Lakers franchise legend James Worthy was caught on a hot mic after JJ Redick’s introductory press conference, as Worthy and his co-hosts on Spectrum SportsNet were unknowingly trashing the Lakers and Bronny James to a public audience. Worthy brought up the Celtics winning a title ‘the right way’ while lamenting all the stars that have been traded, shading GM Rob Pelinka and Governor Jeanie Buss.
“They (unknown, presumably the Celtics) did it right… They took their time. They waited, while we were trading (Brandon) Ingram, (Julius) Randle… Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gone, brotha up in Sacramento, Malik (Monk) gone and then we weren’t getting anything for it. (Russell) Westbrook gone. The ink will lead back to the problem.”
Worthy’s co-host was heard expressing his dismay about the fact that they’re hosting their third coaches’ unveiling in five seasons. After that, Worthy took a pop at Bronny James, widely expected to be the Lakers’ selection with the 55th pick in the Draft.
“Who we gonna be waiting for on the second day? Well, he’s the greatest young player ever right now, Bronny, that’s what I’m gonna say.”
James Worthy and the Lakers media crew accidentally were caught unfiltered after their show 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/wKfaTl0mik
— Jake (@playoffjake) June 25, 2024
This is a very embarrassing situation for all parties involved. Worthy has been critical of the Lakers on-air, but he’s never been as dismissive of the franchise as he was in these recordings. He was still tamer than one of the other hosts, who continued mocking the franchise’s decisions and discussing them sarcastically.
There shouldn’t really be major consequences for this, as Worthy didn’t emphatically name and shame anybody outside his very snarky comment about Bronny James. That could become problematic if the team actually ends up drafting him and Worthy has to analyze the move by pretending this hot-mic incident never happened.
This is a franchise that will move on from legends if they upset the brass, as Magic Johnson and Jerry West had found out in recent seasons. Hopefully, Worthy doesn’t have to face any consequences for unknowingly being caught on a hot mic and being upset at the Lakers’ missteps until now.
The Lakers Haven’t Been As Bad As People Make Them Out To Be
If we look at the last five seasons of the NBA, it’s baffling to see people treat the Lakers like a team that’s been horribly mismanaged. There have been some very costly mistakes, with the Russell Westbrook trade at the top of the list, but their record over the last five seasons is nothing to scoff at.
In this stretch, they’ve won a title and made the Western Conference Finals. While there are two first-round exits and one missed playoff season, there aren’t many teams that can claim to have won a title and also make it to the WCF in this span. The only team that would qualify for this is the Nuggets, who made the WCF in 2020 and then won the title in 2023.
If the Lakers are this example of mismanagement over the recent stretch, why haven’t other teams in the West comfortably outperformed them? All the trades Worthy criticized is what enabled them to win a title in 2020 and have the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
It’s not easy to be successful in the NBA, but the Lakers can boast more recent success than 80% of NBA franchises and are only outshined by one team in their Conference over this spell. That’s a pretty competent franchise, even if they haven’t met the lofty expectations everyone’s placed on them over recent seasons.
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