Table of Content
All four guards could start … or be left out of the rotation on certain nights. Bradley and Caruso are the better defenders and can play a complementary role on an offense that’ll be run by LeBron. Rondo can still orchestrate a game and lead a team even as his net rating dropped last season. And Cook provides the most elite specific skill of the bunch with a 41.8% career 3-point percentage (BTW … so does Troy Daniels, at 40.0%).
Following the season, Magic Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations. On April 12, 2019, head coach Luke Walton and the team agreed to part ways. The season marked the first time since 2005 that LeBron James did not appear in the playoffs and first time since 2010 that he missed the Finals.
Magic face the Celtics, seek 6th straight win
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool / Club team14De'Andre HunterSFAmericanVirginiaThe Lakers held one first round draft pick for the 2019 NBA Draft. They previously held the rights to two second rounders in this year's draft as well, but those selections were later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks as picks 34 and 41, respectively. On the night of the NBA draft lottery, the Lakers rose up seven spots from the projected 11th selection to the 4th pick of the draft. On June 15, the Lakers agreed to a trade that would send players Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart, and multiple draft picks, including the Lakers' st round draft pick, to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Anthony Davis. However, the trade was not finalized until July 6, during which time, the Washington Wizards were included in the deal as well.
Typically, NBA head coaches make final decisions on the optional things around the schedule. New head man Frank Vogel’s preferences will make a difference on things like whether the Lakers stay in a city on the night of a road game vs. fly onto the next stop after the game, or what hotels the team stays in. But Vogel’s most important decision making this season might be how to structure his rotations around stars James and Davis. GM Rob Pelinka has definitely given Vogel and assistants Jason Kidd, Lionel Hollins and Phil Handy a lot of talented options. As the Lakers have yet to hold a single practice with almost all new players, the rotation isn’t an area upon which Vogel’s commented, though he and his staff have surely been watching film and theorizing about what might work. The Lakers finished the 2018–19 season 37–45 to finish in fourth place in the Pacific Division and failing to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.
Draft
The duo set to wear Purple and Gold have a combined 15 appearances on the All-NBA 1st Team , and a chance to share the honor as teammates, which only seven teammates have done since 1980.
The Lakers won the series in 6 games, winning the championship for the first time since the 2010 season. They became the first team since the 2007–08 Boston Celtics to go directly from a non-playoff season to a championship. This championship win also saw the Lakers tie the Celtics with the highest number of NBA championship wins at 17. The Lakers' LeBron James was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the fourth time in his career. He became the first player in league history to be named Finals MVP with three different franchises and he and Danny Green became the third and fourth players to win the NBA Finals with three different teams. Lakers president Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to guide her team to an NBA title.
Series History
The Los Angeles Lakers finished the regular season with a point differential of +411. Based on their point differential and their pythagorean expectation, the Lakers could have been expected to have about 47.9 wins, or a record in the regular season. Washington will receive the best of the picks originally belonging to Chicago, Detroit, and the Lakers. On January 26, 2020, tragedy struck the Lakers organization when former All-Star guard Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of his daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant and seven other passengers. This prompted the Lakers to dedicate the rest of their season to his memory.
In the NBA playoffs, the Lakers faced off against the eight-seed Portland Trail Blazers in the first round and won the series in 5 games. In Western Conference semi-finals, they faced off against the fourth seed Houston Rockets, again winning in five games. They advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2010, where they faced and defeated the Denver Nuggets in five games. They reached the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade, where they faced off the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, marking the first meeting between the two teams in the NBA Finals.
Lakers
The Lakers will play just 12 sets of back-to-back games after the NBA reduced them from an average of 13.3 sets last season to 12.4. For a team with championship aspirations, the Lakers can expect to get their opponent’s best effort every night. That will be the case and then some when Davis travels to New Orleans on Nov. 27 for the first time since the All-Star forward requested a trade. By adding Davis, the Lakers got off to a fast start to the season, which included a 17–2 record by the end of November. Four months later, they were able to clinch their first playoff berth since the 2012–13 season with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 6. LeBron James and Davis would be selected to the All-Star Game for the 16th straight, and seventh straight years respectively.
On June 27, the Washington Wizards joined the trade to get Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, and the Lakers' 2022 second-round pick in exchange for cash considerations. Caldwell-Pope’s ability to contribute on both ends of the floor as a 3 and D wing could end up being more important than some expect. He’s been inconsistent in his two years with the Lakers, but should benefit with a clarified role focused on his ability to get out ahead in transition, spot up for threes and defend the 1, 2 or 3. James, Davis and Green stand out as the three clear starters and finishers. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the only teammates to both rank in the top six for MVP odds next season. Houston also has two in the top 10, and the Clippers two in the top 11.
The Nuggets will be strutting in after a win while Los Angeles will be stumbling in from a defeat. Kyle Kuzma would start for many NBA teams, but most rosters don’t boast two All-Star forwards. Though he may come off the bench, Kuz could finish many games with Davis moving to the five. He’s the player on the roster with the most room to grow, and could benefit considerably from Team USA experience should he secure a roster spot for the coming World Cup. Each year, teams play four squads in their own conference only three times.
However, five days after clinching their playoff berth, the NBA season was abruptly suspended by league officials after it was reported that Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19. Two unidentified players of the Lakers would later test positive for COVID-19 on March 19. The season resumed, but Avery Bradley opted out of playing in the restart to remain with his family due to his oldest child, who had a history of struggling to recover from respiratory illnesses. R. Smith, reuniting him with LeBron whom he won a championship with in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James would take Davis with the No. 1 pick in the All-Star draft. Additionally, Vogel was also selected to coach Team LeBron in the All-Star Game. Team LeBron would go on to win 157–155, with Davis hitting a game-winning free throw. On June 15, 2019, the Lakers agreed to a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire six-time NBA All-Star power forward Anthony Davis, though the deal would not take full effect until July 6. In exchange for Davis, the Lakers agreed to give up forward Brandon Ingram, guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, three first round picks (including their No. 4 overall selection in 2019), and a first round pick swap in 2023.
Last season, LAL had four home games on both Monday and Tuesday, eight on Wednesday, five on Thursday and eight on Friday. This year, Monday goes down to two, Tuesday way up to 10, Wednesday down to six and Thursday to three, with Friday staying the same. Eight of the Tuesday home games come in 2020, as do three of the Thursday games, with those two days representing TNT’s national days. Former coach Luke Walton will be tilting with the Lakers four times next season as well, starting with a Nov. 15 visit to Staples Center. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart, who were traded for Davis, will play the Lakers in Los Angeles for the first time on Jan. 3. James, Davis and the Lakers will host Leonard, George and the Clippers at Staples Center on Christmas Day, the Lakers’ 21st consecutive season playing on the holiday.
Lakers
On March 6, 2020, the Lakers clinched their first playoff berth since the 2012–13 season. Five days later, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended. On July 5, the NBA announced a return of the season in the NBA Bubble, with 22 teams playing 8 seeding games followed by a full postseason. Of course, things always balance out, and in March, the toughest month, there’s a stretch that includes eight straight playoff opponents from the 3rd to the 18th (PHI, MIL, @LAC, BKN, HOU, DEN, @UTA, UTA). After the team’s first campaign with James last year that wound up a bust outside of the postseason, the pressure is on again for the Lakers to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
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