Los Angeles Lakers: Are They Really Exiting ‘Tank Mode’?
By Sai Mohan
The Los Angeles Lakers seem determined to exit ‘Tank Mode’ after three successive years in the lottery. Here, we analyze the challenges facing the purple and gold in their quest to return to relevancy.
The Los Angeles Lakers, as an organization, have forgotten how to win.
They fail to get meetings with marquee free agents, let alone sign them. They have lost a combined 181 games over the last three seasons, more than a dozen of them by 30+ points.
When a coach or general manger says, “The development of youngsters takes precedence over wins and losses,” he’s saying in as many words that the team would love to be rewarded with a top-5 pick at the end of the season.
But the Lakers aren’t in a position to encourage a losing habit. They could finish the 2016-17 season with the league-worst record and still stand to lose their top-three protected draft pick.
Typically, when teams add three consecutive top-10 picks, a playoff berth becomes a legitimate possibility with at least one of the three young guns ascending to the brink of All-Star status.
The Lakers, however, seem to be in a bit of a funk.
Case in point, the Oklahoma City Thunder who drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden in three consecutive seasons and subsequently became a 50-win team.
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The Warriors, too, were a respectable playoff team at the end of four successive draft nights which saw them add Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli.
Ditto with the Portland Trail Blazers who recovered from the departure of four starters due to draft night additions of Damian Lillard (No. 6 pick) in 2012 and C. J. McCollum (No. 10 pick) in 2013.
The Lakers are starting from scratch in the post-Kobe Bryant era.
The previous season was literally the Bryant retirement circus and it seemed like the development of the younger players was compromised. During the same timeframe, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets made strides despite staying in the lottery.
Related Story: Purple & Gold: 2016-17 Season Outlook
The Lakers’ young core is still a mystery.
It’s hard to determine a ceiling for Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell, who weren’t allowed to blossom the way lottery picks are supposed to, especially for bad teams. Therefore, it’s fair to suggest that latest addition Brandon Ingram is on the same footing as his peers.
Following the 2015-16 season, it’s difficult to project Russell and Randle as future All-Stars. However, it’s equally unfair to cast aspersions on their ceiling due to a myriad of external factors.
Russell and Randle were seemingly sparring with outgoing head coach Byron Scott, who benched both players at various stages last season. When Scott was fired in favor of Luke Walton, the following vine went viral:
Since Scott’s departure, the young Laker players haven’t refrained from taking shots at the Showtime era guard, blaming the ex-coach for failing to create a productive environment.
Walton, the youngest head coach in the league, is expected to share a better rapport with the players.
During his time in Oakland, Walton was part of the coach staff that instilled a college-like atmosphere with players enjoying each other’s company besides reveling in their success.
Walton is trying to inculcate the same culture in Los Angeles. He has adopted Steve Kerr’s practice routine which calls for loud music before the start of training sessions. Kerr maintains that turning a jam session into practice helps build positive vibes around the team.
Russell is one of many young Lakers who enjoys practice sessions more than ever before.
"“When I’m with a few of my teammates and we’re playing a certain type of music, the vibe is different. Then when you play that music that gets you excited, hyped and rowdy, the whole vibe changes,” the second-year guard said after Day 1 of the ongoing training camp."
Lakers to tank again?
Fun and games are hunky-dory, but these Lakers are running out excuses for prolonged irrelevancy.
In 2013-14, the consensus excuse was that Bryant played only six games. Again, in 2014-15, Bryant appeared in only 35 games as the team gunned to keep its protected top-three draft pick which could have been surrendered to the Sixers.
In 2015-16, it was all about Bryant’s retirement, following by the Lakers lucking out again and retaining their protected top-three draft pick.
Exiting Tank Mode
The Pros:
- End losing habit
- Give Lakers season ticket-holders something to rejoice about
- Send the right message to free agents ahead of the 2017-18 season
The Cons:
- Curb Brandon Ingram’s growth
- Risk losing the top-three draft pick
- Remain in mediocrity by compromising quick wins for development of youth
With Bryant and Scott gone, we can finally find out what the young Lakers core is made of. These young players are on a longer leash since the team is projected to miss the postseason again, and general manger Mitch Kupchak has already acknowledged the inevitable.
"“We’d like to win more than (17 games). Wins and losses, I can’t pick a number. I want to see improvement in the young players. I want to see some production from our rookies. I want our team to be fun to watch, I want them to have fun playing and I want them to (gradually) get better.”"
Kupchak’s candid nature was an indication that there isn’t too much pressure on his players. That’s why ESPN draft insider Chad Ford is projecting the Lakers to gun for yet another top-three pick.
"“The best outcome for the Lakers this season is keeping their pick for one more year. Land a top three pick in June and the Lakers will have two young superstars to build around,” Ford wrote in an insider piece earlier this month."
Ford opined that Russell and Randle aren’t the cornerstone players the Lakers were hoping for and would have to pin their hopes on Ingram and another top-three pick.
This is surely a catch-22 situation for Luke Walton.
Leading into training camp, Walton has reiterated on several occasions that he’d not throw all the youngsters in together since he still wishes to win ball games. If he gives more playing time to veterans Timofey Mozgov, Luol Deng and Lou Williams at the expense of Brandon Ingram & Co., he’d risk curbing the development of the young players.
But if he decides to go all-out with the youth, he’d be setting up the Laker fanbase for yet another season in which teams march into Staples Center and drop 130 points without breaking a sweat.
Next: NBA Predictions: 2016-17 Win Projections For All 30 Teams
Prediction: The Lakers finish 24-58 but lose their top-three draft pick since the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets finish with fewer wins.