What Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have done to the Los Angeles Lakers since moving into the front office has been tremendous. They've added LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler, Lance Stephenson, and Kyle Kuzma. However, their one mistake may have been trading D'Angelo Russell to draft Lonzo Ball.
Now, L.A. fans will argue that Russell was a bit immature while with the Lakers. That may be true, but he was young and had to learn his way on a team that had no clear direction of where they were headed. Fast forward to 2018 and it appears that Johnson and Pelinka made the wrong call.
There was no way to actually know that LeBron would make his way to Los Angeles. But since he did, the Lakers are not the team they should be. While Ball is a solid point guard, he's not what the LeBron-led Lakers need.
With Ball leading the charge, the Lakers are 18th in assists and 15th in points scored. On the other side of the country, the Brooklyn Nets are ranked 14th in assists and sixth in points scored. While the stats are misleading due to star power, Russell and Ball are huge reasons why their respective teams are ranked where they are.
For the season, Ball is averaging just 4.5 assists compared to 5.7 for Russell. Not a huge difference, but Russell is more hands-on controlling the offense while Ball does more watching as LeBron does more facilitating for the Lakers.
Switching the two players would be critical for the Lakers' success. Russell is more of a scoring guard than Ball. Ball is averaging 8.0 points while shooting 40.1 percent including 33 percent from three-point territory. On the other hand, Russell is averaging 17.5 points while hitting 40.7 percent including 35.8 from deep. Similar numbers shooting-wise, but a different approach. But which is best for the Los Angeles Lakers?
Hands down, it's D'Angelo Russell.
With the scoring of LeBron, Kuzma, and Ingram, the Lakers are set on the wings. What Ball has been unable to do is make opposing defenses pay off the dribble. He has the tools to get to the rim but seems reluctant to do so. That is what made the Kyrie Irving and LeBron pairing so special in Cleveland. Irving knew what had to be done and didn't think twice about making his presence felt on the team.
This Lakers bunch is so wet-behind-the-ears and starstruck to play with LeBron, they have not developed that killer instinct it takes to win, just yet. Russell was always his own man. His desire to succeed will always be stronger than Ball's. Even if the Lakers or LeBron won't admit it, they need another player who's not afraid to attack.
LeBron is a great half-court player, but he's most dangerous on the break. Ball is able to rebound and lead the charge, but has a tendency to slow it down once he gets to the top of the key to set the offense. How many times has D'Angelo Russell continued driving the lane even it's one on three?
That is why the Irving and Kevin Love or Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh tandems were able to succeed with James on the same team. They were always in attack mode.
The shots will come, but with Ingram and Kuzma as the second and third option, there needs to be a better belief in self. Ball coming out of UCLA and joining the Los Angeles Lakers was a dream come true for the hometown kid, but did Johnson do it for the wrong reasons? Was he looking for a player more like himself instead of thinking about team success?
Trading away Russell has come back and haunted the Lakers. The team is so structured around James, they haven't had time to digest what's really going on. At 33, James only has so much time left in prime shape. What happens when he leaves and the Los Angeles Lakers must look to Lonzo Ball for more scoring and responsibility? Will he be able to turn it on when needed?
This would never be a concern if D'Angelo Russell was still at point guard.
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