LA Lakers should keep ‘Big Three’ but need younger players too claims Shaq O’Neal
The Lakers should keep their ‘Big Three’ of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis together but need to surround them with young players who can knock down shots.
The Los Angeles Lakers should keep their ‘Big Three’ of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis together but need to surround them with young players who can knock down shots, Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal has said.
Injuries sidelined Davis and James for stretches of the season and prevented the trio from ever finding a rhythm. The veteran squad, which was the oldest in the league with an average age of 30, ultimately missed the playoffs.
“I think they definitely have to get younger,” O’Neal told Reuters while promoting Icy Hot pain-relief patches.
“So if they can keep LeBron, Russell and AD, everyone else needs to be very young. You can’t have five or six guys in their upper 30s because the league is getting younger and faster.”
“To have, as Chuck (Charles Barkley) says, old geezers running up against these young boys, it’s not going to work over an 82-game stretch.”
The Lakers parted ways with Frank Vogel at the end of the season despite the head coach having led the team to a championship inside the NBA Bubble in 2020.
O’Neal said Mark Jackson, who infused a young Golden State Warriors team with confidence that later helped them flourish into a dynasty under Steve Kerr, would be his pick to replace Vogel.
“Mark Jackson helped build Golden State before Steve Kerr took it to the next level,” he said. “He made it a very sexy brand to watch, so I’m sure he can do that with LeBron and Russ.”