Jim Alexander: All of those times I’ve referred to the Lakers’ roster as “play-in level?” Can we please shove those down the memory hole?
Or here’s a better idea: If this team can sustain the momentum it has assembled in recent weeks, can we at least make sure Rob Pelinka gets a decent share of Executive of the Year votes?
Yes, the tear the Lakers are on – 39-21 and second place in the Western Conference going into Thursday night’s game against the Knicks, 17 victories in their previous 20 games (a streak that began even before the Luka Doncic trade), and a defensive rating that soared after the trade – sure seems like it’s sustainable. There’s a tough stretch of games coming up, with the Knicks game followed by a four-game trip to Boston, Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Denver, and that will represent quite the test. But it’s not just how the team is playing but the way the roster has fit together.
LeBron James just won NBA Player of the Month honors for February, two months into his 41st year on Earth, and any thoughts that he wouldn’t mesh with Doncic after the trade with Dallas seem to have been way overblown.
But look further down the roster. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura are dinged up, but when healthy they’ve been … well, sensational might be embellishment, but they’ve been really, really good. We’ve been reminded how important Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense, rebounding and devotion to the little things can be, and how much the Lakers missed them when he was hurt and recovering from surgery.
The trade earlier this season that sent D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn for Dorian Finney-Smith was transformational, because DFS also does those little things in a way DLo never would. Jaxson Hayes is a more serviceable center than anticipated, Gabe Vincent is solid, and even two-way players such as Trey Jemison and Jordan Goodwin have stepped in when needed without missing a beat.
Hopefully there’s some credibility here because Rob’s moves haven’t always been cheered in This Space. But what executive has had a better season so far? (Certainly not the Mavericks’ Nico Harrison.) And that doesn’t even factor in the choice of coaches in June, which has worked out far better than any of us would have imagined. JJ Redick as Coach of the Year, as a raw rookie coach? Not far-fetched at all.
The next three months (three months plus?) could be loads of fun.
Mirjam Swanson: I don’t mind saying I told y’all so, so … told y’all so.
My column lede from Feb. 7 in regard to all the “inane takes about the Lakers punting away the season: If trading to pair Luka Doncic with LeBron James – again Luka Doncic and LeBron James – wasn’t a sure sign that the Lakers are going for it, well … they’re going for it now.”
I mean, yeah. They’re as good as I imagined they could be! LeBron and Luka are great players. Great players. Generational players. And they’re the type of great that pair well and motivate and raise the level of players around them, which so many teams around the league can tell you isn’t a given when you stack stars.
And Redick is that smart, figuring out, for example, ways to get more out of Hayes’ athleticism and size and energy than his other coaches have by, say, sending him chasing after 3-point shooters than anchored in the post.
And they’re all still figuring it out. They’re not totally healthy. They’re building on the fly.
Poor Mavs. (Or poor Mavs fans.)
Mychal Thompson was just on the radio talking about Klay being stuck in purgatory there in Dallas, where he signed obviously to play with Luka and Kyrie and is now playing with neither, because one was inexplicably (if we’re talking serious explanations) traded and the other just suffered a torn ACL. Not to mention injuries to Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II: “If they hang onto the 10th seed,” Papa Thompson said, “that will be the story of the year in the NBA.”
My kids love “Wicked,” right? And their take on the Luka trade has to quote the start of “Defying Gravity” as a way to mock Nico Harrison and crew in Dallas:
“I hope you’re happyI hope you’re happy nowI hope you’re happy how you’ve hurt your cause foreverI hope you think you’re clever
“I hope you’re happyI hope you’re happy tooI hope you’re proud how you would grovel in submissionTo feed your own ambitionSo though I can’t imagine howI hope you’re happy right now.”
That trade didn’t only damage the Mavs, it set back the Clippers too. They thought they could get in on the Luka Sweepstakes if and when he became available, but now there’s no way. Even if things go wickedly sideways with the Lakers, there isn’t any way he takes his talents across town to the less popular team. And that team happens to desperately need a player like Luka, with not just great basketball aptitude but with presence and personality – star power! – if it’s ever going to seriously break through in any meaningful way in L.A.
Curses, curses. Self-inflicted or unlucky, the basketball gods stay smiling on the purple and gold. The Lakers, charmed as always.
Jim: You know how we get some absolutely ludicrous stuff in our inboxes regarding “surveys” based solely on social media reaction? You may have gotten the same one I did, headlined: “Luka Doncic Leads in Negative Fan Sentiment Among Newly Traded Players.” And according to the body of the email, and the corresponding link, the negatives weren’t from Mavericks fans protesting the trade, but from Lakers fans – 53.6% – based on comments on Reddit.
First reaction: Seriously?
Second reaction: Have they checked lately??
Any thoughts on that? Or should we go right to the next topic?
Mirjam: Wait, Lakers fans had a negative view of the trade? I did a quick search and wasn’t blessed with such a ridiculous email. Or I promptly deleted it …
But I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think I know a single Lakers fan who thought negatively about the deal to bring Luka here. Maybe the surveyors used AI and plugged in some keywords and well, we know how that goes.
What else is on your mind this overcast Thursday morning, Jim?
Jim: First thought: At least it’s not raining right now, out here in the Inland Empire. (The wind chimes in the back yard are rattling away, though.)
But seriously … we’re a couple of years into the new world of college football and basketball, and I’m still trying to get my head around the role of a “general manager” and how the responsibilities of one on the college level differ from those of a professional GM. My original thought was that it was more of a fundraising or NIL oversight position, but I guess it depends on the school, program and coach.
