LeBron James

The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their 2022-23 campaign on Tuesday night against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately for anyone hopeful about an improved Lakers team, the result was eerily similar to what we saw often last season.

Los Angeles struggled to even play competitively against the defending champs, falling in a 123-109 blowout.

The lopsided loss is concerning because L.A. had its three biggest stars—LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook—in the lineup and playing significant minutes. This is something we didn't see often last season, and there was reason to believe that this core unit could be better under new head coach Darvin Ham.

Now, the loss must be put into context. This was the Lakers' first game under a rookie head coach, and it came against the best team in basketball. A lot of squads are going to look outmatched against Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Co. this season. It also came at Chase Center following Golden State's championship-ring ceremony.

It's safe to say that the Warriors were amped for this one.

The Lakers have time to come together, jell under Ham and figure out the best plan for getting back to the postseason. There's no reason to panic just yet. More discouraging than the loss itself were Westbrook's comments after the game.

It was questionable whether Westbrook would even play because of a hamstring injury he suffered in the preseason finale. After the loss, the 33-year-old told reporters that he "absolutely" believes that Ham's decision to play him off the bench in the preseason finale led to the injury.

"Honestly, I didn't even know what to do pregame," Westbrook said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. ... That's something I just wasn't accustomed to."

Westbrook's decision to essentially throw his coach under the bus one game into the season is a big problem. It completely undermines the idea that Westbrook is willing to be more of a team-first player than he was under former head coach Frank Vogel.

Ham wanted to experiment with Westbrook running the second team—a strategy that could allow L.A. to bring significant tempo shifts to its offense.

According to Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, this was a strategy that couldn't have worked under Vogel:

"After evaluating their lineups and rotation in training camp and the preseason, the Lakers determined in recent days, sources say, that it would be best to stagger James and Westbrook. It was something the Lakers considered doing last season, but then-head coach Frank Vogel was reluctant because he feared Westbrook wouldn’t respond well to coming off the bench."

The belief was, however, that Ham and Westbrook had built a solid enough relationship to try different lineup ideas without alienating the much-maligned star point guard.

According to Amick and Buha, the player-coach "connection" made Westbrook open to the idea.

"He totally understood, totally looked me in my eye and told me, said, 'Yeah, coach, whatever you need me to do,'" Ham said, per Amick and Buha.

It's only been a few days, and Westbrook has seemingly reversed course on that concept. That's a real concern because L.A.'s best chance of success this season is going to come from different lineup and schematic decisions than we saw last year.

As a rookie coach, Ham brings a clean slate to the organization. He can build a system and a plan around his players rather than forcing them into a scheme he's run for years, something Vogel tried and failed to do last season. However, if Westbrook is going to push back against Ham's choices—or publicly complain about them after the fact—new ideas could be difficult to implement.

This is something the Lakers' brass will have to consider when evaluating a potential Westbrook trade. And, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, a trade could still come before next February.

"The Lakers, at some point here, will start engaging teams again on possible Russell Westbrook trades," Wojnarowski said on NBA Today. "They paused it, essentially, at the start of training camp."

It has long made sense for Los Angeles to remain patient with Westbrook rather than make a snap decision that might require the trade of future first-round picks.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported last month that the Lakers discussed a deal with the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner—a deal that would have included multiple future first-rounders.

The Lakers should still give it some time to see what Ham can get out of Westbrook before trading valuable draft capital just to get rid of him. However, any idea that Ham can turn Westbrook into a perfect fit for this roster took a hit with Westbrook's postgame comments.

Just last month, Westbrook committed to doing what's best for L.A.

"I'll do what’s best for the team, and do whatever is asked of me," Westbrook said, per NBA.com's Mark Medina.

The reality, though, is that Westbrook may not truly be all-in on being a team-first player. If that's the case, then things aren't likely to be significantly different than they were under Vogel.

Expect the Lakers' chemistry and Westbrook's demeanor in the coming days and weeks to determine whether he plays out the final year of his contract or finishes the 2022-23 season elsewhere.

Stephen Curry dazzled en route to a game-high 33 points as the Golden State Warriors opened their latest title defense with a 123-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at the Chase Center.

