The NBA playoffs haven't started yet, but the Los Angeles Lakers' 21-22 season is officially over. About half a year ago, the outside world still regarded the Los Angeles Lakers as one of the big favorites for the championship, and as a result, after the regular season, the Lakers only ranked 11th in the West, and even did not enter the playoffs, ending an extremely bleak year. News suggests the Lakers fired Frank Vogel, who is clearly not the only reason the Purple and Gold have suffered a defeat this season, but it at least shows that the Lakers management is determined to seek change.
Not simply self-consolation, in the eyes of the US media, the Lakers still have some gains this season. After all, if it were not for the serious wave of injuries and the lack of tacit understanding and chemistry in the lineup, the Lakers would not even be unable to enter the top ten in the West. But if you think about it, the Lakers' current situation is very similar to the 18-19 season, so they are determined to win the championship again the following year, and the Lakers are now equally eager to make a comeback.
Among them, general manager Robert Pelinka firmly believes that LeBron James will remain with the Lakers for a long time. In an interview with the media, Pelinka revealed: "All indications are that LeBron James regards the Lakers as his true home, he loves to be a part of this place, and leads the Lakers back to the championship as soon as possible." Objectively speaking, at the age of 37, LeBron James still maintains excellent physical and competitive form, which is obviously a positive signal.
At the end of the season, the Lakers took the head coach Vogel to open the knife, some people said that he was a scapegoat, and he was fired very unjustly, after all, less than two years ago, Vogel also led the Lakers to the championship. Some people think that he can be called the culprit of the team, and lost control of the Lakers very early, only to have a series of subsequent losses. Personally feel that these two views are slightly extreme, Vogel has been coaching in the league for many years, naturally there are two brushes, but objectively speaking, he is indeed not suitable for coaching the Lakers, and a team is in a trough, changing coaches is often the best and more practical way to solve. The Lakers' idea is to identify a new head coach before this year's draft starts, and they have almost two months to review and discuss.
In addition, Kendrick Nunn and Dwight Howard have both expressed a desire to stay with the Lakers, of course, their situations are very different. Last summer, the Lakers signed a two-year contract worth $10 million with Kendrick Nunn, and although they had player options for the 22-23 season, the outside world still thought that the Lakers made a lot of money, after all, Kendrick Nunn was a member of the starting lineup during the Heat. But no one expected that Kendrick Nunn had not played for the Lakers this season because of injuries. There is news that Kendrick Nunn prefers to execute the player option, so that he will continue to stay in the Lakers next season, if Kendrick Nunn can stay healthy, his outside projection and defensive ability will help the Lakers a lot, plus next season is Kendrick Nunn's contract year, he will naturally look particularly desperate.
Dwight Howard returned to the Lakers last summer for the third time in his career with the Purple and Gold. In an interview, Dwight Howard made it clear that he didn't want to leave and that he liked to stay in the Lakers family. After all, Dwight Howard has also reached the twilight of his career, whether it is a championship ring or a big contract, he has already got his hands, and the next step is to simply enjoy basketball, and this kind of veteran naturally does not want to drift around at this age.
Looking back at the Lakers' 21-22 season, the main reason for the loss is that several high-paid players, either injured and affected by long-term absences, or plummeted due to age, but some players with lower salaries have provided more help to the Lakers, the most typical examples are Malik Munch and Austin Reeves. The former spent the first four seasons of his career with the Charlotte Hornets, and last summer Malik Munch joined the Lakers on a base salary, and his contribution on the offensive end was enough to rank in the top three of the team, but unfortunately, the Lakers have limited salary space and it may be difficult to keep him this summer. Austin Reeves is not the same, last year he did not hesitate to give up the opportunity to be selected by other teams, in order to sign a smooth contract with the Lakers, he did not hesitate to become a lost draft, and finally signed a two-way contract with the Lakers. As long as the team wants, Austin Reeves should stay in the Lakers for a long time, and his outside shooting, hard work and high ball quotient are deeply loved by the Lakers and fans.
Finally, there is Stanley Johnson, his role in the Lakers is very special, don't look at Stanley Johnson's salary is relatively low, but he has the courage to speak out, especially self-criticism, which fully shows that Stanley Johnson is a very bloody and hearted player. It seems that both the Lakers and Stanley Johnson are quite optimistic about continuing to work together, and the whole team can't wait to make a comeback next season.