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When the Lakers traded Shaquille O’Neal away to the Miami Heat, everyone knew that they would not be as competitive. However, no one knew they would be this bad. As of today, they are tied with one of the most horrendous franchises in NBA history. The Clippers. In Los Angeles, only the bums on skidrow stink worse than the Clippers. Donald Sterling’s franchise is hardly “sterling”. Cubic Zirconia is what comes to my mind. They have been in the NBA lottery so much you would think they have a gambling addiction. It is obvious to see why Laker fans all across the country are in a paralyzing panic as our team has rarely been in the same breath as the Clippers. In the past 20 years, the Lake Show has only once ended up with a worse record than the Clippers. I have a sneaking suspicion that this year will be the second. As a Laker fan, I’ve asked myself, how did this happen? Who was responsible for this unforgivable decline? They are three main culprits; Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchak, and Kobe Bryant…yes Kobe Bryant.
Jerry Buss
Dr. Jerry Buss has been responsible for making the Lakers one of the most successful franchises in sports history. Since 1970, the success of the Lakers has been unparalleled. They have won 9 NBA titles and have had some of the best players in the history of the game. The Lakers had the two best players in the NBA on the same team, namely Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Fortunately, for the rest of the NBA, the Lakers decided to break up this duo by trading Shaq to the Miami Heat. This will go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history. Its like trading Halle Berry for Marion Berry….like trading Kenyon Martin for Ricky Martin…it just doesn’t make any sense. The kicker was that while all of this was happening, Dr. Buss was vacationing in Italy!!! The leader of the Lakers was incognito while one of the most important events in franchise history was happening. That is almost unforgivable. Did you see Martin Luther King chillin in Atlanta while everyone else was marching from Selma to Montgomery? Was Cesar Chavez hittin up the Las Vegas buffets while the rest of the migrant farm workers went on their hunger strikes? No!!!! Dr. Buss should have been in Los Angeles while this was going on. His presence may have halted the trade or at least gotten the Lakers back a lot more than what they got.
Mitch Kupchak
When Jerry West quit and bolted to Memphis, everyone knew that the Lakers were in trouble. West had maintained the Lakers competitiveness even with ingenious late round draft picks like Nick Van Exel and Derek Fisher. Another trait that was central to the Lakers success was Jerry West’s leadership of the team. Whenever Shaq and Kobe would have one of their disagreements, it was always West who would step in the middle and clear everything up. He was the only person who both Shaq and Kobe listened to. Therefore, when Mitch Kupchak took over the reigns as GM, he had humongous shoes to fill. It was impossible for him to do what Jerry West did, but he has failed as general manager. Luke Walton and Brian Cook have been serviceable at best and the Lakers have gone through 3 coaches in the past 18 months. However, none of this is as bad as the Shaq trade. If you are going down as the GM who traded Shaquille O’ Neal, you better get at least a Jermaine O’Neal in return. Kupchak failed from the minute he mentioned that he would trade Shaq after the Lakers lost in Detroit. His lack of leadership and forethought has the Lakers lottery-bound.
Kobe Bryant
In the media, Kobe gets all of the blame for the poor season that the Lakers are having. He does not deserve that. He didn’t hide in Italy like Buss, or get nothing back in return like Kupchak. However, his lack of support for Shaq made it seem that he did not want him back. He let his personal feelings get in the way of what could have been the continuation of a Laker dynasty. Until the beginning of this season, I thought that maybe Kobe’s style of play was not conducive with a big man. However, after Chris Mihm (an absolute stiff) started averaging 15 points a game thanks to Kobe, I knew it was personal between him and Shaq. Unfortunately, Kobe’s connection with his teammates has deteriorated throughout the season, and now Chucky Atkins calls Bryant “The GM”. Kobe’s teammates have lost confidence in him and the Lakers look totally lost on offense. As for defense, the Lakers are known around the league as “Slumpbusters”. “When ya team’s in a drought, and ya need someone to rout, who ya gonna call, Slumpbusters!!!” Unfortunately, it has gotten to this pathetic stage for the Lakers, and Kobe will have to “reinvent” himself in order for the Lakers to have success in the future.
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