Lakers News: Is L.A. Just An Awful Team?

The evidence is piling up that, well, this Lakers team isn't just bad.

It's approaching certifiably terrible status.

After falling to the Sacramento Kings in a hard-fought 120-114 home loss, yours Los Angeles Lakers are now tied with the baby Houston Rockets for the worst record in the NBA at 2-10, having played most of those games with its two best players, LeBron James (who's already sitting games with various injuries, 12 games into the season) and Anthony Davis (who sleep-walked through his center gig tonight and seems increasingly averse to contact).

This means, for now anyway, that the New Orleans Pelicans, who have the right to swap draft picks with L.A., currently have the best odds for securing the top selection in 2023. What if the Lakers continued down this road? What would the Pelicans look like with a core of Victor Wembanyama on a rookie deal, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum?

Now that the league has flattened its lottery odds somewhat, the team with the league's worst record will still have the best chance of securing the top pick, but it's no guarantee.

This writer was convinced that a younger and seemingly more defensive-oriented Lakers club, even without trading away Russell Westbrook, would be a play-in tournament level squad. I was dead wrong. Yes, L.A. has played against some quality opponents, the team has lost by double digits in four of its last five games (i.e. outside of tonight).

Yes, one could say that the Lakers were actually leading by a point, 114-113, with 1:39 to go (Sacramento would go on to outscore the Lakers 7-0 from that point on). That the game was close, outside of some very costly turnovers and bone-headed choices. That De'Aaron Fox was just the best player on the floor last night. That the Lakers were missing their best player, which is true enough. But that's the thing about bad teams: they find all kinds of ways to lose games. That's just what they do.

LeBron James can no longer be counted on to stay healthy for more than 60 games a year. He's only managed to do that once during his four full seasons with the Lakers thus far. He's already out hurt, having valiantly (or unwisely?) played through a sore left foot that eventually yielded another injury (a left adductor strain).

Anthony Davis is no longer New Orleans Pelicans Anthony Davis. But he's also not even 2020-21 Anthony Davis. His shooting beyond the paint has been abysmal, and though he is still putting up solid numbers, his effort isn't quite passing the eye test. Oh and he is also dealing with an injury already this year, too (a sore lower back).

Birthday boy Russell Westbrook has been pretty solid as the team's sixth man overall, but he remains prone to weird decision-making, lots and lots of missed field goals, and goofy turnovers. He's the highest-paid player on the team, making about four times what he should be this season, $47.1 million.

Lakers reserves Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., Austin Reaves, and, sure, Matt Ryan, have outperformed pundits' expectations for them this season, yes. But they're being asked to do way more than they would be on a good team. The rest of L.A.'s rotation has been disappointing.

Based on what we've seen so far, a trade of Westbrook and the Lakers' 2027 and 2029 first-round picks for, say, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield of the Indiana Pacers, or Terry Rozier and the oft-injured Gordon Hayward (who is, you guessed it, already injured) of the Charlotte Hornets would get the Lakers near play-in tournament territory, i.e. a 7-10 seed in the West. Is that worth surrendering one or most likely two future first-round picks that now seem destined to land near the top of their respective drafts?

I think not.

Remember, this is a team that fields LeBron James, considered by basically anyone with eyes to be one of the four or five best players in the history of the NBA, and still someone playing at an All-Star level (I think "All-NBA level" would be a generous distinction for a guy on a 2-10 club, but the league will probably vote him onto the All-NBA Third Team for old time's sake anyway).

What an utter, abysmal indictment of L.A.'s roster construction that it can't do right by this all-time talent. This is not post-Achilles tear Kobe Bryant. This is still one of the best 25 players in the league, and he's playing on a team that could struggle to win 25 games in his 20th season.