NBA Tank Rankings: Knicks hold draft lottery torch
By Brad Rowland
The Lakers franchise is known for glitz and glamour, but this year’s edition doesn’t exactly portray those properties. For instance, this was the starting five for Los Angeles last night:
- Jordan Clarkson
- Jabari Brown
- Wesley Johnson
- Ryan Kelly
- Tarik Black
That basically outlines everything that you need to know about the 2014-2015 Lakers, right?
Los Angeles isn’t the worst team in the Western Conference, an honor that goes to their Friday night opponent in the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Lakers still represent a bottom-five team in the NBA in both record and net rating, and that’s an issue. The biggest problem, though, isn’t a roster that is missing injured talent in the form of Kobe Bryant and 2014 lottery pick Julius Randle.
Byron Scott is the worst coach on this list. It seems far-fetched that the Lakers would retain Scott after this season and his seemingly endless line of baffling statements, but he still reflects poorly on the decision makers in LA with an outdated approach to the NBA.
The appeal of Los Angeles combined with cap space and a likely top-five pick is nice, but any notion that the Lakers aren’t tanking this year is simply false.
Next: Philadelphia