One and Done Lakers

I’ve blogged lots before on other topics, but never on my beloved Lakers so it seems like a strange time for me to start in many ways. Sure getting LeBron last summer, Kobe’s 60 point finale, heck I was around during Magic’s baby baby sky hook, but now finally I’ve decided to put pen to pad. Why now? Because why not really. I’ve always enjoyed writing, I’ve always enjoyed the Lakers and I still do. They’re my team even when they suck some (and they do a bit right now). I don’t come from LA (which isn’t altogether that uncommon amongst Laker fans). I don’t come from where I live either, but I grew up in the South of England (yes that funny little island with the weird spelling and tea) and emigrated to New Zealand 15 years back.

 Most of you may be wondering where the heck New Zealand is. In fact, had it not been for Steven Adams of OKC fame, many of you may not have even heard of that curious little island (or two) that sits just a couple of thousand miles off Australia. NZ like LA sits on the Pacific. We’re just South. A long long way South. In fact take a globe and put NZ front and centre and you can only see the Antarctic below and blue above, that’s the Pacific and other than a few gorgeous little islands there’s not much between you and I but sea.

Anyway, enough geography and the like, how about them Lakers? I’m not going to delve into the depths of the current state here, I may save that for another time, but I am going to hit upon the significance of something that I think is the reason why the Lakers are in the state they are right now. It’s the one and done rule. No I’m not referring to the curious NCAA ruling that the NBA uses to try and combat the corrupt world of amateur sports, but the way the Lakers have become so fixed on cap flexibility over the last few seasons that everyone gets a one year deal unless they’re the chosen one or perceived to be the saviour of the franchise. The sad thing is the franchise doesn’t actually need saving. It just needs some consistency and a fresh approach. That approach starts with building the next championship team not buying it. When was the last time it worked to buy a team for LA - probably Shaq, maybe Gasol, it’s a different league and a different era and you better believe that social media has an affect.

So I have a real problem with one year deals in general. They can work, some guys come in, work their butt off and get recognised and then rewarded. But in a team game where you’re trying to build for the future, it’s more than working your butt off to look good so that you can get paid, it’s about working your butt off for the good of the team; how does a one year deal incentivise that? It generally doesn’t, sure there are exceptions where it works, but generally it becomes far more about the individual and you can’t blame the player either. We know it’s a business and players get traded, so I fully get players protecting themselves, they need to. But we also need to not put them in that position if possible.

Why did Randle leave last year in free agency, despite the Lakers holding rights on him? Because he wasn’t worth enough to be given a long-term deal in case it jeopardised free-agent star x. At least that’s the way it looks from the outside. Julius wanted LA to commit to him so that he could commit to them. Instead they would happily have signed him to another one year deal which he was right to balk at. Lopez has said similar. Why wasn’t he given any sort of long-term deal? Because of cap flexibility and free agent y this summer. Are the free agents coming this summer? I hope so, but it’s not Durantula style free agents I’m hoping for, it’s guys that can have a serious role and have a commitment for multiple years.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to go back to the days of offering Mosgov or Deng monster contracts that cripple the future of the franchise. We all know how badly that hurt us and cost us over the last few years. But actually guys like Mosgove or Deng could have been good for the Lakers on 2-3 year deals at a lot less money than we spent. We want grafters, workers, guys that know their role and work on their game. Guys that want to sacrifice to play in the greatest place to play in the world (I speculate, I’ve only been to LAX in LA and that’s a bit of a sh1th0le to be honest). Start with who we’ve currently got on the roster on a one year deal. Absolutely you offer Reggie Bullock a 2-3 year contract, he fits that bill. And then you sign some high character guys who fill a need and you commit to them like you ask them to commit to you.

I really don’t want AD this summer. I know that’s crazy and I’d absolutely love to have AD in a Laker uniform. But essentially it would be another one year deal and gut the roster. I’m not knocking AD at all, he’s a great guy and if we could get him and keep one or two young guys and a pick in the next 50 years I’m all for it, but otherwise we’re better off not swinging for the fences actually. You also have to note that if you trade for AD he’s only under contract for a year. He’s the highest price one and done you can have. Of course he’ll resign right? Just like Dwight did eh?

None of the young core are one and done guys (of course, they’re on rookie contracts) and I think it shows. For all the criticism that was piled upon Ingram, Ball, even Kuzma earlier this year, Hart, Zubac (ah yes, Zu) etc they have all grown and developed. They’re hungry and they see themselves with the Lakers (except Zu of course). Ask BI or Kuz and they both are driving to be all-star level guys. Lakers had to commit to them and that mutual bond has driven them. Put that at risk (take the AD trade rumours as a pretty good example of doing that) and suddenly they don’t grow for, and perhaps more importantly, with you. Now an NBA team can’t win with rookies and sophomores alone we know that, so you need to surround them with veterans. The trick is to surround them with veterans who have bought in to your system. That means vets who you’ve invested in - this trust thing is a two-way street.

This is hard to say but here we go. Look at the Clippers. When CP3, Blake and finally everyone else left I laughed with the rest of the Lakers. When a bunch of solid guys this year over-performed I thought it was a phase. When they traded the closest thing to a star they had, I joined everyone else in breathing a sigh of relief that they were out the playoff picture. But they didn’t drop like we thought did they? They’re pretty much a lock for playoffs even if it’s a first-round exit (and it damn well might not be this year you know?). They added at the trade deadline not subtracted. Sure they got less star-power but they added even more depth and the right kind of guys, buying in to something. The Clippers without LeBron (heck, without Tobias) are considerably better than the Lakers right now and that’s a hard pill to swallow for LA. But there’s good news here. They’ve shown us something that’s worth remembering. This is a team-game and if you can put guys together that pull in the same direction, they’ll always outshine a team that pulls in different directions (anyone remember the Pistons Finals? Of course you do).

So please Lakers, don’t chase Kawhi. Don’t chase KD. Leave AD be. Chase the biggest brightest free agent that’s always on the market; Culture. Bring in a real culture and build around that. No single player is worth more than the team. I was a fan with Magic. A fan with Nick Van Excel and Eddie Jones. A fan with Shaq, Kobe and Shaq-less Kobe. I’m a fan with LeBron and I’ll be a fan whoever comes and goes. Don’t forget that, because that’s what we also want in our players. Loyalty and culture, but it has to go both ways.

Thanks for listening. Chur bros (it’s Kiwi slang, you’ll have to look it up).