'We're behind the 8-ball': New-look Lakers need time they don't have
Right now, time is the biggest enemy for the Los Angeles Lakers.
They overhauled their roster with six new players ahead of the trade deadline.
In came: D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba, Davon Reed and Rui Hachimura.
Out went: Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Kendrick Nunn.
They put shooters around LeBron James. They unquestionably got better.
But with only 26 games remaining and the Lakers in 13th place in the Western Conference, four games behind the eighth-place Minnesota Timberwolves and 2.5 games back of a play-in spot, is there enough time to turn things around with this new group?
"All of those guys bring unique skillsets, skillsets that we need: shooting, playmaking, energy, defense, rebounding," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said after the Lakers' 115-106 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. "A lot of needs they'll be able to address, along with the guys that are still remaining."
Lakers trade Pat Bev & Russell Westbrook; add Russell, Bamba, Beasley & Vanderbilt
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka clearly learned his lesson after standing pat at the trade deadline last season and then watching a team with championship expectations fail to make even the play-in tournament.
With the Lakers floundering yet again, the locker room becoming increasingly toxic and James' greatness being squandered in the twilight of his career, it was clear some major changes were needed.
That was never more obvious than Tuesday, when James became the league's all-time leading scorer.
While he made history and the world celebrated one of the greatest individual achievements in sports, the Lakers' locker room was frigid. The dissonance was jolting.
During the game, Westbrook was barking on his own sideline. At halftime, Westbrook and Ham got into a heated discussion over him slowly walking off the court after he was subbed out late in the second quarter, sources confirmed to FOX Sports.
Ham is a players' coach, known both for his empathy and brutal honesty. But anyone who has spent time around him knows he's Saginaw, Michigan tough — and doesn't tolerate disrespect. According to sources, their back-and-forth was "intense."
Meanwhile, things were already strained beyond repair between James and Westbrook after James acknowledged he was disappointed the Lakers didn't acquire Kyrie Irving in a deal that would've sent Westbrook packing.
For weeks, things had been uncomfortable. But ahead of the trade deadline, they reached a feverish pitch.
(One rumor that needs to be dispelled, however, was that Davis wasn't happy for James after cell phone videos caught Davis sitting on the bench while his teammates stood in anticipation of James making the shot that took him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record.
[Anthony Davis on not celebrating LeBron James' record: Nothing 'to do with Bron']
When questioned about that Thursday, Davis said, "Y'all know me and Bron's relationship," adding, "I was pissed off that we were losing." Davis apologized to James multiple times, not that it was necessary because the whole internet debacle was a complete non-issue between the two teammates, who are genuinely close friends.)
Anyway, back to the meat of the story.
Pelinka needed to pull the trigger — and he did.
Now, the Lakers return Russell to their team, a skilled playmaker who is shooting 46.5% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc. And they added two other players who help space the floor for the Lakers with their shooting from beyond the 3-point line — Beasley, who is 35.9 percent from that distance, and Bamba, who is at 39.8 percent.
In October, James lamented that the Lakers weren't built for shooting, saying the team doesn't have a lot of "lasers." Well, now they added some.
[How Russell Westbrook's Lakers tenure changed his career trajectory]
Oh, and in December, James pointed out another one of the team's deficiencies, saying, "We're a team that lacks a lot of size, a lot of length." Well, they tried to address that too, adding athletic wings Hachimura and Vanderbilt, who are 6-foot-8, along with the 7-foot center Bamba.
The first question is whether the Lakers have done enough to plug their holes and make the playoffs.
"I don't know," Davis said Thursday. "... On paper, we look complete. Shooting, playmaking, scoring. Add a little more experience. So we'll see. But I'll say we look good on paper."
The second question is whether there's enough time for the news pieces to jell.
"We need them to be who they are," Davis said of the team's new additions. "We need them coming in shooting the ball, DLo scoring, playmaking. Vando doing what he doing on the defensive end, offensive rebounds. Mo stretching the floor, rim protecting. And we don't need anyone to be something they're not or coming in, like, ‘Oh Bron, AD, Austin [Reaves], whoever.' We need them to come in and be who they are."
Why Lakers moves makes them a 'real' playoff team
The Lakers' biggest issue now could be on the defensive end, where Beasley and Russell leave a lot to be desired. But with Davis as the anchor on that side of the ball, and Vanderbilt a solid defender, it'll be interesting to see if they can make that work as well.
After the trade deadline, the Western Conference got a lot tougher.
Kevin Durant went to Phoenix, joining Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to immediately become a title favorite. And Irving joined Dallas to play alongside Luka Doncic.
But the Lakers got better, too.
Their roster makes so much more sense now. And with superstars James and Davis finally healthy and both playing MVP-caliber basketball at various points throughout the season, this team could make a run.
That's if they can figure things out in time.
"We're behind the 8-ball, so we've got to do it with some urgency," Davis said.
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