Steph Curry. He remains the single greatest show/entertainer on planet Earth

— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) October 19, 2022

Curry also recorded seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and a block on the night when the Dubs received their fourth championship ring since 2015. He knocked down 10 of his 22 shots from the field, including four made three-pointers, in 33 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaKC6HriWiY

Andrew Wiggins (20 points), Klay Thompson (18) and Jordan Poole (12) also reached double figures in scoring for Golden State. Fellow cornerstone Draymond Green tallied four points, five rebounds and five assists as Golden State held off a fourth-quarter surge from L.A.

"After tonight, the journey really begins in terms of everybody's best shot," Curry said. "You got some really talented teams that are going to be gunning for you. You have to be ready for it all. It's going to be a really long journey, but this is why we play. We're competitive. This is why we work as hard as we do. We can't just sit there and look at that ring."

Here's a look at some more Twitter reaction to the eight-time All-Star's latest standout performance:

It’s 2022 and Steph is still unstoppable 🗣 https://t.co/uv4mBYm2G4

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2022

We’ll never see anything like Steph Curry again. Cherish these moments.

— Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) October 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/HoodiDrew/status/1582558323219435521

I’ve seen enough, Steph Curry for MVP.

— Steph Curry Muse (@StephMuse_) October 19, 2022

It's going to be great to enjoy a full season where not a single person alive will ever question Steph Curry ever again. The discourse has been so annoying for so long and now we can finally just watch.

— Jared Wade (@Jared_Wade) October 19, 2022

steph curry is not of this earth

— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) October 19, 2022

He’ll never say it, but Steph Curry has every right to feel like the top guy in the game right now coming off the run he had and just from a pure skill, eye test and impact level. A pure hooper with all the accolades to match. pic.twitter.com/YCPazZx0lO

— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) October 19, 2022

Not only is Curry the most fun to watch in the sport, his style is the most conducive to winning.

Puts up huge numbers, in an exciting way, and doesn't need to dominate the ball to do it.

— Justin Termine (@TermineRadio) October 19, 2022

That's why Steph is so dangerous. He can kill you in a million different ways. The book says to deny him the ball, he'll backcut you to death. If you guard up on him, he'll drive right past you. If you give him space...

— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) October 19, 2022

Unreal, Steph. Unreal.

— Golden State of Mind (@unstoppablebaby) October 19, 2022

LeBron James paced the Lakers with 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists as he showed no signs of slowing down as he opened his 20th NBA season. Anthony Davis (27 points) and Russell Westbrook (19 points and 11 boards) also played well in the loss.

"Whether you make a shot or you miss a shot, you turn the ball over, whatever, you've got to have a short memory and get on to the next play immediately," L.A. head coach Darvin Ham told reporters. "That has to be something that's in our fabric, not just against Golden State but against the entire league."

The teams don't meet again until Feb. 11, when they'll start a stretch of three head-to-head matchups in a span of 20 days.

Curry and the Warriors are back in action Friday night when they welcome two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets to the Chase Center.

The Lakers will attempt to pick up their first win of the campaign Thursday night when they face the rival Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.

Another Golden State Warriors title is disheartening, at least to teams that look at the Warriors' $170.3 million tax bill for the 2021-22 season and think, "I can't compete with that."

Now, the franchise is doubling down with extensions for Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. Golden State's payroll could reach the $400-500 million range for the 2023-24 season. There's just no way for the majority of teams in the league to match that.

Most don't have anything close to the operating income needed to keep up with the Warriors' massive spending power. That gap is a widespread concern as the NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have already begun negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

A primary goal of the CBA is to give every team the opportunity to win, regardless of market size. Some franchises will push for new rules, harsher tax penalties and stricter spending limits. But is that necessary?

Recency bias may scream the Warriors are buying titles—that the system is broken. The actual history, dating back to the adoption of the 2017 CBA, tells a different story. Heavy spenders reach the NBA Finals about as often as the more conservative teams.

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Not Every NBA Champion Spent Excessively

Four teams have won titles over the last five years. The Warriors have two of them, but the smaller-market Milwaukee Bucks paid out under $800,000 in penalties for their title. The Los Angeles Lakers are in a top media market and a willing spender, but even they were under the tax in their championship run (2019-20).

