Without a doubt, the Los Angeles Lakers had a terrible season considering the expectations they had at the start of the year. The superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis won an NBA title for the Lakers during the 2020 season, and they were bolstered by the presence of 9-time All-Star and former MVP Russell Westbrook.
Together, they were expected to win the NBA title and were considered the favorites to come out of the Western Conference. Nobody could have imagined, no matter how well they can predict a team’s production, that the Los Angeles would completely miss the postseason and even the play-in tournament.
The play-in tournament was considered a blessing for the Lakers at some point of this season, because they had a sub .500 record and were fighting for a chance to compete after the regular season. At the end of the year, the Lakers had a 33-49 record which was good for 11th in the Western Conference. Anthony Davis, the team’s expected best scorer, only played in 40 games and shot the ball extremely poorly. He shot 18.6% from three and 71.4% from the free-throw line, abnormal numbers for a Hall of Fame talent that was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Russell Westbrook was healthy, competing in 78 games, but he shot 29.8% from three and 66.7% from the stripe along with being one of the most inconsistent point guards in the league.
Westbrook turned the ball over an average of 3.8 times per game and constantly made headlines due to his inability to control the tempo of the Lakers game and also make shots near the rim. More so than any other player we have ever seen, Westbrook missed an unbelievable amount of layups and dunks this year. Even if Westbrook’s numbers at 18.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 7.1 APG looked great, his moments of inconsistency were demoralizing to the team. It never worked with Russ, as the former MVP even seemingly deflected blame by putting it on the Lakers for his inconsistent play:
“What I bring to an organization is not just basketball. I am well-faceted in different aspects of my life, whether it’s in the community, whether it’s leadership, whether it’s different things of helping other teammates and people and creating friendships and relationships, because that’s the bigger goal because basketball is a short time in your life and you have an ability to create friendships and relationships in that time. But when you have to try to prove to people or try to let people take this perception of who they think of me, it kind of takes you coming in and, good luck, you know. I just never felt I had a fair chance on the basketball front or any front.”
Most importantly, LeBron James, despite averaging 30.3 PPG during the year, was 37 years old and could not carry a team into the playoffs singlehandedly as he used to do in his prime.
The Lakers are looking for a way to give LeBron James the help he needs, and it might come courtesy of the Chicago Bulls. Chicago have a massive factor weighing on their postseason, and that is held in Zach LaVine’s hands. LaVine is a free agent and has made no secret that he is keeping his options open. In fact, LaVine has stated he is actually looking forward to free agency:
“Free agency is gonna be a big milestone for me,” LaVine said. “It’s my first time going into it really being [an] unrestricted free agent. I dealt with it being restricted before, so it’s a whole new experience. I’m excited for the season with the Bulls. But you know, moving forward, it’s gonna be a whole new experience for me.”
With LaVine’s decision essentially leaving Chicago waiting in the dark, they might be able to take a step ahead and consider a blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to completely change the NBA landscape. LaVine has reportedly always been a Lakers fan, and social media have already predicted that the shooting guard would consider joining the Purple and Gold.