The Los Angeles Lakers have become the biggest disappointment this season, if not in the history of the NBA. Despite being stacked with future basketball hall of fame members, they failed to make it to the playoffs-- even to the top 10 teams in the Western Conference.
At the beginning of the 2021-2022 season, many expected that they would be the top contenders for the championship. But now, the team and its leader LeBron James have become top subjects of memes on social media. But who deserves the blame for this disappointing LA Lakers season? Many believe it is LeBron James' fault.
The Lakers' management team of Jeanie Buss, Kurt and Linda Rambis, and Rob Pelinka is possible to stay intact, but they have a year to straighten things up. Though, as per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the group points the finger at LeBron James,
It's LeBron's Fault
Though James is not the ultimate decision-maker in the organization, he influenced putting together this season's team that eventually ended in a mess, per Clutch Points report. LeBron made a push to make a trade for Russell Westbrook, who eventually had chemistry issues with the team.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson criticized James for that wrong move. Johnson believes that DeMar DeRozan, who performs incredibly this season, should have landed with the Lakers this season if not for James' desire to play with Westbrook. Instead, the Chicago Bulls got DeRozan this summer, and the team had an impressive regular-season performance.
CBS Sports reported that in an interview on ESPN's "Get Up" on Monday, Magic disclosed that "DeRozan wanted to play for the Lakers," and when he got a call from the agent of the Southern California native, he relayed it to the Lakers management.
"We could have made that deal, but when Russell and LeBron and they started talking, that's when they nixed that deal and went with Westbrook, and he became a Laker instead of DeRozan," Johnson said.
Instead, DeRozan was traded to the Bulls in a sign-and-trade deal with the Spurs for Thaddeus Young, a future first-round selection, and two second-round picks.
The Lakers would be in a much better spot than now if DeRozan had been acquired instead of Westbrook. Getting DeRozan would not have cost Los Angeles the massive haul required to acquire Westbrook, which included the trades of Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell.
Coach Vogel Blames Injuries and Westbrook
Meanwhile, Lakers Headcoach Frank Vogel shared his thoughts on what went wrong with the team this season in an interview with The Athletic.
Vogel said in the 30-minute interview that the team's underachievement this season is due to injuries, as superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James were sidelined in many games.
"Every game, you're fighting against the current of healthier teams or teams that have more continuity," Vogel said.
The Lakers' coach also admitted that the team struggled to win "at a high rate" when Westbrook did not have the help of both Davis and James during games.
"Whether it was Russ and AD with Bron out or Russ and Bron with AD out, we just haven't won in those situations," he said.
As for the future of the Lakers, Vogel did not give any comment.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he said.
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