The 2021-2022 Los Angeles Lakers (a Lebron Tragedy)

Due in part to his feening ways,
we may never see this look on Lebron's face ever again.

By all means karma, or common sense really, was going to catch up with Lebron eventually due to his demand for instant, ever-fluctuating superteams.  But for it to happen in the middle of his Los Angeles Lakers' tenure is like so not the time.

And the reason I say that is because, it's like the Lakers are never supposed to have a losing season.  It was acceptable for a little while post-Kobe.  The Lakers were very loyal to Kobe, one of the most-expensive players in the game, and as such were forced into a rebuild once he retired.  And they engaged in a true rebuild, i.e. one centered on draft picks, not going after proven vets.  So it was expected they would lose for a little while.

But all of that changed once Lebron came to town.  Playing in the East for the Heat and the Cavs, Lebron had been to the Finals for eight years straight (from 2011-2018).  So there was this belief circulating that he could lead any team to the Finals just like that (like how he did in 2007).

Then he came to Lakers in 2018-19, playing alongside many of those aforementioned draft picks.  From the time news broke that Lebron was coming to town, the Lakers started doing dumb shit like letting Julius Randle, one of the most promising young bigmen in the NBA, walk.  But still I liked that squad, i.e. the Lakers' young core of Ball-Ingram-Kuzma and Hart being under the leadership of LBJ.  That would've let the world know that Lebron really cared about the Lakers, as in being more concerned for the future than the present, because anyone with half a brain could have known that in the long run, gutting an entire young core for one player (Anthony Davis) would be a problem the organization would have to deal with sooner or later.

And unfortunately for the Lakers, it has been sooner.  I always believed that AD belongs in LA even more than Lebron.  And that's because, even if there are some dumbasses going around these days thinking that shooting is more important to NBA basketball than size, conventional wisdom dictates that the latter is preferable.  And that is why the Lakers, the wisest NBA team of all, always makes sure they have one of the best, if not the best center in the NBA.

Anthony Davis, when healthy, is generally considered the best center in the game.  So it only makes sense that the same team who employed the likes of Mikan, Chamberlain, Kareem, Shaq and Gasol (all of whom won championships for the Lakers) would also seek out AD.  That's been the main secret of the Lakers success, to always have the best bigman in the game.

And of course AD got them a championship also.  So at the end of the day, I would argue that the Lakers' current failure isn't as attributable to GM Lebron as it is the health of Anthony Davis, who imo should just retire at this point.  But that doesn't mean that GM Lebron doesn't take some of the blame also.  After all, he's supposed to be able to play the 5 himself and dominate (most teams) at that position if need be.

CONCLUSION

I would also argue that it really doesn't matter which part of the country you come from; anyone who has NBA dreams has fantasized about playing on the Lakers.  It's like okay, you may fantasize about playing for your home team, but you're going to fantasize about the Lakers also.  And with Lebron actually being in a position to force that dream into a reality, you can't knock him.

But damn, what about them other cats who also dreamed of being Lakers but got sacked once LBJ got there?  Those are the ones, like Lonzo Ball and even Alex Caruso (who are now on the best team in the East), that are probably sitting back right now, laughing their asses off.  Even Brandon Ingram, leader of the lowly Pelicans (who AD sh*tted on so that he could go to LA) has to be getting a kick out of this current fiasco.  It's like now, teams who need a win are actually looking forward to playing the Lakers - something none of us could have imagined when this season commenced.  But still Lebron hasn't given up hope, and therefore neither should we.

But either way, I'm wondering which superstars would want to go to LA this offseason to team up with him anyway?  Giannis?  So we may be looking forward to an extended period LAL mediocrity - something virtually unheard of in the franchise's history and even worse than the initial post-Kobe era since now the team does in fact one of the best players, bigmen even, in the league.  But I guess the one good thing about is that now Lebron will have the opportunity to redeem himself, as in prove that he isn't only committed to superteams.