‘The Los Angeles Lakers are less than two months away from their season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers. Last season the team finished in 11th place in the Western Conference with a (35-47) record. Although Lakers fans are used to championships and consistent playoff appearances, last seasons ending was expected by most.
Over the last few years, the Lakers have been rebuilding through the draft due to free agents lack of interest in the franchise. Prior to Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka being hired in 2017, Los Angeles drafted Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac in the 2016 NBA Draft. At the 2017 NBA Draft, Johnson and Pelinka drafted Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Thomas Bryant.
During the 2018 NBA Draft, the Lake show drafted Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. A lot of analyst and Lakers fans expressed a bit of frustration with this year’s draft. Outside of Wanger both Mykhailiuk and Bonga may not be able to contribute right away.
However, things would get better after Klutch Sports announced that LeBron James would be signing a 4-year deal with the Lakers. Signing James instantly improved the Lakers roster and forced Johnson and Pelinka to add more talent.
After landing King James, management signed some notable free agents in Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley. Not to mention the team re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a second 1-year deal. Obviously, some of these names raise some eyebrows but when you think about it these moves make sense. Every player Los Angeles signed is aggressive and won’t back down from LBJ.
For the last two seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers rosters consisted of spot-up shooters and role players. With the exception of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love during the 2016 Championship team. Nonetheless, the two were never fully healthy or on the court at the same time. O yeah, and Irving requested a trade before the 2017 season started and was traded to the Boston Celtics.
Needless to say, the role players on the Cavaliers struggled to be aggressive and make plays for themselves. This year’s Lakers team probably won’t win a title but they will make noise in the west. On the contrary, the signing of Rondo may cause issues for Ball.
As of now, the Lakers plan on holding onto Ball who will enter his sophomore season this fall. Of course, Ball is only 20 years old and entering his second year but there are three reasons why the Lakers have to consider trading him.
Next Up: Reason 3