The past five champions were charged the following in luxury taxes:

• 2017-18: Golden State Warriors—$32,263,299
• 2018-19: Toronto Raptors—$25,190,963
• 2019-20: Los Angeles Lakers—$0
• 2020-21: Milwaukee Bucks—$794,721
• 2021-22: Golden State Warriors—$170,331,194

Yes, the Warriors are massive spenders. Yet their first spending spree came at the end of the Kevin Durant era, when broadcast revenue spiked in 2016. Adding Durant to a team with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green was going to be a problem for any teams that tried to outspend the Warriors, including the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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(Finals) Appearances May Be Deceiving

What about the second-best teams that fell in the NBA Finals? Did they buy their way, or was it a level playing field?

The Cavaliers (with LeBron James) that lost to the Warriors in 2017-18 made a heavy investment in defeat. The trend, however, is going the other way entirely:

• 2017-18: Cleveland Cavaliers—$50,749,202
• 2018-19: Golden State Warriors—$51,487,864
• 2019-20: Miami Heat—$2,461,242
• 2020-21: Phoenix Suns—$0
• 2021-22: Boston Celtics—$0

The last two teams to advance but lose in the Finals were under the tax. A bill under $2.5 million should be a manageable figure for any NBA franchise. The Celtics were very competitive in June despite the $170.3 million extra the Warriors were spending on tax.

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Some Spend, Only to Lose

The final four in 2021 paid out a combined $5.9 million in taxes, with the Los Angeles Clippers footing $5.2 million and the Atlanta Hawks under completely. Similarly, the Heat were the only team over the tax in either of the 2020 conference finals.

Both Los Angeles teams spent heavily last season (Clippers at $83.1 million in tax, Lakers at $45.1 million), but neither made the playoffs. The Brooklyn Nets ($97.7 million) and Utah Jazz ($18.8 million) could not advance out of the first round.

The top spenders over the 2020-21 season were the Warriors ($68.9 million) and Nets ($61.6 million)—and the Warriors didn't even make the playoffs with multiple injuries. The Oklahoma City Thunder spent $61.6 million in taxes for 2018-19, only to lose in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers, who advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a $15 million tax bill.

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Spend to Win or Win to Spend?

Some teams, like the Indiana Pacers, draw a hard line and won't pay luxury taxes. Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks haven't paid taxes for a decade, although that projects to change for 2022-23.

The general rule of thumb for an NBA team on spending into the tax is: "Will doing so give us a significant chance to win at the highest level?"

By and large, the teams that have steeper payrolls are the ones that believe they have a chance to win a title that season. They may be more likely to be a buyer at the trade deadline.

Meanwhile, the franchises that thought they would be elite but are falling short of expectations tend to shed salary via trade and even contract buyouts to reduce or eliminate their tax bill.

A team's success can be cyclical. It depends on various factors, but the most important one is talent. The Warriors have as many titles as they have because of Steph Curry. Just like the San Antonio Spurs had Tim Duncan, the Lakers had Kobe Bryant and the Finals were a given wherever James set up shop. The teams with historic greats take home the rings.

But landing those superstars may be the most challenging step for an NBA team, so spending into the tax when those rare opportunities present themselves should make sense.

To most teams, what the Warriors are doing with their payroll doesn't make any sense. But is it ruining the NBA? Is the league non-competitive? The results over the course of the 2017 CBA suggest otherwise.

Finally, the teams under the luxury tax get a share of the money paid out by taxpayers. The haul after last season was $10.5 million, primarily paid by Golden State, which functionally subsidized the smaller markets with its lavish spending.

Those crying foul and asking for systemic change—are you sure you want to kill the golden goose?

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to open the 2022-23 NBA regular season on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. For now, it seems that much-maligned point guard Russell Westbrook will be on the roster when the season begins.

This may change in the coming days, though, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"The Lakers, at some point here, will start engaging teams again on possible Russell Westbrook trades," Wojnarowski said on NBA Today. "They paused it, essentially, at the start of training camp."

This is obviously far from the first we've heard of a potential Westbrook trade coming out of Los Angeles. Early in the offseason, the Lakers were linked to the Brooklyn Nets and point guard Kyrie Irving. More recently, it's been the Indiana Pacers, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported last month that the Lakers discussed a deal for Hield and Turner but did not want to part with multiple future first-round picks as part of the trade.

