“Prepare me for the war because comfort is the fall of kings.”
This is a quote I heard from the song David’s Roof and it relates to the Los Angeles Lakers and their roster moves in the last couple of weeks. Los Angeles acquired Russell Westbrook on the day of the NBA draft, and in the first two days of free agency, the Lakers added Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, and Kendrick Nunn among others.
The Lakers were the 2019-20 NBA champions being the final team to outlast the Orlando bubble. Unfortunately, the squad fell short this postseason losing to the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
Injuries played a huge part in Los Angeles’ shortcomings. LeBron James never fully recovered from his ankle injury and Anthony Davis was hurt throughout the season and in the series with Phoenix.
Jeanie Buss, owner of the Lakers, and Rob Pelinka, Vice President of Basketball of Operations for the Lakers have strategically given the franchise a lot of flexibility in the past few seasons. A lot of their new players have been signed to one-year deals allowing them to revamp the roster the year after year.
We’ve seen this Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Dwight Howard. This offseason is no different. The Lakers are kings when it comes to championships in the NBA winning 17 (tied with the Boston Celtics). The organization didn’t want to settle with the roster that was currently constructed and decided to keep up with the other contenders in the NBA.
Looking at the other side of the league, the Brooklyn Nets have yet to showcase how great they are. Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving were all injured at different points in the season. The Nets’ Big 3 never had a chance to build chemistry and they’ll be back stronger than ever next season.
Going against a team with so much offensive power in the Nets, the Lakers needed to add a superstar like Westbrook and perimeter shooters like Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, and Kendrick Nunn to contend with them.
It’s hard to see any of the teams in the western conference giving the Lakers any trouble. The Jazz can’t take command of a series, the Suns’ guard Chris Paul is 36, the Nuggets aren’t a good defensive team, and Paul George of the Clippers is inconsistent in the playoffs.
It’s going to take some time for the Lakers to show cohesion on the basketball court, but I know LeBron will get some scrimmages with his new teammates before the preseason begins.
The fans have been robbed of a few LeBron playoff matchups. I wanted to see LeBron vs. Kobe in the 2009 finals, LeBron vs. Kyrie in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, and LeBron vs. Kawhi/PG in the last two postseasons. This upcoming finals, the fans want to see the Nets vs. Lakers as a few ex-teammates go head-to-head. The Lakers are ready for war…look out!