The typical glamor that comes with being a part of the Los Angeles Lakers just isn’t adequate at this point.
The Los Angeles Lakers have generally been known as a brand associated with success. When the team’s rafters are gazed upon, it is hard to disagree with that assessment.
Winning has been the name of the game for them, despite the lack of it in recent seasons. The objective has never changed.
However, at this point, talking about the past is irrelevant. The current state this Lakers’ team is in is one of the worst (if not the worst) states they have ever been in. The term dysfunctional comes to mind when the Lakers are thought about, albeit the word does not even seem strong enough.
There are various pieces of evidence that shed light on why the Lakers have become a joke. Even though that is true, the fact they reached an impasse with Tyronn Lue speaks wonders. By basketball standards, LA truly lowballed Lue in terms of contract negotiations.
In other words, it is yet another failure along the long line of failures for the squad in recent memory. It literally seems like the team cannot catch a break to save their lives.
Everybody already knows how tumultuous the end of the season was. As if it was not bad enough already that the Lakers were going to miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
But, no, ladies and gentlemen—that simply was not sufficient enough. Apparently not for the Lakers and the kooky circus act they have transformed into.
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Former president Magic Johnson just had to quit his job before game number 82 even started. The sheer timing of it is still incomprehensible.
Magic has remained consistent in saying he did not want to risk compromising his relationship with owner Jeanie Buss. Additionally, if he did not enjoy his job, maybe it is not the worst thing in the world that he left the team.
Nonetheless, he left the Lakers abruptly and they lack leadership as a result. I still believe there is truth in the idea that Magic no longer wanted accountability. If the Lakers, say, strike out in free agency this summer, he may be thinking “Well, at least the burden’s not on me.”
To get back to Buss, that is another story in itself. She is honestly starting to look like her brother, Jim, and does not look like she knows what she is doing. The Lakers are completely, utterly unstable at this juncture.
That is a bad look for a team with the kind of history they have. However, as was noted before, it reveals that allure can no longer be relied upon. The Lakers’ past success does not matter.
The fact they have LeBron James on their roster does not seem to matter much, either. Despite the numbers he put up in his first year in LA, it did not translate to success.
Let alone the injury James sustained on Christmas, the constant drama he caused was an even greater contributor to the Lakers’ woeful season.
The speculation revolving around Anthony Davis was the NBA’s hottest topic in February. The Lakers were right in the thick of it all, and James was basically okay with letting half the team go to obtain Davis.
This immediately showed James lacked trust in the organization, and it likewise destroyed team chemistry.
This factor brings us back to the Lue situation. The Lakers’ relatively petty offer for Lue’s services causes one to wonder if they even trust in James. Tom Ziller of SB Nation seems to wonder the same thing in a piece he recently assembled.
Ziller contends that the offer they gave Lue means that James’ years left in the league are limited. With James having three years left on his contract, the Lakers may be wondering if that is all James has left in the tank.
Well, that certainly appeared to be so given what they offered Lue. Now, the Lakers are without a head coach again. Wonderful.
Elements of this nature along with various others demonstrate that the Lakers are not a desirable franchise. Sure, they may have a lot of banners floating up in the Staples Centers rafters. Accompanying this, Los Angeles is a landmark city, well-known for its luxurious ways.
In spite of that, the glitz that generally comes with the LA lifestyle is not even in the equation right now. The Los Angeles Lakers are the furthest thing from a glitzy franchise.
Notwithstanding LeBron, the Lakers do not have another proven star. While their young core carries great potential, no one knows their ceiling.
This component is not the worst thing in the world. Guys like Kyle Kuzma could evolve into star-caliber players. The fact that we do not know this for sure is where the problem rests. The word could in the prior sentence is not fully persuasive.
There is a very noticeable amount of pandemonium in the City of Angels. It is hard to understand what is happening in Lakerland because there has not been such chaos in a long time.
To make matters worse, Des Bieler of The Washington Post recently shared a teeth-clenching rumor, originally via Stephen A. Smith.
"“Nothing is out of bounds right now. We don’t know what the hell is going on in Los Angeles.”"
Additionally, Smith went on to say that folks are barking at Jeanie Buss to get James out of town. Man, how the times have changed for the purple and gold.
On that note, it causes one to question if the team will be able to lure in a big name this summer. Granted multiple marquee players will be available once July begins, the Lakers are not appealing.
Frankly, I am not confident in their ability to sign free agents for that reason. Unless a major cultural shift happens in the near future, it is hard to picture guys wanting to help resurrect the Lakers.
In all seriousness, whether this mess can be cleaned up is an uncertainty at best. They are in a really, really bad place and barring a miracle, it is difficult to imagine things getting better anytime soon.
The mayhem is out of control, and, given the way things are presently, it is hard to see this team having a better season in 2019-2020.