Intel on Which Lakers VIPs Will Remain in LA Past This Season
Published: March 2, 2021 US time
Publisher: Bleacher Report
Article author: Jack Fischer
Article translated by de Gaulle
Happy families are all similar, but unhappy families have their own misfortunes. For the Lakers this season, their misfortune has not only continued from the beginning of the season to the present, but also various forms of bad luck. The constant stretch of injuries, the difficult-to-knead lineup, and James' public interviews during the All-Star period have also obscured the future of the lakers' star on the team.
Now, with James once again making a public statement and swearing his allegiance to the Lakers, the future of the emperor in Los Angeles is basically conclusive. However, the future of the Other Core Figures of the Lakers today — head coach Vogel, vice president and general manager Pelinka and starting point guard Westbrook — is still uncertain. Combined with the currently known information, what will be the fate of these Lakers' big names after the end of this season?
Let's start with Vogel. In August last year, the Lakers management issued a new contract extension for Vogel, whose contract was only one year left, but the renewal period was only one year, that is, until the end of the 2022-23 season. In January, when the Lakers were caught up in the toughest period of the season, Vogel's coaching position was once on the verge of being out of class. However, Vogel then led the team to play a few good performances, which was a kind of escape. Judging from the information currently revealed within the team, Vogel has a high probability that he will continue to coach the Lakers in the 2022-23 season.
The reason why there will be such a voice, in addition to the Lakers to maintain trust in Vogel, there is another reason that can not be ignored, that is, the number of people who can choose the Lakers to replace Vogel is really limited. The Lakers have always been looking for a "player-type head coach" who is widely accepted and recognized by players and has a high personality charm. The outstanding representatives of this type of coach are undoubtedly Tyrone Lew and Jason Kidd, but the two are now one at the Clippers and the other at the Lone Rangers. Coupled with the fact that the Lakers don't want a novice with no coaching experience to take over the coaching whip, Vogel has become the safest choice in the current situation. However, as long as the Lakers still maintain the core idea of building a championship-winning lineup around James, Vogel will always feel the urgency and pressure coming towards him.
Compared with Vogel, Pelinka faces a future that is obviously more "cloudy". As a club with a long history, the Lakers are naturally indispensable to "human feelings". Pelinka, as the agent of kobe bryant, the lakers' former facade player, has established a deep relationship with the Lakers because of Kobe. This relationship and history has earned him the support and trust of many Lakers celebrities (not just "Magic" Johnson) and the Owner Jenny Bath's cronies, the Lambis. According to insiders, these core people, who can play a decisive role in the operation of the Lakers, have given Pelinka great support.
However, the Lakers' performance in the past two seasons, as well as Pelinka's several mistakes in the reinforcements, have made these Lakers core figures who support him also move to replace him. Even the candidates who are connected to the substitute are now in the scope of discussion.
The man expected to replace Pelinka is named Omar Wilkes (pictured below), who is currently the head of basketball operations at Rich Paul's agency, Klatch Sports. According to insiders, Wilkes is the link that connects Klatch Sports and the Lakers today. An important reason why he can play such a role is that Wilkes' father, Jamal Wilkes, has also played for the Lakers for many years and has won 3 championships with Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar and "Magician". Wilkes' younger brother, Jordan Wilkes, also spent 6 years in the Lakers' management, and it wasn't until 2019 that Jordan Wilkes left the Lakers to become a Scout for the Hornets.
It is precisely because of this relationship and connection with the Lakers that Omar Wilkes is closely related to the Lakers. This, combined with his excellent work at Crouch Sports in recent years (signing Trey Young and Anthony Edwards), has led to more interest in the Lakers, which has led to rumors that he may take Pelinka's place. However, Wilkes and Krach Sports are currently busy fighting for Duke university players, paul Banchero, who is expected to enter the top three picks in this year's draft, so there is no substantial development between him and the Lakers for the time being.
In addition, from the current information, even if the Lakers can persuade Wilkes to join, the way to take may be to let him and Pelinka exercise the power of the team together, just like the original "Magic" Johnson as president, Pelinka as the general manager. This model is very popular in today's NBA, such as the Jazz asked Danny Angie to be CEO, but general manager Justin Zannick is still in power. Teams like the Timberwolves and 76ers are also using this approach.
This "team" model can avoid the operation of one person, which will affect the operation of the whole team. In recent years, Pelinka has indeed had a lot of remarkable actions, but it has also had a lot of tricks. For example, before the 2021 deal deadline, he missed the opportunity to introduce Kyle Lowry because he did not want to pay Horton Tucker, and by the end date of this year's deal, he put Tucker, who had signed a big contract, on the shelves. Before the 2021 draft, Pelinka basically negotiated a deal with the Kings involving Barty Hield, but because James and Davis wanted to team up with Westbrook, he went to trade with the Wizards without informing the Kings. The King's management learned about the incident through news reports, and their emotions could be imagined.
In recent years, many team management has been critical of Pelinka's style. "(This year's) trade deadline, a lot of teams called him and he didn't respond," the general manager of one team said of Pelinka.
"He was an asshole when he was an agent," said the assistant general manager of a certain team, "and he was the agent of the most powerful players at the time, and if he wanted his players to leave, he would throw you away like he would throw you away in order to get the results he wanted." How can you expect other people to work with you when you become one of them? ”
To be sure, in the years since "Magic" left management and Pelinka took power, he has indeed changed the team a lot, and the core duo of the team to win the championship in 2020, the combination of James and Davis, and the many excellent puzzles around the two, are all built by him. But in the last two seasons, the team has not been able to continue to attack the championship, which is also inseparable from his operational errors.
So far this season, the team's biggest problem is naturally the introduction of Westbrook's actions. Because he has never been able to truly integrate into the team, Wei Shao's relationship with the team is now very tense. According to insiders, after Vogel did not let Wei Shao stay on the field to play in the final stage, there was no smooth communication and exchange between the two on this matter.
However, over time, and with so many attempts at games, the Lakers have largely given up hope of fully integrating Westbrook into the team. At present, the information given by many sources says that the Lakers and Wei Shao have reached a consensus that they will part ways this summer.
Originally, before this year's trade deadline, the Lakers had the opportunity to send Westbrook away, and they had discussed with the Rockets to let Westbrook and Wall two guards exchange teams. However, because the Lakers were reluctant to give away the 2027 draft pick, the deal was eventually closed. However, by the time this summer, Wei Shao's contract is only the last year left, and the Lakers can also take out the 2029 draft pick to trade, and the choice to send Wei Shao away is naturally more.
If the road of trading does not work, the Lakers can also operate Ruhr Deng's contract in the past, by extending the contract, and spread the salary of 47 million yuan in the last year of Wei Shao to the total salary in the next few years. Although they have to carry a certain amount of baggage, if the Lakers adopt this approach, they can compress the total salary next year to about 2.5 million below the salary cap. In this way, the Lakers will have a full middle class and a two-year exception, at least avoid signing free agents with a basic salary.
"Doing that would at least pinch together some nice elements," said one of the league's salary experts, "and it could be the lakers' best way to build a roster around James." ”
Throughout James' career, he has never made the act of "forcing the palace" during the contract period. Coupled with his recent public statements, so at least until the summer of 2023, James will most likely remain in the Lakers, and the team must continue to build a lineup around James.
The Lakers' failure this season has a "man-made disaster" factor, but it cannot ignore the "natural disaster". The combination of James and Davis, in a healthy situation, is still a presence that other opponents cannot ignore. If the Lakers can successfully get rid of Wei Shao and find a puzzle that suits the Zhan Mei combination, then the Lakers have a future, and their failure this season will not become completely meaningless.