The idea of L.A. revisiting a Westbrook trade isn't surprising. However, the Lakers should be careful about how aggressively they pursue a deal. Parting with valuable future draft capital just to get out from under Westbrook's $47 million salary could be a massive detriment to the team's long-term roster building.

There's still a chance that L.A. can field a functional roster this season, and the presence of head coach Darvin Ham is a big reason why. Core centerpieces LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still on the roster, and Ham appears to be building a strong bond with Westbrook.

That bond allowed Ham to try using Westbrook off the bench in Friday's preseason game against the Sacramento Kings:

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham on Russell Westbrook coming off the bench tonight: “It’s not a demotion; it’s a realignment.”

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 15, 2022

The Lakers, of course, didn't get a long look at Westbrook in that role, as he exited the game with a hamstring injury. However, the mere fact that Westbrook is willing to accept a rotational role is huge.

It wouldn't have happened under former coach Frank Vogel, with whom Westbrook openly clashed. Vogel was too afraid that Westbrook wouldn't respond well, according to Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic:

"After evaluating their lineups and rotation in training camp and the preseason, the Lakers determined in recent days, sources say, that it would be best to stagger James and Westbrook. It was something the Lakers considered doing last season, but then-head coach Frank Vogel was reluctant because he feared Westbrook wouldn’t respond well to coming off the bench."

Westbrook, though, has been far more open to taking coaching from Ham. That includes playing stronger defense and perhaps running the second-team offense.

"Whether they want me here or not, it doesn’t really matter,” Westbrook said, per NBA.com's Mark Medina. “My job is to be a professional and show up to work as I’ve always done."

According to Amick and Buha, Ham's "connection" with Westbrook made him more open to having a bench role.

"He totally understood, totally looked me in my eye and told me, said, 'Yeah, coach, whatever you need me to do,'" Ham said, per Amick and Buha.

And the idea of staggering James and Westbrook is intriguing. With James and Davis running the offense, Los Angeles can play a more physical and fundamentally driven brand of basketball. With Westbrook leading the second team, the Lakers could employ a more explosive fast-break style. The massive shift in tempo could become a difficult tactic for opposing teams to defend.

While this strategy might not be the one that L.A. envisioned when it acquired Westbrook last offseason, it's long been the one that made the most sense. Theoretically, it would afford James and Davis more time to rest while keeping a player on the court who commands defensive attention.

Having Ham as the head coach is finally allowing Los Angeles to try this strategy out. Obviously, Westbrook's hamstring injury is potentially problematic, but the Lakers owe it to themselves to see how Westbrook's new role works in the regular season before aggressively trying to trade him.

Another factor to consider is that point guard Dennis Schröder may miss an extended period with a finger injury.

"The Lakers do have some worry that this could be a long-term injury for him." Charania said on Bally Sports' The Rally.

If Schroder is out long-term, the Lakers may need Westbrook to run the second team.

This is less important, though, if the Lakers truly believe that Westbrook cannot be a high-level contributor in that role. This is why patience—through the injury and any early-season growing pains—is absolutely necessary.

If Westbrook flops in a bench role or sours on the idea of being a sixth man, Los Angeles will have until the February 9 trade deadline to find him a new home. Until then, Ham and the Lakers need to do what Vogel was unwilling to try last season—explore every avenue of maximizing Westbrook's positive impact on the roster.

NBA general managers voted LeBron James as having the best basketball IQ in the league, but there is less consensus compared to a year ago.

Last year, a survey of GMs gave James 53 percent of the vote for the highest basketball IQ, per John Schuhmann of NBA.com. In this year's survey, only 45 percent of GMs voted for LeBron in the same question.

The big change was the rise of Nikola Jokic, who went from earning seven percent ahead of last season to 24 percent of votes going into 2022-23.

The two players are definitely heading in different directions in their careers.

Jokic won his second straight MVP award last season, averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. Even without elite athleticism, the center is often in complete control of the game while remaining extremely efficient.

His 15.2 win shares were easily the best in the NBA last season, per Basketball Reference.

