With no relief from injuries when the Los Angeles Lakers were expecting massive things, having Luka Dončić on the team has shown a lot of cracks. JJ Redick has confessed to the team lacking championship habits, having no identity yet, frustration among role players, and even his own confusion. Fans are pointing fingers at the head coach, the GM, even LeBron James, and Doncic. At this time, one person on the fringes of Lake Show is serving as a mouthpiece.

The cynics like to believe Rich Paul has too much skin in the game with Klutch Sports clients under the Lakers roster. Despite his clarifying that he doesn’t benefit if the Lakers win or lose, he does offer the most reasonable advice to his own client/friend.

“When you have that level of talent, you still have a puncher’s chance,” Paul refers to Bron as well as Luka on the Game Over podcast. He expects the Lakers organization to make it clear to the stars what they must do.

“Now, as an organization, you have to decide what this year is going to be. That has to be, or it should be, communicated to, you know, I’m not going to say the entire team, but it should be communicated definitely to your star guys in terms of, ‘Hey, we’re probably not going to be extremely active at the trade deadline for these reasons.'”

Since fans claim that the Lakers would have the cap space to make viable trades if James wasn’t making $54 million, his agent says, “That’s not necessarily true.” He believes the team needs to focus on the roster that they have right now.

“When you have a player who’s already on your team, and you have the opportunity to ‘overpay,’ let’s say, you do it because that’s the only way to get extra value in a cap league.”

In Paul’s opinion, the team has to make good on its investment in superstars by improving the team dynamic. The necessity of that became especially obvious in recent weeks.

The Lakers’ communication problems have been contentious lately

Issues of communication between the team and its stars have been theatrical to say the least. Right after Austin Reaves was sidelined for a month, the team demanded James and Doncic step up on the defensive lapses. There have also been incidents like James taking a free throw when the HC wanted Doncic at the line.

Things have been hit or miss since then. The rotation changes JJ Redick has made have worked against the shorthanded Grizzlies, but not always.

The most recent glaring communication lapse could be seen in the team’s handling of Deandre Ayton. He was benched in the fourth quarter during the January 2 game. Redick later admitted that Ayton was frustrated with the lack of touches. In the past, when Redick subbed him out midgame as planned, Ayton didn’t mind at all.

Top Stories

Michael Jordan’s Bulls Teammate, Basketball Leagues Founder Dies at 68

WNBPA Starts the Countdown for Cathy Engelbert Over $10.5M Ask Ahead of Jan. 9

Lakers Broadcast Shows Jarred Vanderbilt Punching Jeremy Sochan in Spurs Scuffle

WNBPA Vice President Breanna Stewart Issues Update on CBA Negotiations Ahead of Deadline

Hawks Take Decision on Anthony Davis Trade After Cutting Ties With Trae Young

Yesterday, in a rematch against the Grizzlies, Ayton had 15 points and 8 rebounds, proving that he is effective when the team utilizes him early. Ayton subtly put that responsibility on LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

“Bigs can’t feed themselves,” Ayton said after the January 4 game. “I just try my best to do what I can to bring effort, and I trust my playmakers out there to find me.”

Even Bron was unhappy with himself for not finding Ayton more in the game, but Redick’s pointing out his frustration made a difference in the team dynamic.

“It’s unfortunate what happened last game, and we weren’t able to find him as much as we want to, but we were able to make the adjustments,” James had said.

Fans also note that LeBron needs to take an active role behind the scenes. They don’t take kindly to his absences during team meetings or when Ayton hosted an entire cookout.

We’d have to wait and see if any of these suggestions and changes improve the current Lakers squad.