The Los Angeles Lakers have a long road ahead
The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are the gold standards in the National Basketball Association. The two franchises have been dominant throughout the history of the league, ranging back to the pre-shot clock era when the Lakers were in Minneapolis. Combined, the teams have won 33 championships.
These days, the Celtics are bad but getting better under the guidance of a young, talented coach in Brad Stevens. The Lakers have no such ray of sunshine, looking like a team ready to plunge deep into the abyss for a good, long while. Los Angeles is 18-50, only better than the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference. What is more concerning is the lack of talent on the roster moving forward. Los Angeles is led in scoring by Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Jordan Hill, Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin, in that order. Sound like a championship contender in 2016?
The problem begins at the top. Following the death of Dr. Jerry Buss, his son, Jim, has taken over most personnel decisions. From all accounts, Jim is not an ideal candidate for NBA ownership due to lack of basketball acumen. Without knowledgeable leadership, the Lakers are simply hoping to luck into some marquee free agents, using the glitz of the city to help them attract talent.
The glitz will have to go far, because the roster is a mess. On the positive side, ample cap space is opening up the second this miserable season concluded with Boozer, Lin and Steve Nash coming off the books. Hill has a $9 million team option, something Los Angeles would be wise to decline.
Both Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are becoming free agents – along with the L.A.-smitten Kevin Love – and could be nice fits with the Lakers. Gasol should have plenty of insight into the organization and what it would be like to play with Bryant, considering his brother, Pau, played for years in Los Angeles and won a pair of championships.
For decades, the Lakers have always been in the title hunt or at bare minimum, making the playoffs as a lower seed. Now, Los Angeles is barren in the talent department and appears to be rudderless. Bryant remains the main draw when healthy, but he’s a rapidly declining superstar on the wrong side of 30 with $25 million owed to him next year.
If the Lakers are smart, they do a few things. First, pray that their upcoming lottery pick is within the first five selections (if not, the pick goes to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Nash trade). Second, use the pick instead of trading it for an older player and hope to build around them. Third, if they fail to land one of the top free agents, don’t sign a bunch of middling ones to market. Have patience and trust your fan base.
Los Angeles is at a crossroads. What the Lakers do over the next four months could determine the rest of the decade.
