Many are frustrated with the current direction of the Los Angeles Lakers. Once the league’s model of stability and on-court success, the Lakers have been lost in the wilderness for some time and, even after an infusion of optimism with the arrival of LeBron James, things devolved again with an injury-riddled campaign and an off-season mess with regard to the front office and coaching search. To that end, opinions are flying around about what the Lakers should be doing and noted super-fan Flea has ideas of his own.
The bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers weighed in with a lengthy Instagram post this week and he wasn’t shy.
There is a lot to tackle here, with Flea making sure to push back on the common push to scapegoat Jeannie Buss and the front office, but also noting that the Lakers “need to hire a smart and experienced president of basketball operations.” Elsewhere, though, Flea shares a trio of tenets with regard to the fan base and the headliner is likely his assertion that the days of the Lakers being the “crown jewel of the NBA” are “long gone” at this juncture.
It’s important to note that Flea also believes the Lakers don’t need to have “celebrity on the court” in the form of a second star to go along with James and he doesn’t enjoy the notion that “nothing else matters” if championships aren’t achieved. Still, there has been league-wide push-back on the Lakers operating as if they are above the fray despite their prolonged struggles and it is interesting to see someone invested in the team’s success come to grips with Los Angeles not being in a unique position when compared to the rest of the league.
Having one of the best players in league history helps and the Lakers, as Flea notes, do have young talent and reasonable flexibility moving forward. It feels safe to add him to the list of those frustrated, however, and there is truth to his assertion that Lakers exceptionalism may be a thing of the past.
