This isn’t about the 30-36 record the Los Angeles Lakers hold, nor their 11th place standing in the Western Conference.
This isn’t about the news that Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball are going to miss the remainder of the regular season.
It’s not about LeBron James missing 17 games to a groin injury.
It’s not about the failed attempt to acquire Anthony Davis (for now).
This is about LeBron James’ career.
LeBron is indisputably one of the greatest basketball players the NBA has ever seen. It doesn’t matter where you rank him in the G.O.A.T. debate, he’s likely at least on your NBA Mount Rushmore, and that’s set in stone. But, when the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in their fourth consecutive NBA Finals meeting, James had a choice:
Continue carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back, or seek greener pastures. In the end, he chose the Los Angeles Lakers, but it may be time to question if it was the right decision.
Before we go any further, it can’t be emphasized enough that hindsight is 50/50.
Billy King legitimately believed that a core of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett would be enough to hang with the league’s best, risking the future of the franchise to double-down on his bet.
Mark Cuban believed that Rajon Rondo would be the PG to elevate the Dallas Mavericks since Deron Williams couldn’t.
J.R. Smith legitimately believed that the Cavs were winning.
But, the NBA is a business and in order to succeed in it, risks must be taken.
Unfortunately for Rob Pelinka, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James, their risk hasn’t paid off yet.
The Lakers could trade for Anthony Davis this offseason. Even the most casual fan would recognize that regardless of what the Lakers would give up, Anthony Davis and LeBron James should win you games and is quite the formidable duo. But, at what cost?
Let’s say the Lakers do give up the godfather offer for Anthony Davis. Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball (plus eighteen future first-round picks) all belong to the New Orleans Pelicans. Great! Now, here’s the Lakers’ roster for next season:
LeBron James, Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner, Josh Hart, and Anthony Davis.
From a purely financial standpoint, before the draft and before free agency, that’s what the Lakers’ roster would look like.
Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, Mike Muscala, Reggie Bullock, JaVale McGee, and Tyson Chandler are all on expiring contracts. The Lakers front office could decide to bring a few of the listed players back, but they may want to look elsewhere.
Stephenson is the best 3PT shooter of the bunch, checking in at 37.9% from distance. Rondo is next-best on the Lakers (36.4%), followed by Reggie Bullock (35.4%, down from his 39.4% career percentage), and LeBron James (34.9%). KCP’s 3P% has nearly dropped 5% this season (compared to last season). Ingram has shown improvements in other areas of his game but is hitting 33.0% of his 3PT attempts, and Lonzo Ball has only appeared in 47 games this season. Kuzma is the team’s second-leading scorer but is their second-worst 3PT shooter (31.2%).
So where does that leave LeBron?
Any and all chances of the Lakers making the playoffs were squashed when the news was announced that Ingram and Ball are going to miss the rest of the season. Even LeBron can’t carry this group. He’s forced to look to the offseason, and he and every Lakers’ fan and front office employee know it. It’d be great if the Lakers were on the cusp of the postseason, but they aren’t, and the West has gotten even more competitive. LeBron and the Lakers’ options are what every team has – free agency and the draft.
Those options are slim.
The Lakers may throw a max contract at Klay Thompson, but even if Kevin Durant leaves, why would Klay leave the best situation for him? For slightly more money and to play with LeBron? He can look forward to the All-Star Game.
They could sign away Kevin Durant and/or trade for Anthony Davis and instantly have a potent starting five, just because of those two or three. But if all the young guys are gone, then you’re back to a barebones roster, which is what Anthony Davis has had his whole career. He’d be better off going somewhere else when his contract expires.
The Lakers could turn to the draft, but if they trade for Anthony Davis, the earliest they’d have a first-round pick wouldn’t be until the 2020 Draft, and they don’t own their second-round pick in this year’s draft either.
They’re putting all their eggs in free agency, and their track record isn’t great over the past few seasons.
LeBron has been likened to Atlas throughout his career, carrying the weight of a franchise’s expectations. The weight has been added onto over the years by his critics, the media, former and current NBA players, and fans alike.
In Miami, he lifted some of that weight by winning a couple titles.
With Cleveland, he removed a lot of it by delivering the city a championship.
In Los Angeles, championships are the standard. But, if Greek mythology has taught us anything, stories with gold in them normally don’t end well.
Let’s just hope LeBron doesn’t turn purple holding his breath.