Jul 24, 2014; El Segundo, CA, USA; A reflection of todays
Its become a cottage industry for NBA writers to lament the downfall of the Los Angeles Lakers, as if 3 playoff appearances in 4 seasons, post championship, are disastrous. Much of the spite is wishful thinking based in envy. The Lakers have simply won too much in recent history to be pitied.Championship teams get old, start to show slippage, and are often saddled with bad contracts which carry them inevitably back to the pack. All champions go through this. We tend to forget that the media darling San Antonio Spurs went 7 seasons between titles.
Within that context its important to look at the Lakers’ prospects going forward and be objective at what the future holds. While the team’s offseason acquisitions were solid, they aren’t the type of moves on paper that will change the perception of the Lakers trajectory. That is a mistake.
Both Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer come to Los Angeles as amongst the league’s most productive players at their respective positions despite limited playing time. The seemingly political circumstances behind the departures from their former team, has created a false narrative for each player. This is a proving year for so many Lakers, so much so that Coach Byron Scott may be able to meld that into an effective team.