No one can always be young, but there are always people who are young. Lakers superstar LeBron James is facing a "middle-life crisis". Since entering the league in 2003, last season was the fourth time in James's career that he failed to enter playoffs . What's worse is that even though he has superstar teammates like Anthony Davis and Westbrook, the former is plagued by injuries, and the latter is no longer as brave as he used to be after leaving the team from Thunder . Rather than saying that the Lakers were a Big Three team last season, it was better to say that it was with James' difficult support to get the eleventh in the West of the Purple and Gold Army. James will lock in the future with the Lakers in the offseason, but can this Purple and Gold Legion still help James and to reach the fifth championship?
is another offseason for the Lakers. Since Anthony Davis, James and Westbrook occupy most of the team's cap space, Pelinka does not have much room to operate. After the contracts of veterans such as Howard and Anthony expired, the Lakers signed players including Beverly , Schroder , Lonny Walker and other players. At the draft, they also selected young players with good potential Max Christie . But in the West, where strong enemies are now surrounded by strong enemies, relying on its current lineup to return to the playoffs and even the finals, it is an "impossible task" for head coach Ham!
Therefore, the US media nba analysis advised the Purple and Gold Legion. Instead of wasting the peak period of LeBron James and Davis , it is better to sacrifice the future to strengthen the existing lineup and finally make a wave of finals. In fact, this summer, Pelinka also used the first round pick and Westbrook as bargaining chips to exchange for immediate combat power. Among them, Pacers Gemini Hilde and Turner were close to joining the Lakers, but in the end, he gave up because the opponent asked for too high a price.
preseason is about to end. Before the regular season starts, the Lakers' current lineup strength is still worrying; they have only achieved a bad record of 1 win and 4 losses in the past four preseason games, and Westbrook has played 3 of them, averaging 20.3 minutes per game, contributing only 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists, with a shooting percentage as low as 38.9%; inefficiency and lack of shooting are not disrespectful to Westbrook. At present, the starting point guard of any strong team in the league has more influence on the court than Westbrook. This is a fact.
In this regard, nba analysis believes that the Lakers should send Westbrook, the first round pick in 2027 and the first round pick in 2029, and get the Magic's Gary Harris , Terence Rose , Bamba and Oakke. In this transaction, , taking two first-round picks is undoubtedly a replacement for the future and current combat power - Harris and Terence Ross are qualified backcourt rotation, Oakke has certain potential, and Mohammed Bamba is undoubtedly the highlight. This blue-collar insider with a height of 2.13 meters and an arm span of 2.39 meters is the answer to the Lakers' center position.
last season represented the Magic averaging 25.7 minutes per game, with a comprehensive data average of 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and this is also the peak season of Bamba's career. may not be obvious from the data, but Bamba's physical condition is outstanding even in the entire league. Her good running and jumping ability and historical static talent make the Magic center want on the defensive end. If Bamba can join the Lakers, she can completely free Anthony Davis from the fifth position; the Lakers' weak inside defense can also be significantly improved.
Baba's talent is the few solutions for the Lakers at present. In fact, as early as the first two seasons, the Lakers showed interest in Bamba, but at that time, the Magic team had just sent off Vucevic , and Bamba was regarded as the key training target. But after choosing No. 1 pick Banchero this summer, Bamba's position in the team is quite embarrassing. Compared with Banchero, Bamba's upper limit is only a blue-collar center with good defense, while the new No. 1 pick is considered the next Anthony. Who is more worthy of training? The answer is obvious.
