The Los Angeles Lakers are looking ahead to a bright future in the short and long term, primarily because the franchise landed Luka Doncic to be their superstar for the next decade. Not only does it prepare the Lakers for the post-LeBron James era, but it also gives LeBron a better chance at contention because Doncic is one of the few players James can be a genuine No. 2 to right now.
They’re 42-25 this season, greatly improving on last season under new head coach JJ Redick and great in-season moves by GM Rob Pelinka.
The situation they’re in right now is because the team avoided making moves over the summer that could’ve changed the franchise’s direction in a way that they wouldn’t have been able to make their mid-season moves. The team was under massive scrutiny to shake their roster up over the summer but they chose not to, directly giving them the assets to make their recent homerun trades.Â
Let’s take a look at the two major mistakes the Lakers avoided which led to the fantastic position they’re in.
Failed Pursuit Of Dejounte Murray Led To Dorian Finney-Smith And Luka Doncic AcquisitionsÂ
The primary trade target linked to the Lakers over last season was Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. The team was heavily linked to trading D’Angelo Russell for Murray for most of the 2023-24 season until Russell’s form greatly improved after January, making the trade unnecessary for the Lakers.Â
They also held off on overpaying to send Russell to the Hawks for Murray in the summer before Murray was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers made that decision based on the Hawks asking for too much, but if they had came under the pressure and just said yes to the deal, it could’ve put them completely out of the race for their two major mid-season trades.
Russell would ultimately be dealt in a low-profile move for 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith, whose arrival sparked the Lakers’ rise into becoming one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. It also kept the need for a franchise point guard open, leading to the Luka Doncic trade in February which has altered the franchise’s future direction.
If Murray joined the team last season or early in the summer, we might never have seen the follow-up moves that have solidified the Lakers as a contender right now. Unfortunately for Murray, he’s had a nightmare season which started with an injury and met an early end after a ruptured Achilles tendon in February.
Dan Hurley Rejected Lakers, JJ Redick Turned Out To Be Even Better
The Lakers didn’t take too long to move on from Darvin Ham after their 23-24 season ended with yet another Playoff series loss to the Denver Nuggets. This led to a pretty long offseason search for a new head coach, with the Lakers missing out on candidates like Kenny Atkinson, who signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers instead. This was because the Lakers were targeting an unconventional hire.
The Lakers wanted to bring two-time NCAA Champion Dan Hurley to coach in the NBA, holding interviews with him and offering him a multi-million dollar contract offering him security. He chose to stay at UConn for his family, a decision that has turned sour as instead of three-peating, the Huskies have had a 14-6 record this season.
After Hurley rejected the Lakers, the team gave ESPN analyst JJ Redick the job – his first head coaching role in the NBA. Redick was also hosting a podcast with LeBron at the time, prompting many to attack the Lakers and LeBron for hiring a coach who was LeBron’s friend. That couldn’t be further from the truth based on the season Redick is having.Â
After a slow start where he was settling into the franchise, Redick has transformed them into one of the best teams in the NBA over the last few months. They have a 42-25 record with Redick shepherding them through major roster changes without missing a beat.
He was the perfect coach for the Lakers and the results are proving it now. The team believes in him and he’s somehow created a baseline of consistent high-level defense from his players while implementing innovative offensive sets, especially since the Doncic acquisition.Â
We don’t know if Hurley could’ve been good in LA, but we know for sure that Redick is thriving. Those Pat Riley comparisons that people laughed off aren’t looking crazy right now, provided Redick continues delivering in the postseason and brings them a title in the next few seasons.
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