S65 Lakers Lethargy Legacy

[MexicanMamba]

It happened again.

A feeling that this franchise, no matter the logo attached, has gotten used to. Disappointment. Other words you could use? Confusion. Disgust. Devastation.

I'd love to sit here and tell you there's some silver lining. A light at the end of the tunnel. Something to hold onto and feel good about. There isn't one.

It isnt just the end of this past season. There's been a series of unfortunate events which have kept us from achieving our goals in the last decade or more.

Great players, great game plans, great fans, great decisions. Nothing to show for it. It hurts and is baffling, to be real honest.

What I can say is that there are no second guesses. Everyone in this organization put their best foot forward. From the players to the training staff to the coaches and scouts, everyone gave 100% of themselves to being successful.

It's simply disappointing that nobody was ultimately rewarded for their hard work. As we stated numerous times after our last finals appearance as well, this isn't to diminish anything our opponent did. The Warriors earned it. We just have a hard time swallowing that we let it go down that way.

We've made history, just the wrong kind.

So.

What now?

To be honest, it's hard to say. There were some difficult decisions to be made after the season. Tax bills piled up alongside the mounting playoff failures and so, players had to go. Karlo Pearson was a fixture here for a decade, and it was sad watching him leave. But it was time. Thomas Walker was preparing to step into his own after sitting behind a great duo. But we got a deal done that made too much sense. Charles Alleman has been our defensive foundation and quiet leader. But ... he needed a change too.

In came youth (Primo Spears, Hershal Gilmore, Jewel Ashcraft, Luke Hancock) and newer veteran leadership (Leroy Johnston, Tony Tindall). Plus, a few familiar faces. Evan Mobley was welcome back with open arms. And in the one NOT difficult decision of the off-season, Safi is back under a fresh max contract.

What does that make us? I don't know. I also don't know how different this roster will look by Day 60 or the deadline. We will be flexible and open in the trade market to best set ourselves up for future success.

The only thing we do know is it'll be Safi and Banchero who lead up into the next phase, whatever that may look like.

Everything else? Let's finish licking our wounds and mending our hurt pride, then look around.


Until then, I'll answer some questions.

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[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Do you plan to do another team rename, and claim the last team in LA you haven’t lost a championship as, The LA Sparks?


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[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Preseason power rankings still have the Lakers as the number one team. If all the rosters stayed as they were, what would stop you from winning a championship?

[MexicanMamba]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Do you plan to do another team rename, and claim the last team in LA you haven’t lost a championship as, The LA Sparks?


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Really we're just biding our time time until Purple/Purple Hershal Gilmore is ready to lead us to our next one.

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[MexicanMamba]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Preseason power rankings still have the Lakers as the number one team. If all the rosters stayed as they were, what would stop you from winning a championship?

Right off the top, we're simply not as deep of a roster as we were the past 2 seasons when we didn't win. It's the cost of doing business in a tax. Our starting 5 can likely play with anyone, because Safi and Banchero are true foundational pieces, but these days it takes more than that. Then, just look around at the conference. There's a lot of talent in Alpha and teams who were good last year made moves to get even better. The Wolves took us to 7 games and just added Thurman James. The Bucks went to the conference finals as a 6th seed and added to their roster. The Bulls are the Bulls. The Pacers used tons of money to support the MVP. And that's just to get to the Finals. If we got there? You're probably staring at Golden State again, who got deeper than last time where we're thinner. It'd be tough. Especially considering one of the places we lost the most is in our post defense and playing a team as large as the Warriors will require a lot of that.



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[RPF]

Sam Smith, Ballsacksports: When day 60 comes around, will the Lakers be a buyer or seller?

[MexicanMamba]

Sam Smith, Ballsacksports: When day 60 comes around, will the Lakers be a buyer or seller?

It honestly might be both. We will look to sell to 1. Continue replenishing our assets and 2. Get under the tax apron. However, we're open to buying the right kinda players (under 30, longer term roster potential) as long as it keeps us beneath the apron.

It's a season of possibility and fluidity in Los Angeles.

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[Eazy P]

Will the Safi preseason PF experiment continue into the regular season?

[MexicanMamba]

Will the Safi preseason PF experiment continue into the regular season?

I'm thinking it might be fun to continue experimenting with it, yeah. At least early on. With the possibility of roster Flux, I can't say where folks will eventually end up in the lineup but Safi playing a hybrid Point Forward role sounds exciting.

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[greepleairport]

What aspect of Hershal Gilmore's game makes him the future of the Lakers? How will your vet leaders step in to help him develop over the course of his rookie contract?

[MexicanMamba]

What aspect of Hershal Gilmore's game makes him the future of the Lakers? How will your vet leaders step in to help him develop over the course of his rookie contract?

He's got a lot of work to do before he's considered THE future of the Lakers. However, we love his size and athleticism (6'7, 200lbs, 86 QKN, 75 JMP) and he has scoring potentials and defense in some of the right places. It'll take patience by us and effort from him in our training regiment, but we see a lot of promise in the 19-year-old. He couldn't learn under a better example in Safi, who became one of the league's best players by sheer grit and determination. If you remember him when he stepped into our organization, you know. Follow Safi's example and Hersh will be alright.

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[Mike Lowry]

Considering how the last 2 seasons have played out, do you think there was a strategic change you could have made to get you over the top?
As someone who struggles to understand the strategy aspect of the game, I'm curious if you can look at the numbers in the aftermath and see an adjustment that you would be confident would have worked?

[MexicanMamba]

Considering how the last 2 seasons have played out, do you think there was a strategic change you could have made to get you over the top?
As someone who struggles to understand the strategy aspect of the game, I'm curious if you can look at the numbers in the aftermath and see an adjustment that you would be confident would have worked?

Well, two seasons ago injuries derailed my season or else we probably have B2B Lakers vs Warriors Finals. So, definitely nothing in that one. Last season is obviously a different story. Firstly, I don't regret anything about the build or gameplan. I just got beat. However, could I have tried some new things? Well, you never fully know what is the cause for the results of this game. That said, my strength on offense was bullying my way to the rim and on defense, I could man up on everyone cause I had a big, physical team. Unfortunately, Jon's roster, while not quite as skilled, was bigger and stronger and more athletic. So, my strengths just drove right into brick walls. I could have tried adjusting and highlighting my skilled shooters and played from the perimeter more since the Warriors aren't nearly as strong scoring/defending there.

Doesn't matter now, but it's something I could have tried.

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