It makes sense that they were trying to do this trade. The 2020-21 season of the Los Angeles Lakers was cut short by injury. It was the second time in three seasons. They needed a third star so that they wouldn't tumble in the table if they lost Anthony Davis or LeBron James.
The Lakers were correct in assuming that injuries would be a problem again this season after trading for Westbrook. James missed time early with an abdominal injury, and Davis is currently working his way back from an injury. At the halfway point of the season, the Lakers are hovering around.500, and the worst season of his career is being experienced by him.
It has gotten so bad that Lakers coach Frank Vogel had to bench Russell Westbrook in the final minutes of Wednesday night's loss to the Pacers. According to Dave McMenamin, the Lakers' front office supported the decision to pull Westbrook from the game. The organization would support Vogel in taking a hard line while coaching the star.
It is one thing to bench a star while trying to stay out of the play-in tournament. It is one thing when a game ends around 10 p.m. and another when the front office gives the coach permission to coach a player. It was all over again, or did nothing really change.
James' first season with the Lakes ended in disappointment, and a story about the Lakers front office following Magic Johnson's resignation and ripping of Lakers' general manager Rob Pelinka on First Take was written. The only difference between then and now is that Davis really wanted to play for the Lakers so all they had to do to acquire him was trade the Santa Monica Freeway to the New Orleans Pelicans.
When Davis went down with a calf strain in February, the Lakers were the second seed in the West. Without their second-leading scorer and best defender, the Lakers kept fighting and were still in the mix for the No. 2 seed. The Lakers were playing the Atlanta Hawks that day. James was hurt when Solomon Hill fell into him.
The play-in tournament was where the Lakers ended up. The Lakers advanced to the first round of the playoffs as they were still believed to have a legitimate shot at the NBA Championship, despite the fact that the Phoenix Suns were the second seed in the Western Conference. James was never fully healthy after his return and the Lakers lost the series.
Russell Westbrook entered. He had started slow in his previous two seasons, but he ended up helping both teams late in the season. In the first three months of last season, he averaged under 20 points per game and shot over 40 percent from the field with the Wizards. In the last three months of the season, he averaged 23.7 points, 13.1 assists, 12.6 rebound triple double, and 44.9% shooting from the field. The Wizards went on a run that got them to the playoffs for the first time in over a year, thanks to him.
With James, win-now mode is a way of life for the Lakers so they traded three rotation players and a first-round pick for Westbrook and the $90-plus million remaining on the final two years of his contract. The defensive group that was once outstanding is currently 18th in defensive rating and that is one of the reasons why Westbrook was benched Wednesday.
The breaking point was when Caris LeVert got a layup from Russell Westbrook. The scouting report instructions were to play LeVert one way and not the other, which resulted in the bucket. He has only shot better than 40 percent from the field once in the past seven games.
The Lakers pushed all their chips to the table and the keys to the car after they pulled the Trigger to get Westbrook. The Wizards have a better record than the Lakers.
On Tuesday, The Athletic's Bill Oram and Sam Amick reported that Vogel's job was in serious jeopardy. Kurt Rambis was a familiar face in that report.
According to the story, the owner and general manager of the team are not happy with the direction of the team. They signed off on a roster that wasn't very successful, but they're probably unhappy with it. Rambis delivered the message to staff. He warned the staff that their jobs were on the line if the team didn't improve.
Rambis is the director of basketball affairs for the Lakers, and his wife, Linda, is one of Buss' closest friends. Linda is referred to as the "shadow owner" of the Lakers, and one person suggested that she manipulates Buss in the report. Linda is a close friend and ally of Pelinka, which puzzled many in the organization.
The Lakers went 24-13 under Kurt Rambis during the shortened 1998-99 season. Phil Jackson was the coach the next season after they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Rambis had a.195 winning percentage in two seasons as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2009-11, and a.321 winning percentage in 28 games as coach of the New York Knicks in 2015.
Rambis has a lot of weight in the Lakers organization. When the Lakers interviewed Tyronn Lue for the head coach opening in 2019, Rambis and Pelinka wanted him to put Jason Kidd on his staff. The head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers is Lue, who was an assistant under Doc Rivers. Kidd was on the staff for two seasons when Vogel was hired, but there are conflicting reports about how much Rambis and Pelinka wanted Kidd on the staff.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday that there were no current plans to oust Vogel, but Rambis is a constant figure around the coaching staff. He makes a lot of suggestions when he sits in on their meetings.
The Lakers problems have not changed since the reporting bonanza around the franchise during the NBA Playoffs in which they were not a participant. The Lakers have some of their best players have health problems and the picture is not clear on who is making the decisions in the front office.
The only thing certain about the Lakers is that this trade has been a flop. They are on their way to a much worse record than last season when they finished 12 games over.500, and this season they will have a worse team around their stars once Davis returns to the lineup.
Changes are necessary, but who do they start with? Once they deem his job no longer safe, they can fire him and he will be on an expiring contract next season so that will spark interest in him. If the Lakers really want to win again in the waning years of James' career, this cronyism has to stop. Either they hire some people to make basketball decisions, or they will turn into the Dallas Cowboys, all the glamour but none of the gold.
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