Take the initiative to take a pay cut, averaging 22 points and 7 assists per game!
Halfway through the NBA regular season this season, when the Clippers successfully topped the Western Conference on the Northern Expedition, the other giants had a hard time. The Warriors are still hovering outside the top 10 in the West, and the problems are one after another, the bright line is from Green's continuous troubles at the beginning of the season, to Kerr's suppression of young people, to Wiggins's overwhelming, and behind this, what is hidden is Klay's various conceited strong shots + the overall performance of no defense at all, and the Warriors are in a mess. Although the Suns can also win with the explosion of Durant and Booker, they are too tired to play, the role players are limited, and Beal does not meet expectations, including the team's defensive problems, there is no speed with height, there is no height with speed, and it is not suitable for how to match. And here with the Lakers, in the first 52 games, 27-25, the ninth place in the West, is not up or down.
In the past few games, the Lakers first played the league's No. 1 Celtics without James and thick eyebrows, and then ended the 9-game winning streak of the super dark horse Knicks. This three-game winning streak also allowed them to catch up with the Mavericks in eighth. However, the trade deadline is getting closer and closer, and Windhorst has said twice in the past week that James wants the team to be more competitive, including the confirmation of the team's reporter Buha, that James is very clear. Even after the game with the Knicks, James was interviewed in a Knicks towel, which was interpreted by the Los Angeles media as putting pressure on the Lakers management to force the team to strengthen as soon as possible. In addition, Vanderbilt's right foot injury has caused the team's forward line to be somewhat weak. Obviously, the Lakers will definitely make a move.
Let's dissect the Lakers' problems this season. Although James can still contribute an average of 24.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game at the age of 39, the continuity is very bad. After all, James is really old, but James is holding a salary of $47.6 million, and the Lakers' overall salary is not comparable to that of the Clippers, Celtics, and Warriors teams owned by commercial tycoons, so if the Lakers want to win more, others must play at a higher level than the salary to fill the hole. In addition, the Lakers are averaging 11.3 three-pointers this season, but the Lakers have averaged more than 22 open three-pointers per game this season.
Dejounte Murray, who integrates offense and defense and has the attributes of a big heart, is naturally the player that the Lakers want the most. However, according to the confirmation of the team's reporter Buha, in all the trade proposals of the Lakers, the offer they gave was Russell + Hachimura (or Vincent), and the potential next home said that if the Lakers are not willing to send additional assets (first-round picks, at least first-round exchange rights), then there is no need to talk. The Hawks put a price tag on Murray for two first-round + All-Star level players, and asking Reaves is already a concession, but the Lakers are only willing to take Russell and are unwilling to empty all their assets. To put it simply, Russell must go! In this regard, the American media listed a set of data, in the past 10 games, Russell averaged 22 points, 6.8 assists + 4.1 three-pointers per game, during this period, the points + assists + three-pointers were the most for the Lakers!
Russell's response to various trade rumors was: I can't control it, I know what it takes to succeed with the Lakers, and I've been traded here once. Although Russell was relegated in the playoffs, he averaged 20+5 per game in the regular season, and at least he had to be given enough balls. But here with the Lakers, why is only Russell disliked? You must know that last summer, Russell renewed his contract with the Lakers at a price of $37 million for two years, and he took a salary cut to renew the contract, although Russell is not worth a contract of 100 million yuan, but the average salary of 20 million to 25 million is no problem. And after the contract extension, Russell also voluntarily gave up the veto power of the first-year trade, in order to clear some possible obstacles for the Lakers in the future. The point is that in the whirlpool of trade rumors, Russell is still playing seriously and trying to lead the team to win.
Do you know that Murray's personality is relatively average, can he become the savior of the Lakers? Looking back at the Lakers since they won the championship in the bubble park in 20 years, they have really kicked out heroes all the way, from the original Danny Green and Caruso, to Kuzma and Pope later, including last season's Wei Shao became the scapegoat, and this season it is Russell's turn. Including Lonnie Walker, Monk, Beasley and others went to the new team, and they all had a second spring. Why is it that in the Lakers, they just can't play or are always disliked? Not to mention the system problems, not to mention that in the Lakers or James, it is easy to be observed with a magnifying glass, but these players are innocent, and they did not break the can when they were with the Lakers.
To say that the Lakers are the most impersonal team in the NBA is not an exaggeration. Since the teaming up of James and thick eyebrows, in addition to winning the championship in 20 years, the teammates around him have changed one after another, and only Reaves can be called a veteran of the three dynasties (in the third year of the Lakers), such a large-scale adjustment of the lineup, continuous trial and error, in fact, is very undesirable. The key is that as James continues to age, the Lakers' championship window is getting smaller and smaller, and they can't afford to toss blindly. In my opinion, the most important thing to go is not Russell, but thick eyebrows. The Lakers' situation this season is not something he can change by working hard.