NBA scouts say Lakers' biggest problem is their roster

The Los Angeles Lakers have had three coaches across three years, but they still have the same problems. Some scouts and coaches believe their roster is the main issue.

ESPN surveyed a half-dozen scouts, coaches and executives about the struggling Lakers, who have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games. The consensus among at least some of them was that the Lakers need different, better players.

"It's been interesting to me, Darvin [Ham] took a lot of s--- last year," a Western Conference scout told ESPN. "I think now you're seeing like, 'Oh, maybe it wasn't Darvin. Maybe it's the f---ing roster."

Ham was fired after two years as Lakers head coach despite reaching the Western Conference Finals in his first season. He was replaced by broadcaster and LeBron James podcast co-host JJ Redick. Ham himself succeeded Frank Vogel, who got fired two years after coaching the Lakers to the 2020 NBA title.

No matter who the coach is, the Lakers have had huge problems with transition defense, and that's continued under Redick. It's easy to see what the problem is. On over half of their transition possessions (56%), the Lakers have an equal or fewer number of defenders to the offensive team. In other words, they don't run back on defense.

Their defense is ranked No. 26 in the NBA, a huge step back from Vogel's first two seasons, when the team ranked third and first in defense. Not coincidentally, that was before a disastrous offseason in 2021.

To acquire Russell Westbrook, they traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a great perimeter defender, and Kyle Kuzma, then a 25-year-old who'd worked his way into an effective defender by 2021. Adding Westbrook and his huge salary also led the Lakers to let future All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso leave as a free agent.

An Eastern Conference executive told ESPN the Lakers "need to trade for a good point-of-attack defender that can at least be capable of knocking down open shots." A player like, well, Caruso or Caldwell-Pope.

Redick can break down film, create new schemes and motivate his players, but it's hard to have a good perimeter defense with a group of guards and wings that includes D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht. The only Lakers with positive defensive box score plus/minus numbers are Anthony Davis and Cam Reddish.

Davis and LeBron James are often guilty of not running back on defense, but they also have had to carry most of the offensive load for the Lakers. Reaves and Knecht can occasionally pitch in, but the offense is heavily reliant on James, who turns 40 at the end of this month. Even he is finally showing signs of slipping, as his shooting numbers have declined as the season has gone on.

The question is whether the Lakers have the resources and the willingness to upgrade their personnel. It's hard to imagine there's a vibrant trade market for Russell, their most useful expiring contract. With the team at 13-11 with James nursing a sore foot, the front office might balk at using future resources for a non-contender.

Instead, they're more likely to blame their head coach. Again.