Perhaps, the definition of the word “failure” isn’t what it used to be.
If so, I missed the morph.
But then again, maybe not. What’s playing out here could be a simple matter of LeBron James being in utter denial.
Soon after Lakers’ Coach Frank Vogel was fired —- you know, the usual scapegoating of a coach with a dismal record or one who posted a losing season —– James wasted no time weighing in, opining that Lakers’ season was “not a failure.”
What?
Wait. Why then was Coach Vogel fired?
Puhlease.
“It’s not a failure at all,” James said. “We came to work every single day, put our hard hats on and tried to get better every day. And the results just didn’t happen for us. But it’s not a failure.”
Ooooh yes, it was, a catastrophic one, at that. Let’s call a spade a spade, dude.
True, a coach could be ousted for a medley of reasons. I get that. But it is hard not to deem the Lakers’ 2022 season of 33 wins and 49 losses a failure, never mind James’ dodgy assertion. Heck — the Lakers’ didn’t even make the Western Conference playoff, for crying out loud.
Spin it any kind of way, I believe Vogel’s ouster was incontrovertibly linked to those stunning woes.
But LeBron himself, as always, performed spectacularly, posting 30.3 points per game on 52.4 field goal shooting, and was narrowly edged out of the scoring title, all while grabbing 8.2 rebounds and dishing out 6.2 assists. That’s dope, but it was all for nil being unable to carry his team into the playoff.
Yeah —– some would argue that it was not his fault, and I kind of get that, but get this: had the Lakers won the championship, James, without a question, would have corralled the lion share of the paean —— regardless of his performance.
It all really boils down to this. The super-hyped convergence of a trifecta of superstars in James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, believed by many was sure to churn out wins, turned out to be a colossal flop. The move, though boffo on paper, went south quicker than you can ask ‘Who is gonna shoot the ball — James or Westbrook?.’ No contest there, it had to be James. And with that, Westbrook, who is organically more effective with the ball in his hands, floundered as a poor fit on a talent studded but confused ball club.
It certainly didn’t help at all that the former Oklahoma Thunder star and coach Vogel never really got along almost from the day he donned the Purple and Gold.
Then there was the matter of James and Davis missing a lot of games, all of which converged into Lakers being a bumbling, moribund team that terribly limped on throughout the season and eventually out of it.
Boy, it was a total mess.
Lakers’ fans grumbled in frustration all season.
Owner Jeanie Buss grumbled along with them, especially given the lorry load of dough she doled out to sign these superstars.
Eh ehmm, does she agree with James that the Lakers’ season was not a failure?
Of course not.
“When you spend that kind of money on the luxury tax, you expect to go deep into the playoffs,” she recently told The Los Angeles Times.
The team did not make the playoff, let alone going deep into it.
Far from being Muddy Waters, but Ms. Buss was singing the blues.
“I’m growing impatient just because we had the fourth-highest payroll in the league. … “So, yeah, it was gut-wrenching for me to go out on a limb like that and not get the results that we were looking for. … I’m not happy, I’m not satisfied.”
Lakers’ legend Magic Johnson was blunt. “We failed,” he recently told David Aldridge of The Athletic.
Former Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson and provocative ESPN sports pundit Stephen A Smith are calling for James to be traded. Will the king be unloaded? Your guess is as good as mine.
