For the avid sports fan the world has changed dramatically in the past decade. It used to be that once the NBA season ended there was little news for months until training camp was about to start again in the fall. In recent years, however, with the enormous growth of sports and entertainment media, there is a constant demand for content to cover and discuss 24-hours a day. As a result, there is a steady flow of NBA coverage especially in Los Angeles where we have no professional football team and so many fans live and die with the Lakers. For sure, this offseason has been jam-packed with coverage of the Lakers from the excitement of the lottery and the draft to the disappointment of free agency and the summer league.
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The Lakers will play their final summer league game Friday afternoon after which there will indeed be a lull. All of the significant free agents have signed with the team of their choice and any significant trades have most likely been completed by now. Each team has gotten a preview of its rookies and second year players in the summer league. With the real vacation for Laker players and executives about to start, it is appropriate to look back on the wild events of the past few months in order to project what is likely ahead for the team and the franchise.
As we all know, the Lakers have suffered through three horrendous seasons marred by nonstop injuries, several coaching changes, a revolving door of players coming and going, no defense, terrible on-court results, an inability to attract top free agents, and no assets to trade for better players. At the end of last season the franchise, on and off the court, had bottomed out, or so we hoped. The once proud franchise was the butt of jokes from comedians, the sports media, and other NBA executives. From the aborted Chris Paul Trade to the death of Dr. Buss to the decision to hire Mike Brown, Mike D’Antoini, and ultimately Byron Scott, it seemed as though the franchise was at best rudderless or at worst was being led by people who simply had no basketball acumen.
This year’s draft lottery made everyone think the team’s fortunes might be turning around. They entered the process at risk of losing their top choice if the ping pong balls did not bounce in their favor. The way the team’s fortunes had gone in recent years no one would have been surprised if that happened. However, it did not, and not only that, the Lakers, through sheer luck, were the only team to move up in the draft and ended up with the second selection. At the time everyone associated with the Lakers from the locker room attendants to the front office to the media to the fans were delirious with excitement since it meant the team could draft either draft Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor, the two dominant big men coveted by every team.
For the next month we were entertained by videos and interviews with players who were brought in to work out for the team. As speculation grew that Towns would be the first player selected that meant the Lakers would end up with Okafor, a champion at the high school, collegiate, and international levels who was considered the most skilled big man to enter the NBA in many years. While this was happening, rumors started to swirl that players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Jimmy Butler now wanted to sign with the Lakers. For the first time in three years there was genuine belief that the team had turned a corner and good times were within sight after a long and painful dry spell.
Despite growing rumors at the end, it was still a shock when the Lakers chose D’Angelo Russell over Okafor on draft day. After all, three months earlier Okafor led his team to the NCAA title while Russell’s Ohio State team flamed out early in a game in which Russell reportedly played very poorly. Still, Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak, and Byron Scott were all united in their conviction that Russell was the next Magic Johnson, and their optimism was contagious. Soon, Laker fans embraced Russell and assumed the team had a secret deal in place to sign one of the top free agent big-men to compensate for passing on Okafor.
Unfortunately, the Lakers could not convince any top free agents to join their depleted ranks. It is not their fault. The best small forwards were restricted free agents who quickly re-signed with their current teams for huge money, which signified that all the prior rumors were unfounded. The team tried for Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan, and Greg Monroe but this was never realistic – naturally those men preferred to play for teams who were already in a position to contend for a championship. When all looked lost, the team was able to procure Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, and Brandon Bass for next season’s roster. This is not what fans hoped for but these are solid players who should make a good contribution.
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After the euphoria of the lottery, the guarded optimism of the draft, and the initial disappointment but ultimate “ok” feeling about free agency, all eyes turned to the summer league. No matter what it may have meant (or not meant) in the past, this year’s summer league was important to the Lakers and their fans. What made this summer different from all others, especially for the Lakers, is that a full eight players on the roster were projected to make the team this fall and most were being counted on the make a significant contribution. With other summer league teams it will be lucky if one or two of the players end up in the NBA next season. For this reason, it was anticipated that the Lakers’ squad would be very exciting and contend for a summer championship.
The stage was set. The crowds were overflowing. The television ratings set records. Unfortunately, the team laid an egg. No matter how the coaches and front office try to spin it, don’t believe it. They know the team was awful. Most of the negative reviews have fallen on Russell. Admittedly, no matter his future, he has not looked like a player who can start on any NBA team in the near future. That is not to say that he, and the other rookies, will not become good players one day, but clearly it is going to take time. Or course, this is not what an impatient front office and fan base want to hear.
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The optimism which existed immediately after the lottery has given way to a more realistic assessment of the team’s prospects. As the true offseason is about to start let’s keep a few thoughts in mind while we enjoy the rest of the summer. If the players stay healthy next season and the younger ones progress faster than expected the team could be better than projected. After all, young players are unpredictable and that can be exciting. As Laker fans we hope and pray that will be the case. We must, however, recognize the sobering facts. The NBA is an even playing field. Teams can retain their top players by paying more. The salary cap allows smaller markets to offer the same compensation as teams in the larger cities. Some NBA teams are in cities with no state tax, which gives them a competitive advantage over teams in California. With social media, a player can become as big a star and draw as much attention in Indiana or Milwaukee as he can in Los Angeles.
None of this is the Lakers’ fault, but it is the reality with which the franchise must contend. Jim Buss may have a three year plan but given current conditions in the NBA, and how the roster has degraded in the past few years, we have to be prepared for a longer road back to prosperity than may have been possible in the past. The best way to survive the rocky and uncertain path is to resist the temptation to believe the rampant rumors created by the media to stir controversy, and assume nothing is real until it is officially announced.