Latest Lakers report proves Jeanie Buss doesn’t care about winning
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers have arguably the most dominant duo in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. There is not a harder duo to match up against when both guys are healthy and playing well.
The problem is that LeBron and AD have not gotten much help this season as the team was strapped for resources thanks to the Russell Westbrook trade. All season (and in the summer) it has been debated whether or not the Lakers would make a move. The overwhelming consensus appears to be that the team will not make a move.
The latest report from Adam Taylor and Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports confirms the overwhelming consensus that fans have come to accept. Los Angeles does not seem likely to make a move, and most disappointingly of all, that mandate appears to be coming from the top.
According to the report, Buss supports the idea of not selling out the future. This means that any kind of big trade is impossible for the Lakers, as those two future first-round picks are the only valuable assets the team has.
This proves Jeanie Buss doesn’t care about the Lakers winning this season.
No Lakers fan wants to see the team trade the draft picks for a horrible package in return. Most fans understand that if the team is going to trade these picks it has to be for a deal that actually improves the team not only this season but in the grand scheme as well.
But that is why making a trade now is important. If the Lakers do not trade Russell Westbrook’s contract now they lose the ability to bring in that much salary in return. The Lakers will still have free-agent spending money in the summer but it won’t be as much as they can bring back via trade.
It is pretty clear that Buss does not want the Lakers to go over the luxury tax yet again to avoid the penalties that will come with it. Any Westbrook trade that brings back similar salary will place the Lakers back over that tax, meaning that one of the most profitable NBA franchises will have to pay more money to the league.
Some owners, like Joe Lacob and even Steve Ballmer, care more about winning than anything else. At this point, it seems like Buss cares more about saving face and saving money as well.
This franchise is lucky that LeBron James chose to come to Los Angeles to make movies because if not, Los Angeles likely would still be on a decade-plus dry spell dating back to 2013. Once LeBron and Anthony Davis leave that will probably happen once more as ownership and this front office has done nothing to earn any fan’s confidence.