14/05/2024 and las 20:30 CEST
The Los Angeles Lakers fired Darvin Ham in early May after another stormy season in California. Guided by a LeBron James who is almost 40 years old and Anthony Davis, always aware of his physical condition, the Los Angeles franchise fell decisively in the first round of the play-offs against the Denver Nuggets 4-0, a final resolution of the course that dictated sentence on the benches.
Since the ‘king’ landed in LA in the summer of 2018, The Lakers have been one of the most unstable teams in the entire NBA, on a sporting and institutional level. In total there have been 6 seasons with LeBron wearing the gold and purple: two outside the play-off, two early eliminations, a ‘KO’ in the West finals and the championship ring won in 2020 from the ‘bubble’ .
The three initial candidates
They won the new ‘In Season Tournament’ in December, yet uncertainty and inconsistency have been the tone these past two seasons, which is why GM Rob Pelinka has decided to start from scratch, again. According to ‘The Athletic’, the first search for the new coach leaves three candidates: Sam Casell, James Borrego and JJ Redick. The first two have experience on the first line of NBA benches, while Redick, a close friend of LeBron and podcast ‘partner’, has never been on any technical staff since he retired from the league in 2021. He is the most ‘ unknown’ of the three, but he is a highly coveted prospect.
Let us remember that JJ was one of the best shooters in the NBA in his 15 years as a professional, a man who also has phenomenal communication talent that, combined with a great knowledge of basketball, makes him a candidate to take into account.. Borrego is head assistant coach at Pelicans and was previously head coach in Orlando and Hornets. Casell won three rings as a player and now works as an assistant for the Boston Celtics in a 15-year journey on the NBA benches.
LeBron’s future uncertain
Shams Charania reported that these are the first options, although nothing is definitive and the franchise continues to investigate other alternatives. Furthermore, the journalist from ‘The Athletic’ stated that the chosen coach will have to devise a game system based more on Anthony Davies than on LeBron James, the Akron legend who, at 39 years old, already leaves some unknowns about his future. ““I’m not going to answer that,” James answered when asked if the final 4-0 win against Denver was going to be his last game in the NBA.
In any case, Lakers will have to start building the squad as soon as possible for the next season. With the duo LeBron and AD under contract, in Los Angeles it is clear that it is not enough to go far in the play-offs. This team needs more scoring talent if it wants to defeat teams like the Nuggets, Oklahoma, Minnesota or Dallas, with top-level outside stars and an extensive and reliable roster of players.. D’Angelo Russell’s name is one of those marked in red on Crypto.com. Another is Gabe Vincent, who arrived last free agency as a luxury reinforcement and was left in nothing due to injuries.
“The Lakers are looking for a coach who will lead the locker room and hold the players accountable, in addition to tirelessly planning the game plan and providing a level of structure and organization,” say internal sources. In any case, there is a lot of work to do this summer in Los Angeles, a task that their neighbors, the Clippers, are not spared either.
2024-05-14 18:30:08
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