The Lesson the Lakers Must Learn From This Free Agency
There is no sugar coating how bad last week was for the Lakers. Whether any of the reports that claimed the Lakers completely blew their first meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge were true or not, at a certain point perception becomes reality. And this perception certainly falls in line with the numerous reports that have come out claiming the Lakers are behind the times and lacking in the analytics department when compared to other teams.
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But let’s get real for a second. If all Aldridge really cared about was basketball (as opposed to marketing, branding, location, etc.), which one can assume given the information that was leaked to the media, why on God’s green earth would he choose the Lakers over the Spurs? I mean, seriously, if Aldridge attended the Lakers meeting believing that they could provide an analytical presentation demonstrating how he would fit in on the current Lakers’ roster, the meeting was doomed to fail.
Indeed, the Lakers didn’t have a Tony Parker on their team last year. Or a Tim Duncan. Or a Kawhi Leonard. They had Jordan Clarkson. And that’s about it. So I would love for someone to explain to me how the Lakers could have given Aldridge the presentation he apparently desired, and got from the Spurs.
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Some might say, “well, why even take the meeting then ?” If you get a chance to meet with one of the top free agents, you take the meeting. And, at the very least, the Lakers should have learned a very important lesson from that meeting: The basketball talent currently on your team matters to free agents.
Sure, you can promise a free agent that you’re meeting with that you will make trades, sign other players, etc. But a bird in the hand is apparently worth two in the bush to some players, and Aldridge chose the Spurs because they simply had the best basketball talent on their roster when compared to the other teams vying for his services. So again, is it really that shocking that Aldridge chose the Spurs? Or that Greg Monroe chose the up and coming Milwaukee Bucks who are also loaded with talent?
So, going forward, how can the Lakers apply the lesson that they should have learned during their meeting with Aldridge? Simple. The Lakers must focus this next season on giving their young players the best opportunity to showcase their abilities and gel as teammates. And make no mistake, the Lakers are loaded with some very promising players.
Not only does Clarkson seem to be getting better by the day, but reports are already coming out about how great Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell are looking. And don’t sleep on Larry Nance, Jr. or Anthony Brown, who both may very easily establish themselves as key rotation players. And what about Robert Upshaw? If he keeps his head on straight (which is a HUGE if), then the Lakers may have swooped up a lottery level talent in the form of an undrafted free agent.
But regardless of how promising these players are, their potential must start to be realized on the court this season. Forget about wins and losses, the Lakers must put these young players in the best positions to develop and expand their game. Because those young players must be the selling points to future free agents.
So that means playing these young guys meaningful minutes. Letting them work through their growing pains. Drawing up plays for them. Even having them be the focal points of your offense at times.
And while all of the young guys should get their opportunities, the focus obviously should be on Clarkson, Russell, and Randle. These three guys will be the key in future free agent meetings for the Lakers, and the Lakers need to be able to present a body of work for these players during these meetings.
This means that the frustrating days of playing guys like Ronnie Price, Carlos Boozer, Wesley Johnson, or Jordan Hill meaningful minutes needs to come to an end. Maybe those guys played last season as part of a stealth tanking effort by the Lakers or maybe they played because Byron Scott is the kind of coach that simply can’t see the forest through the trees (I, unfortunately, am of the opinion that it was the latter). Regardless, the Lakers front office must mandate to Scott that the development of Clarkson, Randle and Russell is paramount next season. Period.
Because if it wasn’t clear before the meeting with Aldridge, the message should be loud and clear now: Top free agents care about the talent on the teams they are considering joining.
So the question now is, did the Lakers hear this deafening message? I certainly hope so.