The Los Angeles Lakers have shown great intent with their signings in the offseason. Both Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka have sent out a clear message that they are aiming for the NBA Championships in the upcoming season.
Several NBA purists are bashing the Lakers for roping in All-Stars in their roster as they signed Russell Westbrook this offseason. The Lakers were eager to match the Brooklyn Nets as they created the super trio last season. So the Lakers are keen to challenge for the title in the upcoming season.
The Purple and Gold army wants to help LeBron James win another title and therefore bringing in players like Westbrook and Dwight Howard puts them in great stead ahead of a very crucial season.
In a recent interview former NBA player, Jalen Rose analyzed several signings from this offseason. Rose pointed out the Lakers’ issue in shooting that hindered their growth as a team last season. The 48-year-old pinpointed how age has not allowed the Lakers to shoot more precisely lasts season. “Solely because of their age, they’ll likely not have a number 1/2 seed…”
Apart from that, the Lakers missed their talisman LeBron James who was sidelined for 28 matches last season. This was only the second time in his career that LeBron missed soo many matches. Therefore the Lakers fell down to the playin tournament and somehow managed to qualify for the postseason. But in vain as they lost the playoffs in the first round against the Phoenix Suns and one of their most crucial players Anthony Davis was injured and it costed them dearly.
Jalen added, “AD gets injured, they get bounced in the first round. This is where you add Russ though. Put the ages back up there. This is the main reason why you have Russ. Because having him, he don’t play his age, not during the regular season.”
The Purple and Gold army had high hopes from Dennis Schroder but the German flattered to deceive. Therefore the Lakers needed a solid experience point guard to lead the attack for them and in Russell Westbrook, they got just that. The former Washington Wizard superstar’s two-way brilliance will ease the pressure on the star duo at Lakers and also his ability to drop triple-double performances at will also makes him a very dangerous component of this team.
The sports analyst further detailed, “He is gonna be putting super-sized triple-doubles, especially when their #1 and #2 LeBron or AD is out. And if both of them are out, Russ can win player of the week that week.”
