There’s no doubt that LeBron James cleared the cobwebs at the then Staples Center after he joined the Los Angeles Lakers in July of 2018. It kickstarted a new chapter in the LA side’s rich history, which had been surviving on food stamps after Kobe Bryant’s retirement in 2016.
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The LeBron trade fueled new life into the Lakers fanbase. It was a big deal. Championship aspirations appeared on the horizon overnight. LBJ had just carried the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. So he could do the same for the Lakers, maybe go one step ahead, if he gets some help.
And there was a lot of wiggle room to get the then three-time NBA Champion the right help. LeBron signed a four-year, $154 Million contract to inherit a young core of talented basketball players who had potential; and more importantly, immediate market value to bring in disgruntled stars from teams looking to rebuild.
The team that LeBron inherited
Despite featuring a lot of young talent, the Luke Walton-led Lakers squad lacked direction and experience. In the 2017-18 season, they finished 11th in the Western Conference with a record of 35-47.
LeBron’s inclusion definitely made the squad a playoff side. But they were far from being Championship contenders, especially with Kevin Durant still in Golden State. The LA side had promising young players like Julius Randle (23 at the time), Lonzo Ball (20), Josh Hart (23), and Brandon Ingram (20), among others.
But LBJ didn’t come to LA to waste his prime years developing young players, even though they might turn out to be worthwhile investments. So the front office had to act fast.
After an underwhelming 2018-19 season, the Lakers sent Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball, and a lot of draft capital and cash to bring in a worthy running mate in Anthony Davis. The blockbuster duo of James and AD delivered the very next year by winning the 2019-20 Championship.
The Lakers’ prideful ‘Championship or Bust’ days were restored. But what if the Lakers had not taken the fast road to success?
What if they had chosen to develop their raw talent? Going the same route as the OKC Thunder did in the past few seasons.
How the Lakers’ young core would have fared if they stayed together
The Oklahoma City Thunder surprised a lot of people with their run this past season. They secured the first seed in the stacked Western Conference and managed to cause a whole lot of trouble in the Conference Semifinals to the NBA Finalists, the Dallas Mavericks.
A similar run from the 2017-18 Lakers side wouldn’t be too ambitious to predict, provided that they make good use of the cap space they would have saved from not doing the LeBron and AD trades. However, their ceiling would probably have been the Western Conference Semifinals.
Even the LeBron and AD-led Lakers have failed to replicate their 2020 glory as NBA teams updated their rosters with the ever-widening talent pool of the NBA. A Julius Randle or Brandon Ingram-led Lakers side wouldn’t have had the firepower to compete for a Championship against the teams that started dominating the early 2020s scene.
Neither of the players from the Lakers’ young core have gone past the Conference semifinals to date. Both Randle and Hart have been to the East Semis with the Knicks. But the New York side knows all too well that neither has the potential to be the centerpiece of a Championship squad.
Randle hasn’t averaged more than 18 points in the postseason. During his Eastern Conference Semifinals stint with the Knicks, he averaged just 16.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 8.3 rebounds with a field goal percentage of 37.8% and a three-point shooting percentage of only 25.8%.
Hart, on the other hand, had been a second option to Jalen Brunson during New York’s deep postseason run in the 2024 playoffs. His shooting woes are also well-known.
Brandon Ingram averaged respectable numbers in the 2022 playoffs. He averaged 27 points, 6.2 assists, and 6.2 rebounds, shooting 47.5% from the floor and 40.7% from deep. Those numbers seem worthy of the leader of a postseason contender. However, BI has never been out of the first round in the playoffs.
So it’s difficult to imagine him as the leader of a dominant Lakers side. Even though the Pelicans’ injury woes have contributed a lot to Ingram’s lackluster resume in the playoffs. But it is questionable if he could have done things differently with the Lakers.
Other pieces on the roster like Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, do not seem like a great fit, mostly because of the lack of a superstar on the team. Kuz and KCP played crucial roles in the Lakers’ Championship win. But that was with LeBron and AD in the driver’s seat.
The team lacks a traditional guard and facilitator to control the pace of the game. Randle can play that role. But he has the tendency to work hard for his shots instead of just moving the ball around.
Lonzo Ball could perhaps have solved the team’s shooting concerns. But injuries have kept him sidelined for the majority of his career.
In other words, the Lakers’ young core didn’t have a promising future without a generational superstar like LeBron leading the forces. Every NBA team that has won the Championship since 2020 has had an MVP lead their charge, the only exception being the Boston Celtics this year.
However, Boston’s depth and postseason experience are in no way comparable to that of the 2017-18 Lakers.
The Lakers youngsters have flourished after departure
The team’s players have undoubtedly done well for themselves after their departure from the LA side. Randle has won three All-Star nominations and two All-NBA selections. Brandon Ingram has secured an All-Star nod as well.
On the other hand, Hart has become a reliable starting guard for the new-look Knicks.
But none of these accolades show that they have the potential to replicate what LeBron and AD have done with the Lakers, especially with the influx of talent in the NBA. So the LA side’s front office wouldn’t be stressing too much about ‘What could have been!’
The players from the Lakers’ young core can find success in the NBA in the upcoming seasons. But they will have to serve as complementary pieces to an already established system. Randle has a chance to lift the Championship with the Anthony Edwards-led Minnesota side.
The Knicks are looking strong too after signing Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason. On the other hand, the Lakers are looking pretty shaky with a 39-year-old LeBron and a rookie head coach in Redick in the driver’s seat.
However, the LA franchise would still consider the decision to break up the roster for a LeBron-AD pairing worth the gamble.
