5 Things: Lakers lose more than a game

I vividly recall the Christmas Day game where LeBron injured his groin and feeling like the season was a balloon slowly deflating before my very eyes. Fweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeephlphlphlppp… While there were very specific differences between that injury and this one (X-Mas was a noncontact injury, Solomon Hill toppled into James’ ankle) the timing of this injury, given the nature of the season and what’s at stake, feels about as damaging. Feels like the season is hanging by a thread.

1. The high-ankle sprain. Six to eight weeks feels like a best case scenario. Let’s say that LeBron exceeds all expectations and beats that by a week or so. That still sounds like over a month and with an already hobbled Anthony Davis who really wants to see LeBron do something that reaggravates an injury like this? A healthy LeBron and Anthony are the only things that make the Lakers an elite team, make no mistake, so having them ready to go in the playoffs is the highest priority. 5 weeks would mean a return on the road against Orlando which would likely mean a push back to April 30th, an at home against Sacramento. A few weeks before season’s end. If it falls within the normal range for the injury, 6-8, that means an at best return against Dame Time and Portland on May 7th. If it moves into the 8 week, or longer, range that essentially means the playoffs.
2. What does this mean for the playoffs? The Lakers are 28-14, 3rd in the west and a game and a half ahead of the Clippers. There are 30 games to go. The last play-in spot is currently held by Memphis (19-20), they’re 10 games behind us. While I don’t see the Lakers tumbling out of playoff contention the possibility must be entertained. This was already a brutal season schedule-wise given our team’s short turnaround due to the NBA Finals. Injuries to our superstar duo and some COVID issues have added even more obstacles to the quest to repeat. The Lakers are going to need improved contributions from across the board to mitigate the loss of LeBron although, if one is honest, there is no replacing the moxie and gravitas the King brings to the hardwood every night.
3. Who is going to step up? Well…there’s a Laker rumored to be looking for a deal in the 20+ million dollar range or more. He has the added benefit of having the ball in his hands a lot, and has wanted to assert himself to a greater level in the NBA. Dennis Schroder is my vote. Kyle Kuzma is a close second but he’s not looking for a new contract and isn’t the starting PG. Montrezl Harrell seems best suited to come off the bench and continue that role, KCP…uhm, yeeeaaahhh that ain’t happening. Talen Horton-Tucker? I mean, that would be cool, right? great story for the team, should he make a jump it’d also pretty much price him right off the team while simultaneously denying us one of our prime trading prospects. Marc Gasol?
4. What kind of trade could we pull off to stabilize us, add a 3rd superstar or something like that? The NBA rules on roster size are clear, here’s a link to an article that explains it in detail: https://www.slamonline.com/nba/cba-explained-nba-roster-size-limits/
   When we waived Quinn Cook we dropped to a roster of 14 active players. That’s the minimum roster an NBA team can carry although there is a rule that allows us a team to carry 13 for up to 2 weeks. The Lakers are also hard-capped with a roster salary of $136, 921, 446. For teams that are hard-capped this season they cannot exceed $138,928,000 total roster salary and cannot drop the roster voluntarily below 13. When we waived Quinn Cook we freed up the cap space that dropped us a little further under the hard cap apron (which is about 6m more than the normal cap apron…I think…) but also limited us to bringing back as many players as we trade out. The NBA will veto a trade that drops the Lakers roster to 13 and puts us up to the hard cap apron (which we cannot go over). Once we hit that apron we cannot add another cent in salary, no matter the need. There are a lot more than 2 weeks in the season. An odd quirk of the current CBA is that there are a lot fewer roster rules that apply to the postseason. Unfortunately the trade deadline is days away and the postseason over a month. I don’t see a trade that we can make that ships out the same number of players and brings back a talent that would come close to making a dent in the needs we face finishing the regular season without James and Davis.
5. So…what do we do? We compete. Waiving Cook was almost certainly a move designed to free up the roster space and cap space to offer a player like Drummond or even Isaiah Thomas the veteran minimum. I know the topic du jour with the deadline 69ish hours away (as of this sentence being written) is what big name can we land to improve our title fortunes. I’ve never really believed that was possible and once I dug into cap rules I find it nigh impossible we can do anything more than minor roster tweaks (as in THT for Devontae Graham or Marc Gasol for Dwight Howard or, well, you get the idea). Is it possible I’m misinterpreting the NBA hard cap rules? Sure, people who are paid to report on this topic often bungle the obscurities of it all. But the roster size isn’t confusing. 13 for 2 weeks, 14 otherwise. Health doesn’t matter, just that they’re on the payroll. The best solution is for the simplest one: dig down deep, compete at a higher level, and earn that million dollar paycheck regardless of how many millions it is. The alternative is depressing indeed.

Get well soon Mr. James, you will be sorely missed on the court.