The team, spoiled by success, endured a tough 2021-22 season and failed to make the playoffs after a streak of eight straight losses at the end of the season saw them sidelined.
From questionable off-season moves to injuries and star failure, there were a variety of reasons for the team’s disappointing season.
And with so many questions surrounding the team’s future — finding a new head coach and rebuilding the roster with limited funds — the future surrounding the Lakers looks decidedly unclear.
make movements
Two years ago, the Lakers were world champions.
Behind a suffocating defense and its two superstars – James and Davis – the team won the 2020 NBA championship title in Florida’s safe bubble of Covid-19.
But this year’s version of the team is a shadow of that.
A roster overhaul took place following last season’s playoff loss to the Phoenix Suns — a playoff series in which Davis suffered a game-changing injury.
The team traded for 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Westbrook from the Washington Wizards in exchange for a first-round pick, two future second-round picks and a cast of previously key players — Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
They also lost core players Alex Caruso and Dennis Schroeder to free agency, replacing them with a mix of older veterans like Carmelo Anthony or bench players.
With the addition of Westbrook, the Lakers thought they were in best position for a championship run, and bookies agreed.
When the Golden State Warriors brought in Kevin Durant to join Steph Curry and Klay Thompson — a team that would go on to win two titles — Lakers fans thought they had their own “Big Three.”
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook: Sounds pretty good right?
However, it was clear from the start that not everything was rosy.
problem to problem
The Lakers are usually one of the most talked about teams in the NBA each year, but with James and Davis paired with Westbrook, their season’s prospects dominated the airways.
With endless hype behind them and fans clamoring to see the King, the Brow and Brodie for the first time, the Lakers opened the season with a home game against the Warriors.
Despite 34 points from James and 33 from Davis, LA disappointed the home fans with a 121-114 loss.
But that’s just the first game, right? You will still be warmed up.
A convincing home loss to the Phoenix Suns followed just three days later.
But they’re two of the best teams out there, right? It gets better.
It didn’t. The team went 4-3 in October and 8-8 in November as they struggled for consistency. A Vogel Lakers team previously ate in his defense. But this team – with older routines and less flexibility – could not rely on that.
And the offensive cohesion wasn’t there either.
James and Davis’ relationship has always been key to the Lakers’ success, and other role players loved to play their roles. The addition of Westbrook didn’t quite seem to work as another ball-dominant player unsettled the team, leading to shaky results.
Then, on December 17, Davis hobbled off after apparently suffering a knee injury. It was later confirmed that he had sprained his left cruciate ligament.
The removal of Davis – the Robin of James’ Batman – was a devastating blow to the Lakers.
Davis missed 17 games and returned in late January only to sustain a right ankle injury that once again put him on the sidelines.
Without Davis, the Lakers were a team with no quality, and although James had a dominant season — even though it was his 19th in the league — they couldn’t overcome it.
Overall, the Lakers “Big Three” only played 21 games together due to injuries, limiting the time to build chemistry.
Their failure to qualify for the postseason, with the amount of money and trading capital invested in the team, was seen as a major failure Vogel couldn’t escape with his job.
Despite missing the playoffs for only the fourth time in his long and eventful career, 38-year-old James says he has no plans to go anywhere.
“I came here to win a championship and I want to win more,” James told reporters on Monday. “So I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve, but I’m still hungry for more. I am confident that this organization wants the same. That’s what this organization has always been about.
“I also wanted to change the narrative and how this franchise can compete at a high level again. They have decades and decades and decades of victory behind them.
But yeah, when I signed here, when Magic (Johnson) was here and Rob (Pelinka) was here – Rob is still here – I told them I wanted to help this franchise become a champion again. I did this, we did this, but I want to do it again.”
New guy in town
A lightning rod to many of the team’s problems was Westbrook.
One of the league’s most dynamic players at its peak, Westbrook is a potential Hall of Famer, but his trade to Los Angeles was his third in four years as he struggles to find a long-term landing spot.
With his big contract signing – the highest-paid player on the team – and high trade price, Westbrook was expected to come in and perform.
However, his presence on the pitch has been erratic this year, with clips of some of his plays this season becoming taunts and fans even coining him ‘Westbrick’ – a brick is a pejorative term used to describe an ugly looking miss off the rim.
Such was the criticism of him and his family that Westbrook came out and urged people to stop using the nickname.
“When it comes to basketball, I don’t mind the criticism of misses and shots on goal. But the moment my name gets shamed, it becomes a problem,” he said in March.
“I’ve kind of let it go in the past because it’s never really bothered me. But recently it really hit me.
“My wife and I went to teacher-parent conferences for my son. And the teacher said to me, ‘Noah, he’s so proud of his last name. He writes it everywhere. He writes it on everything that says, “I’m Westbrook.”
“And I sat there kind of in shock and it hit me like, ‘Damn. I can no longer let people [to besmirch my name].'”
And while Westbrook has had moments, his future with the team seems uncertain. His large contract makes him difficult to trade, but his on-pitch chemistry with his teammates doesn’t seem to fit in the long term.
However, after the season ended, Westbrook believes he was never given a fair chance, citing his relationship with Vogel.
“When I got here, the ability to do what I can do for a team and an organization wasn’t given a fair chance,” he said.
With an aging team and question marks throughout the roster, it looks like it will be a long off-season in the “City of Angels”.