Monica McNutt says that missing out on the play-in tournament might be the best thing for the Lakers. (0:47) New Los Angeles Lakers are usually brought to the second floor office of the owner, where they can be seen from the practice floor. There are 11 Larry O'Brien trophies under a wide window that are in full view of the courts. In late August, after the Lakers acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook became the latest in a long line of stars to make their debut inside. In a moment that was captured for the cable television show, Buss said "I'm so happy that you're here." Buss tells Westbrook about her father as she starts her speech. My dad bought the team in 1979 and the first year he owned it, they won a championship. His goal in buying the Lakers was to surpass the Celtics. We are now tied with 17 titles. "We know what we need to do then, so we jumped in." Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said they were obsessed with 18. The Lakers have a 31-45 record and an 11th place standing in the Western Conference, trying to claw their way into the last play-in tournament spot. This was a team the highest levels of the organization believed was championship-worthy. The season has drained in a long road of disappointment, discontent and bad luck for the Lakers. The players, the coaches, and management all have their own words. We are past our time in this league, so please keep talking about my squad, our personnel ages, the way he plays, he stays injured, and so on and so forth. I mean very much. When it begins, keep that same narrative energy! That is all I ask. Within a few hours the account was deleted. It was never forgotten. Take a look at what the Lakers could expect from their superstars this season. When an opportunity like that comes, you look at the pros and cons and make a decision. That is what leaders are tasked to do. Pelinka made it clear that he owned the decision to trade for Westbrook. According to Ramona Shelburne, James and Westbrook had been talking for weeks. Pelinka had lined up the framework of a trade to acquire Buddy Hield from the Sacramento Kings but reversed course on draft day when the Washington Wizards asked to trade him to the Lakers. The Lakers are going to be an extremely dynamic fast-breaking team and can play off all three guys. I think we have a chance to do something special this year. The motivation for us is the trophy, not what people are saying. The idea that the Lakers could not compete because they had six players in their 30s was pushed back by Vogel. The Lakers have gone from 21st in pace last season to 7th this year, thanks to him. The plunge from the No. 1 defense last season to the No. 23 this year has been disastrous. Being able to be with my kids all the time, being able to see my parents all the time, to me is the best thing you can ask for. It's a blessing that they don't have to travel everywhere. When he arrived in L.A., family was an important factor in his decision to join the Lakers. He felt the strain from not having his wife and three young children around him full time when he played in Houston and Washington. In the dark times ahead, he would often lean on being with his family, not his performance, as the source of his happiness. Before practice began, Pelinka spoke to the team, which was later shown on stage. You could say this room has the greatest basketball talent assembled on a team in recent history. You could say that. Without the proper mindset as a team, that amounts to jack s---. James spoke to the media about helping put together the team. Understanding what I felt would make us a title-contending team. I watch basketball to know what I need to do to help the ball club. I am very cerebral about what I need to do for our team to be as great as we can be and to be the counterpart to what Russ brings to the table. I always figure it out. The Lakers had high confidence in their championship chances. James backed up the reports about his role in assembling the roster and taking ownership of the decisions. During the Lakers loss to the Suns, Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard got into it on the bench. During a timeout in the game, Anthony Davis tried to talk to Dwight Howard on the bench. Howard stood up to confront Davis, who grabbed his arm. They were separated by teammates as Davis yelled at Howard. Howard: We are good. We got rid of it. He is my brother. We left it in the locker room at halftime. The first signs of more internal problems to come came from a defensive coverage problem. The Lakers lost at home for the first time in team history in their first two games. James painted a picture to Damian that if he were to leave, the situation would look like this. He didn't tell me to come to L.A., and he didn't say anything that I didn't already know. We got a four-year, $37 million offer from the Chicago Bulls, and they asked if they could do the same, but they said no. Pelinka said that Alex was a championship player and that they would forever be grateful for his contributions. He had choices and he chose another team. I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and we were going to figure it out. I was going to come back. The business side of things did not work out. On Sunday, April 3.
Mavs at Bucks, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Nuggets at Lakers, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Aug. 4: LeBron James tweets about Lakers' offseason moves
Aug. 10: Westbrook's introductory news conference
Sept. 27: The start of Lakers training camp
Oct. 22: Drama on the bench
November: Tales about the Lakers' offseason begin seeping out
On Tuesday, April 5.
Bucks at Bulls, 8 p.m.
All times Eastern.
The Lakers were off to a disappointing 9-11 start, and the interviews and reveals came in quick succession.
The two players talked about how James was their point of contact, each meeting with him at his home in California. The San Antonio Spurs and DeRozan's agent had worked out a functional sign-and-trade deal that would've gotten him to L.A., but it was later reported that the Lakers were the sticking point. As the Lakers pivoted to the Westbrook trade, it didn't matter, as the Bulls got three years and $82 million guaranteed from them.
The Lakers initial offer was two years and 15 million dollars. The team focused on re-signing Talen Horton-Tucker for three years and $31 million, and didn't sign Caruso for less than a year. They had the rights to both players and could have signed both, but luxury-tax concerns likely played a role in choosing one.
The Lakers had other options and the option L.A. chose was failing.
There will be criticism with this job. It is something we are all used to. I have been a coach for 10 years and have seen it all.
It comes with the job. Frank is a strong person. He has a good coaching staff. We are a team and an organization that don't mind some adversity, that don't mind people saying things about us, obviously, because it comes with the territory.
The Lakers gave a contract extension to Vogel in the summer, making him the first Lakers coach since Phil Jackson to get one. Despite the Lakers having won the title in 2020, it was a one-year extension. The Milwaukee Bucks gave Mike Budenholzer a three-year extension after he won the title. With the Lakers off to a 12-12 start, speculation about his job security increased.
