Facing the Media
The Lakers team faced the media in the last few days. This was a week after they were eliminated from playoff contention and a few hours after a 33-win campaign came to an end. As they unpacked what happened during the season, fans started to wonder if injuries were the only reason.
Lakers Injured Players
Anthony Davis missed 42 games because of injuries and LeBron James — 26. Kendrick Nunn didn’t play at all. The trio of Davis, James, and Westbrook played 21 games together. All of that led to James saying that they were not very good together because they didn’t play together enough this season. L.A. went 11–10 in games the trio played in, and that’s a 43-win pace. In 393 minutes together, the Lakers’ stars had a negative net rating.
Dismissal of the Coach
Rob Pelinka made the fact that coach Vogel was dismissed, official. He did not offer a specific reason why the coach was dismissed, even though he was the one who brought the Lakers to the championship just 18 months prior to current events. Pelinka said it was not the day to point fingers and reveal specific reasons and he continued by saying they felt like it was time for a new voice.
In Conclusion
LeBron James said in conclusion that the front office will do all they can to make this basketball club a great club. He also said if they ask for his opinion, he will give it, but, at the end of the day, they are the ones making the decisions that are good for the franchise. He finished by commenting that his job is to make sure he’s ready to begin training camp and lead the team.