Los Angeles Lakers Plight: How Did We Get Here?

The once-proud Lakers franchise has fallen on hard times. There are many theories on how the team reached this low point and fingers have been pointed in many different directions. The team has no assets to attract a trade, no emerging talent to interest free agents, and no future draft choices at the moment. How in the world did we get here? Let’s examine the popular theories to determine whether they are or are not valid.

1. David Stern

The truth is David Stern is the number one reason the Lakers are in their current position, and Lakers fans should never forget it. If not for the arrogant and pretentious Mr. Stern, Chris Paul would be wearing purple and gold and throwing lobs toDwight Howard, who would still be a Laker.

Further, Chris Paul would have attracted other top free agents. Not only did the Lakers lose Chris Paul, they lost Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol was never the same. There was no logical reason for David Stern to veto the trade, as it would have brought to New Orleans better players than those who ended up going there.

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Mr. Stern played politics, and the result was enormous damage to the Lakers franchise from which it will take years to recover, if the team ever fully recovers. Had I been in charge of the Lakers I would not have accepted the decision so meekly. Mr. Stern has gone on to a comfortable retirement and I’m sure his conscience is clear but in Los Angeles he is well deserving of his villain status.

2. Jim and Jeanie Buss

Jerry Buss was a legendary business owner who deserved all the accolades he received. As is normal, when he passed away the company was inherited by his children. As history has shown with many companies, while they bear the same last name, that does not mean the children are the equals of the father.

Jim and Jeanie Buss have their good qualities, and as middle level management confined to a limited role consistent with their talents, they can do fine. However, they are not qualified to lead a major business organization such as the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jim Buss, whether fair or not, is the most despised man in Los Angeles since Frank McCourt. He will never recover from the perception that he unfairly fired longstanding and talented employees of the organization and refused to rehire Phil Jacksonwhen he had the chance, all in a misguided attempt to put his own stamp on the team.

Jeanie, on the other hand, is beloved by many but what has she really done to deserve that reverence? She is a willing cheerleader, and a likable and attractive women, but her overblown optimism becomes disingenuous at this point because a five-year old Laker fan would know what she is saying makes no sense.

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In sum, with Jerry Buss as the boss Jim and Jeanie paid their dues and were good contributing members of the organization. With Jerry Buss gone, they do not have the necessary qualities to be successful leaders of a major business organization.

3. Mitch Kupchak

It is easy to forget that before the trade which brought Pau Gasol to the Lakers, Mitch Kupchak had accomplished very little as General Manager of the Lakers and was not well liked by the fans. He lived in the shadow of Jerry West and Bill Sharman, who were legends both as players and General Managers.

Pau Gasol is gone now, and the perception is very little Mr. Kupchak has done in the past few years has worked out. He must accept his share of the responsibility for the Lakers’ current plight, but how much of the blame should fall on his shoulders?

The answer depends on who is calling the shots: Jim, Jeanie, or Mitch. Since we will never know for sure the blame will fall to all of the above. To be fair, he traded for Paul, Howard, and Steve Nash and on the surface that looked pretty darn good.

However, could the General Manager have done more to retain Howard? His decision to leave Los Angeles was shocking: stars come to the Lakers, they don’t leave, especially to accept less money. Mortgaging the team’s future by trading draft choices for a 38-year old Steve Nash was a highly questionable move which has proven to be perhaps the worst trade in Lakers’ history.

Mitch has a stoic personality, a man who shows little emotion or passion and certainly is not glib with the media. One has to wonder if his best days are in the rear view mirror.

4. Injuries

Let’s face it, the last three seasons have been sabotaged by the most outrageous series of injuries imaginable. Who could have predicted that Steve Nash would break his leg after only the first few games of his first season with the team and essentially never return.

Xavier Henry looked so promising last year (does anyone remember what he did to the Clippers in the season opener?), and it is such a shame that his career may be over. It is popular to dump on Mike D’Antoni, but I must admit I found the team entertaining last year until they were decimated by injuries.

All teams face this problem, but the rash of injuries which have befallen the Lakers in the recent past seems highly unusual. Is it bad luck or is the team doing something wrong? I suggest they try to find the answer.

5. Kobe Bryant

I do not blame Bryant at all for taking the money that was offered to him. It was Jim and Jeanie’s decision to delay the inevitable rebuilding process by two years in order to keep Bryant around for marketing purposes.

If they were going to keep him around, they should have surrounded him with better talent instead of building an entire team of players working for the league minimum while maintaining financial flexibility in the desperate hope they can sign one or more big name free agents. They missed the opportunity this off-season to sign good young players in favor of the questionable strategy of only focusing on hitting a home-run by signing LeBron James and/or Carmelo Anthony.