This was supposed to be a big season in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Lakers were not only expected to snap their five-year playoff drought, but were expected by some to potentially make a run to the Western Conference Finals.
After all, they had landed LeBron James in free agency over the summer, which seemed like an indication that the Lakers were back. It wasn't just supposed to stop at James. Los Angeles was also supposed to bring in another star or two to form its own group of All-Stars.
There was a team that made some noise in LA this year, but it wasn't the Lakers. It was the Los Angeles Clippers, who are sitting pretty with a lot of young talent and a ton of cap space this coming offseason.
So, what the heck happened?
Why did the Lakers come in second place to a Clippers team that does not have one All-Star player on its roster?
Well, there are a plethora of reasons why, but at the end of the day, no one really wants to hear scads of excuses. When the season comes to an end, it's about what you did on the floor. Period. And the Lakers simply did not get things done during the 2018-19 campaign.
Los Angeles won just 37 games this season, somewhere between 10-15 wins off the pace that most expected. Sure, the Lakers were better than they were a year ago, but that is not saying much, especially considering that LeBron was supposed to elevate them to top-five-team-in-the-West status.
To be perfectly honest, that was never really a fair expectation, as James and this roster of misfits probably wouldn't have finished any higher than seventh in the Western Conference even if they stayed healthy, but still: 37 wins?
The Sacramento Kings were not supposed to be better than the Lakers. No way, no how. And yet, that is what ended up happening.
Of course, LA's lack of success this season can certainly be traced back to last summer, when Magic Johnson and Co. completely struck out on trying to add another big-name star to put alongside of James.
Paul George spurned his hometown team to remain with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The San Antonio Spurs wanted nothing to do with trading Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers and dealt him to the Toronto Raptors. Then, during the season, the New Orleans Pelicans rebuffed every attempt the Lakers made to trade for Anthony Davis, even reportedly rejecting a package where Los Angeles was willing to give New Orleans everything but James and his spray-on hair.
Johnson then resigned from his post as Lakers president right before the season ended, a microcosm of the turmoil that ensued in Los Angeles' front office throughout this season.
LeBron missed over a month with a groin injury. Brandon Ingram had ankle issues and blood clots (thankfully, he is okay). Lonzo Ball played just over half the season. Rajon Rondo had various ailments.
Basically, the Lakers were never able to put together anything that even began to resemble a successful season this year, and while injuries are to blame, so is poor roster construction and James' inability to earn the trust of the younger players on the team.
Let's face it: Magic and Rob Pelinka did a miserable job of surrounding LeBron with appropriate talent. In their defense, no stars wanted to play there, but they couldn't do any better than Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley? It was like fit meant nothing to the Lakers' front office as they continued to assemble players who couldn't throw the ball into the ocean.
As a result, James and Rondo, of all people, ended up being the two best perimeter shooters on the team (no, seriously), making Los Angeles infinitely defensible.
Of course, the plan was to sign a bunch of veterans to one-year deals with the hopes of landing some bigger fish during the summer of 2019, but as time passed, it became more and more obvious that no one wanted to play with LeBron anymore, and you have to think that played a role in Johnson's decision to step down.
Apparently, Leonard wants nothing to do with joining James. He wants Los Angeles, but he prefers the other LA team. Kevin Durant? He wants his own legacy; not one that will be attached to James. Jimmy Butler? He doesn't seem too keen on linking up with LeBron, either.
But at least the Lakers have some young talent, right?
Well, here is the thing: Los Angeles' young guys don't even seem to like James, and LeBron has no one to blame but himself for going out of his way to try and get them all traded for Davis at the deadline. And the worst part is, he didn't even try to hide it and continuously distanced himself from the team—including the coaching staff—throughout the season.
Plus, with James being 34 years old, he doesn't exactly have much time to sit around and wait for a bunch of kids to maybe develop, so the Lakers find themselves in the very uncomfortable position of having to put established stars around LeBron when no established stars seem to want to play with LeBron.
Now, Los Angeles will probably get someone this summer. Maybe Kemba Walker? Tobias Harris? But it probably won't be the kind of franchise-changer that the Lakers envisioned when they first landed James last July.
Let's not pull any punches here. James' first season in Los Angeles was an unmitigated disaster. It really couldn't have gone any worse. Injuries? Check. No playoffs? Check. No other stars? Check. Limited development of young players? Check. Young players not clicking with LeBron? Check. The head coach not meshing with James? Check. Magic calling it quits? Check.
The grade has to be an F.
Literally, everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong, and there does not seem to be any immediate fix in the near future.
As for his own personal performance? James deserves a B+ at least, although his numbers scream MVP conversation if he hadn't missed so much time due to injury. Unfortunately, personal performance doesn't mean a lot at the end of the day.
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