There was plenty of criticism to go around when the Los Angeles Lakers reached a two-year, $48.5M deal with Kobe Bryant last season. As if the fact that he has played a combined 41 games over the last two seasons isn’t bad enough, the ripple effects of that deal came back to haunt them again during the free agency period this summer.
Los Angeles acquired Roy Hibbert and his massive salary for next season and signed Lou Williams as a free agent, but they missed big on the star talents they pursued on the open market. For a team that’s supposed to be a player’s destination and one of the jewel cities in the NBA, almost every free agent avoid Hollywood as if it were the D-League.
For a team that wasn’t close to being a playoff contender in the Western Conference last season there is no reason to believe they are any closer now. Here is a look back at the four biggest free agents the Lakers struck out with.
LaMarcus Aldridge
The pursuit of Aldridge was an absolute nightmare from a public relations standpoint as he not only turned down their offer but also made a mockery of their proposal. He revealed that they weren’t nearly close to convincing him to sign, trying to sell him on the chance to play in Hollywood rather than win a title. Perhaps most embarrassing was the fact that Aldridge went on to sign with a San Antonio Spurs team whose biggest star took a significant pay cut in order to make sure he was a piece of a roster that has the potential to contend for an NBA title again this season. Bryant rubbed Aldridge the wrong way. He and the Lakers could learn from Tim Duncan and the Spurs but it’s too late to bring in Aldridge at this point.
Greg Monroe
If the Aldridge deal with San Antonio didn’t entirely convince Los Angeles that the big market allure wasn’t nearly enough to sign a big-name free agent, then the fact that Monroe chose the Milwaukee Bucks over the Lakers and New York Knicks – despite that both teams offered the same money over the same term – certainly did. The biggest priority for Los Angeles was landing a star big man and after missing out on Aldridge and Monroe they were forced to take a gamble on an overpaid Hibbert via trade.
Dwyane Wade
Wade met with the Lakers but the reality is that he was more than likely bluffing in order to convince the Miami Heat he was for real about potentially leaving South Beach to go somewhere else. However, that didn’t keep Lakers fans from lighting up Twitter and local radio shows about the potential of Wade and Aldridge joining Kobe on some sort of potential contender. The Lakers know better than most that there are stepping stones to landing stars and while Wade is past his prime, signing him could have helped convince a guy like Aldridge or Monroe that this team could actually compete next season. Instead, they couldn’t land Wade and could land anyone else of note either.
Rajon Rondo
So Lakers fans were clearly disappointed in free agency but that could all change in a heartbeat if they make a move for DeMarcus Cousins in some sort of a package that revolves around first-round pick D’Angelo Russell, and then sign Rajon Rondo, right? Yes, that deal is apparently still in the works but the problem is the Lakers also missed out on Rondo. Many people figured that Rondo would be a good fit next to Kobe as Rondo is more of a facilitator than a shooter and Kobe is the opposite. Who knows…with Kobe, Rondo, Randle, there’s already the makings of a decent foundation and if they could have acquired Cousins, then the Lakers start looking serious. Instead, there’s no Cousins, no Rondo and no hope to contend for a title next season. Meanwhile, Kobe’s time is ticking.
