The next 12 months will be pivotal for the Los Angeles Lakers as the storied franchise comes to terms with losing their franchise superstar Kobe Bryant.
Bryant might not be the only one leaving the franchise shortly, with rumours suggesting part owner and executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak will be moved on if fortunes don’t change soon.
A cleanout is exactly what the Lakers need, the front office has for too long sat on their hands and expected free agents to be swarming to Los Angeles.
Without selling the team and how they would fit into the on-court vision, the Lakers have fallen behind. They missed out on LaMarcus Aldridge due to a poor presentation based on business and not basketball.
The best players in the NBA are not concerned about the business side of things as they can set themselves up off the court playing anywhere. The front office has dropped the ball and should have turned their focus to younger players.
The Lakers have only one way to get back to the top and that is to back the young guns and go to the draft, surrounding these guys with young pieces as the Boston Celtics have done. Only then can they try to get an All-Star.
Buss and Kupchak have not only wasted the last three seasons but have made poor coaching decisions to boot, the latest being Byron Scott.
Scott himself has mentioned he doesn’t care for the analytical side of the game, part of the reason why Aldridge wasn’t impressed with the presentation. The coach continues to annoy the younger players on the team due to minutes played, roles and a lack of trust in their abilities.
Instead of giving valuable playing time to Julius Randle he has decided that he will give more playing time to veteran Brandon Bass, while D’Angelo Russell has had to sit and watch Lou Williams play more minutes. In fact, Russell has probably learnt more from seldom used Robert Sacre than he would have from Scott.
The Lakers front office are not really sure which way to go. They decide to go to the draft and grab some young talent they can build around and instead of getting a coach to nurture and teach them they go for Byron Scott.
If the Lakers manage to finish in the bottom three and keep their top three protected lottery pick they will get the opportunity to grab another potential young star. The Lakers really need a small forward and the projected top two draft picks are expected to be just that.
LSU star Ben Simmons is expected to go number one and Duke’s Brandon Ingram is expected to be picked second, both incredible talents and both small forwards capable of changing a franchise. Add either of those and your starting to put a decent roster together.
There would still be around $65 million in cap space left for a splurge this summer on free agents. The Lakers should be focusing on young targets, not veterans.
The Lakers’ off-season needs to start with keeping Jordan Clarkson – he is a keeper. Then chase Hassan Whiteside as your number one target, the shot-blocking machine would be perfect next to Randle in the post.
Nicholas Batum should be another target, both Batum and Whiteside are unrestricted free agents, chase them as hard as you did when you wanted Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. Lay out the red carpet and make them feel they would top off a young roster going places.
Finally, the Lakers must target a young coach who can grow with the team.
The Lakers for too long have taken the easy way out by spending incredible money on veteran All-Stars to lift the team back into championship contention. But the NBA has changed, if you’re down the bottom the only way up is to start again.
The Los Angeles name doesn’t give you the right to expect stars to jump ship just to live in a great city, most of them have holiday homes there and spend the summer in LA anyway. Also, who would want to join the current Lakers led by Jim Buss when the Clippers are an attractive alternative?
With the sun setting on Bryant’s fantastic career it’s time to move forward. Clean the deck chairs and bring forward some fresh ideas, back your young players, add young pieces and give them a chance to build chemistry with a young coach who understands the new NBA.
The next 12 months will determine what’s ahead for the 16-time NBA champions.
Follow Jason on Twitter: jased1973
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