The Los Angeles Lakers have welcomed LeBron James with open arms this season. But is the team good enough to make a long run in the playoffs? Yes, but a championship is not in the cards. The reason for that is, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka made the wrong call by letting Julius Randle walk last summer.
Take into account what the Lakers have done over the course of this young season. While they will enter 2019 calendar as a playoff seed, they are not close to teams like the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Although their record may say otherwise, the Lakers will miss the inside scoring of Randle come playoff time. This season, with the New Orleans Pelicans, Randle is averaging 19.3 points and 9.5 rebounds while playing only 27.7 minutes per game.
The Los Angeles Lakers are loaded on the wings with LeBron James, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma. That trio alone will give opposing defenses nightmares. However, only LeBron has the real low post moves to be a threat in the paint in a halfcourt set.
After the retirement of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were expected to continue their youth movement. However, once the losses began to pile up, the organization decided to make a few drastic changes. Two of the most important ones were trading D'Angelo Russell and letting Randle walk.
While the Lakers have added James and other vets to the core, Russell and Randle have shined on their new teams. With Russell leading the surprising Brooklyn Nets and Randle stat stuffing in New Orleans, it seems Johnson and Pelinka dropped the ball along the way.
What Johnson envisioned is a team to rival what the Houston Rockets and Warriors have done. Yes, the Rockets have Clint Capela, but he's being underused in Houston. The same goes for the Warriors. The offense runs through Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant. Draymond Green is an All-Star but he's a hybrid player much like Kuzma.
By keeping Julius Randle, this current Lakers' squad would almost be invincible.
What the Lakers have done to replace Randle was add two defensive players in Tyson Chandler and JaVale McGee. While both players have been solid contributors, can they be counted on come crunch time? Both are veterans and have tons of playoff experience, but when a bucket is needed from post play, will LeBron or Ball feel comfortable with an entry pass to either?
This is why letting Randle walk was a huge mistake.
During the regular season, the Lakers can get by. Different teams during each new week offers little time to gameplan. But in the playoffs, you're facing the same team. Adjustments will be made, and if the perimeter shots are not falling for Kuzma, and Ingram gets shut down driving to the lane, then what? Is this when they will look to McGee or Chandler to bail them out of a tight spot?
LeBron will get his points, but as we've seen in the past, he needs help. While with the Miami Heat, he could count on Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. While winning a title in Cleveland, he leaned on the presence on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
You see the trend there? He's always had a back-to-the-basket type player who could muscle their way in for the tough baskets when needed. In L.A., he's missing that. Imagine a lineup that features LeBron, Kuzma, Ball, Ingram, and Randle. Many figured Randle would request a max salary. Instead, he signed with the Pelicans for dirt cheap. So, his leaving was not about the money. He wanted to be a Laker. Just so happens, the Lakers didn't want him to be. In the end, it may very well cost them a championship.
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