It is obvious to Los Angeles Lakers fans and everyone else that the team will yet again fail to qualify for the postseason this year. These are the three biggest factors that they will miss the playoffs again.
The 2018-19 season will be the sixth consecutive season the Los Angeles Lakers will sit out the playoffs, the longest drought in franchise history.
Fingers are being pointed in all directions to explain why the Lakers failed to meet expectations. As in most of life, there is no single reason. Instead, several different factors stand out from others:
3. Front Office Decisions
The Lakers ended last season with a roster manned by a promising young core. The team was progressing nicely after hitting rock bottom in 2016 when it won only 17 games. The wins increased to 26 in 2017 and to 35 last year. The Lakers were moving in the right direction and seemed ready to start contending for the playoffs.
In July the team signed LeBron James, who had decided to come to LA primarily for business and family reasons. Expectations of the team immediately ratcheted sharply upward.
But Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka proceeded to fill out the roster in a very odd manner, making several stunningly weird moves.
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Convinced that the team needed veteran presences, and seeing no other available stars, Magic/Rob signed a series of free agents, seemingly without regard to their reputations or team needs, to one-year deals. It is unlikely any will be re-signed again this summer.
In the process, they let restricted free agent Julius Randle, arguably the Lakers MVP last year, walk away. Randle is averaging nearly 21 points and nine rebounds a game this year for New Orleans. Do you think he might have helped the Lakers this season?
The strategy employed by Magic/Rob was designed primarily to retain cap room for signing an additional star or two this coming season. Critics pointed out that the team lacked outside shooting, and of course that was one of the team’s glaring weaknesses throughout the season. But one of the front office’s worst moves was still to come.
At the trade deadline, 21-year-old center Ivica Zubac was shoved out the door. Zubac, who will become a restricted free agent in July, was playing the best ball of his young career at the time. He had already evolved into a credible NBA center with the potential to become even better. The stated rationale for the trade was that the Lakers knew they wouldn’t be able to re-sign him this summer, so they might as well trade him now.
Why exactly the front office felt that way is unclear. How could Magic/Rob possibly know what any other team might offer Zubac? And why wouldn’t they want to try to keep a young, promising big man? If some team made him an outrageous offer, they could decline to match it. But shouldn’t they have retained the flexibility to do so by keeping him?
Now the Lakers must find another center on the free agent market. To most people, trading Zubac seems to be a short-sighted, reckless move.
Of course, that trade followed on the heels of the Anthony Davis debacle. When Davis announced he would not stay in New Orleans once his contract expired in summer 2020, Magic was absolutely correct to pursue a trade with the Pelicans. But the way he went about it was embarrassing to the franchise.
Without any encouragement from the Pels, Magic and Rob made one trade proposal after another. Far too much information became public knowledge.
In the end, they offered up every one of the young core for Davis. Laker actions smacked of desperation. The fact is that New Orleans never had any intention of dealing AD to the Lakers. They preferred, instead, to make Magic look foolish, and they succeeded. And in the process, the Lakers team chemistry suffered dramatically.
Overall, Magic doesn’t seem to recognize or value the quality of his young core. He has already jettisoned young players Randle and Zubac in addition to D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Svi Mykhailiuk. Other than James and draft picks Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Moritz Wagner, he hasn’t added anyone of substance who is signed beyond this year.
This summer will be a telling time for the Lakers front office. Because they won’t make the playoffs, the team should have a decent spot in the NBA draft. And there could be six or seven all-star free agents to pursue. Magic and Rob will have a golden opportunity to improve their performance.