lakers, everybody around the league went crazy, as they saw in him the savior of this franchise. However, as we know by now, basketball is a team sport where a player can not do everything. This is why it was necessary to add some quality players on the roster in order to instill a winning culture.
It didn’t happen this way, as Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka decided to try an experiment and sign some controversed veterans such as Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, and Lance Stephenson. Don’t get me wrong, all these guys have a lot of talent and can be very useful. I mean, Rondo and McGee are NBA champions, while Stephenson has been into the Eastern Conference Finals. The problem is that they have an interesting character and they are all very different from the others.
So, this was the first signal alert about the Lakers potential failure. Then, this team didn’t manage to land another superstar, but let’s say that for the moment it is acceptable. However, Magic and Rob didn’t even get some great shooters, which is one of the first things to do when you have a player like LeBron James on the roster. They justified themselves saying that Lance, Rondo, and the young guys can shoot, which clearly isn’t the case, as we’ve seen until now.
In my opinion, Magic tried to do a different thing. He tried to imitate the Bad Boys Pistons. He was so sure of LeBron James’ qualities that he thought it will be easy to get to the playoffs. And then he tried to build a team capable of beating the mighty Golden State Warriors. We’ve seen some examples in the preseason and on the Christmas Day when the Lakers managed to destroy the champions. Unfortunately, Magic and Rob didn’t consider the idea of LeBron James getting hurt.
That injury had such a huge effect on the Lakers that we can even argue that it destroyed the team. Then, this organization was bullied by the other small markets which released a lot of fake news about potential trades that really shook the young guys and the veterans also. So, when finally LeBron James returned from the injury he found himself between ashes. Now, they are losing against some of the worst teams in the league and in my opinion, this season is over. If the Lakers, somehow manage to get to the playoffs then I will be very amazed and I will accept to put James again in the GOAT conversation.
But until then, Magic and Rob should know that nothing is lost yet. LeBron James signed for four years so they still have time to build a great team and eventually get some rings. But they need to stop doing experiments and start analyzing the league in order to see how to win a game in the modern NBA. A great example is the Milwaukee Bucks, where Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player with a similar style to LeBron’s, is surrounded by great shooters. The result? The Milwaukee Bucks are on the first place in the Eastern Conference.
