2013: A Tumultous Year in Review
By Jacob Rude
Bold Prediction of 2014
Lopez – The Lakers miss out on the playoffs and enter the draft lottery. Although they miss the playoffs, they are not one of the 10 worst teams in the league. With less than a 1% chance of obtaining the first overall pick the Lakers win the draft lottery. The Lakers draft Jabari Parker out of Duke to be the next face of the franchise.
Booth – The Lakers will sign a free agent in July that is NOT a marquee name yet, and that WILL be someone they can build a championship team around. Next summer has been reportedly all about cap room, and with Kobe Bryant having signed his lucrative (and deserved) 2-year extension, that leaves the Lakers with enough flexibility to sign another max player. I believe they will use that money not on a top-name free agent, but on at least one player they will turn into their superstar of the future. While I am not going to make any predictions as to who they may be, I very much envision a similar scenario to what the Houston Rockets were able to accomplish with James Harden.
Dec 11, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) holds the ball in the final seconds of a 100-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Morales – Chris Kaman traded. After losing Brook Lopez the Nets are desperate at center. They have to make the playoffs to justify the economics of spending $102,211,009 in salary on over the hill players. Chris Kaman is a perfect fit for their half court offense and in return the Lakers could use an athletic forward who can offensive rebound like Andray Blatche. Andray has a player option for next year but it is small at 1.4 million. The Nets could throw in Shaun Livingston and TyShawn Taylor to make the money work and both teams would benefit.
Rude – Maybe it’s more of a wishful thought, but the Lakers will fall at least 10 games under .500 before finally giving in and blowing up the team, committing to “tanking” the season. With Bryant out for at least another month, Steve Blake not near a return, Steve Nash likely to never return, and a less than 100% Pau Gasol, the writing is on the wall. While it isn’t a good philosophy for every team, this Lakers team is not winning the title and need to blow up the roster. They have a unique opportunity with so much cap space this summer, a high draft pick in a LOADED draft class, and a franchise centerpiece to build around, the Lakers need to commit to the future and sacrifice the remainder of this year.
Hicks – My bold prediction for 2014 is that the Lakers get Dante Exum in the draft. Greg Monroe finds his way to El Segundo and a sneaky good free agent like Avery Bradley joins the mix in the summer. The Lakers need to improve their overall talent. Nick Young, Jordan Farmar, Xavier Henry, and Wes Johnson stay. Jodie Meeks is traded along with Pau Gasol before the deadline.