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Sans Kobe Bryant, What’s Next for the Los Angeles Lakers?

By Ed Schrenzel

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Life without Kobe Bryant fast approaching, so what’s next for the Lakers’ storied franchise?

Accolades are pouring in, deservedly so, for Kobe Bryant, who recently announced that this will be his final NBA season. Bryant will be remembered as one of the greatest players in league history although he is suffering through a miserable 20th year, ranking 115th and last in the league in field goal percentage, even after his season-best performance Wednesday against the Wizards.

But what’s to become of the Lakers once Kobe is gone? Is there any hope on the team’s horizon? First, let’s take a brief look back at Lakers’ history.

Lakers fans grew up seeing a team that never went into full rebuild mode. In the worst of times, the team might have missed making the playoffs, but they rarely perched at the bottom of the standings.

After the departure of stars Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and Wilt Chamberlain in the mid-1970s, the team naturally faded. But they reloaded by first adding Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Norm Nixon and Jamaal Wilkes, then sprinkling in Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott and James Worthy. Voila! The Showtime era arrived in the 1980s when the Lakers raised five championship banners.

Once again, in the early 1990s, following the exodus of all those stars, the franchise was forced to bide its time. Then it signed Shaquille O’Neal and completed a draft day trade for Bryant which paved the way to three consecutive championships in 2000-02, and later combined Kobe with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol (trades) and Andrew Bynum (draft), leading to two more titles in 2009-10.

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Many fans thought history would now repeat itself, especially after the team just suffered its worst two years since moving to LA. The belief was it would just take a couple of high draft picks along with signing a major free agent or two to put the Lakers back on top.

But that’s not how the NBA works these days. It takes time, especially now that most high draft picks are only 19 years old. And it’s harder than ever under the collective bargaining agreement and salary cap rules to sign premier free agents.

Over the past 10 years or so, trying to build a contender through free agency is typically a fool’s gold approach. Very few big star players jump ship. The usual and customary action for most stars is to re-sign a more lucrative deal with their current team. Exceptions include, of course, Lebron James, (twice), who once brought Chris Bosh with him to Miami, Dwight Howard, who is not the same player he was before undergoing back surgery, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who is still figuring out his new role with the Spurs.

Take a look at recent NBA champions. Except for the Miami Heat, the best teams have been built mostly through home-grown talent. The Warriors acquired Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes through the draft.  The Spurs likewise drafted David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and obtained Kawhi Leonard in a draft-day deal.

What about other contenders? The Thunder drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden (later dealt to Houston in one of the NBA’s worst-ever trades) and Serge Ibaka. Memphis drafted Mike Conley and traded for both Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Chicago drafted Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic.  And the Clippers drafted Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and traded for Chris Paul (who of course was originally traded to the Lakers, but that’s a different story).

Notice the pattern? No big name free agents anywhere that aren’t named Lebron James. And the best players now surrounding him on the Cavs roster were either drafted (Kyrie Irving) or traded for, like Kevin Love (for first pick Andrew Wiggins), JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov.

So Lakers fans who expect a big bonanza in the form of signing a superstar free agent should probably hang their hopes elsewhere. But what does that mean about the team’s future? Is there still hope they can soon turn things around and contend again?

To begin with, the core of the team that is being counted on to move the franchise forward consists of three very young men: second-year players Julius Randle (who missed virtually his entire rookie year to injury) and Jordan Clarkson (who is eligible for free agency after this season) and rookie D’Angelo Russell. All three players are still adjusting to the NBA, and all will undoubtedly be better players down the road than they are today.

Lakers’ management will likely try to add to the mix by making a splash in free agency, but will probably have better luck adding a supporting player than a star.

Then there’s the draft.  The Lakers will retain its first-round pick if and only if it ends up being in the top three after the lottery. Otherwise it goes to the 76ers. They currently have the second-worst record in the NBA, which if maintained would give them a good chance of keeping their pick and perhaps getting a shot at choosing sensational 6’10”, do-everything Ben Simmons, a college freshman at LSU, the early favorite to be the top pick.

The other avenue open to the Lakers is, of course, the trade market. It is highly unlikely they’ll part with any of their core three or Bryant, and both Metta World Peace and Robert Sacre have virtually no trade value.  That leaves nine other players.  Rookies Larry Nance Jr.and Anthony Brown along with second-year Tarik Black all show promise as potential rotation players, but any could be included in a deal. But the most likely six possibilities that GM Mitch Kupchak can offer to other teams this season are, alphabetically, Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert, Marcelo Huertas, Ryan Kelly, Lou Williams and Nick Young. 

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Any of the six might actually be more valuable to a contender than to the Lakers. Bass can provide frontcourt depth, Hibbert is an excellent rim protector, Huertas is an experienced European point guard, Kelly is a potential ‘stretch-4’, and both Williams and Young offer instant offense off the bench. Who knows what assets any of the players might bring in return, but perhaps Kupchak can acquire an additional draft pick or two, or at least a more useful piece for the future.

So if we look ahead to the post-Kobe era, will the Lakers have what it takes to potentially bring a title back to LA? Will a roster of Randall, Clarkson and Russell, along with a potential top-3 pick, some members of the current supporting cast and new acquisitions through trade and free agency be good enough to contend?

It’s too soon of course to know.  Remember, it took several years for both the Warriors and Thunder to jell as teams and rise to prominence. It obviously won’t happen overnight for the Lakers either, but it’s an interesting enough prospect to merit the attention of most fans.

Next: Byron Scott is Far From An 'Innocent Bystander'

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