One wrong step, one wrong step! From the championship to the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers only used these 8 stupid moves

In the 19-20 season, under the leadership of the James-Blue combination, the Lakers successfully reached the top and won the championship trophy. From that moment on, the Purple and Gold Dynasty seemed to usher in another brilliant dynasty. However, the trajectory of fate changed dramatically after winning the championship. Since then, the Lakers seem to be trapped in an endless abyss, a series of puzzling decisions and wrong operations have caused their competitiveness to decline sharply, and they quickly slide from the championship to the embarrassing situation of a year-round game.

1. Rejecting Tyron Lue and missing the cooperation between champion coach

Tyron Lue and James has always been a good story in the NBA. They have worked together to create glory with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the 2016 Finals, under the desperate situation of 1-3 behind, Tyron Lue successfully achieved a major reversal with his excellent tactical arrangement and reasonable use of James, winning the first championship in team history for the Cavaliers. After winning the championship, James praised Tyron Lue's coaching ability and established a deep trust and tacit understanding between the two.

Time flies, James turns to the Lakers, but the Lakers make a serious mistake in coaching. After winning the championship in the 19-20 season, the team management intends to hire Tyron Lue to coach the team to further consolidate the team's competitiveness. However, during the contract negotiations, the Lakers showed extreme stinginess, and they only provided Tyron Lue with a three-year, $18 million contract. You should know that Tyron Lu's contract during the Knights period was 5 years and $35 million, and this new contract shrank significantly in terms of years and salary. Such meager treatment is undoubtedly a disrespect for Tyron Lu's coaching ability. After weighing the pros and cons, Tyron Lu decisively rejected the Lakers' invitation and instead joined the Los Angeles Clippers. If the Lakers could have signed Tyron Lou with a reasonable contract, perhaps the team's fate would be completely different.

2. Let Caruso go and destroy the Great Wall, self-destructing Caruso plays a crucial role in the Lakers' championship season. He has excellent defensive awareness and 3-point ability, which is an important part of the Lakers' defensive system. During the 19-20 season finals, although Caruso's average data was not dazzling, his positive and negative values on the court were among the top, which fully demonstrated his importance to the team. After winning the championship, Caruso is full of hope to renew his contract with the Lakers and continue to play for the Purple and Gold Army. However, the Lakers management once again made a disappointing decision. They only offered Caruso a three-year, $21 million contract renewal, which had a salary level far below Caruso's market value. Caruso knew his value in the team and expressed his desire to get a more reasonable contract to the Lakers management, but was ruthlessly rejected.

In desperation, Caruso had no choice but to leave the Lakers and join the Chicago Bulls. In the Bulls, Caruso quickly became an important member of the team, and his defensive and offensive abilities were fully utilized. After switching to the Thunder this year, it has become one of the team's important puzzles to win the championship! Compared with the Lakers' current dilemma, we have to sigh how short-sighted the Lakers' management's decision to let Caruso go.

3. Overdraft will replace Westbrook in the future, and the squandering game is a waste in the offseason in 2021, the Lakers management made a decision that shocked the entire league - they used Kuzma, Pope, Harrell and a first round to get Westbrook from the Washington Wizards trade. The original intention of this deal was to find a capable helper for James and Davis to form a luxurious Big Three lineup to continue to strive for the championship.

However, reality gave the Lakers management a heavy slap. After Westbrook came to the Lakers, he did not show the strength people expected. His game style is incompatible with the Lakers' tactical system, and his performance on the court is full of loopholes. Westbrook's defense has always been criticized. On the offensive end, Westbrook's shooting percentage is astonishingly low, especially his three-pointers, which wastes the team's large number of offensive opportunities and disrupts the team's offensive rhythm.

In the two seasons of the Lakers, although Westbrook's average data looks good, his efficiency is extremely low. He shot just 29.7% from three points and made 3.7 turnovers per game. These poor data directly reflect his performance on the court. Instead of becoming the team's booster as expected, he became a burden to the team. Most importantly, the departure of Pope, Kuzma and others directly collapsed the Lakers' defensive system. Westbrook, which the Lakers exchanged for future overdrafts, eventually became a failed deal for the team, putting the team in the dilemma of reconstruction.

4. Draft mistakes, missed potential new stars

For a giant team that is determined to compete for the championship and compete for salary space, rookies should be one of the most important means to supplement their combat power, but the Lakers management has made consecutive mistakes in drafts. At the 2023 draft, the Lakers selected Shifino with the first pick in the first round. After joining the Lakers, Shifino did not show the potential he deserved. He struggled very hard on the court, averaging only 5.2 minutes of playing time and a pitiful 1.6 points per game. Advancing on both ends will not provide effective help to the team.

James Jacquez, who was selected by other teams in the same pick, showed amazing talent in his rookie season. Jacquez averaged 11.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He has excellent physical fitness and a high ball quotient. He can read the game well on the court and creates scoring opportunities for the team. The Warriors' Pogem also showed a better overall view than Shifino. This also made the Lakers' performance in the playoffs unsatisfactory and were eliminated early many times.

The Lakers need to find new core players to relieve the pressure on James and enhance the team's competitiveness. However, as James executes a contract worth $50 million in the last year, the Lakers' salary space has been completely blocked. Recently, media revealed that the trust between James and the Lakers' management is not as good as before. The deal of Davis and the team's change of ownership have made James increasingly trust the Lakers. James' career with the Lakers seems to have entered the countdown!

From the championship in the 19-20 season to the current year-round tour, the Los Angeles Lakers have experienced a huge gap in just a few seasons, and all of this has a lot to do with the Lakers management!