The 2021-22 season was arguably the worst season in franchise history for the Los Angeles Lakers. After making the big trade to acquire Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and a first round pick, many (not me) thought the Lakers were the favorites to win the Western Conference and possibly the championship. They did not do either, as they finished 11th in the Western Conference and missed the Play-In Tournament. Not only did the Lakers not win the West, not only did the Lakers miss the playoffs, they missed the Play-In Tournament, meaning they were only 1 of 10 teams to miss postseason play completely… 66% of the league makes some kind of postseason play and yet the Lakers, who have LeBron James and Anthony Davis on their team, were not a part of that 66%. The Lakers cannot run it back… but will they?
Let’s start with Kyrie Irving. If the Lakers included both 2027 and 2029 picks unprotected in a trade, I believe he would probably be a Laker at this point. I understand Kyrie is unreliable and I understand that trading picks that far into the future is scary, especially for someone who is as unreliable as Irving is and can leave as a free agent this summer. However, the upgrade that Irving is to Westbrook not only as a player but surrounding James and Davis is worth it. The last time we saw Kyrie Irving play over 50 games in a season, he averaged 26.9 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game on shooting splits of .51/.40/.92. Those are All-NBA type numbers which are from just 2 seasons ago. If you can get those numbers in 60 games with Kyrie, with LeBron doing LeBron things, which he is still doing at age 37, and a bounce back year from AD, the Lakers could be really good because those 3 guys are really good at basketball. However, there has been a hesitancy from the Lakers front office to do so. Irving would be a big upgrade and though I understand unwillingness to include both picks, if I were in charge of the Lakers I would do it. For one, 2027 is a long time away and if Lakers GM Rob Pelinka does not make this trade he won’t likely have a job by then and two LeBron James plays on your team, you cannot drop the ball the way you did this past year again and continue to waste away the end of James’ career. All this being said I am unsure if the Nets will even trade Irving anymore.
What is Rob Pelinka’s obsession with Talen Horton-Tucker? A career 28% 3 point shooter, THT is a good defensive player but the guy simply cannot hit 3 pointers, which is a problem, especially for a 6 foot 4 shooting guard (shooting is literally in his job title). So keeping him out of trades for as long as they have has never made too much sense to me. There are a bunch of players they could trade him and Kendrick Nunn’s expiring contract for. Eric Gordon, Patrick Beverly, Malik Beasley, Josh Richardson, Doug McDermott, and others are all options that LA should call on and see if they are available because they would help a team that desperately needs shooting on it because right now, there is not enough of it on the roster.
Last season the Lakers were too old around the edges, and simply not talented enough. Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Wayne Ellington, Rajon Rondo, D.J. Augustin, and Carmelo Anthony were all asked to play important roles at different points of the season and it backfired. As a result, the Lakers decided to get younger this summer, signing Lonnie Walker, Thomas Bryant, Troy Brown Jr. and Juan Tascono-Anderson, while picking up the options of Stanley Johnson and Wenyen Gabriel. They got younger and more athletic but shooting is a big issue as Walker (34%), Brown Jr. (34%), and Johnson (30%), have been ineffective from 3 point range on limited volume throughout their career. Even guys like Kendrick Nunn (36%), Juan Toscano-Anderson (36%), and Thomas Bryant (35%), who are seen as the better shooters on this roster, are not even 38% career 3 point shooters, so there is limited shooting on this Lakers roster. So, yes, the Lakers are better than last season but this roster is not a championship threat.
What would the Lakers starting 5 be if the season started today? My guess is Russell Westbrook, Lonnie Walker, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Thomas Bryant. That very simply is not good enough, the spacing is a joke, it is too big, too clunky, and does not give the LeBron/AD pick and roll (which guided them to a championship in 2020) the space to work effectively. They cannot go into the season with this starting 5, whether it’s Kyrie or other players (for example the Pacers trade that would send Buddy Hield and Myles Turner to the Lakers which was reported by The Athletic). This roster very simply is not good enough as is and unless they land Kyrie, which seems more and more unlikely as the days go by, I do not see a world where this Lakers team can reasonably compete for much of anything in 2023. New coach Darvin Ham will have his hands full in his first season as an NBA head coach.
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