The Lakers Got LeBron Help. Can They Make a Playoff Run?

Los Angeles shipped out Russell Westbrook and landed shooters at the trade deadline. But the team still has work to do.

You have taken public flogging for years, Rob Pelinka.

Time to get some credit.

For three-plus years the oft-embattled—oft-deservingly embattled—head of basketball operations has been a human piñata. He ascended to his role following Magic Johnson’s exit in 2019 … and was branded a backstabber by the Lakers legend on national TV. He broke up a championship team in ’20 (whoops), traded for Russell Westbrook the following year (ditto) and came to the bizarre conclusion that surrounding a transcendent playmaker in LeBron James with a bunch of nonshooters would be successful.

It wasn’t.

Pelinka can’t erase the past. But he can move on from it, which he did in the past week, executing a handful of trades that has reshaped the Lakers’ roster. Out went Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and a few end-of-the-bench role players. In comes D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, who will join Rui Hachimura in Darvin Ham’s new-look rotation.

Nice.

In overhauling the roster, Pelinka—along with however many Busses and Rambises are in his ear—came to the same realization that Miami and Cleveland did years ago: LeBron James needs shooters. Russell is a 39% three-point shooter who has been white-hot the last two months. Beasley is at 36%. Mo Bamba, another Pelinka pickup, is close to 40%.

Remember the start of the season, when James bemoaned the Lakers’ lack of “lasers”? Suddenly LeBron will find himself surrounded by a few of them. Russell and Beasley excel at the kind of catch-and-shoot shots they will likely get a bunch of playing alongside James, and Bamba (theoretically, anyway) should create more operating room for Davis when the two share the floor.

“It gives us a chance to shuffle some pieces around,” said Ham. “All of those guys bring unique skill sets. Skill sets that we need. Shooting. Playmaking. Defense. Rebounding. A lot of needs they will be able to address.”

There are still issues. Like defense. Beasley is an average defender. Russell can be worse. Hachimura is sturdy and athletic, but he isn’t a stopper. James can dial it up late in games, but at 38 he can’t do it consistently anymore. Davon Reed, picked up in a swap for Thomas Bryant, can defend, but he may not crack the rotation. The Lakers’ ability to be even a middle-of-the pack defense largely depends on Anthony Davis’s ability to single-handedly make them one.

But they are better. Measurably better. Westbrook is gone. The knives have been out for Westbrook the last few days, huh? A fairly benign confrontation with Ham made its way into the media Wednesday. On Thursday, ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin cited a source who likened Westbrook to a blood-sucking vampire.

Guess that Lakers sixth-man campaign is on indefinite hold.

Fallout aside, offloading Westbrook was the right decision. He had his moments this season, but he was an unreliable shooter and an erratic playmaker. It was clear James’s regular Bat-Signal for help bothered him; any star player brought in meant Westbrook was headed out, and he knew it. Westbrook is fueled by the unflinching belief that he can still be Russell Westbrook, which has stood in the way of his making the kind of changes that could extend his career a few more seasons—and could have helped the Lakers play better in this one.

"Russ made an unbelievable sacrifice and complied with my strategy of bringing him off the bench,” said Ham. “He came out and played well and just like any other player. There were good moments and not-so-good moments in terms of getting stuff done on the floor. But make no mistake about it; I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a professional and everything he’s accomplished in this league.”

D’Angelo Russell makes his return to Los Angeles nearly six years after the Lakers traded him. Back then Russell was unwelcome in the Lakers’ locker room—we all remember Nick Young and the Lakers’ version of Spygate—and took a few verbal smacks from Magic on his way out the door. Three teams and one max contract later, Russell will get a shot at redemption.

The Lakers have work to do. They are 13th in the Western Conference after Thursday’s loss to Milwaukee. They are three games back in the loss column of 10th-place Portland. A sore ankle kept James out against the Bucks, and Davis remains as fragile as ever. An injury likely guarantees another trip to the lottery.

Healthy? Look out. It’s not the best roster LeBron has had to work with, but it is one he can work with. He didn’t get Kyrie Irving, but he may be better off. The Lakers have one of the easiest remaining schedules, per Tankathon.com. Think a seventh or eighth seed bothers James? Or that a series against Denver or Memphis is unwinnable? Who would you make the favorite in a first-round series: Los Angeles or Sacramento?

Pelinka’s whiffs may still outweigh his wins. He still didn’t trade for Kyle Lowry, still scapegoated Frank Vogel, still couldn’t convince ownership that re-signing Alex Caruso was necessary for success. But two months before the playoffs Pelinka has assembled a roster with enough talent to at least get in the playoffs. It’s now up to James and Davis to do the rest.