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The Los Angeles Lakers captured the attention of NBA fans everywhere during the 2021-22 season. However, they did it for all the wrong reasons. A campaign full of underachieving culminated in missing the playoffs. The team's brass has an idea of what went wrong.
According to Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, the Lakers' management group of Jeanie Buss, Kurt and Linda Rambis and Rob Pelinka is likely to remain intact. Their blame for this disaster of a season falls on Russell Westbrook, LeBron James' desire for the team to trade for him and injuries.
The buzz around the league suggests general manager Rob Pelinka has another year to get the Lakers back on track. The blame internally appears to be focused on injuries, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James for pressuring the team to trade for Westbrook.
James may have as much power as any player in the NBA, but he's not in charge, and the front office celebrated Westbrook's arrival. Leadership must take responsibility for recent failures, but it doesn't sound like any key roles are set to change in the immediate future.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5A53alv7I8uub6EBQYFFXZ?si=855d45b713344e17
Injuries indeed had an impact on the Lakers. James has only played in 56 games, Anthony Davis has only played in 40 and free-agent signing Kendrick Nunn played in none. These instances are out of management's control but the rest of the Lakers' struggles could have been handled.
The Lakers didn't have to trade for Westbrook, even though James has a lot of influence on the team. Listening to him and then suggesting the trade was all his doing is incredibly misrepresentative of how it went down. Cleaning house may be the only sensible path for Los Angeles, though Buss is sticking with the current power structure. As long as that remains unchanged, the Lakers will be heading nowhere fast.
