"This is the most disappointing season in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers" - Jalen Rose reflects on the Lakers not qualifying for the play-in tournament
The Los Angeles Lakers are officially out of playoff contention following their 121-110 loss against the Phoenix Suns last Tuesday. With the Lakers one of the favorites to win the NBA title at the start of the season, is this the most disappointing season in team history?
According to former NBA player Jalen Rose, it certainly is. In the most recent episode of the Jalen & Jacoby podcast, Rose pointed out that the team had five future Hall of Famers in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard.
"All of those years I've watched Lakers basketball, I've never seen them have All-NBA caliber performers like LeBron and AD on the roster, future Hall of Famers like Russ and Carmelo and Dwight. And they can't qualify for the play-in? This is the most disappointing season in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers," Rose said.
Record-wise, this team is not the worst in Los Angeles Lakers history. That belongs to the 2015-16 Lakers, who won just 17 games. However, the amount of expectations at the start of the season made the 2021-22 Lakers the most disappointing team ever.
They went from championship contenders at the start of the season to a team that will likely lose 50 games when it's all said and done. At least the 2012-13 Lakers qualified for the the playoffs, and the 2003-04 Lakers even made it to the NBA Finals.
The Lakers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. https://t.co/TMv5m8en6G
What's next for the Los Angeles Lakers?
The Los Angeles Lakers have three games remaining before their offseason begins earlier than expected. The Lakers will face the Golden State Warriors, OKC Thunder and Denver Nuggets before taking a vacation. But what's next for the Lakers this summer?
According to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype, the Lakers will have to overhaul their roster and build a better team around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They need to trade Russell Westbrook, who is set to earn $47 million next season. The Lakers will also have to find a new head coach to replace Frank Vogel.
The Lakers and Frank Vogel are expected to part ways after the season, per B/R’s @JakeLFischer
Read more here: bit.ly/3uZ5PSX https://t.co/S59Tbfx1rx
LeBron will enter the offseason with one year left on his current deal, but is eligible to sign a two-year, $97.1 million extension starting on August 4th. If James signs a new deal with the Lakers, it gives him enough time to wait for his son Bronny to enter the league.
To overhaul their roster, the Lakers have two trade exceptions they can use to acquire two role players. They also don't have the cap space to re-sign Malik Monk or any other important free agents. The Lakers will need to get creative with their mid-level exception and veteran's minimum for next season.