Lakers: Roster and Coaching Questions Loom Large in Los Angeles

Now that the Kobe Bryant era has come to an end, Lakers fans can start to look to the future. But what can be expected from this franchise?

Roster Questions

Returning Players:  Anthony Brown, Larry Nance Jr. Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and Lou Williams are all signed for next year. So is Nick Young, although it appears the Lakers will try hard to trade him- or give him away.

Restricted Free Agents:  The Lakers are expected to sign or match any offer for Jordan Clarkson. It is less certain what they will do about Tarik Black, although he played reasonably well when he was allowed to get on the court.

Non-Returning Players:  In addition to Kobe Bryant, the team is highly unlikely to re-sign Ryan Kelly or Roy Hibbert.

Possibly Returning Players:  It is conceivable the Lakers will re-sign one or two of their remaining free agents: Brandon Bass (probably some team will sign him before the Lakers are ready to commit), Marcelo Huertas (who played well in the last dozen games or so), Robert Sacre (a third-string center and cheerleader) and Metta World Peace (a fan favorite who has value as a practice opponent for young players).

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The Draft: On May 17^th the Lakers will learn if Lady Luck smiles on them during the draft lottery. The team has about a 56 percent chance of getting (and keeping) a top 3 pick, then drafting someone like Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram or Buddy Hield. But they also have a 44% chance of dropping out of the top 3 and losing the pick.

As of now, they have the 2^nd pick of the 2^nd round (32^nd overall) and they have done well the past two years with their late picks.

Free Agents:

This is the great unknown area. The good news is that the Lakers have lots of money to spend. The bad news is that, with the increased salary cap, so do most other teams. Competition for the best free agents will be fierce.

The Lakers desperately need a starting center. The best big man, Andre Drummond, is a restricted free agent, and Detroit will almost certainly match any offer. The next best option is Hassan Whiteside. Miami may not be able to re-sign him due to possible payroll issues, but if Pat Riley wants to keep him, he will find a way to do it.

If not, Whiteside will have his pick of several teams. Next best prospects are all decent, unspectacular younger players, such as Festus Ezeli, Zaza Pachulia, Ian Mahinmi or Timofey Mozgov, or older veterans Al Horford, Joakim Noah or Al Jefferson. There’s also Hibbert… and possibly Dwight Howard, but the team won’t go near him.

Fans also dream about signing superstar Kevin Durant. Of course you can never say never, but the chances are if he leaves Oklahoma City, it will be to join a contender, not a team in rebuilding mode.

Next best small forward free agent prospects include Nicolas Batum, Harrison Barnes (restricted), Chandler Parsons (if he doesn’t execute his option) and DeMar DeRozan (a great athlete who is really a 6-7 shooting guard, and is not much of a long-range shooter). There’s also Kent Bazemore (who the Lakers failed to re-sign once before), Evan Turner (another non-shooter), Jeff Green and Luol Deng.

Of all these players, only Durant is a true game-changer. Whoever else the Lakers sign will be a nice addition, but won’t instantly transform the team.

Coaching Issues:

What about the coach? Byron Scott has ‘led’ the team to its two worst win-loss records in franchise history.

Yes, there have been some mitigating circumstances (injuries last year, Kobe’s farewell tour this season), but Scott hasn’t inspired any confidence in his coaching ability. But of course it’s up to the front office to decide whether a change is needed.

At least for now, the team’s future success will depend on the continued development of its young core of Russell, Randle, possibly Clarkson, and perhaps a top draft pick. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

It is, after all, the route that teams like San Antonio, Golden State and Oklahoma City used to build their franchises into championship contenders.

Next: Does Dwight Howard Deserve a Second Chance in LA?

However, only time will tell if the Lakers can emulate that same blueprint to return to glory.