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The lead actors are the same. The director and some of the supporting cast change. And still the Lakers are no closer to even being nominated for a Larry.
The next alterations could be seismic, even for California, with one league executive suggesting an interesting landing spot for LeBron James. Until then, the script remains the same.
“It’s the same stuff you’ve been hearing for a while, just with some different people,” said one source close to the situation, discussing the club’s quagmire and presently unachievable quest for the NBA‘s Larry O’Brien trophy. “Like, now it’s JJ (Redick as coach) instead of Darvin (Ham). They can keep changing coaches, but it’s not going to change where they are. They’ve got LeBron and Anthony Davis and … what?”
The Lakers are 13-11. They were 14-10 after 24 games under Ham last season, 10-14 the year before and 12-12 under Frank Vogel in 2021-22. With the exception of popping bubbly in the 2020 Bubble and a trip to the 2023 West finals, where they were summarily swept by Denver, this cornerstone franchise has been mediocre and less. The bench boss matters little.
“Until LeBron leaves, it’s not going to be a good job, you know?” the source continued. “You’re going to be held to a standard that isn’t realistic. LeBron’s almost 40, man, c’mon. He can still do great things because he’s freakin’ LeBron. But in terms of getting that team to be good consistently for a period of years — a contender — it’s not going to happen with how it’s set up now. They took their shot these last couple of years, and it didn’t work. They have to be honest. Two stars weren’t enough with what they had around them. It wasn’t a coaching thing. It almost never is.”
LeBron James Trade Is Up to … LeBron James
There has been speculation of late that the Lakers might be willing to bite the bullet and be open to trading James, but that’s going to be his call ultimately. A league exec believes that is becoming increasingly realistic.
“Now that LeBron has had his chance to play with Bronny and have that be a part of his legacy, he has to assess this team,” he told Heavy. “I think he’s finding that team wanting, which makes a lot of people around the league think he might finally be open to a trade to play somewhere else that’s championship level.
“The question is, how can you make that trade? There’s only a few teams where his delivery brings them from the second plateau to the top, but it’s hard, if not impossible, for teams like that to take his contract.”
Some usual top-tier suspects are being mentioned, but salary cap and apron restrictions make most of them non-starters. Our source did have an interesting thought, however.
“The one place that I don’t hear a lot of talk about with LeBron is Sacramento,” he said. “He could change them, and they might have the kind assets to make a trade work. They have a lot of young talent, and because they’re a small market, they haven’t spent like drunken sailors. They have some draft picks a young talent. If they could get to the salary, LeBron would take (De’Aron) Fox and (Domantas) Sabonis and elevate the hell out of them — particularly Fox. With that threesome, those guys could be a force.”
And it would come at fairly minimal disruption for James, who knows his way around private jets.
“He could live in L.A. and play in Sacramento, no doubt about it,” said the exec.
Lakers Spinning Their Wheels As Is
Without changes, the Lakers appear to be spinning their wheels. Losses by 29 points to Minnesota and 41 to the Heat last Monday and Wednesday were body blows to the notion the club needs just tweaks.
“Can we dispense with the idea that there’s some coaching genius out there that is going to take a tattered quilt and turn it into a cashmere blanket?” an experienced rival personnel man said. “All the best plans you can formulate don’t mean s*** at a certain point when you’ve got a rotation that just can’t match up with the teams up top that you have to beat.
“And it gets even worse for them in the playoffs when your opponent can zero in and exploit your weaknesses. That’s if the Lakers even get to the playoffs.”
Added another source from the coaching fraternity, “It’s all fun, the process of getting that job. I mean, you get to be the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. But then you get there and you realize pretty quick that it doesn’t work — at least it doesn’t work for what the expectation is for a franchise like that.
“They’re not winning a championship. They got that one in the bubble when AD was all rested, but now they’re older and the grind of the season and lack of talent around LeBron and AD just kills them. They have some good players, but they don’t have enough to compete with the top of the conference.”
It’s looking like time for a re-write.
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