Things are growing increasingly dire for the Los Angeles Lakers. After clawing their way back into the playoff hunt following a 2-10 start, they’ve now lost four in a row with Anthony Davis out injured. It’s a frustrating turn of events especially considering how well LeBron James is playing. The four-time MVP turns 38 this week, and has scored at least 30 points on 50 percent shooting or better in seven straight games.
Yet the Lakers continue to surround him with minimum-salary players and nonsensically small lineups. Fans have been waiting for a trade all season, but as the losses pile up, it’s seemingly growing increasingly unlikely that a trade comes. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the team does not want to compound its past mistakes with more win-now moves. The implication, of course, is that the Lakers do not want to trade their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to support a 13-20 team.
This is justifiable in a vacuum but immensely frustrating in reality. Before the season, Rob Pelinka promised that he would be a “caretaker of LeBron’s legacy” while vowing to trade those two first-round picks in the right deal. The flaws that led to the struggles this team has endured were largely predictable before the season. The Lakers didn’t sign any shooters in the offseason. They shouldn’t be surprised to have a team that can’t shoot.
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But most distressingly of all, the team has done little to curb the workload James and Davis have had to carry. Two weeks ago, Davis played 46 minutes, including the last 29 straight, in a loss to the Boston Celtics. Three days later, he suffered a foot injury with an unclear timeline for a return. Now that James is the only star left, how long can he remain healthy while carrying this broken roster?
The time to fix this roster would’ve been the summer. The Lakers didn’t do that. Instead they forced two superstars to carry the burden of mistakes the front office no longer appears interested in fixing. If something doesn’t change soon, the Lakers will be in the lottery for the second consecutive season and perhaps handing the New Orleans Pelicans a future superstar. This might’ve been preventable with swift and decisive action. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the front office will not take that action and instead choose to waste one of the final years of LeBron’s prime.