James, meanwhile, is coming off an injury-filled season in which the Los Angeles Lakers even missed the play-in tournament with a 33-49 record. He did average an impressive 30.3 points per game when on the court, although he didn't qualify for the scoring title after playing just 56 games.

The 37-year-old also averaged just 6.2 assists per game last year, down from 7.8 the year before and 10.2 in 2019-20 when he led the league.

General managers know he still has an elite basketball IQ, but now there are others close to his level.

Chris Paul (14 percent), Stephen Curry (10 percent) and Luka Doncic (seven percent) also received votes for the highest IQ in the league.

LeBron James has a lot of sway over the Los Angeles Lakers front office, but the superstar isn't trying to force a deal involving Russell Westbrook, according to Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

The Lakers have reportedly held talks with the Indiana Pacers about a potential Westbrook trade, but James has "applied no pressure" to complete a deal.

Instead, LeBron "has shown support publicly and privately to integrating Westbrook and playing with the former league MVP again this season."

Westbrook has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason after a disappointing first season with the Lakers. The 33-year-old averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in 2021-22 while the team struggled to a 33-49 record.

Los Angeles strengthened its backcourt this offseason with the additions of Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schröder, seemingly leaving Westbrook as the odd man out.

According to The Athletic, talks with the Pacers have centered around a deal that would send Westbrook and draft picks for center Myles Turner and guard Buddy Hield. This would give the Lakers much-needed rim protection defensively as well as another scorer to take pressure off James and Anthony Davis.

The holdup has been the full compensation, with the Pacers seeking multiple unprotected first-round picks in the deal.

The 37-year-old James likely doesn't care about the Lakers' picks in 2027 or 2029. He should put his full support behind this type of deal even if it mortgages more of the team's future. However, he is seemingly content with the roster as assembled and ready to move forward with Westbrook.

New Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has also said he is "absolutely" treating Westbrook as a starter heading into the preseason.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had younger generations in mind when he helped design the LeBron XX, the first low-top edition of his signature sneaker.

"This shoe was made for the next generation, and that was with Bronny and Bryce in mind," James said, per Swish Cultures (via Victoria Hernandez of USA Today). "... I listened to the athletes. I've got two of them in my household, so that was pretty easy. I listened to what they wanted to say. They actually sat in on some of the meetings with me. We all listened to them and we made it happen."

Lebron talks about the impact Bronny, Bryce, and the younger generation had on his new signature 20 shoe. Bronny & Bryce were in some of the meetings giving their input @KingJames 🔥 @JordanRichardSC pic.twitter.com/Z8IBpyytOg

— Swish Cultures (@swishcultures_) September 30, 2022

Nike first unveiled the LeBron XXs on Sept. 20.

From the 👑 to the next generation.

20 years of greatness have led us to the LeBron XX. Luxe. Sleek. Light. @Kingjames is never done building his legacy. It’s now time to build yours.

Learn More 👇

— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) September 20, 2022

The company has produced low-top sneakers under LeBron's signature line, but this was the first example of the 18-time All-Star bringing the style to his primary kicks.

Nike boasts how the shoe's "technical build was created to serve the next generation of players." Lead designer Jason Petrie echoed James' comments, explaining how he and his team wanted to build something that accommodated younger players as well as NBA stars.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James talked about the significance of wearing No. 6, which the NBA and NBPA have since retired to honor civil rights activist and basketball legend Bill Russell, in a chat with reporters Friday.

LeBron will be one of the last players to wear No. 6, retired for Bill Russell:“It was always a treat seeing him at games, having an opportunity to win championships, see him up on the panel and give me the Bill Russell Award was one of the most delightful moments of my career.” pic.twitter.com/096IT3ABhz

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) September 30, 2022

Russell, an 11-time NBA champion and five-time NBA MVP, passed away July 31. Eleven days later, the NBA and NBPA announced that his No. 6 would never be issued again. Players who sported the number pre-retirement, such as James, are allowed to continue to wear it.

The former Boston Celtics star's impact went far beyond the basketball court as he fought against racial inequality. President Barack Obama honored Russell with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, in Feb. 2011.

Russell is also the namesake for the NBA's MVP award, which James has won four times.