The Lakers cannot but be privately seething. Time and again, they’ve been thwarted in their plans to shore up their roster — with the Clippers emerging as the beneficiaries. True, the rivalry has been around a while; when two franchises aren’t just vying for the hearts and minds of denizens of a single market, but do so in the same arena, fireworks become an inevitability. And, for a variety of reasons, the winners have invariably been adorned in purple and gold. Until, that is, the offseason and through the 2019-20 campaign to date, and the reigning kings of the city aren’t liking the developments one bit.
It hasn’t helped, of course, that the situation exposes the Lakers’ overestimation of their brand. They thought they had the inside track on reigning Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard (mimicking their sentiment towards Paul George the year before), and acted accordingly. They thought wrong. They figured they could pry Marcus Morris from the Knicks. They figured wrong. They then angled for Reggie Jackson off the waiver wire. They angled wrong. In each case, the Clippers swooped in and shoved them back to reality.
To be sure, the Lakers negotiated from a position of weakness at every turn. They just didn’t know it, or, at the very least, refused to acknowledge it. Leonard didn’t really want to play second fiddle to resident star LeBron James. The same went with George, whose friendship with Jackson ensured the latter’s acquisition by the Clippers following the Pistons’ buyout. Meanwhile, they had little to no chance with Morris, not having had enough to offer for the Knicks to say yes to a trade.
From the outside looking in, not a few quarters have wondered whether the Clippers played prevent defense in going after the likes of Leonard, George, Morris, and Jackson. The latter two, in particular, didn’t seem like necessities — which made the biggest boon the fact that the Lakers struck out. Not that anybody’s complaining; general manager Rob Pelinka broke the bank in going after Anthony Davis, and would most certainly accept the current reality over the alternative. Anything subsequent to his arrival is gravy.
And so the Lakers will most likely be heading into the playoffs with the same roster that has kept them at the top of the West standings. They have no reason to rue what they missed, really. Never mind the Clippers. They may be bummed that they missed the two birds in the bush, but they’re also confident the proverbial one already in their hand will get them the last laugh.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