You had a chance this week to meet Chad Bowden, USC’s new football GM, formerly of rival Notre Dame, and not incidentally the son of former Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals GM (and current MLB Network Radio analyst) Jim Bowden. My first thought when he got the job was whether he’s ever had to consult with his dad on the quirks of the job, but it does seem to be apples and oranges. Is there any role with player evaluation or player procurement (i.e., overseeing recruiting)?
Beyond that, what impression did you get regarding Bowden and how this might impact expectations for USC football?
Mirjam: I actually asked him about that, whether Pops chimes in or if Chad might just have gained expertise by osmosis?
And Chad said that while, no, Jim doesn’t know football, yes, he has lots of advice. Which was pretty funny.
Here’s Chad’s answer from Monday morning’s chat with a few reporters at Heritage Hall:
“He gives me too much advice. I mean, I learned so much as a kid. Like, he was a GM for a long time all the way until I think I was 12 or 13, but I was always around the ballpark. I was in every discussion, whether it was a coach, whether it was a player, whether it was an agent, whether it was contract talks, whether it was draft day – I learned so much as a kid that when I’m in situations I’m a lot more comfortable with. I remember it was a draft day and I’ve seen two scouts get in a fistfight. I remember going down in a locker room opening day for a speech when Gatorade coolers were getting thrown.
“There’s so much – spring training decisions, roster decisions, there’s so much that I went through that really helped me. I’m very fortunate to have had that opportunity, and my dad, it’s like every day. And he doesn’t know anything about football – he doesn’t know anything about football – but he’ll chime in. He’ll chime in. And sometimes I’ll run things by him too, whether I’m frustrated with an agent or I’m frustrated with something going on, I’ll talk to him and he’ll give me some advice.”
I love that.
There’s the ongoing conversation about “nepo babies,” right? There’s obvious shortcuts, not just who you know but whose family you were born into, but there’s also lived experience and, well, human nature, and nature vs. nurture and all that – insights and perspective that Bowden seems to have gleaned growing up and used to his advantage in his short career in a parallel field.
Time will tell, of course, but I think USC athletic Director Jen Cohen’s decision to add a general manger and for it to be Chad Bowden – on top of all the other additions to head coach Lincoln Riley’s bigger, badder staff – will bode well for the Trojans … who have rocketed up the recruiting rankings recently, including flipping four-star quarterback Jonas Williams from Oregon, and in so doing, taking over the top spot in the 2026 cycle, per to 247Sports. No small feat.
Now the Trojans just have to figure out how to hang onto some more fourth-quarter leads.
Jim: This is a critical year for Riley and for his program. His, and Caleb Williams’, first year at USC probably further spoiled an already entitled fan base. (And, a reminder: It’s easier for a coach to throw his weight around in other ways – say, trying to overmanage the news coming out of your program – when you’re winning games and competing for championships. When you don’t and you try that stuff, you’re just a bully.)
But they needed a strong recruiting year. And Bowden gets it: When this program was at its peak, it owned SoCal recruiting. The best way to meet the Trojans’ traditional standards? Defend their home turf, especially from those poachers from elsewhere.
Last topic of the day: In the NFL, as I noted in today’s column on Rams GM Les Snead, the acronym really does stand for Not For Long. Staying with one franchise for nine years, as Joey Bosa did with the San Diego/L.A. Chargers? Practically unheard of, especially given the tumultuous beginning of that relationship in the summer of 2016. Bosa was unimpressed with the Chargers’ contract terms after he’d been drafted and stayed out of camp, and his mom, Cheryl, responded to a Facebook post with, “Wish we pulled an Eli Manning.” Let’s just say that even after the sides settled, nine years turned out to be way longer than any of us who were there at that point would have expected.
That tenure ended Wednesday when the Chargers released Bosa, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, before a $12.36 million bonus payment was due. The move saves the Chargers $25.36 million in cap space, and it’s fairly representative of the way things work at this point, a little less than a week ahead of the March 12 opening of the NFL’s business year.
At his peak, Bosa was a beast to keep out of opponents’ backfields. But health has been an issue, and the pass rush combo of Bosa and Khalil Mack was not quite the force that people expected.
Bosa turns 30 in July. Mack just turned 34. But Bosa’s health had been more of a factor in recent seasons, and his departure seems to indicate that the Chargers will make it a priority to re-sign Mack, who is a free agent for the first time in his career.
Mirjam: Real end of an era, as everyone in Chargers fandom knows, Bosa being the last member of the team that was drafted when it still represented San Diego. (And, as the great football broadcaster Andrew Siciliano pointed out on social media, now Rams RT Rob Havenstein is the only player remaining on either team that moved to Los Angeles from San Diego or St. Louis!)
I think Bosa’s departure hits hardest for folks whose allegiance to the team ended when the Chargers moved north – while the fans who stuck around or who’ve come aboard probably appreciate the step forward and saw the writing on the wall: An oft-injured, fading standout who played fewer than 30% of available snaps in the past three seasons but had a cap hit of $25 million? Moving on was the prudent move. (Oh, how some NBA teams likely wish they could do that when their oft-injured stars fade …)
The question: What’s next for the Chargers? For GM Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh? Is this a sign they’re secure that Mack will be back? Could be. And of course they have former USC star Tuli Tuipulotu helping hold it down at edge rusher. And there’s the draft coming up, so …
The world keeps spinning in the Not For Long league … but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t all pause for a second and appreciate Bosa’s legacy in the powder blue: He’s second all-time in sacks for the Chargers, with 72, and the fastest to record 50 sacks in team history (67 games). Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, his 19 sacks in the first 20 games of his career is an NFL record and he was a five-time Pro Bowler.
Good thing he didn’t pull an Eli Manning!