LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 15: Head coach Tyronn Lue (L) of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks with LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers after a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The initial rush of NBA deal-making is complete. Like Christmas shopping that comes after Black Friday, more deals will be made. But NBA teams have stocked up. More power has shifted to the west. MVP-caliber players have moved in ways expected and stunning. The Warriors remain the team to beat, with potential to be even better than they have been.
With that, and allowing that more significant moves could still come, a look at the way the NBA Western Conference shapes up.
Today: No. 5 Los Angeles Lakers
Incoming: LeBron James, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, Moritz Wagner, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.
Outgoing: Brook Lopez, Julius Randle, Isaiah Thomas.
Though it might be tempting to assume the Lakers’ goal is to assemble the most entertaining reality television cast in Hollywood, or at least reduce LaVar Ball to no more than the wacky neighbor that pops up in occasional episodes, there could be much more to the moves made since landing the biggest free agent of them all.
Of all the summer blockbusters, the Lakers’ was the biggest. LeBron James tends to dominate headlines and clicks as no one else can.
Yet, as remarkable – if not surprising — as James’ move to Los Angeles was, the subsequent steps in the reworking of the Lakers were nearly as intriguing.
The Lakers will not be the best of the west, but they could be the most interesting.
That, as with everything else in their immediate future, begins with James. His run of trips to the Finals seems likely to end at eight-consecutive seasons, but given the depth of excellence in the Western Conference, he will have to do some heavy lifting to get the Lakers to the playoffs.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 20: Lance Stephenson #6 of the Indiana Pacers reacts in the second quarter of Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 20, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
No one should bet against James doing that. He has long been a sure thing when it comes to elevating his team to contender status or at least in that direction. He has carried teams with far less help around him to the playoffs, though that was always in an Eastern Conference pack not nearly as loaded as the Western Conference he joins this season.
James will be able to shape his game to fit whatever the Lakers need, but for now, that is wildly unpredictable.
The Lakers reloaded with a cadre of veterans on one-year contracts around their deep collection of talented prospects. There could be perils to that. Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Jason Hart and Kyle Kuzma can only grow into championship-caliber running mates for James with playing time, but newcomers McGee, Rondo, Stevenson and Beasley are there to play now and will need (and presumably want) significant roles earn their next contracts.
The Lakers wisely made sure they would have cap room for a max-contract player next summer. To do that, they have to bring in players on one-year deals, and could either sign players that were marked down because of issues of one sort or another or became they were middling talents. They chose the former, getting potential for high reward with relatively little risk. It could, however, be a tough fit.
Magic Johnson said that he wanted to remake the Lakers to be more like the top contenders, citing of all things, the Rockets’ many players with the ability to create their own shots last season. It was unclear if he was including Hakeem Olajuwon sitting in the front row and Clyde Drexler broadcasting the games, but he did put together a variety of players with that ability.
Rondo is one of just four active players to lead the NBA in assists per game, but he can play effectively only one way, with the ball and control of his team’s offense in his hands. That will take some of the load of James, but late in games, James is not going to be watching someone else run the offense. James is unstoppable on a break and Ball does push the pace well, but he might not be a good fit with James in the halfcourt and could have his playing (and developmental) time slashed by Rondo.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – APRIL 21: Rajon Rondo #9 of the New Orleans Pelicans is defended by Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game Four of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs at the Smoothie King Center on April 21, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers 131-123 to sweep the series 4-0. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Beasley showed again last season that he can go get his own shot and knock down plenty of them. But that style does not match the offense Luke Walton has run and would seem to conflict with the young prospects important to the Lakers’ future.
Hart and Kuzma should be effective working with James, with Hart’s summer league play reminding of Kuzma’s last season on his way to a strong rookie year. Keeping Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was more important than the attention-grabbing moves for the veterans, though he is another reminder of how difficult it might be to give some of those free agent additions the playing time they likely expect.
That gives the Lakers plenty of reason for optimism, if there was not enough just from landing the prize of all free agent prizes. But making the mix work, especially early in the season, could be a challenge, with little margin for error in the loaded west.
It will, however, be entertaining.
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