After suffering a series-clinching loss to the Denver Nuggets this week, the Los Angeles Lakers gathered on Friday for what could be their final film session of the season. According to Darvin Ham, the mood was pretty somber across the team and he admitted that feelings of frustration and anger were starting to take over.
“Guys are irritated, frustrated, fed up, ready to make a change,” said Ham via Jovan Buha. “The self-disappoint of ‘Here we go again,’ we gotta fight that.”
The Lakers have been in this position before. Just last season, they worked hard to make a run to the Western Conference Finals… only to run into a brick wall that was Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers still had hope that they could beat Jokic back then, but they were proven wrong.
Last year, just like this year, they were swept and eliminated handily by Jokic and the Nuggets. Last year, like this year, the supporting cast failed to provide consistency throughout the series. And, just like last year, Darvin Ham has no answers on how to stop the bleeding with his team in a massive 0-3 hole and Anthony Davis even admitted to the world that they have no clue what they are doing defensively.
At this point, the only way for the Lakers to break this cycle is to make some major changes this offseason. And while many fans are calling for Darvin Ham’s job, it will take more than a coaching swap to bring the Lakers up to the level of Denver, Minnesota, and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West. But with limited assets available, it remains a mystery how GM Rob Pelinka will be able to make any significant roster moves. There’s a chance the Lakers take a few steps back this summer depending on how certain things play out.
The Lakers Have Big Decisions To Make This Offseason
In the summer of 2023, the Lakers decided to run it back with their roster and made it a point to prioritize building up their supporting cast instead of going hunting for stars like Trae Young or Damian Lillard. They signed Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino in hopes of adding more fire-power off the bench.
And while the Lakers did fare better in the regular season than last year, they were still unable to break out of the play-in tournament and their new signings made no difference at all. Unfortunately, after matching up against the Nuggets in the first round, it’s unlikely the Lakers will return to the West Finals this year and the organization is expected to do some serious self-reflection over the next few weeks.
As LeBron James mulls his future, the Lakers will have several options to consider, including a scenario that wipes the whole slate clear with a James departure, a Davis trade, and a complete roster overhaul. But as Lakers management has said many times over, their top priority is to win, and so long as LeBron is playing like a star, then the Lakers will keep trying to build him a contender.
Since the 2020 title run, the Lakers have failed miserably in that pursuit, but something has to give this summer, and there will be some changes one way or another. Whether it’s Ham, D’Angelo Russell, or everyone involved, there will be some tough goodbyes this summer and we shouldn’t expect anything less after being wept in back-to-back years.
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