The Los Angeles Lakers went all-in this offseason, positioning themselves as a top contender for the 2021-22 NBA championship.
Last season’s title defense proved to be short.
The Lakers struggled after the shortest offseason in NBA history and ultimately suffered a first-round playoff exit.
For the first time in LeBron James‘ storied career, the four-time champion lost in the first round of the postseason.
Entering the 2021-22 season, however, the team reshaped the roster around James and fellow superstar Anthony Davis.
The team traded nearly a third of last year’s rotation to add Los Angeles-native Russell Westbrook.
Then in free agency, the Lakers opted to fill out the roster with playoff-tested veterans.
Lakers Assembled One Of The Oldest Rosters Of All-Time
The Lakers roster sports plenty of NBA experience.
With the expected addition of Rajon Rondo, Los Angeles’ roster averages 32 years of age.
If that figure holds, it would make them by far the oldest team in the last 15 seasons, beating out the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs (31.6).
Lakers age:
37 — Carmelo Anthony
36 — LeBron James
36 — Marc Gasol
36 — Trevor Ariza
36 — Jared Dudley*
35 — Dwight Howard
34 — Wes Matthews*
33 — Wayne Ellington
32 — Russell Westbrook
32 — Kent Bazemore(Submitted by @iKnowYuwanto) pic.twitter.com/HAQ7k6OlRK
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 3, 2021
With the addition of Rondo, Los Angeles now sports eight players in their 13th season or later: Trevor Ariza, Carmelo Anthony, Wayne Ellington, Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard, James, and Westbrook.
As if to show the age, Rondo adds to the list of aging veterans (Anthony, James, Gasol, Howard, and Westbrook) who were All-Stars in 2012, the season before Davis came to the NBA.
While the players the Lakers have signed this offseason may be veterans, signing them signals a return to Los Angeles for Ariza, Bazemore, Ellington, Howard, and Rondo.
If this figure holds, the 2021-22 Lakers will become just the eighth team over the last 17 seasons to have an average roster age of 30 or more years old.
Interestingly, if Los Angeles’ average age remains that high, James will have been part of four of the eight oldest teams of the last 17 seasons: 2021-22 Lakers, 2013-14 Miami Heat, 2012-13 Heat, and 2010-11 Heat.
Considering the team enters coming off a season crippled by injury, this pivot to more veterans seems like a calculated risk.
Lakers Don’t Care About Age
Just looks right. #LakeShow x @carmeloanthony pic.twitter.com/hzI2DjBzbQ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 31, 2021
The Lakers’ plan hinges on the health of its top players.
But with the NBA’s return to a full 82-game slate, sporting a cast of aging veterans might be a gamble for Los Angeles.
And of the seven teams prior to this season who had an average roster age above 30, only one won the title (2013 Miami Heat).
James guided two more of those aged squads to the Finals (2011 Heat and 2014 Heat).
The other teams sported a mix bag of results.
The 2008 Spurs reached the Conference Finals, while the 2013 New York Knicks and 2016 Spurs exited in the second round, and the 2010 Dallas Mavericks lost in the first round.
Los Angeles, though, expects to vie for this season’s championship.
This Lakers team will rely on this mix of veterans to pick up the slack on those days some need a rest and in the event of injury.
It’s possible that head coach Frank Vogel operates with a rotation that’s 10 or 11 contributors nightly.
The Lakers will no doubt need contributions from younger members of their cast, including Talen Horton-Tucker (21), as well as free agent signings Malik Monk (24) and Kendrick Nunn (26).
NEXT: Breaking Down Rajon Rondo's New Role With Lakers