The Los Angeles Lakers season fell short of expectations, resulting in a failing grade for the campaign.
To say things didn’t go according to plan for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018-19 regular season would be a massive understatement. After the organized landed LeBron James during free agency in 2018, expectations soared. Meeting those expectations ended up being a much more difficult task.
With James in town, fans thought their playoff drought would assuredly end. Some believed that the Lakers could even become legitimate contenders with James in the fold. With some improvements from the young core and thoughts of adding another superstar, fans dreamed big. Those dreams became nightmares quickly.
The plan put together after signing James proved to be a poor one. Instead of adding shooters around James, much as he had with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers decided to sign playmakers and defender, none of whom were known as shooters.
The experiment of signing JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley did not work. It was a plan that James was not thrilled with, either. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka attempted to fix that mistake prior to the NBA Trade Deadline, acquiring Reggie Bullock and Mike Muscala, but it was too little too late.
The failed attempts to acquire Anthony Davis prior to the trade deadline also was a disaster. In addition to that, injuries derailed them throughout the season.
LeBron James, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Rondo all missed an extended amount of games. Josh Hart battled a knee ailment, that eventually required surgery, that sapped his production the second half of the season.
All of this resulted in a 37-45 record. It is a two-game improvement on the 2017-18 season but still viewed as a disaster. The icing on the cake was Magic Johnson shocking everyone by resigning as president of basketball operations prior to the team’s final game of the regular season. What made the decision even more shocking was that he told no one he planned on doing it.
So, it should not come as a surprise that the Lakers’ season was graded poorly. How poorly was it graded? Bleacher Report gave the Lakers an F for the 2018-19 season.
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It would be difficult to argue against that grade. The young core, for a number of different reasons, didn’t progress as much as people had hoped. James, who has dominated the league for more than a decade, actually looked human for once.
Hall of Fame point guard, Isiah Thomas, summed up the Lakers’ season with James on ESPN’s Get Up!
"“It was an absolute failure for him,” Thomas said on ESPN’s Get Up! “This is the first time that we’ve really seen him at the professional level, even at the high school level, have this type of failure in his career. … He’s carried the league for so many years right now. But for him personally, this is an absolute failure.”"
An absolute failure indeed. James’ incredible NBA Finals streak will end at eight without even having a chance to extend it. This was the worst season a James-led team has had since his second season in the NBA with the Cavaliers.
There is a chance that the Lakers could quickly turn things around. With a lottery selection and cap space, the roster could receive a nice infusion of talent.
Making that happen will be easier said than done as the Lakers, as currently constituted, represent one of the most dysfunctional organizations in the league.