5 Things: The Lakers as currently constructed

Well…that was quick. Feels like no time has passed since we watched the Lakers partying in confetti. In the time that has passed we’ve seen some Lakers leave, some new Lakers come in and the most important Laker sign for the foreseeable future. Let’s dig in.

1. The LeBron James extension. This is key because it gives the front office a stable foundation from which to build a roster up from. If you can pencil in 20-25 ppg, 9ish boards and 10 dimes from your franchise cornerstone it makes filling out the rest a lot easier. Keeping James in the fold until the mid 2020’s means he will have a chance to catch the NBA All Time Best Scorer Ever one unheralded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That is no small thing. So, while some Laker fans may yet still scoff that LeBron is as much a mercenary player as a Laker I couldn’t disagree more. The modern NBA is not a place where the players you draft set down roots and plant themselves in one spot for their career, or at least most of it. The greats play for multiple franchises now, it’s just how it is. With the pursuit of the trophy taking on a nigh magically maniacal aura and the way that teams often bump up against the cap and ar unable to compliment their superstars with the appropriate kind of talent that enables them to win it all it’s just as easy to ask out and move on as it is to forge ahead and slog away. So mark me down as super-stoked that LeBron has chosen to throw his lot in with us for the next few seasons.
2. Signing Schroder. At this point this feels like old news but there’s a lot of smarts in this. Dennis is not only a player with upside yet remaining and a work ethic as strong as any star in the league but he plays with the right kind of fire. He has that dog, as they say. Some may expect him to take a secondary role but I do not, at least not in the regular season. I expect LeBron to ease his way into this one, more than any other season we’ve seen from him. Not because he’s injured but to prevent that from happening. Schroder is the key to that. he can get his own, create for others and will not shy from taking big shots. If Dennis signs long term after this season I also believe we’ll see a slow passing of the major ball handling duties torch passed from LBJ to DS, as well. James doesn’t need the ball to romp and destroy. Schroder unlocks those powers.
3. Bringing key members of the band back. With the return of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Markieff Morris, and LakerTom key player of all time Jared Dudley the Lakers brought back 2 key on-court contributors and maybe the most influential non-player since M.L. Carr and his epic towel, ‘Kieff and KCP were key contributors to the Lakers winning the Larry O last season and while there were serviceable replacement players on the market there is something to be said for chemistry and trust bred in the test of strength and will it takes to win it all. While some may not look at bringing Duds back as all that monumental I think it does have significance. The reason being is you need guys like that. you need the guy toiling in silence and darkness with no reporters asking him questions, no limelight, no drama. Just the work of being a professional basketball player. There is honor and a kind of quiet glory in that. Dudley may not play 300 minutes next season (364 total minutes played last season, plus 9 minutes in the playoffs) but his behind the scenes contributions will carry a weight equal to his on-court numbers. Pope is a dynamic enough two-way player who will forever be good for one bone-headed play/game and in Morris we bring back one of the cogs to our skilled ball line up.
4. The new faces ain’t too shabby to look at. The Lakers did more than add Schroder, the big surprise to many was bringing in Montrezl Harrell since his fit on our team seems, to some, questionable. I look at this as another way to spell LeBron James early on that we may seem some spot starts from Trezz. But my excitement that we picked up Marc Gasol whose Laker journey has now come full circle can only be described as through the roof. Bringing in March opens up the floor for any kind of line up we want to deploy. Traditional big and PF combo? No problem, Gasol fits seamlessly alongside James and AD. Want to go small? No problem, even if AD is out for some reason or in foul trouble Marx stretches the floor and opens up the lane. Want to to hard and crunchy? Trezz and Gasol can level a team just by setting hard screens. Gasol might just be the key off-season stroke by Rob Pelinka and we end up with a Super Gasolio Brothers kind of vibe if Pau gets that offer sheet from us.
5. The ones that stayed. I have long been a proponent of not shipping out of all our cost efficient talent. In the modern NBA you need some draft picks and some cost-controlled impact to have a chance. Can’t always rely on the vet minimum to fill out the roster in a respectable fashion. In holding onto Caruso and THT while also getting Kostas on a two-way deal (no cap hit!) was key. It gives us little pieces to include in a future trade or to place around the cornerstones. The little guys who contribute are often unheralded but, in my book, never forgotten.

This roster is better, on paper, than the roster we opened camp with last season. The test will of course be how it plays out on the hardwood and what test that will be. Possibly an entire season with no fans, rough. Maybe another Bubble playoffs. All sorts of COVID related issues. But the talent and chemistry is there for the Lakers to repeat so let’s start off camp in a weekish with that goal firmly in mind.

Go Lakers