Lakers Front Office Has Failed Miserably

The Lakers front office has further exercised its ineptitude with massive missed opportunities this season

The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to struggle this season. Led by an aging Kobe Bryant and an assortment of young players, no one expected the Lakers to compete for a championship. However, this didn’t mean that the Lakers couldn’t use this season to their advantage. With nothing truly on the line, the Lakers could have easily dedicated this season to developing the youth on their roster, as well as taking the time to try out a few project players.

Instead, the organization began the season with the first of a multitude of missteps. Instead of rounding out the roster with young players who could gain value with time on the team, the Lakers signed a plethora of aging players, most of whom have failed to even be serviceable this season. Lou Williams, Brandon Bass, and Roy Hibbert were brought in to not only to be completely ineffective on the court, but to stand directly in the way of the progress of young players like D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Tarik Black.

Metta World Peace was given a roster spot that clearly should have been given to a young player like Jabari Brown, whose chemistry with Jordan Clarkson, and ability to shoot from outside at an NBA level has been sorely missed. Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre were bafflingly retained, despite representing value to the team that was marginal at best, non-existent at worst. Entering the season as a rebuilding team with very few actual assets, the Lakers front office made sure to completely squander one of the few actual assets they did have: their roster spots.

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However, the foolishness of their choices during free agency doesn’t end with the sub-par players they selected or with their lack of foresight. In opting to sign veteran players whose services were quite unnecessary, the Lakers also squandered their cap space, which could have ultimately been their most valuable asset this season.

The decision to take on Roy Hibbert’s large contract for no compensation, as well as spending a significant amount on Lou Williams, prevented the Lakers from entering the season with open cap room. Signing younger players to less expensive deals could have benefited the Lakers in ways that go beyond the fact that they may very well have outplayed the vets on the court. Having available cap-space would have allowed the Lakers to receive draft picks or players in exchange for simply taking on contracts.

While this may not seem like a huge mistake, a look at the trades that have occurred this season proves otherwise. Sacramento, for example, made a deal with Philadelphia in order to clear the contracts of Carl Landry and Jason Thompson. In return, the 76ers received a former lottery pick in Nik Stauskas, a future first-round pick, and the right to swap first rounders with Sacramento in two other drafts. Needless to say, this package would have been far more significant than any of the team’s free agent acquisitions.

In opting to sign band-aid players who represented poor fits for the team, the Lakers organization left significant value on the table, something they have done consistently of late. At the trade deadline, with an opportunity to redeem themselves for their poor offseason, the Lakers front office failed to make a single move. While this was most likely dictated by other teams opinions of the Lakers’ veterans, the fact that they acquired so many pieces that are difficult to move reflects badly on the organization.

This is only the beginning when it comes to the missteps made by the organization in the past few seasons. Choosing to hire Byron Scott, who has been one of the league’s worst coaches, and then choosing not to fire him even when it became clear that he was losing the team’s respect was a huge mistake—one that has contributed to a fractured locker room. Their insistence on focusing their efforts on superstars while ignoring the less glamorous aspects of team-building has been similarly frustrating, particularly when their pitches to those superstars are less than convincing.

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After several painful seasons of Lakers basketball, it has become clear that changes need to be made. The organization needs a leader capable of taking the helm and steering them back to prominence, which is something the current regime has failed to do. While replacing the coach and acquiring more talent will help, the Lakers front office needs to either fundamentally change their strategy or step away from the team.