One of the strange things about having the All-Star Game in the Staples Center was the fact that there wasn’t a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the game.
As one of the most storied franchises in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers were without a representative in the All-Star Game. Due to their struggles in recent years, this wasn’t all that much of a surprise.
Even though the Lakers were without a player in the big game on Sunday, they were well-represented on Friday night in the Rising Stars Game. In that game, the Lakers had both Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram on the court. Also, Lonzo Ball was on the team, but unable to play due to his knee injury.
Last season, we saw Anthony Davis as the representative for the New Orleans Pelicans when that city hosted the game. Teammates were able to feed Davis early and often, and he left as the MVP in his home city.
This season, there were quite a few players from California in the game, but none from the Lakers or the Clippers. After the game, Kevin Durant mentioned to Harrison Faigen of LakersNation.com that is was odd not to see any players from the host city in the game.
"“That was odd. That was odd,” Durant said after helping Team LeBron to a comeback victory at Staples Center. “But I was talking to Kemba (Walker) and I told him next year it’s going to be in his hometown so he’s got to make it."
For the Lakers, they will certainly be hoping to change that this offseason. After a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers will now have the ability to sign two players to max contracts this offseason.
With some great players like LeBron James and Paul George set to be free agents, the Lakers are hoping to sign one if not both of these players next offseason. While we will have to wait and see if the Lakers can accomplish this, they do have three young players that could be All-Stars one day.
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The young core of Ingram, Ball, and Kuzma looks very promising with Ingram taking a big step forward in his sophomore season. If he continues to improve like he has shown this season, he could very well be an All-Star for the Lakers in the near future.