The Los Angeles Lakers had a disastrous 2021-22 season. Despite having three future Hall of Famers leading the way in LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, the purple and gold missed the playoffs.
The Lakers were so bad that they didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. Frank Vogel was fired after the regular season ended and Los Angeles’ search for Vogel’s replacement is expected to be “expansive and lengthy,” according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Major changes are needed this summer for the Lakers to contend for another championship while James is still on the team. The four-time MVP becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023 and Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley urged the Lakers to make three vital offseason moves in an April 26 column.
Buckley said Los Angeles needs to hire the right head coach, move on from Westbrook and add more two-way players.
Buckley Talks Lakers Coach, Westbrook
Vogel was a defensive-minded coach. The Lakers were fourth in scoring defense in 2019-20 and second in 2020-21. Los Angeles’ defense took a major step back this season, ranking 28th, which may have been a reason why Vogel was fired.
“Will they lean toward offense instead of defense this time? How much will experience matter? Do they want a motivator or a tactician? Will they spend what it takes to chase the biggest names on the market? There are myriad questions to answer, but there should be,” Buckley wrote. “The Lakers, arguably, won’t make a more important decision all summer than this one.”
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, James would be “very enthused” by the prospect of Mark Jackson landing the Lakers’ head coaching job. Jackson is currently a broadcaster for ESPN and ABC.
After talking about the Lakers’ next coach Buckley turned his attention to Westbrook, who is widely expected to be on a new team next season. The one-time MVP has a player option worth $47,063,478 for 2022-23 and he’s projected to pick it up.
“The Lakers can’t go another season with Russell Westbrook on the roster—or, perhaps more importantly, the payroll,” Buckley wrote. “His game never fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis or in relief of them. The best result for all parties is an amicable divorce, whether that’s through a trade, a buyout or Westbrook being waived and stretched.
“A trade is the preferred outcome for the Purple and Gold, but they can’t give up too much (one future first-rounder is probably doable, but two should be a deal-breaker) and need to walk away with some type of contributor.”
Westbrook appeared in 78 games this season. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field, 29.8% from beyond the arc and 66.7% from the free-throw line. The two-time scoring champion was second in the NBA in turnovers and had a plus-minus of –211.
Buckley Advises Lakers to Add Shooting, Length & Defensive Versatility
Buckley thinks the Lakers need more shooting, length and defensive versatility alongside James and Davis. Los Angeles won the 2020 championship because it had shooters and stout defenders around LBJ and AD.
“L.A. must use this summer to increase its shooting, length and defensive versatility on the perimeter,” Buckley wrote. “That’s tricky with the budget constraints, but the Lakers have the taxpayer mid-level exception and a few trade chips to throw around. This may be their last crack at constructing a contender around LeBron James—he is 37 years old and unsigned beyond next season—so they must make their additions count.”
James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists this season and the Lakers were still awful. Los Angeles can’t take having the King on its roster for granted and must improve this summer from top to bottom.
Comments Closed