It is never pretty when an era ends. The fall of the Roman Empire was a prolonged, bloody mess. Napoleon ended his days wasting away at St. Helena. And now, the Lakers organization is going through the death throes of iyd most recent reign of relevance.
It is a painful, uncomfortable thing to watch for those of us who grew up revering (or even despising) Kobe Bryant and company, but if history does indeed repeat itself, all hope might not yet be lost.
Flashback to 1991, when Hall of Fame guard Magic Johnson had just announced his HIV-diagnosis and gone into retirement, along with championship-caliber coach Pat Riley. What followed next were five seasons of mediocrity, filled with disappointment as the Lakers would squeak into the playoffs year in and year out, without providing any relevant postseason competition. Getting by on aging stars such as forward James Worthy and guard (and current, first-year Lakers Head Coach) Byron Scott and young guns, like guard Nick Van Exel, the organization knew that it had to shake up its roster if it wanted to be relevant once again.
Cue the famous draft-night trade of Vlade Divac to the Hornets in exchange for rookie guard Kobe Bryant and the off-season signing of former Rookie of the Year, center Shaquille O’Neal, and the rest is history. The Lakers managed to win three straight championships between 1999 and 2001 with the duo, and proceeded to win two more championships and stay league-relevant with Kobe in the ensuing decade.
The 2000s were a grand time to be a Lakers fan, and will be forever remembered through courtside shots of Head Coach Phil Jackson, forward Ron Artest’s “Champions” rap, and GIFs of center Pau Gasol’s neckbeard drenched in champagne.
This decade has not been as fortuitous for the organization. Things started snowballing in 2011 when the Lakers were swept by the eventual-champions Mavericks in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. The next year saw more of the same, as Los Angeles was ousted by Oklahoma City in the second round.
Then 2013 proved to be the most heart-wrenching season in recent memory, as expectations were high when guard Steve Nash and center Dwight Howard were signed to accompany Bryant. But when an aging Nash proved to be injury-prone, Howard struggled under the glaring Los Angeles lights and criticism and the Black Mamba ruptured his achilles right before the end of the regular season, the season went down as one of the organization’s worst in history.
The death of legendary owner Jerry Buss after a battle with cancer and the team’s exit in the first round of the playoffs to the Spurs made the wasted year all the more somber. It was not surprising, then, when the Kobe-less 2014 squad failed to make the playoffs.
Entering the 2014-2015 season, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. First-round pick Julius Randle was seen as a potential cornerstone upon which to rebuild the organization’s frontcourt. Bryant was going to bounce back from his 2014 season with vintage success, while serving as a mentor in the locker room. Offseason pickups guard Jeremy Lin and forward Ed Davis were to serve as suitable role players to make the Lakers a mid-tier team in a competitive Western Conference.
But just two games into the season, the collective hope for a revival of the Lakers’ winning culture has gone out the window.
What happened? Julius Randle broke his tibia near the end of the Lakers’ season opener, ruling him out for his entire rookie season and putting a sudden stop on the organization’s rebuilding plans. Outside of Kobe, there is no star power for Coach Scott to look to — forward Carlos Boozer is washed up, Linsanity ended two years ago in New York and everyone else is young and inexperienced, with little upside.
At this point, all Lakers fans can hope for is that Bryant stays healthy and that the Lakers can snag yet another lottery pick in next year’s draft.
How a withering Lakers team affects the rest of the league is becoming more and more clear. With Kobe Bryant quarantined on an island of misfit toys, it is sad to say that we might never get to see his clutch playoff performances ever again.
The Clippers have risen to become the dominant Los Angeles basketball team, starting with the success of their roster overhauls and augmented by the recent purchase of the team by Microsoft multibillionaire (and non-Donald Sterling) Steve Ballmer. The road to the NBA championships for a Western Conference team now definitively goes through the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, it is safe to say that the Lakers organization is a resilient one. I would not be surprised if the team regains relevancy once again in a few years, as a large market such as Los Angeles has the ability to attract big-name free agents and entice veteran role players.
Max Fiege is a freshmen in the School of Foreign Service. Out of our league appears every Friday.
