“Pulled the Rug Out From Underneath”: NBA Analyst Baffled How Lakers Lost Rajon Rondon and Dwight Howard

The Lakers have made some big moves in the off-season, but NBA Analyst Skip Bayless has found another reason to bash the purple and gold. He attacked the decision to let certain players go, while also under-selling their new acquisitions.

“You have lost your two key pieces who gave you some real mental toughness, who brought your she last year. Who brought you some grey area nastiness that the Lakers don’t have because they don’t have that dog in them.

“You lost Rondo… He’s out of the LA picture. You lost Dwight and I still don’t understand it. He even posted that he was going to stay with purple and gold, and five minutes later he’s deleting [the tweet] because they pulled the rug out from underneath him.”

He also attacked them for dealing Danny Green. “You don’t have Danny Green. Do not underestimate what a cerebral and tough defender he is. Wesley Matthews is a physical defender, but he does it with physicality, not with his mentality.”

The Lakers saw Green, Rondo, Howard, JaVale McGee, and Avery Bradley part ways with the team. Till now, new players include Montrezl Harrell, Wesley Matthews, Dennis Schroder, and Pau Gasol.

Lakers Free Agency: Succesful or not?

Skip Bayless has made a good point. However, he has sold his opinions in a hyperbolic way, making it look like LA has made bad moves. While the loss of players like Dwight and Rondo are massive, they aren’t always bad.

Lakers have gotten more sustainable replacements in Shroder and Harrell. Obviously, there is a trade-off in skill. But teams have to keep moving or they become stagnant.

At the end of the day, LeBron James is the man at the helm, running this team. He makes the players around him better, and you can expect the current lineup to improve.

However, whether they actually do improve to the level that they successfully retain their championship is something we can only know whenever the season resumes.