The predicament of the Los Angeles Lakers
Some franchises are not accustomed to losing. The Boston Celtics and New York Yankees come to mind, along with the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Cardinals. Of course, the Los Angeles Lakers belong in that conversation, winners of 16 NBA championships and 31 conference titles.
The Lakers have always been a dominant franchise, from their days in Minneapolis with George Mikan to the recent times of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The organization has enjoyed more star players than other in basketball, including Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the logo of the league, Jerry West, among others.
However, Los Angeles finds itself in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position. At 8-19 and 13th in the Western Conference, the Lakers are completely irrelevant. They are simply another contest for the opponent, a seemingly easy win on the schedule.
Of the four California teams, the Lakers are the biggest joke.
Los Angeles is in tough position. Following the death of Dr. Jerry Buss in Feb. 2013, the team fell into the hands of his children. By all accounts, daughter Jeanie and son Jim, run the show. Jim is the most involved on the personnel side of things and has made a slew of questionable decisions, including signing Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million deal that runs through 2016. Even more indefensible was the signing of Nick Young to a four-year, $21.5 million contract this offseason.
Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak seem hellbent on keeping the team mediocre at worst while trying to rebuild, something almost impossible to achieve in the NBA. Most of the time, teams must bottom out to bounce back, such as the San Antonio Spurs when they drafted Tim Duncan in 1997. In this instance, a total bottoming-out doesn’t need to occur.
Los Angeles has expiring contracts coming off the books after this season, including Jeremy Lin, Steve Nash and Carlos Boozer. Combined, the cap room gained from those three leaving is approximately $27.5 million, giving the Lakers more than enough space to add a max player and some legitimate pieces. Factor in Jordan Hill’s $9 million team option, and that could be more money to spend elsewhere. The question is who does Los Angeles convince to come to a team without any talent outside of an aging Bryant?
It’s been a rough few years for the Lakers. With the departures of the once-promising Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, the franchise has fallen on a rough patch. Los Angeles has the resources to recover and enough glitz to blind any free agent into intrigue. Buss will need to sell some hotly-pursued players on why the Lakers are the right choice, for basketball and financial reasons.
This year, the Staples Center will be rocking once again for NBA playoff games, but not for the once-great franchise adorned in purple and gold.
