This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Charles Curtis is filling in for Andy Nesbitt.
The Lakers lost. Again.
This time, it was a 109-104 loss to the Mavericks. LeBron James did his usual Bron stuff, with a 26-12-5 game. Russell Westbrook? He dished eight dimes but went 0-for-4 from distance and 5-of-17 from the floor.
More importantly: The Lakers are a dismal 27-34. They’re in the No. 9 slot in the West, in a play-in spot, but more losses and teams like the Pelicans, Blazers or Spurs could leapfrog them.
If they make the play-in or not, it doesn’t really matter. It’s bad. Like, DeAndre Jordan bad pass bad.
And it could get a lot worse this summer.
Westbrook might opt in to make $47 million. LeBron James will be paid over $44 million. Anthony Davis has been good, not overwhelmingly dominant, when he’s played … but he’s played just 37 games this year. He’s signed through 2024-25 with a player option in that final year.
Where the heck do you go from here? Does LeBron James … force a trade? Can the Lakers find a taker for Westbrook? And what do they get in exchange that will help a team that needs just about everything (but mostly shooting) to improve?
It’s a huge mess.
James said on Tuesday night that he’s not giving up on the season, which is good and expected. But I wonder what he’ll say this summer, and if he has a hand in the front office process to try to go for one more ring, there are a lot of tough decisions ahead. It may not matter that he could try to recruit a disgruntled superstar. The Lakers might be in cap hell.
So, uh, I guess enjoy the rest of this season while it lasts. Because the offseason is going to be WILD.
Quick hits: MLB fans are furious about the lockout continuing … best golf bets … the NFL combine is here … and more.
— The MLB lockout continued, with regular-season games starting to get canceled. Fans are rightfully furious.
— Our best bets and fantasy picks for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
— The five biggest names to watch at the 2022 NFL combine and some smaller-school stars to keep an eye on.
— This Wheel of Fortune sequence of mostly failure is an all-timer.