Yesterday, the Lakers lost to the Pelicans by a huge 28-point margin, and James heard boos for the first time at Staples Arena. James' negative attitude to the game annoyed Lakers fans, and the Lakers were once again pushed to the cusp of the storm. After the All-Star Game, the Lakers' schedule is the first in the league, and then they will face the Lone Rangers, Clippers and Warriors, and it seems that the Lakers will basically end this journey with five consecutive losses. The Lakers management realized that the playoffs had drifted away from them, so they began to make up for it again.
According to the Lakers reporter, the Lakers plan to cut Jordan Jr., free up the lineup, and complete the signing with Augustine. In addition, the Lakers will sign a two-way contract with free agent Weinyer Gabriel. It can be seen that the Lakers management wants to make changes, but realistically speaking, these two operations do not make any sense at all, perhaps this can show the Lakers management's eager attitude to change, so as to leave a good impression on James.
If the Lakers pin their hopes on a 34-year-old guard who is only 1.80m tall and a forward player who is about to be eliminated by the NBA, then the Lakers are really not saved. This season's Lakers are fond of small guards, with Collison in front and Augustine in the back, and even if they don't get the expected effect, the Lakers don't have any idea of changing their thinking about reinforcements. Augustine has a steady three-point ability and is useless beyond that. During his time with the Rockets this season, he averaged 5.4 points and 2.2 assists per game, and the offense basically ended with three-point shooting. Compared to Collison, Augustine's only advantage may be his competitive state, but age and height also make up for the small gap between them, and it is foreseeable that Augustine will not get stable playing time in the Lakers.
The protagonist of another reinforcement, Gabriel, may be to hand over the towel. Perhaps the easiest to understand about his assessment is the weakened version of Stanley Johnson. The player changed three teams last season, only got a total of 40 minutes of playing time, with excellent forward stature, he received a number of team signing invitations, in the end these teams are fruitless, the Lakers will not be an exception.
The Lakers' abandonment of Little Jordan is actually not surprising. In the past 27 games, Jordan Jr. has only been given the opportunity to play in 5 games, and even fewer of them have been played in those games. In yesterday's game, Jordan Jr. personally sent himself out of the Lakers. Even if the Nets and Lakers have proved with actions that Jordan Jr. is already a cheap old man, he no longer has the ability to compete in the NBA, and Jordan Jr. has not lost his job. According to the 76ers reporter, the 76ers are fiercely pursuing Little Jordan, and it is expected that they will reach a signing agreement with Little Jordan. The 76ers are not disbelieving the Answers given by the Lakers, but because they really need to reinforce the inside line.
In Harden's trade, the 76ers sent away their only backup center, Drummond, and now only Embiid is left with qualified interior players, who are hungry. Moreover, the 76ers have missed the substitute center that the Lakers gave up for two consecutive years, which has been very impressive, and it is not impossible for them to continue to try. However, Jordan Jr. can not be compared with Howard and Drummond, and we should still maintain a wait-and-see attitude towards his prospects at the 76ers.
After sending Jordan Jr., the Lakers' interior lineup is only Howard, which means that Lakers coach Vogel will restart the lineup with James as the center again. James' appointment as a center can indeed improve the Lakers' offense, but it will also greatly weaken the defense. In this way, James will not spend less than ten minutes as a center in the second team every game, and for the 37-year-old James, the physical load is also a worrying issue. The Lakers' team building idea has been completely distorted, the traditional center is not a stumbling block to them, blindly reinforcing the guard lineup can solve the problem?
The Lakers' championship-winning season is closely related to their luxurious interior lineup. At that time, the Lakers had three top interior pillars of McGee, Howard and Davis, and built a no-fly zone for the Lakers' interior line. The Lakers' offense at that time was not a problem, but the Lakers are now blindly looking for problems in the interior lineup, is this really reasonable?