The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers are on pace to be the oldest team in NBA history (31.8 years on average), which is an obvious concern for some analysts and fans.
Nonetheless, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears believes that people shouldn’t be concerned because, outside of Russell Westbrook, most of the signings they did are just to complement their roster and they won’t play that many minutes:
“I’m not worried about this team. Age is nothing but a number. You showed all those Carmelo videos, he’s in much better shape now than when he came into the Nuggets,” Spears said on ESPN’s The Jump.” So, I think a lot of the guys that they had outside of Westbrook – I mean, how much are they’re going to be playing? 10 to maybe 25 minutes a game, it’s not like you’re asking Melo to play 35 minutes a game anymore, so I don’t know if their age will matter but their experience certainly will matter. And you got guys like Trevor (Ariza), Russ coming home and it’s gonna mean a lot for them to be playing in their backyard. I know there’s all these memes and people making fun of them but age is just a number for this team, I think they’re gonna be just fine.”
Spears is making a valid point right there. You know you’re not going to get 30 minutes of Wayne Ellington or Trevor Ariza at this point in their careers, and the Lakers have put together enough depth to have a strong rotation.
It’s not a secret that Father Time will eventually catch up with everybody and not even LeBron James will be the exception to that rule. But hey, wouldn’t it be a great story to see the oldest team in NBA history stick it to those up-and-coming stars and will the whole thing?
