The Lakers Offseason Will Change NBA Trajectory
Whatever personnel moves Magic Johnson decides projects the Lakers on two different paths. The first is obviously having a young core with one or two maxed-out superstars. Who they are will, of course, differentiate.
However, having two stars instead of none contemplates playoff hopes. The Lakers still cannot get past Golden State or Houston if they add a PG13 and/or LeBron and/or Cousins. There is no point in competing for a championship if the sights set are pipe dreams.
If the Lakers do sign even just one superstar, it is more than a rebirth of Los Angeles. It means two ideologies have been combatted. The first is on immediacy versus “The Process,” as Philadelphia loves to envision it.
We live in a “microwavable” world. We click one simple button to order something on Amazon. Ready-to-cook meals are readily available to cook. The truth is, we are impatient human beings. I do not blame Pelinka and Magic for taking this route, but are the Lakers really better off with two superstars? It would effectively halter growing pains for all of the young core.
Recently, the NBA has undergone a revolution in terms of analytics, or “blog boys” as Warriors superstar Kevin Durant suggested on the Bill Simmons Podcast. Whether you fall into this category is dismissive, but nonetheless, analytics created an impact on today’s NBA, specifically in management.
Magic Johnson represents one facet: the old-school basketball talent who recently came to work for an organization. There is another. Graduates from alma maters of MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and other prestigious Ivy Leaguer or equal colleges are transforming the data and makeup of NBA teams.
The most obvious and recent of these “analytical strongholds” resides in Houston with general manager Daryl Morey. Morey is primarily responsible for the rise of a heavy dose of efficiency, tanking (with close friend Sam Hinkie in Philadelphia), and using a TI-84 calculator to work on improving the Rockets organization.
For Houston, the team has been on the rise since his arrival in 2007. Houston, like Los Angeles, has plenty of cap space over the summer, with much stronger pitches to PG13 and LeBron. If they, do say, sign a huge free agent, and Los Angeles does not expect teams to hire more “blog boys” in front office positions than former NBA talents such as Magic Johnson.