I don't think you can really make a judgement until we are 100% healthy. Any organization can be connected to us. I don't know what you want me to say. I will not make any judgments until we are 100% healthy.
The comments were made to NBA.com at halftime of a win against the Boston Celtics in an effort to shut down rumors of a possible firing. Buss referred to the injuries to James, Horton-Tucker, and other players who missed 10 of the first 16 games because of injuries.
Stephen A. Smith explains why it is time for Frank Vogel to leave the Los Angeles Lakers.
Every year, my name is in trade. It never comes into my approach to what I do. No matter what happens, nothing will change my purpose or mentality. I feel like I have a purpose that is bigger than basketball, and I always keep that as my forefront regardless of what happens inside of pro sports.
The coaching staff works hard, both in analyzing our postgame, meeting with our players individually to show them ways that they have to be better, to reinforce ways that they were great, and they work hard in putting together game plans.
James didn't like what he was going to say. I decided not to speak with you.
After his name was brought up in trade rumors, he spoke to The Athletic and said that he wasn't worried about the upcoming NBA trade deadline. Multiple reports emerged that after the debacle at Denver, Vogel was coaching the game to game. James only apologized to Lakers fans after the defeat, and didn't speak after that. At this point, the Lakers were 6-8 in games that Davis had missed with a knee injury. The Lakers had high hopes for the season, but they were not as good as they could have been.
A narrative-halting win over the Utah Jazz cooled the heat around the 48 year-old coach, emboldening him and getting James to talk with the media.
Russell said Frank did not let him know ahead of time that he was going to be benched.
I thought I was going to win the game.
James is not in the business of pointing fingers or pointing blame. It is not my lane. I have to go to the movies with my wife.
It was surprised, yes. I was disappointed I didn't go back in, but I was more disappointed that we lost the game. I would like to be on the floor to help my teammates and help our team win games like that, but that was not the decision that was made. I have accepted everything that has been asked of me and tried to do the best I can. The most important part of this game is sacrificing some of the things that I have been able to do to win.
A fourth defeat in five games and a benching for the final four minutes of a bad home loss to the struggling Indiana Pacers was what led to the decision. According to Dave McMenamin, the coaching staff had been given the go-ahead to bench Westbrook. Before the end of the game, he left the floor and the locker room without speaking to the media. He made his comments the next day.
Pelinka: Throughout this process, we had different things we looked at, and like I have done in the past, had conversations with Anthony and LeBron about it. And that is all that matters.
It is a new day. The trade deadline has passed and there is a reset energy to our group. We put together this group to start the year. This is a group that we believe in.
The trade deadline is over. A lot of people got an opportunity to move on and know that we are going to be together and now we make a push.
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Many on the team were relieved when the Lakers stood still at the trade deadline. James didn't seem to move on as he had said. The relationship with the front office deteriorated over the next 10 days. The GM implied that James wasn't on the same page with Pelinka about the deadline inaction. There were reports that the team refused to make its first-round pick, and that it was only allowed to trade it for interested teams. That made it less likely that a significant deal would involve Westbrook, who had become an undesirable trade target.
James posted a picture of Rams GM Les Snead wearing a shirt that read "F--- them picks" on the day of the title parade. James used the phrase "legend!" My type of guy, in what looked like a blatant jab at the Lakers front office, for not trading draft picks at the deadline.
When asked about coming back to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, James said the door was not closed. The backlash in L.A. didn't stop after James qualified the remarks.
Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times called for the Lakers to trade James, who has a no-trade clause. Rich Paul and Pelinka met to cool down the media swarm.
Davis went down with a foot injury in the second game after the break. Growing problems for the Lakers pushed the issue of a James exit to the background.
Russell is going to push back on the taunts.
When I am being harassed on a daily basis over basketball games and I am having obscenities and death wishes for myself and my family sent my way, you are expressing your truth.
I stand behind my wife and how she is feeling. This is not a real game. I don't mind the criticism of missing and making shots when it comes to basketball. It becomes an issue when my name gets shamed.
I have let it go in the past because it never bothered me. It really hit me the other day. My wife and I attended teacher-parent conferences for my son. The teacher told me that Noah was proud of his last name. He writes it all over. He writes it down. He tells everyone and then walks around and says he is Westbrook. I sat there in shock, and it hit me. I can't allow people to mock my name.
He is a part of the family. When a player feels any type of impact at home with his family, that is of great concern and should be handled with care. I hope people respect what he had to say.
Fans had been booing him more often. His wife expressed her feelings about media members using the name Westbrick in addition to her being threatened in a series of tweets. When coming to Lakers games, his son didn't like hearing his name mocked.
James is having the time of his life right now. The game is beautiful. I get frustrated. I am angry that we could have done better. Once I leave the arena and get home, I will leave it there and move on to the next one.
Compete for $40,000 in the NBA playoffs. Pick your favorites.
He wants to play whenever the team is playing, unless there is a reason not to. It doesn't matter if he's close to Karl or not. The league needs an example like that for him to be doing that in his 19th year.
James moved into second place on the all-time scoring list after scoring his 36,929th point the night before in Washington, D.C. After a victory in front of fans in Cleveland, where James scored 38 points and took over the lead in the scoring title race, he admitted he has divorced the Lakers from his mindset. James comments were telling, as was the praise from Vogel, which seemed to be a dig at players on other teams who sit out for rest.
We have to stay in the fight and give ourselves a chance. We know we have a chance if we get into the play-in game at full strength.
It is self-explanatory.
There is still a long shot of a chance, that's what Vogel has been saying for weeks. That is correct but very difficult. The Lakers won in Brooklyn on January 25. Davis has missed more games than he has played. The Lakers are 6-15 in games that James has missed. The season has been a long road of broken dreams.
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