The Los Angeles Lakers have been a mess for several years now. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past four years, this is not news. It started with some bad luck with Kobe Bryant tearing his achilles tendon and then being plagued with injuries during his last few seasons as the Lakers have not made the playoffs since 2013.
It’s easy to look at those seasons as lost seasons, especially for a team like the Lakers. This is a franchise that has the second most wins (3,261), the second highest win percentage (59.8%) and the second most NBA Finals victories in NBA history (16) while also appearing in the most NBA Finals series by a wide margin with 31 appearances. To say that this is a team that’s used to winning is an understatement.
The thing about losing for so long is that it also gives you the opportunity to accumulate assets. In particular, through the NBA draft. The Lakers have not squandered the opportunity, as they have amassed a really nice core of young, promising players. They have selected (hopeful) future cornerstone players in the lottery in Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram over the past three drafts. But, the Lakers’ scouting department has also flexed their scouting prowess, as their late draft picks have been excellent during that same time span as well. During those same drafts, Los Angeles added Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr.and Ivica Zubac late in the draft.
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Now with Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson taking over right before the deadline, there has been a lot of talk about the Lakers using those young assets to try to acquire proven stars. The rumor mill has been extremely active for players like Paul George and, to a lesser extent, Jimmy Butler. Depending on the price, that may be a mistake.
If the Lakers have to trade one of Russell or Ingram (and you absolutely would need to to get either George or Butler), the team might not have enough to be able to realistically contend for a championship. In a realistic trade scenario, the Lakers would likely need to include one of their two 2nd overall picks, the top three pick from this year’s draft (if they keep it) and likely Jordan Clarkson to help match salaries. The team would absolutely try to add parts via free agency as well, but that’s a limited resource. You have to remember the horrendous Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov deals, Randle is also going to be a restricted free agent soon and the fact that the Lakers would also have to pay George or Butler once they hit free agency. That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room to bring in new talent.
The team at that point would be an incomplete team. Sure, they would be able to contend for a lower seed in the West, similar to Indiana with George right now. But, would they realistically be able to go deep into the playoffs? The upside would be cut off at the knees. At this point, do the Lakers want to try to be great or merely pretty good?
Most of this hinges on whether or not they keep the pick this summer. The best chance for the Lakers to become title contenders would be to be patient. If they keep the pick, select the best available talent, whether that be Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball or Josh Jackson, and let your young players develop. There shouldn’t be a rush to try to get an All-Star when you could possibly have a future one or two on the roster already.
Additionally, with the rumors that Paul George is desperately wanting to be a Laker anyways, there’s really no need to trade your young pieces to try to get him. You don’t want to become Indiana version 2.0 by doing so and if you can add George via free agency next off-season, suddenly the Lakers would have a wealth of talent with major upside in the coming seasons still.
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The franchise is at an interesting crossroads right now. The smart move would be to stay pat and continue building assets, but with the new ownership, that may not be the route they take to get back into the playoffs. Depending on the price of getting an All-Star, it could cost the team dearly in the near future.