Back in the NBA offseason, everyone knows that incident that required the Los Angeles Lakers to double-down on LaMarcus Aldridge when the forward was hardly impressed with the direction the team was headed.
It took a second meeting to address that oversight but just the same, the push was hardly enough to leave a lasting impression. Aldridge, of course, chose to sign with the San Antonio Spurs but one can't help but wonder what could have been if the Lakers were only prepared for the former Portland Trailblazer.
Now, the Lakers seem to have learned from the debacle with some changes up front.
Clay Moser has been promoted to lead the analytics department after serving as a longtime assistant coach and scout. Moser will be the new director for the department, which includes Yuju Lee and Aaron Danielson.
Other personnel changes saw Jesse Buss being elevated to assistant general manager/director for scouting and Ryan West now the director of player personnel.
On how these changes could impact the Lakers remains to be seen but as they say, it may be for the best. But the question now is when will the Lakers benefit from the changes?
Apparently, it may take some curing time since like their players, the new internal structure will need some time to settle.
"I understand that (need to share more regarding their internal structure)," said Lakers' general manager Mitch Kupchak via USA Today. "We're going to be judged on the product and whether we win or lose, but the last couple of years, we're not winning. And our goal is going to remain to win games. But we do have to, I feel, we have to show our fans that we're doing everything we can to get back to that spot. If that means sharing these inner workings of the organization moreso than we ever did, then we have to do that," he added.
Kupchak himself has been the center of criticism in the past years but being in the position for the last 16 years, he has proven before that he can make things work.
With the sudden focus on analytics, it remains to be seen if the new focus will work wonders for the Lakers. But from the looks of it, it may not immediately happen — meaning don't be surprised if the Lakers don't recall the good old days, at least not in the 2015–16 NBA wars.
