Very similar to the 03-04 and 12-13 seasons, the Lakers were once again affected by serious injuries, poor chemistry and off-court events. Now the Purple and Gold Army is not to mention regaining the championship, and even reaching the playoffs is not an easy task. Don't put the blame on Russell Westbrook alone, now the team has a lot of problems, and Anthony Davis's injury has made the Lakers' house leak overnight.
In terms of overall talent, Anthony Davis is naturally the most prominent presence in the league, but since he entered the league, he has always been affected by various injuries, and the Lakers can finally win the championship in the 19-20 season, also thanks to the relative health of Anthony Davis that year and played a fairly off-site performance. However, in these two seasons, Anthony Davis began to miss the game every day, especially this ankle injury, he had to be absent for at least a month. And it is not necessarily a comeback after that, Anthony Davis still has to undergo a review, based on the final result to decide whether to continue to rest or officially return. In this case, the Lakers only have two interior players left, Howard and Jordan Jr., and they are not reused, and Jordan Jr. rarely plays. According to media reports, Willy Cowley-Stein, Moses Brown and DJ Wilson are all potential targets for the Lakers.
Of the three players, Cauley-Stein is naturally the most famous. He was selected by the Kings with the 6th pick in the first round in 2015, and in his third and fourth seasons, Cauley-Stein averaged double-digit points per game. But his on-court role is not as obvious as the data reflects, so after the rookie contract expired, the Kings directly gave up Cauley-Stein. He has since played for the Warriors and then the Lone Rangers, but the old problems still can't be changed, and Cauley-Stein has averaged only 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season. Obviously has a strong physical fitness and athletic ability, but Cowley-Stein always seems to be inattentive, and this person loves art, especially good at painting, so if the Lakers really signed Cauley-Stein, I am afraid that the role on the field will not be too big, and he can bring some topics off the field.
Compared to Cauley-Stein, Moses Brown is much more secure. The draft-winning player, who is now only 22 years old, played for the Trail Blazers in his first season of his career, but only played in nine games. Last season, he switched to the Thunder, but he had a pretty good performance, averaging 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, although the Thunder are in a bad rebuild, Moses Brown's data is somewhat watery, but it is still quite commendable. This season he also switched to the Lone Ranger, but did not have many opportunities to perform, and after the Lone Ranger exchanged Porzingis for Dinwiddie and Bertans, the Lone Ranger was forced to cut Moses Brown in order to free up players. The youngster also has excellent athletic ability, plus he is young enough to play some role.
Wilson made his 2017 debut, but he didn't get much of a performance opportunity at the bucks early in his career. Wilson was sent to the Rockets last season, and he could have made a big splash, but he triggered a health and safety agreement in the closing stages, and now he is also in a free state for a long time. Wilson is more agile than other interior players and has a certain projection threat, which is obviously his selling point.
Speaking of which, everyone may find a problem, the reason why the Lakers are so short of centers now, they have to blame themselves. Last season, the Lakers had three centers in the squad, but they all let them go, except for Gasol Jr., who is indeed old, the other two are not bad. After Drummond joined the Lakers in the second half of last season, he could still average 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, but the Lakers did not leave him last summer, and it should be known that Drummond received a basic salary contract this season. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets, both of which were quite good and one of the best backup centers in the league.
Harrell's style characteristics are very different from Drummond's, as the winner of the best sixth man award, during the Lakers last season, Harrell averaged 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, but the Lakers still did not leave him. Harrell played for the Wizards in the first half of the season and performed quite well, and as of today the Hornets have replaced Harrell back to make up for the shortcomings of the interior.
That's not counting the previous Javier McGee, who was a Lakers starting center in the 19-20 season and won the championship with the team. Unexpectedly, in the offseason, the Lakers directly gave up McGee in order to save money and add the vacated player quota. He moved to the Suns this season, and although McGee played most of the time as a substitute, he still averaged 9.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, shooting 65.6 percent from the field. Once having so many trustworthy interior players, letting them all go, and now looking for centers all over the world, isn't the Lakers just lifting a stone and dropping it on their own feet?