The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most improved teams ahead of next season, at least on paper.
They traded away Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell; let Alex Caruso go, and brought in a plethora of veterans.
And, while that may seem great at first glance, it could also mean trouble in the locker room, as most of those players are used to being leaders and alpha dogs throughout their careers.
That’s why Lakers legend James Worthy is slightly concerned about the Lakers’ chemistry, claiming that they’ll need to choose the ‘more vocal’ leaders:
“It could be because all of these veterans bring a ton of experience,” Worthy said on Spectrum SportsNet. “Last year we were fortunate enough to have Jared Dudley being one of those guys. The year before that, it was Rondo.
“But when you get a collective effort, I think you have to choose the ones who are vocal. And I think veteran players have a tendency to do that. Wayne Ellington is not a guy that .. big talker, not a big vocal guy. I think in practice you get that type of encouragement. Bazemore is more kind of a ‘I’ll show you what I can do.’
“So I think there’s certain guys like Rondo who has an amount of value when he speaks. Carmelo’s been around for a while. He’ll probably add some value as well. I think that veteran players know who has the voice and they kind of allow that to play out.”
.@JamesWorthy42 & @Mike_Bresnahan discuss how Frank Vogel is going to balance the rotations with the #Lakers roster. pic.twitter.com/7UyDLVEAHs
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) September 3, 2021
That’s an interesting take, for sure. But you could also argue that those players being veterans will help them put their egos aside and play for the common goal and the greater good.
The Lakers have drawn multiple mixed reviews thus far, so it’s clear that they’ll be in the spotlight throughout the whole season.
