Lakers News: Latest on DeMarcus Cousins, Ryan West and More
It is finally the quiet part of the NBA offseason—even for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Those Lakers have had a fun time getting to this point, of course. LeBron James has a big-time running mate with Anthony Davis. The roster surrounding those two has had some notable additions, topped off by DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins himself is a big talking point now given the upside there. What's perhaps most interesting about the Lakers at this point, though, is where they missed on a guy like Kawhi Leonard. Given a quiet stretch has finally arrived, that has naturally come up.
Ryan West Departs
Ryan West isn't the biggest name for the Lakers, at least when it comes to the mindshare of fans. He's played a big role in the organization for the better part of a decade as the director of player personnel, but those happenings behind the scenes aren't always thrown into the spotlight.
Until a big change happens, that is.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported West is on the move: "After 10 years in the Lakers front office, Director of Player Personnel Ryan West is leaving the organization, league sources tell ESPN. West has been well-regarded league-wide for his role in many of the Lakers draft successes of the past decade."
Ramona Shelburne followed with a note from sources:
In the grander scheme of things, this is a bit of an odd development for the Lakers. The front office has had some tumultuous turnover lately after the Magic Johnson ordeal. West is also the son of Los Angeles Clippers adviser Jerry West.
On paper, this doesn't change a ton for the Lakers going into next season, but it does impact the draft outlook. Under West's supervision, Los Angeles has unearthed players like Jordan Clarkson and Kyle Kuzma, so while the immediate impact is hard to say, it could be felt heavily over the long-term.
The DeMarcus Cousins-Paul George Link
Lakers coach Frank Vogel knows all about what Cousins is going through right now.
Vogel helped Paul George through a broken leg while head coach of the Indiana Pacers and oversaw PG13's eventual return to form.
In other words, he knows Cousins should be on track to do the same. Vogel said he talked with Cousins directly about the George comparison and what it could mean.
"This is the year that I think that [he] hopefully starts to really gain his form, and if he does, then we have one of the most powerful, dominant players in the game," Vogel said, according to Tania Ganguli of Los Angeles Times.
Cousins indeed struggled last year with the Golden State Warriors over 30 games, averaging just 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds, down from his career averages of 21.2 and 10.9, respectively. But besides the injury comeback, some of that was likely due to an odd fit.
Fit and recovery issues shouldn't be major hurdles for Cousins with the Lakers. If he's truly rounding into form again and he can get back to nudging close to those career averages, LeBron's team quietly landed a superstar to round out a solid trio at a time most considered them losers as bigger names chose to go elsewhere.
Kawhi Speaks on Ducking Lakers
Speaking of players choosing to go elsewhere, Leonard is all the rage on the interview circuit right now.
Leonard went to Los Angeles, though he joined up with Paul George on the Clippers. He's adamant he "didn't lead anyone on" during the process, though.
He told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports: "If they didn't want to wait for me, they didn't have to. They had a big opportunity to sign me. [The Lakers] were close, but I ended up on the other side."
Leonard went on to say media coverage played a role in twisting the situation:
"Y'all kept saying that me and Paul's favorite team growing up was the Lakers. I'm not going to say [Yahoo Sports], but whatever media outlet was out there saying that Kawhi prefers the Lakers over the Clippers, or Paul loves the Lakers, was wrong. I wasn't a fan of the Lakers growing up. Not saying that's why I didn't choose them, but that's not what it is. I wasn't a fan of them, and [Paul] just told you guys he was a Clippers fan."
Still, it was hard to shoot down the idea Leonard would have liked to play with the Lakers, especially after Davis joined LeBron. If he was going to end up leaving Toronto after winning a title, it was simply hard for some to see him joining a team like the Clippers and facing a potential uphill battle in a variety of ways in the same city, let alone the greater NBA.
For some, Leonard sticking in Toronto made plenty of sense, too. The team had just won a title, retained most of its core and probably could have lured some big names to town. That he left means the city of Los Angeles was an inevitability, though the Clippers getting chosen over the Lakers doesn't happen often.
Regardless, the Lakers have their own issues to worry about now with some movement in the front office and the rehab of Cousins. And if Cousins pans out and rounds out a contending trio, hindsight won't much care where Leonard chose to play outside of the organization.
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