Last season's seventh-place record in the West + the results of the playoff round made the Lakers management deeply aware that if the team lineup in the new season is only a small repair, then next year they will still be difficult to rush out of the West and win the championship trophy.
Coupled with the gradual decline of James's peak period, the Lakers management had to make a major change of blood in the lineup. So they introduced Westbrook, Howard, Anthony, Ellington, etc., in an attempt to assist James, Thick Eyebrows, and once again impact the championship trophy with a new lineup...
21-22 season: The Lakers tried to rely on the "Big Three" to play a dominant force, but they were kicked out of the championship competition
After the Lakers successfully formed the "Zhan Weimei" super big three, the outside world has great expectations for their prospects for winning the championship in the new season. Especially after Irving could not play because of his refusal to play vaccines, the Lakers became the only team with a "super big three" in the league.
However, so far in the new season, the overall performance of the Lakers has been quite disappointing. They started the season by losing to the Warriors and Suns, two potential playoff rivals; they thought it was due to the new lineup, but as the season progressed, they would be able to regain dominance.
Who ever thought that in the next period of time, the Lakers have also lost to the Thunder (2 times), Timberwolves, Knicks, Kings, Grizzlies (Morant absent) and other teams, resulting in the team so far this season only 15 wins and 13 losses, ranking sixth in the West.
And in the case that the Lakers' performance did not meet expectations, the Nets, even without Irving, gradually returned to the right track under durant's leadership and won the first throne in the East; while the Bucks, under the leadership of Brother Alphabet, have gradually shown the momentum of the defending champions in the recent past; the Western side has become the "show" of the Warriors and the Suns, and they have recently taken turns to sit on the "first throne of the league" for a while.
And the Lakers until now, although under the blessing of the big three, they will not fall into the playoffs. But they have never found the best way to win, otherwise the Lakers' record now, if not the league's first, must be at least the top four in the league.
From the overall state and strength of the Lakers today, compared with the Nets, Warriors, Bucks and other teams, they actually do not have any strength advantage, and can even be said to have been kicked out of the championship ranks. And in this context, it seems that the trade has become the only way out for the Lakers in the new season...
After the Lakers big three can't play chemistry, and occupy a huge salary space, resulting in the team has no space to strengthen, it seems that if the team wants to return to the championship ranks, it is only to let the big three disintegrate. And as the Lakers' record has not improved, the call for the disintegration of the Big Three is getting higher and higher.
Recently, according to reporter Jake Fischer's report: Because the effect of the big three combination is not up to expectations, the Lakers have had a discussion about the situation of the Westbrook transaction.
From the perspective of personal performance in the new season, although James averaged 26.2 points, 6.1 boards, 7.1 assists per game, and 50.6% shooting percentage, in fact, due to his age, his form and dominance are far less than last season.
In addition to James's obviously less personal form than ever, the personal performance of thick eyebrows is far less than in previous seasons. So far in the new season, thick eyebrows have averaged only 24.0 points, 10.2 boards and 3.0 assists per game, and 52.3% shooting, although unlike James, from the basic data point of view, there is not much of a problem.
But in fact, thick eyebrows' three-point shooting rate has slipped to 19.2%, making it difficult to open up space for the team. And the defensive end has seen a significant decline compared to the championship season. Obviously, the performance of the offensive and defensive ends of the new season has not been able to play the dominance of the championship season.
But even so, if the Big Three disintegrate, James and Thick Eyebrows will not be the Lakers' first choice. And their first choice, obviously, is Wei Shao...
So, why is it that as soon as the rumors of the disintegration of the Big Three come out, Wei Shao is always the first to bear the brunt?
1. Compared with James and Thick Eyebrows, Westbrook data performance is more "crotch-pulling". So far in the new season, James and Thick Eyebrows have declined to a certain extent compared to the championship season, both in terms of data and the actual performance of both ends of the attack and defense, but they can still contribute to the "beautiful" data.
However, Wei Shao, who averaged three-doubles per game last season, has only 19.5 points, 7.7 boards and 8.4 assists so far in the new season, and the data performance of 45.1% shooting rate + 32.4% three-point shooting rate. Often when the team needed him to score, he repeatedly failed to shoot, and when James was absent some time ago, Wei Shao's record of leading the team was far from expectations.
2, Wei Shao's big package + no projection of the way of playing, resulting in the three giants difficult to play a chemical reaction. In the 19-20 season, James and Thick Brow joined forces to not only lead the Lakers to the first record in the West, but also played dominance in the playoffs and won the championship trophy.
That is to say, the combination of James + thick eyebrows has played a chemical reaction and proved the strength of the joint team. So as long as James + thick eyebrows do not have a serious decline, there is still some room for adjustment, the Lakers management will not easily choose to trade them.
And Wei Shao's big package + no projection of the play, not only cut James's ball, but also made the thick eyebrows have to play the fifth position, had to use their own way is not good at to end. This greatly affected the play of James and Thick Brow, resulting in the Big Three always having difficulty playing chemistry.
3, James's appeal, the actual value of thick eyebrows. Since James played a superstar performance in the Cavaliers, James's performance of about 25+8+8 per game this season has been maintained for more than a decade. And perennial in the championship team, a long period of peak + high exposure, so that James has a large number of fans...
Although the personal performance of the new season of thick eyebrows did not meet expectations, even if it is to trade him, this year will not be the best time. After all, thick eyebrows carry a 5-year, $190 million contract (has been executed for one year), and if the Lakers choose to trade thick eyebrows this year, they will definitely be "depressed". And if you can wait until next year, or wait until the thick eyebrows play a certain performance and then trade, then the Lakers will make a steady profit.
In summary, from the perspective of personal performance, playing style, value, etc., if it is to trade the big three, Wei Shao will definitely be the first choice of the Lakers. After all, if you trade James, with the combination of Wei Shao + thick eyebrows, no one can bear the responsibility of leading the team; if you trade thick eyebrows, with the combination of James + Wei Shao, the internal line will become their biggest weakness.
However, if you trade Wei Shao and introduce strength players, then you can reduce the lakers' strength loss to a minimum. Because of this, as long as the rumors of the disintegration of the big three come out, Wei Shao will always be the first to bear the brunt of it...