At a young age, I learned the importance of taking responsibility for my mistakes. the adults who run the los angeles lakers? yes, somehow they missed this life lesson.
The Lakers had an atrocious 2021-22 campaign after building one of the worst rosters in the league last offseason. Despite winning an NBA championship just two years ago, she traded her depth for old veterans who don’t mesh well with each other.
So who is to blame for personnel errors? various people, but the front office (you know, the people who make the final decisions) have blamed everyone except those in charge. And it looks like that has continued with the portrayal of LeBron James, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group, aka one of the franchise’s many scapegoats.
rich paul and klutch sports have reportedly become another scapegoat for the lakers
Trading Russell Westbrook was the Lakers’ biggest mistake last year. he’s not the same player he once was, and he fits in weirdly with lebron james, anthony davis and the rest of the roster. russ is a player who dominates the ball. james needs marksmen around him to be successful.
Westbrook’s contract has also put the organization in a challenging position. he has a $47 million player option that he will likely pick up. Not many teams will want to accept that salary in a trade, so it’s very likely the Lakers will keep him next season.
There is no single person who deserves all the blame for the Westbrook trade, which sent championship pieces to Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell to the Washington Wizards. James and Davis played a significant role in the decision. but the front office, led by general manager rob pelinka, approved it.
However, James’s agent, Rich Paul, and his agency, Klutch Sports Group, appear to be taking the blame.
“james certainly has a great deal of influence in the lakers’ decision-making,” eric pincus reported in the bleacher report. “Multiple sources indicate the team’s front office is internally blaming pressure from the sports group Klutch (representing both James and Davis) over Westbrook.”
no, the report didn’t name paul specifically, but he is the agent of both james and davis, and he founded klutch sports. everything the business does probably goes through him.
And whether the Lakers take most of the blame on Paul himself or the agency as a whole, it’s just another way for the front office to evade responsibility.
it’s time for rob pelinka and the front office to take responsibility
Do lebron james and klutch sports have power within the lakers organization? absolutely.
but the main office makes the final decisions. Rob Pelinka and company have to do what’s best for the organization, so if they didn’t think Russell Westbrook was a good fit, they shouldn’t have traded him. they can go above and beyond to make their superstar (lebron) happy, but they don’t have to make every move he wants. if this is really how the power structure works, the lost 2021-22 season is their fault for being weak.
klutch is also not the first scapegoat. Head coach Frank Vogel had no say in the roster, but he fired her as soon as he finished the season. he could only do so much with the players they gave him, so it didn’t make much sense for him to be the first victim.
It looks like the Lakers will continue to blame everyone but the people who deserve it until the team is good again, or until Pelinka and his fellow executives are the only ones left standing. whichever scenario occurs first.
La has a lot of work to do before the 2022-23 season. maybe those responsible should take responsibility for their mistakes before then.
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