The LA Lakers future could be bleak…
The different styles of operation between small market and large market teams is quite polarizing. The LA Lakers are a prime example. They landed LeBron James in free agency back in 2018, which spiraled into eventually cashing in on their draft capital and young assets to land Anthony Davis in a trade.
The Lakers were able to win a championship, though they’ve exhausted all options to try and reach that mark again. Their future could be bleak.
Still, with James and Davis on the roster, the Lakers have a certain amount of wins they are going to be able to collect — sparking enough confidence in the franchise that they can build a contender.
The Lakers’ future is quite bleak, as mentioned. Their core around James and Davis simply isn’t enough for first-year head coach JJ Redick to work with. Maybe it’s time for a major shakeup. Paul Pierce — a Boston Celtics and NBA legend — has quite a wild pitch for the club and what they should do with Bronny James, LeBron’s son.
“This season was all about Bron playing with Bronny,” Pierce claimed. “And we wanted to all see that. We want to see a little more of that, but I had no expectations. …It’s the same personnel as last year. You brought in a rookie coach.
“…I don’t think it’s nothing they can do. I think it is what it is. Enjoy the greatness of LeBron while you can. If you can trade AD and maybe get some pieces for the future, maybe you do that.
“You trade AD then you bring Bronny up for the rest of the season and let them cook.
“That’s what you gotta do. Let Bron and Bronny cook, trade AD and let [Dalton] Knecht and the young guys cook.”
The Lakers trading Davis would certainly spark a youth movement. Who knows, maybe even a trade for James is in the cards. However, there isn’t a clear path to winning banner number 18 in Los Angeles, and Pierce seemingly understands that.
For any wannabe-contending NBA team, it starts with a franchise-altering superstar. Beyond that, the era of elite trios isn’t exactly as popular as it used to be and that’s because of the amount of assets and depth that has to be given up to acquire such.
The Lakers won a championship with James and Davis, though their support on the roster has since dropped. Austin Reaves is their third-best player, which is a problem, according to an anonymous NBA executive.
“If he’s your third-best player, you’re not a championship contender, you’re just not. If you put Austin Reaves on the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Boston Celtics, he’s probably the fifth-, maybe even sixth-best player, on those rosters,” the executive said.
Reaves and Knecht are great role players, but they have got to grow into stars in their roles to truthfully support James and Davis — and there is limited time for that to happen.
No matter how this season plays out, the Lakers’ championship window will come to a hard close in the near future with James’ eventual retirement.
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