Before the 2018-19 NBA season got underway for the Los Angeles Lakers, the storied franchise seemed to have turned things around with a promising young core set to be led by the team's biggest free agent acquisition since Shaquille O'Neal set to lead the way in LeBron James.
Unfortunately, the team that has missed the playoffs for a franchise-high five straight years has had no luck go their way. Los Angeles proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the early going getting as high as fourth place in the Western Conference, but injuries, costly trade rumors, and veterans failing to inspire this team have led to yet another disappointing finish to a season.
Injuries Have Taken A Toll
LeBron' groin injury on Christmas Day was the beginning of a drastic turn for the Lakers this season. The superstar forward ended up missing 18 games due to the injury, and the team simply couldn't stay afloat during his absence. Throughout his 16-year NBA career, no other injury ended up costing him more time on the sidelines than this one.
As if James missing that much time wasn't bad enough, some of the team's talented young players were also banged up throughout the season. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma have all missed time, and two of those three have already been ruled out for the season with 16 games left.
Perhaps the most costly injury was Ball going down with a severe ankle sprain. The UCLA product has had trouble staying healthy in his first two seasons which will both end with him watching from the bench in street clothes. Lonzo's play on the defensive end of the basketball floor has been sorely missed while his playmaking skills on offense have also been difficult to replace. With Ball shut down for the second straight season, he'll finish his first two years in the NBA with 99 total games played out of a possible 164.
As for Kuzma, the second-year forward has been able to bounce back each time he's been injured without missing too many games. He's dealing with an ankle injury right now but seems intent on returning even though the team might be thinking otherwise with the playoffs out of reach.
On Saturday, Ingram's injury took a turn for the worst. What was initially diagnosed as a sore shoulder that would be monitored day-to-day turned into a blood clot in his arm which could become a long-term problem. He was subsequently shut down as the team deals with the injury that could threaten the rest of his NBA career.
The former Duke star had taken his game to another level and began showing his potential to play at this level consistently. This was a great sign of a bright future ahead of Ingram while also potentially providing the team with an organic star in the making alongside James.
These injuries can't be understated in terms of the impact they've had on this once-promising season. This team with LeBron, young core and all these other veteran additions had never played with each other, and that alone is tough to build into a winner, but adding devastating injuries into the mix is more than enough to erase any expectations.
NBA Trade Deadline Derailed Morale
Although athletes always state the nature of the business in the NBA or any other professional sport for that matter, the fact is they're human beings and react to not being wanted, needed or good enough to do their job the same way everyone else does. The majority of this Lakers team had to deal with before the deadline.
Failing to acquire superstar Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans at the NBA trade deadline had a devastating impact on this Lakers team. The reports of virtually the entire roster outside of LeBron being expendable and not making a deal killed morale.
Players have no idea what will happen this summer and trust in management is more than likely not what it once was before the rumors surfaced. The fact that the Lakers may not be a desirable destination in NBA free agency doesn't help as it may push Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to pursue trades rather than going all-in on courting Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, or other big-name options come July.
This is twice now that this Lakers regime has been involved in trade talks that didn't come to fruition and have affected the future of the franchise. A similar situation transpired with Paul George after he wanted out of Indiana and pushed for the team to trade him to Los Angeles. This irked the Pacers organized that accused Johnson and company of tampering which the NBA later fined the Lakers brass for doing.
Ultimately, George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder and turned out liking playing alongside Russell Westbrook enough to spurn Los Angeles in free agency and sign a long-term deal without even giving Pelinka and Johnson a meeting. This wasn't a good look.
Even though the team's brass spoke with players individually once the dust settled, these players must be wondering what the future holds and whether they genuinely want to be in a situation like this in Los Angeles.
Veteran Leadership And Effort Sorely Lacking
Leadership in the NBA seems to be changing. Players are jumping from team to team regularly while branding and off-the-floor endeavors sometimes seem to be the priority for superstars. It's no secret that a lot of these players make much more off the floor then they do on it even with certain players making $30+ million a season.
This Lakers team has really struggled in the leadership department in the aftermath of the Davis trade saga. Players seemed to be divided and understandably so considering the situation, but veterans haven't been there to pick them up and inspire them to continue playing at a high level.
Throughout the entire process, Kuzma has been the consummate professional, and it hasn't impacted his play even though he has been mentioned in every trade scenario. Ingram also began to come into his own as the season progressed showing his true potential to be a star in the near future.
However, the effort from veterans like Rondo and James. If you're veteran in the NBA, inspiring with your play and effort on the floor is the least a player can do. There are four championships between these two, but at times it seemed as though they literally gave up playing defense.
That should never happen. Players like these should lead by example every night on the floor. Effort goes a long way, especially with young players learning how to take their games to another level. Quitting on one end of the floor on numerous occasions is unacceptable for any player let alone proven veterans.
Hopefully, for the Lakers, this doesn't set a precedent moving forward or deter players wanting to come to Los Angeles. This franchise is in trouble with their situation as there is no guarantee another star player will come walking through that door in free agency to join James. The way this season has panned out, it might even be less likely than it might have been before the 2018-19 campaign went off the rails.
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