Los Angeles Lakers Still Don’t Get It
The Los Angeles Lakers still can’t grasp the idea of building for the future, despite the recent failures that their ‘win now’ mentality has brought about.
For fans who followed the Los Angeles Lakers last year, this week’s announcement of a change to the starting lineup should come as no surprise for two reasons.
First, the Lakers have been known to choose building a team that can compete and win in the present over building for the future. In the past, the team’s right-now mentality was the motor behind many colossal moves that brought the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’ Neal and Pau Gasol to Los Angeles and added championships to the franchise’s winning history.
However, as of late, that habit has only hurt the team, as evidenced by the failed attempt to trade for Chris Paul that led the team to pull the trigger on a trade that sent several draft picks for an aged Steve Nash; a trade they are still paying the price for. Add in the unsuccessful plot to hand the torch to Dwight Howard and you have Exhibit A of how trying to “win now” can backfire.
ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: 25 Best Players To Play For The Lakers
Secondly, head coach Byron Scott has been known to shake up the rotation during rough patches in the season. Last year, Scott played an astounding 13 different starting rotations with 14 different players seeing time as starters throughout the course of the season.
Though they were many, the lineup changes were often well received either because they were in response to injuries or because certain players were playing better than others and earned minutes in those starting spots.
The reason for the overwhelmingly negative response this year is because this time, the lineup changes involve the cornerstones of the Lakers’ future.
By deciding to bench rookie D’Angelo Russell and near-rookie Julius Randle for the foreseeable future in favor of journeyman scorer Lou Williams and fellow rookie Larry Nance Jr., Scott made a very Laker-esque mistake this week by once again endangering the team’s future by trying to compete in the present.
What’s even more disappointing about this change is that both players seemed to be turning a corner in their level of play as of late.
Prior to being benched, Russell and Randle were starting to show signs of life in what has been an inconsistent start to the season for both of them. Russell was averaging 12.8 points per game on 43 percent shooting over the last 10 contests, both well above his season averages.
Russell scored in double digits in eight of those games and put on his best performance of the season, amassing a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists while shooting 57 percent from three in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
As impressive as Russell has been lately, his frontcourt partner might have been even more so. Randle has come alive recently as the reliable offensive post threat that everyone knew he could be, averaging a double-double a night with 13.3 points and 10.6 rebounds a contest over the last 10 games.
Randle has amassed double doubles in seven of these games, including a game against the Washington Wizards in which, despite being overshadowed by Kobe Bryant‘s late game heroics, he turned in an outstanding performance with 15 points and a career-high 19 boards in the win.
These stats only make the recent change seem all the more boneheaded. Making the decision to stifle two promising rookies at the point where their growth is the most apparent by sending them to the bench and cutting their minutes shows that the Lakers’ coaching staff and management still haven’t learned from their mishaps of the last half-decade.
Next: NBA Draft: Best Player Ever Selected in all 60 Spots
The team can’t continue to jeopardize its future while trying to compete with a mediocre roster of veterans who, with the exception of Lou Williams, haven’t consistently performed. Win, lose or draw, the team has to play these youngsters and allow them to continue to grow individually and collectively to ensure that they can win in the future.