Psych! That was an intentionally misleading headline because I realized it’s super easy to rag on the Los Angeles Lakers these days instead of praising them. Well, what exactly do they deserve praise for, with regard to free agency? NOTHING!
According to analysts on Twitter, from every major outlet imaginable, when the Lakers put all of their eggs in one basket for LaMarcus Aldridge, they completely screwed up. The meeting took place as soon as it possibly could and they barely focused on basketball issues, which should be terrifying to fans because it shows where the front office’s minds are right now, in terms of what they think is important and what they have to offer. If the Lakers had a good product on the court to offer LaMarcus, they would have spent more time talking about that. Instead, they played to their other strength: Hollywood and brand-building. Neither of which were of interest to LaMarcus. Further, Kobe Bryant was in the meeting, which should just stop happening in general. Kobe is only going to be around one more year, so he won’t affect a new player’s contract that much. And even moreso, players have made it very clear that they either don’t want to play with Kobe or don’t care either way; all of this to say that Kobe isn’t the draw the Lakers seem to think he is. Did I mention he casually showed up to the meeting in flip flops? Classy, Kobe.
Now, the meeting aside, the Lakers screwed up the rest of their Free Agent options by promoting the hashtag #LAtoLA, thereby alienating anyone else who may even want to come to play for the Lakers. Let’s say DeAndre Jordan was even considering them (he wasn’t), and sure, he’s technically already in LA because of the Clippers, but why would he want to play for a team that didn’t try as hard to recruit him?
In the end, LaMarcus signed with San Antonio, and the Lakers are left with rumors of an unsigned Robert Sacre as their big man as of now.
So, you tell me, am I being harsh, or did they do anything right so far this free agency?
KOBE MONTANA 