It almost feels like yesterday when LeBron James left Cleveland for the second time to become a Los Angeles Laker. Six years later, at age 39, James' is still playing great basketball.
However, when he eventually calls it a career, we'll most likely look back at his time in Los Angeles as wasted potential.
But the Lakers' shortcomings have nothing to do with the King's play. Instead, roster mismanagement by the front office possibly threw away multiple championships.
James' tenure with the purple and gold isn't nearly a failure. The Lakers' 2020 championship says so.
That Bubble lineup was special. The group finished as the top seed in the Western Conference and only lost five games on the way to the Larry O'Brien Trophy. In the following preseason, they were the clear favorite to repeat.
Unfortunately, that ring is pushing five years old, and the franchise hasn't returned to the big stage. So, what happened in the next four seasons that prevented another run?
Coming off a shortened 2020 offseason, the Lakers were poised to go back-to-back. They started 21-6, featuring the best defense in the league. But the injury bug got to Davis and James, dropping the team in the standings. Fortunately, the duo returned to good enough health at the right time, closing the regular season with five straight wins.
After defeating Golden State in the Play-In Tournament, L.A. had the eventual West champs, Phoenix, up 2-1. But Davis went down, and the Suns took the series in six games.
If the history books had to mark when the Lakers' title window started to close, the 2021 offseason would be the obvious choice.
The Lakers panicked that summer. After the AD injury, the front office disliked the lack of competitiveness in the postseason. So, management looked to make a splash move for a star to provide greater support when there are injuries.
General manager Rob Pelinka's focus was to upgrade from Kyle Kuzma. The forward left a bad taste in fans' mouths when he couldn't step up in Davis' absence.
However, the organization made a franchise-altering move by trading Kuzma for the worst star to pair with Davis and James: Russell Westbrook.
Reportedly, L.A. had deals lined up for other big-name players, but pressure from James forced the Westbrook move. However, Pelinka is the general manager and vice president of basketball operations. He has the final say in trade matters. He should've understood Westbrook was a bad fit with the two duo, especially concerning floor spacing.
Russ' time as a Laker was disastrous. The team had a 56-74 record with him. Of course, the duo missing time didn't help, but Westbrook was one of the worst three-point shooters in the league. Missing the postseason in 2022 was a far cry from their conference dominance just two seasons prior.
The organization has spent every last resource undoing the Westbrook trade in the last year. At the 2023 deadline, they shipped Russ out in a three-team deal to save that season.
Pelinka has done a decent job rebuilding an adequate supporting cast around the duo. However, he has neglected the lack of 3&D talent on the roster for years.
As a result of bringing Russ in, the Lakers forfeited essential 3&D wings from the 2020 championship. The luxury of having players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who can hit threes consistently and guard at the point of attack, is vital to winning championships. This type of athlete is the best to put around Davis and James to maximize winning.
Possessing a talent like Alex Caruso comes with a price. But L.A.'s front office has been left with nothing but pennies and low-end draft capital to replace that skillset. And the defense has suffered dramatically.
This season's trade deadline allowed the organization to acquire a quality 3&D starter. The roster is filled with guys who can shoot or defend, no in-between for 30 minutes a night. Especially with Jarred Vanderbilt's health in question, the team has no answer for containing opposing permitter threats.
To everyone's surprise, the Lakers stayed put. Pelinka believed any available move at the deadline wasn't worth giving up the little assets they had. Instead, the organization plans to push for a star player via trade in the offseason.
L.A. didn't 'punt' on the season per se, but whatever improvements to be made in the coming offseason wouldn't be as impactful as Pelinka may think. James and Davis can't afford to wait till next season.
James turns 40 years old next season in December. It would be hard to compete for a championship when one of your most important pieces is at that age.
And for Davis, he's playing his best ball as a Laker. There's no guarantee he will continue to be this healthy next season. They needed Pelinka to go all in at the deadline to inch the team closer to contention when their window is still cracked.
The Lakers did do at least something recently. A few days after the deadline, the Lakers picked up former Brooklyn Net guard Spencer Dinwiddie fresh off the buyout market. Dinwiddie's not a bad player by any means. He can add scoring value off the bench.
But Pelinka's decision to wait and sign him instead of attacking the deadline is another example of him falling in love with castaway cheap ball handlers instead of solid 3&D rotational pieces.
It's absolutely inexcusable that the Lakers have been playing around .500 basketball since 2021. Champion contention should be consistent when an organization has two top 10 players.
James' L.A. arc isn't a failure. Unfortunately, the Lakers mismanaged the LeBron era by prioritized the wrong type of supporting cast around him when the 2020 championship laid out a blueprint.
