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The LA Lakers find themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference yet again, as the men in purple and gold sit five games below .500 at 13-18, two places shy of the bottommost seed in the West.
Anthony Davis' injury, that will keep him out for at least a month, only adds fuel to the fire. The Lakers have a poor roster and LeBron James can only do so much to keep this team afloat.
Their moves after the 2020 NBA championship, especially the trade that sent away Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso among others to acquire Russell Westbrook in the 2021 offseason has been nothing short of a disaster.
On the "The Crossover Podcast," JJ Redick sounded off his opinion on the Lakers, and their struggles since their NBA title in the bubble two years ago:
"To me, what the Lakers have done since 2020 hasn't made any sense.
"There was a formula there. You had LeBron, you had AD, and you put around them older vets that are smart players, like a (Rajon) Rondo, Dwight Howard, young wings that can defend and shoot 3s, they had KCP, they had Kyle Kuzma."
Redick added:
"The next year they go super young with their ancillary pieces, that doesn't work, they lose to the Phoenix Suns.
"Then they trade for Russell Westbrook and anybody who has watched basketball knows that that's not gonna be good fit for Russ, not good fit for LeBron."
LA Lakers problems continue as Davis continues to be out
The LA Lakers are a poorly constructed NBA team who have struggled to hit consistent strides for over 100 games since 2021.
LA Lakers has played a total of 113 NBA games since trading for Westbrook, and in those 113, have never won more than four in a row. Their only four-win win streak culminated in a win over the Atlanta Hawks in January last season.
LeBron James is perhaps the only bright spot in the past two seasons. The four-time NBA champion seems have to remained largely unaffected by the sheer mediocrity around him, and has averaged a staggering 29.4 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game and 6.4 assists per game over the past two season.
That is more than prolific scorers like Stephen Curry and Devin Booker's average over the same period, and is nearly the same as Luka Doncic's average over the past two seasons (29.6).
LA Lakers' moves in the offseason haven't paid dividend. Despite overhauling the roster by filling it with younger talent, LA seems to be in a similar position as they were last year.
With the trade deadline closer than ever and Anthony Davis out for several weeks, the Lakers have to realize that trading their first-round picks shouldn't be a non-negotiable stance. The Lakers sent away every bit of their formidable depth in the Russell Westbrook trade, a blunder they have paid the price for since.
Over the past 10 years, LeBron puts his franchise into contention more than any other player. Whatever little chance the LA Lakers have of winning an NBA title in the foreseeable future rests solely in the hands of LeBron James, so the Lakers need to revamp their roster as fast as possible.
