As The Los Angeles Lakers Turn...
Jelani Galloway
2023 Offseason
As the 2023-24 season concludes for the Los Angeles Lakers, they have many unanswered questions that pertains to the head coaching vacancy, to the construction of the roster, and the looming extension that hangs over LeBron James. The Lakers suffered a brutal loss to the Denver Nuggets to end the series in a gentleman sweep that leaves many fans questioning what went wrong and how they ended in the play-in tournament once again. Dating back to the offseason, in hindsight maybe it was a little overstated on the value of the players and the structure of the team. MLE signing Gabe Vincent who has crucial in the Miami Heats run last postseason, suffered a knee injury early in the season and missed a good chunk of the season only to come back and play 8 more games. Veteran minimum signings such as Cam Reddish, Christian Wood, and Jaxson Hayes were all signings that contributed at various points in the season but never amounted to consistent playing time because of rotations or poor play. Rob Pelinka put a premium on continuity and chemistry to build on last seasons WCF berth.
Darvin Ham Stubbornness
As a coach with championship expectations with Lebron and AD on the team you should have the requisite rotations and adjustments to make life easier for the veteran stars to be as healthy as possible for the playoffs. The 47-35 record is a decent mark for any other team that is on the cusp of being great but that isn’t enough for the Lakers. The Denver Nuggets series raised questions about the rotations and the game management that Ham lacked against the defending champions. Certain players were stunned by the lack consistency in minutes from a game to game basis. Austin Reaves who is regarded as the 3rd best player, logged only 33 minutes in a pivotal elimination game while D’Angelo Russell who has been inconsistent played a staggering 39 minutes. Being able to recognize and utilize the skillsets of a player in a certain moment of a game can shift the momentum of said player. During the regular season players were in and out of lineups, struggling to play well, or just injured for a long period of time. While this is tough to deal with as a coach you should still be able to lean on your best role players and let them play through the struggles to build confidence. Darvin did the opposite of that sacrificing the chemistry and rhythm of players to fulfil a need for certain players who didn’t deserve to start. These decisions along with other politics inside the front office ultimately led to him being fired and possibly on a different team.
The Expectations of LeBron, Anthony Davis, and the Team
The All-NBA duo met and exceeded what was expected of them this past season. As LeBron enters his 22nd season soon becoming a 40 year old we have to ask ourselves how long will he keep defying father time? How long until he hangs up his jersey and retires? It’s not much time left so the Lakers have to do everything to make sure they are in contention for the remainder of his tenure and beyond. Anthony Davis had a career year playing 76 games, the most he’s played since 2018 and averaging 25 points and 13 rebounds per game making him a All-Star and eligible for a All-NBA spot. The team gathers around AD like no other, his defensive presence along with offensive force makes him unstoppable at times. Davis is under contract for 4 more years with LAL and the front office is focused on building towards the future without LeBron in the coaching search and in the roster decisions. We should expect the Lakers to make big changes in the roster most likely going after All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to pair with the duo in LA. How much better can the Lakers be with a different coach? How will LeBron’s body respond to another full season grind? Can the Lakers finally find some consistency in the season? These are valid questions that will plague the offseason and will continue into next season.