bingewatches

After a hot start to the 2024-25 season, things have taken a turn for the worse for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they’ve gone 3-7 in their last 10 games to fall to 13-11, with a tenuous hold on 8th in the West. As of now, it looks like another year where the Lakers will be battling for Play-In position and having to play their way into the playoffs, as has been the case ever since L.A. won the title in 2020.

For a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that’s falling short of expectations and it’s become clear that the Lakers needed to do more than simply make a coaching change to get to that next level. Swapping in JJ Redick for Darvin Ham hasn’t yielded any miracles just yet, which has further shifted the pressure from Laker fans onto the shoulders of GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss. You can count Snoop Dogg among the group of fans calling on the Lakers brass to do something, as the rap legend went on ESPN’s First Take on Friday and called out the top two decision-makers for the Lakers, asking “where ya at? Make some moves.”

I think it’s fair to say that Snoop speaks for a good chunk of Laker Nation with this statement, as Lakers fans have been begging the team to make a substantial move for a few years now. The last time they took a big swing they struck out in rather dramatic fashion with the trade for Russell Westbrook, and since then Pelinka and Buss have been unwilling to empty the cupboard on future draft assets in an effort to land another star. With the likes of Zach LaVine, Brandon Ingram, and Jimmy Butler all known to be available as trade season arrives in the NBA, there are certainly options for the Lakers if they want to try and pursue those. How they proceed will tell us a lot about how invested they are in trying to maximize the end of LeBron’s career, and if they don’t show a willingness to make a big move, then we can figure to get another round of Warriors-LeBron rumors.