Did LA Lakers’ Early-Season Implosion Make NBA Teams Hesitant at Deadline

In the NBA (much like every other professional sport), most franchises take their cue from the teams at the top of the proverbial mountain. Finding someone to admit to it may be something of an arduous task, but there's no shame in trying to follow the lead of the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers made a few moves that appeared to vault them to the top of the pile. But in a cruel twist of fate, we've seen their approach to the "superteam" concept crash and burn in front of our very own eyes this season.

In the wake of a relatively uneventful trade deadline, it's fair to wonder whether the Lakers' early-season implosion made general managers a little gun shy when it came to pulling the trigger on potential deals. Sometimes—particularly in the case of the teams that didn't make a trade for Atlanta Hawks' forward Josh Smith—the best deal is the one that you don't make.

The Los Angeles Lakers figured to be the big dog in the Western Conference yard this season once the team landed both Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in the span of a month. With four All-Stars in the starting lineup, what could go wrong?



Apparently everything.

Reality paid the Lakers an unwelcome visit long before the games counted in the standings. A winless preseason and a slow start (due, in part, to an injured Steve Nash) led to the dismissal of head coach Mike Brown. And a brief flirtation with Phil Jackson strangely resulted in the hiring of Mike D'Antoni, a man whose "seven seconds or less" offense doesn't seem like a good fit for the personnel currently on the roster.

It definitely wasn't a good fit for Pau Gasol, who openly and privately clashed about his role on the team. Add in Howard's balky shoulder, and you have a recipe for disaster (or a 21-24 record—D'Antoni's mark on the bench so far this season).

If we didn't know before, we certainly know...

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