In what can hardly be considered a surprise, given how the season has gone, the Los Angeles Lakers were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night, after another loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers were expected to be championship contenders during the start of the season, but they did not put on any performances during the course of the season that would warrant that type of consideration.
After the game, Anthony Davis addressed the media in a lengthy post-game press conference. During the press conference, Davis was asked about the possibility of the Lakers running it back with the same squad next season. AD noted that might be difficult, given the fact that many stars only signed a 1-year deal with them. But Davis noted that the NBA would love to see them run it back healthy (4:16 onwards).
"Our goal was to win a championship…injuries got in the way of that." Anthony Davis talks about the frustration of the three Lakers stars not getting a chance to 'figure it out' and log minutes due to injuries. @LakersReporter pic.twitter.com/nSp7iFJSHZ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 6, 2022
“A lot of our guys… are on one year deals. So that’s a personal choice for those guys. When we put this team together, we had championship aspirations. Injuries got in the way of that. I think the world would love to see, we would love to see what this team can be when we’re healthy for the full 82. Will we have the same team next year? Who knows. We gotta recap this season, what didn’t work, and go from there. But I truly think we could have done something special.”
Davis is not the only one who wants to run it back. Russell Westbrook spoke after the game about possibly running it back next season alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers. But given how the Lakers have played this season, it is highly unlikely that they will maintain the same core of players come October.
The Lakers have to make a lot of important decisions to make before the new season starts. Despite there being 3 games left for the Lakers, their offseason has effectively begun, and now the long road to a rebuild begins for the Los Angeles Lakers.
