Not too long ago, the Los Angeles Lakers were celebrating the franchise’s 17th NBA title down in the Orlando Bubble. In his first season with the Lakers, Anthony Davis was an NBA champion and LeBron James had won his 4th championship, 4th Finals MVP.
Things didn’t go so well for Los Angeles last season due to Davis and James both missing large portions of the season with injuries and as a result, they fell victim to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
Having a full offseason to rest and recuperate, the Lakers were expected to once again be title contenders this season, especially after bringing in the likes of All-Star Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan, Malik Monk, Kendrick Nunn and other veterans with a ton of playing experience.
While they were one of the oldest teams in the league on paper in the preseason, the Lakers were still picked by many to be the “team to beat” in the entire NBA this season. 32 games into the season and we are still waiting to see this “championship-contending” Lakers team.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Russell Westbrook Optimistic Current Adversity Will Pay Off For Lakers
Currently, 16-16, the Los Angeles Lakers have really struggled this season not only because of durability concerns and injuries but because this team looks like they have no desire to want to be a team.
Other than LeBron James, guys are playing for themselves and trying to pad their own stats, leading to there being no chemistry on the court just about 40% through the season. Asking whether or not this team can make the playoffs maybe a little bit of a stretch given that the Western Conference is having a down year as a whole, but every time the Lakers take one step forward, they take two steps backward the following night.
They give absolutely no effort defensively and now with Anthony Davis out an extended period of time due to an MCL injury in his left leg, the Lakers are in trouble. They have Russell Westbrook to lean on for production next to LeBron James, but is this really a benefit for the Lakers?
Westbrook has not fit in whatsoever with the Lakers this season and he is one of the biggest liabilities defensively in the entire NBA. His 4.6 turnovers per game trail just James Harden (5.0 turnovers) for the league-lead and on the season, Russ has an average plus-minus ratio of -1.6 on the season, which ranks 336th in the league next to guys like Ayo Dosunmu (Bulls), Miye Oni (Jazz) and Josh Christopher (Rockets).
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Russell Westbrook Optimistic Current Adversity Will Pay Off For Lakers
The “triple-double king” has not lived up to his expectations of being a game-changer for the Lakers and quite frankly, Los Angeles is running out of time to decide what to do with him. Acquiring Westbrook instead of Buddy Hield is starting to look like a huge mistake by Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office, which is why moving on from Russell Westbrook ahead of the trade deadline is a move the Lakers may be forced to make.
Maybe they can no longer land Buddy Hield, a shooter they could really utilize on the floor, but going out and matching Russell Westbrook’s contract with that of John Wall’s may not be such a terrible idea.
