The 2019-20 NBA season was completely unique in the history of the league. Even with the various challenges, the end result was the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship that team owner Jeanie Buss had been in pursuit of for several years.
Of course, with the season ending so much later in the year, the Lakers won’t have much time to enjoy their championship. That especially holds true with the NBA deciding on beginning the 2020-21 season in December rather than January.
That presents a significant hurdle for the Lakers in particular as they and the Miami Heat were the last two teams standing in the bubble. However, the short turnaround is something Buss recently said the team and front office will ride their competitive spirit, via ESPN’s Allen Sliwa:
“I’ve been around competitive people my whole life, so I know how they think. I think that our team is going to enjoy this break, but they are hungry for next season as well. That just comes with the territory, and it’s fun to compete and it’s fun to win and it’s fun to play with people that you respect and can collaborate with and trust. So that’s the culture that we built, and good things happen from that. But that’s always the goal, to keep the Lakers winning. So hopefully we’ll have another crack at it next season.”
The Lakers front office essentially didn’t take a break since returning from the Orlando bubble. There were final steps for draft preparation and that was immediately followed by free agency.
Vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka embraced the challenge and retooled the roster in impressive fashion. The Lakers traded for Dennis Schroder and signed the likes Wesley Matthews, Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell. They additionally retained Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and of course Anthony Davis.
Pelinka has raved about the team’s new additions, highlighting their personality as exuding the type of fire Buss said the incumbent players and front office share.
Lakers hold first practice of training camp
The Lakers informally began their title defense Sunday with the first practice of training camp. Head coach Frank Vogel explained it was primarily non-contact and reviewing philosophies as the team looks to steadily build up toward being ready for the regular season to start December 22.
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