Lakers Rumors: LeBron James ignoring calls from the sideline
By Ronald Agers
The Lakers have two business plans going on here!
People actually think that this roster will be here for the entire season! Umm…no. The Lakers roster was built on LeBron James’ word to play off the ball (Oh well…can’t win them all!) and for cap space.
People actually thought the LeBron James signing would hamstring the franchise. They forget what Magic Johnson did for the cross town Dodgers…
Magic Johnson’s goal is about flexibility to sign a max-level free agent in the summer or during trading season if Kawhi Leonard or Anthony Davis do not see a long-term future on their respective teams. That’s it. All the veterans have one year contracts to keep the Lakers competitive enough to make the playoffs while the front office gets another star to keep things going when LeBron James leaves. All the while, the young player continue their development through the season.
In other words, after LeBron’s era comes to an end, the franchise won’t be in flames like the other teams (also read…planning for the future!).
Here’s where the issues come in. Luke Walton is caught in the middle of these two business plans. His rotations have been so bad, the rhythm of everybody seemingly is off.
Why? Let Charles Barkley tell it…
"“What kind of team are they? Are they gonna let those young guys play, or are they going to put those old guys out there? That’s why I didn’t understand because those old guys are not their future. Ball, Kuzma, Brandon Ingram — that’s their future. So, I don’t know what the Lakers are doing. Are they going to try to groom those young guys and go forward with LeBron, or are they going to play those old guys? I think that’s going to be the most fascinating thing. I mean, I have no idea what the Lakers are doing. Are they a young team or are they an old team? I think that’s what I’m gonna be watching for the most.”"
It’s been over 20 games as of this writing and Luke Walton is close to ruining a certain player on that list.