The NBA’s regular season is rapidly winding down, but the drama, as we all know by now, is never-ending. Here we attempt to make sense of some of the latest trends and topics from around the league, in another edition of Face or Fiction:
The Los Angeles Lakers are officially tanking
FACT. In an understatement for the ages, LeBron James‘ 16th season hasn’t exactly gone according to plan.
First, the team failed to land a second star last summer to pair with James, opting instead to use their ample cap space to sign a series of veterans to a one-year deal. Rajon Rondo, Javale McGee, and Lance Stephenson haven’t helped the team win, while another signing, Michael Beasley, is already playing in China. Meanwhile, Paul George, a long-rumoured target and ideal running mate for James, surprised everybody by returning to Oklahoma City, where he’s in the midst of a career year and in the conversation for MVP — ahead of James.
Second, James suffered the only significant injury of his career, which left the inexperienced and under-talented remaining Lakers to fend for themselves. The team went 6-11 in the 17 games he missed, and haven’t fared much better in his return.
And then, of course, there’s the Anthony Davis saga which has all but torpedoed the Lakers’ season. After striking out at the trade deadline, it left a wildly awkward situation in the wake, surrounding James with young talent that know he wanted them discarded back in February.
Yet through it all, it looked they’d have a shot at making the post-season, fighting for the eighth seed.
Not anymore.
On the heels of a four-game losing streak, the Lakers are now 6.5 games out of a playoff spot and in 11th in the West, with just 17 games remaining on the schedule. They’re suddenly closer to a coveted draft lottery position than they are a playoff seed; just 2.5 games separate Los Angeles from the 13-seed Dallas Mavericks.
Now, as ESPN reports, the team and head coach Luke Walton (who has as good a shot of returning to the Lakers next season as I do winning a Pulitzer for this column) will be placing James on a minutes restriction for the rest of the season.
All signs point to one aim: tanking.
As Rachel Nichols outlines, the Lakers don’t need to drop all that far in the standings in order to drastically increase their odds of landing a top-four pick, and it appears they are doing what they can to help facilitate that downward trend.
There are long-term goals here, specifically preserving James’ health as he creeps toward age 35 with three years remaining on his current contract after this one. In the short-term, limiting James’ minutes makes the team far less competitive and, should the ping pong balls cooperate, land them a top pick. If Los Angeles — a franchise that, by virtue of their location and prestige, already had their fortunes drop into their lap when James chose to sign there last summer — gets really lucky, they could get a player like Zion Williamson or R.J. Barrett, both of whom would be intriguing pieces alongside James.
More likely, however, a good draft pick would give them a much-needed additional trade asset when they revisit trade negotiations this summer, looking to package their young players like Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball, along with first-round picks, for a player like Anthony Davis.
If — more acurately, when — L.A. misses the playoffs, it’ll mark the first time since James’ sophomore year back in 2005 that he won’t play in the post-season. It’s certainly not what most, including James himself, had in mind when he joined the Lakers.
But if it all works out, the organization will have positioned itself to add more established star talent and build the contender we all thought they would. They don’t deserve to, mind you, after manhandling the trade deadline and devaluing their assets in the process. But call it a harsh reminder that, no matter how, the rich always seem to come out on top.
Andrew Wiggins is stuck in neutral
Fact. On Thursday, Sportnet’s Craig Battle penned a piece ranking the Canadians currently in the NBA.
It was in part an effort to shine a light on the ridiculous production of Mavs forward Dwight Powell in recent weeks, but ended up also serving as an admonishment of former first overall pick Andrew Wiggins, who failed to even crack the list.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Wiggins, with the nickname Maple Jordan, was on the radar as one of the league’s next great stars, a two-way force with unlimited potential. When I covered him at a tournament in Charlotte, NC during his final high school season, all the indicators were there — including stands filled with scouts and coaches from all the major NCAA programs.
But his progression since joining the NBA ranks has seemed stagnant at best. In reality, he’s actually regressing dramatically. His win shares and shooting percentages have been dropping consistently each season since his sophomore year.
These days, it’s hard to ignore Wiggins’ poor production.
Save for a promising third season, where he averaged over 23 points per game (albeit for a terrible Minnesota team) and seemed to be putting the pieces of his loaded tool-set in place, it’s been jarring to see how little he’s improved over his five seasons. Sure he puts up decent scoring numbers, including a career-average of over 19 points per game, but so much of that can be chalked up to situation.
He’s been given a green light — and significant playing time — since day one in the NBA; at this point you can replace him with virtually any other small forward in the league, give them his minutes (an even 36 per game on his career), and touches (16.2 shots per game, which would put him in the top-20 in the NBA over his career), and they’ll match his statistical output with far greater efficiency.
Wiggins is only 24 years old. His birthday was two weeks ago. So, on paper, there’s plenty of time for him to continue to grow and develop. But after this long, with this much opportunity, it’s hard to expect anything more from the much-hyped Canadian.
The Hawks screwed up by trading Luka Doncic for Trae Young
Fiction. An emphatic ‘fact’ until recently, the Hawks were derided when they traded Luka Doncic for Trae Young on draft night last summer, passing up on a prospect with a resume like no other before him in Doncic for a one-year collegiate star with legitimate questions about his ability to perform at an NBA level in Young.
For much of the season, the decision looked as bad as we all thought. Doncic was emerging as a bona fide star, narrowily missing out on an all-star berth in his first season while almost singlehandedly keeping the Mavs in the playoff hunt.
But Young has been on such a tear that it’s officially time to reevaluate. The Hawks point guard is currently one of just four rookies to have averaged more than 18 points and seven assists per game, joining Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson and, yes, Damon Stoudamire.
And it’s not just one performance, either, although this four-OT masterpiece certainly stands out:
Over his past 20 games, Young is averaging 24.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game while shooting over 41 per cent from deep — and making an even three threes per game. Gaudy numbers for a first-year player — or any player for that matter.
Like Doncic, Young has given his team a ton of hope for the future. Another top pick in this year’s draft, and the Hawks are on their way to building an exciting nucleus going forward.
Given the draft night trade, the two will be linked throughout their career and Young recently likened the pair to Magic and Bird from that perspective. Their “rivalry,” if there is one, is off to a great start, too — don’t look now but the Rookie of the Year race is suddenly coming down to the wire.
[relatedlinks]