WELCOME TO THE LAKESHOW

Evan Davis

We are less than a month away from the NBA regular season kicking off and the Los Angeles Lakers are still trying to find ways to improve their roster. Removed from the roster is Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton Tucker and Stanley Johnson.

Also removed from the team is head coach, Frank Vogel, who was ridiculed for the entire season due to his horrendous lineup decisions. I was personally not a fan of putting LeBron at center when you had Dwight Howard on the roster, but who knows what was going on in the Lakers front office. Enter Darvin Ham, who used to be an assistant coach with the Lakers back in 2011. Ham brings a defensive mindset to the team and also adds a brand of toughness. He has been granted full control of the Lakers lineup, something Frank Vogel didn’t have last season.

With the departure of numerous free agents, the Lakers decided to get younger and added some nice pieces such as returning players Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones, and Dennis Schroeder; as well as Juan Toscano Anderson from Golden State and Lonnie Walker IV from San Antonio.

With defense being a huge issue last year for the team, the Lakers decided to trade former second round pick, Talen Horton Tucker, as well as Stanley Johnson, to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Patrick Beverley. I really liked this move for the Lakers because Patrick Beverly fits perfectly with the culture new head coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers want to establish. Beverly currently ranks 2nd in the NBA in lowest field goal percentage against, he only trails Giannis Antetokounmpo.

One elephant in the room is Russell Westbrook. It appears as if the Lakers are trying to trade him, but other reports have said that the Lakers are trying to move him onto the bench. A reason why the Lakers haven’t been able to trade Westbrook is due to the fact that teams want the Lakers 2027 and 2029 first round picks, but the Lakers won’t budge.

One trade I wouldn’t mind the Lakers making involves the Indiana Pacers and Buddy Hield. I would send Russell Westbrook and a first round pick for Hield. With the Pacers in a rebuild/retool mode and Hield nearing 30, this allows for the Lakers to acquire a shooter and for the Pacers to bring a big name into the building. We all know Westbrook has the talent, but he needs to be the primary ball handler and he can’t do that in LA with LeBron.

If the Lakers head into the season with Westbrook, I wouldn’t be upset but I would definitely be curious to see how it all works out in year 2. I do believe the Lakers have the talent and personnel to make a playoff push, but the way the lineup is currently constructed doesn’t pose a threat when it comes to championship contenders.