When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook this past offseason and signed a variety of veterans like Carmelo Anthony, many people thought they were favorites for the 2021-22 NBA championship. That has been far from the case, and the Los Angeles Lakers are currently the 11th seed and out of the play-in tournament.
On paper, the Los Angeles Lakers were a team that was supposed to be dominant. However, as Lakers coach Phil Handy noted at the start of the season, being good on paper doesn’t win championships.
Paper doesn’t win championships for us. Those names that are on that paper, are some phenomenal names… We gotta do our work and make sure we gel. Do we fit? These guys, they gotta figure out ways to play with each other and sacrifice, and let their names take over. You know, you look at that piece of paper and say, Lakers are loaded, automatic championship. Nah man, we got a lot of work to do in terms of just gelling, finding our rhythm and being able to be cohesive as a unit.
It is clear that some changes must happen if the Los Angeles Lakers are to be a more successful team next year. Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal has recently suggested that the team needs to keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but also overhaul the rest of the roster.
"Keep LeBron and AD and make moves for everybody else."
Shaq on what moves the Lakers should make this offseason👀 pic.twitter.com/PVK8NdSu1a
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) April 3, 2022
You gotta get rid of expiring contracts. You gotta get rid of the projects that didn’t work, and you gotta try and get younger and more athletic around LeBron.
Because paper-wise, when everybody did the deal, “Ooh Westbrook”, ooh, this that… Age is a factor. AD was hurt all year… gotta keep him healthy.
Keep LeBron and AD and make moves for everybody else.
Getting “younger and more athletic” as Shaquille O’Neal suggests could definitely benefit the Los Angeles Lakers, especially if they can get athletic players who can defend at a high level. The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled with their defense a lot this year, and improving that could definitely pay dividends.
Hopefully, we see the Los Angeles Lakers improve in the offseason. They still have a very good star duo, but it is clear that they need to fill the roster with better-fitting role players around Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
