Los Angeles Lakers near the bottom of NBA Power Rankings
The Los Angeles Lakers are near the bottom of Bleacher Report’s most recent NBA Power Rankings.
The Los Angeles Lakers have found a way to still dominate the headlines despite not even making the postseason for a sixth consecutive year.
On the final day of their regular season, president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, had an impromptu press conference right before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Johnson shocked the basketball world, announcing that he was stepping down from his position with the team.
It was a decision that surprised many people, including LeBron James. Johnson had just had meetings in previous days with James and his camp and owner Jeanie Buss and gave no indication that he would be stepping down from his position.
Johnson wasn’t the only person that would be leaving the organization. Head coach, Luke Walton, and the organization decided to mutually part ways. Walton was quickly picked up by the Sacramento Kings.
With all of the changes, general manager Rob Pelinka is left as the last man standing. With Johnson no longer in the picture, Pelinka reportedly will see his power grow.
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Right now, it is not a good look for the Lakers. They are failing to produce on the court and off of it as well. How can they expect to lure top-flight free agents if they cannot even fill the positions within their organization?
That is partly why the Lakers found themselves so far down Bleacher Report’s NBA Power Rankings. The Lakers remained in the same spot one week into the postseason as they did at the end of the regular season, coming in at No. 25.
The start to the offseason for the purple and gold is a big reason for their current standing. Depending on who you listen to, the organization seems to be doing things backward, looking for a head coach before filling Johnson’s position in the front office.
However, there are some rumors floating around that the Lakers do, in fact, have a person in line to take over as president of basketball operations and are calling the shots from behind the scenes because they are with a team currently still in the playoffs.
The only thing the Lakers really have going for them right now is that James is on the roster and they still have a promising young core with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart despite the various injuries they are dealing with.
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The kind of dysfunction currently being shown by the Lakers is worthy of a spot near the bottom of the NBA Power Rankings. Hopefully, they are able to fill their open positions with qualified people, or else it could be another long summer and season for the purple and gold.