Ah. The off-season. We bask in the warmth of the glow from the championship trophy. We enjoy a few months where no one can say a single word about the Lakers- they are undeniably the best team in the NBA.
How long can that last before we start to put on the 2010-2011 mindset and begin thinking about what it will take to do this again?
Not long.
Phil Jackson might not come back. We’ve been through this before, but somehow this year seems a little different. Will he really retire, or will he at least try for another 3-peat?
Brian Shaw may coach LeBron James. Or maybe just the Cavaliers. Or maybe the Lakers. Or maybe Byron Scott will coach the Lakers. Or LeBron. Or maybe just the Cavaliers. Complicated enough? Let’s just hope Phil stays so we don’t have to worry about which one of those two to go after.
Looks like Shannon Brown will be opting out of his contract. Jordan Farmar is expected to leave as well. Although Sasha Vujacic hit the most clutch free-throws of the entire NBA season, is he all we need to back Kobe? Even Derek Fisher isn’t a done deal.
Rumors are spreading that the Lakers may try to dump Lamar Odom‘s salary. Some like the idea, some hate it. An injury-prone Andrew Bynum makes me very hesitant to let Lamar go without doing everything possible to prevent it. Sure he may have underperformed this season, but we know what he can do. I say give him at least another season to earn it.
Kobe is in South Africa doing world cup stuff. I can’t say I care- Ghana took care of any chance for me to watch the remainder of the games.
Stay tuned to LakeShowLife.com for your off-season Laker news. We’ll pick out the best stories and give you the commentary you’d expect from your friend on the couch next to you.