What's Next For the Purple and Gold?
- Jul 2, 2018
- 4 min read
It happened, after Paul George re-signed with the Thunder the rumours of LeBron teaming up in LA disappeared and the idea of LeBron going to LA wasn’t even remotely relevant. But it happened and at this point, LeBron will spend the next four years in LA, in the Western Conference, with the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors dynasty which will continue with Kevin Durant re-joining them for another two years. The Lakers, at this point, are not contenders despite the news of LeBron joining them making it seem like they are. Unfortunately, the young Lakers will struggle to make it past Houston and definitely won’t make it past Golden State.
So, what’s next for the purple and gold?
The possibility of Kawhi joining the Lakers is still very much a possibility, it is just a matter of finding a deal that suits both teams. At the moment the Spurs hold the upper hand when it comes to bargaining, but as more time passes, they lose the upper hand and it goes to the rest of the league. At the moment the Spurs can afford to say no to offers from around the league, but come closer to the trade deadline, it will be a matter of getting what they can for Kawhi before they lose him and get nothing when his contract expires at the end of the year. The Lakers have the pieces to put together a reasonable deal for Kawhi. The most likely in my opinion:
Spurs Receive: Kyle Kuzma and a 1st Round Pick.
Lakers Receive: Kawhi Leonard.
Rough on paper for the Spurs, and this early on it is unlikely they would agree to this kind of deal. The Lakers would probably have to offer something more at this point, whether it be Brandon Ingram or another draft pick. But I don’t think the Laker can afford to lose two young pieces in Kuzma and Ingram just to get Kawhi, with only one year of guaranteed play.
Kawhi has made it clear that he wants to play in LA, and it is probably inevitable that he joins them eventually, whether it be now, the trade deadline or next year when his contract expires.
If the Lakers manage to get Kawhi, you are looking at a lineup of:
Lonzo Ball
Brandon Ingram
Kawhi Leonard
LeBron James
And newly signed Javale McGee.
It’s not a bad line-up, but if the Lakers are able to move Javale to the bench and replace him with a better big, the team is suddenly looking like a contender.
Clint Capela is a free agent this off-season and is reportedly meeting with the Lakers. Capela is one of the most underrated players in the game and truly showed how good he can be last season for the Rockets, especially with his play in the playoffs. The Lakers should definitely go after Capela and try to team him up with what, providing they can pick up Kawhi, is a very good defensive team. With a solid big, the Lakers, although playing a small line-up, will be good on defence with a rim protector and athletic enough to get out and run better than most teams do.
Now, let’s say the Lakers manage to pull off a trade and get Kawhi and they also manage to sign Clint Capela, the team also needs to be able to play together. There are two players in Lonzo and LeBron who can run an offense and be leaders on the court. Lonzo is not a scorer, we saw that in his rookie year, but LeBron is. To get the most out of the Lakers unit, it is vital that whoever is coaching doesn’t fall into the trap of running a LeBron offense, like we have seen from all his years in Cleveland and even times in Miami when there wasn’t really a pure Point Guard like the Lakers have in Lonzo. This is important even without the acquisition of Kawhi or Capela, the Lakers have to be a structured team, and not play through LeBron every possession. This might mean that LeBron’s assists go down, but it also decreases the amount of work he has to do on offense, allowing him to play defence at a consistent level and without being exhausted.
Whether or not the Lakers manage to land Kawhi Leonard or Clint Capela, the young core surrounding LeBron has the opportunity to make some noise in the Western Conference providing they are coached right and run structured play without relying solely on LeBron’s ability or just on the playmaking ability of Ball. If the two can share the load, the defensive pressure will be released on the rest of the team and Ingram and Kuzma / Kawhi will be able to get open shots and get off the arc, running a series of cuts and screens. If the Lakers land Kawhi, this doesn’t have to change, Kawhi has said he doesn’t want to be the number one player on the team so he should have no problem being part of a structured offense, like he was when he won the championship with Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
The Lakers have the pieces to build around what they have or go for it now if they manage to land Kawhi. Moving Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr, to get rid of their contracts was a huge move by the Lakers and they have now put themselves in a position to be contenders, providing the team is run the right way.
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