It’s hard to blame any Lakers fans, or even members of the Los Angeles Lakers team themselves if they’ve gotten a little jealous over the past couple of weeks as they’ve seen the neighboring Los Angeles Clippers load up with even more talent. After trading for Marcus Morris and acquiring Reggie Jackson, the depth for the Clippers has gotten even better. But I have a warning the Lakers should heed over the final few days of the buyout season: don’t mess with this team’s special chemistry for a marginal upgrade.
With all due respect to J.R. Smith, the Swish God, Dion Waiters, or anyone who could get bought out like Moe Harkless, getting rid of one of the players currently on the Lakers roster in order to sign him, would be a gross miscalculation of what those players bring to the table versus what they would lose if they got rid of someone from their current team who has been through it all.
Earlier this season, Danny Green told LeBron Wire that he believed their trip to China, perhaps because of the bizarre circumstances, brought the group together in a way he has never experienced before in his 10-year NBA career. Not even with the 2014 Spurs, who played some of the most beautiful basketball the game has ever seen.
“I’ve been a part of some really good teams where the chemistry on the court was unbelievable but I’ve never been a part of a team where the chemistry has been … I think the China trip really helped us. It’s been unbelievable off the court,” Green told LeBron Wire. “We talk to each other, we talk to each other in our group chat, we hang out off the court, we plan things together. I think the China trip is what really helped us. I’ve never been part of a group that clicked this early, everybody hanging out with everybody, this early in the season. Yeah, that’s what makes it special for me. We’re having a lot of fun off the court together; that’s something I’ll never forget. I think these are memories that guys will keep close to them and hold them because of the group we have and how special it’s been off the court.”
Chemistry is a buzzword in the NBA that a lot of teams throw around, but few teams actually have it and this year’s Lakers are one of those teams. Also, the rub with signing someone like Smith, Harkless, or Waiters, is that they would also have to get rid of one of the players they signed this season that could also help them in the postseason.
Take Troy Daniels, for example. Daniels has never been to the NBA Finals like Smith has but hitting big shots in the playoffs? Daniels has done that and he’s a career 40.7% shooter from the 3-point line in 14 postseason games. As instrumental as Smith’s play was to the Cavs 2016 title and the defense of Moe Harkless was for the Blazers over the past four years, I want the guy LeBron calls “layup” catching passes at the 3-point line come playoff time.
Then there is Jared Dudley, who was instrumental in helping last year’s Brooklyn Nets put a scare into the Philadelphia 76ers and knock them off in Game 1 of their first-round series just last year. Dudley has played in 33 playoff games over his 12-year career and he is a career 43% 3-point shooter in the playoffs. And that’s without even mentioning what Dudley brings to the table in the locker room.
Finally, we have guys like Quinn Cook and DeMarcus Cousins. Cook hasn’t had a great year but he’s had to step in and play big minutes in the playoffs when Steph Curry was injured for the Warriors. Not only that, Cook’s personal connection to the Lakers, due to his late father’s love for the team, would make it unusually cruel to waive him, especially when he can provide experience and utility. Meanwhile, the Lakers keep playing up the chances that Cousins returns at some point in the postseason despite tearing his ACL back in August. Cousins, too, has been noted as an instrumental part of the Lakers chemistry all season long and he could be a wild card in the playoffs.
So with all due respect to J.R. Smith, Dion Waiters or Moe Harkless, this season is not the right time to bring them in. The Lakers already have guys that have proven they can be effective in high-pressure situations throughout their career. While the guys deep on the bench have rarely shown that, they deserve the chance to do so come playoff time. Because as great of a leader as LeBron James is, this Lakers team shares a special bond that cannot be replicated by adding someone new to it with 29 games left. There will be no more trips to China or hunkering down like they did in the preseason. That ship has sailed. It’s time for the Lakers to roll with who they’ve got.
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