"Oh, if the Lakers’ No. 1 pick doesn’t turn out to be No. 1-2-3, I expect them to offer it to Minnesota for Love.If he tells the Timberwolves he’ll leave, anyway, in 2015, it could even happen."
A lot can happen in a month. The Lakers don’t know their exact draft position, so they cannot make a decision on what to do, with what they don’t clearly have. This has been mentioned before on LakeShowLife. What is surprising about the speculation is, that perhaps Jerry West was right all along.
"And everyone is talking about a great draft class this year, I think it’s just the opposite, I think it’s a poor one myself. These franchises have really struggled at one time you can get a branded name, these kids are not branded."
If this is truly the case then there are several decisions that come into effect.
- The Lakers get a pick higher than #6, and choose to keep the lottery pick, use this year for Kobe to ensure his health, and wait for Kevin Love through free agency.
- The Lakers get #6 or lower, and try to entice the Timberwolves to trade Kevin Love for the lottery pick plus a few players in sign and trade for team cap purposes.
- The Lakers get a pick higher than #6, try to entice Kevin Love anyway, and rebuild for the upcoming season with Love, Bryant, and Gasol as the triumvirate.
Patience hasn’t been with the Laker team since Dr. Buss left. The lack of patience is exactly what led to the trading of picks to the Phoenix Suns to acquire Steve Nash, giving up on the Princeton offense with Mike Brown when defense was the issue, hiring Mike D’Antoni when Phil Jackson didn’t respond immediately when the job was offered, forcing Dwight Howard to come back early from back surgery, and even Kobe Bryant’s return, which just led to another injury.
The expectations are always high for the Laker organization. Dr. Buss was the king of patience for the organization and it led to a string of risky moves that worked out well for the franchise.
Perhaps it’s best to show some more patience this off-season. The Laker team isn’t prepared for a championship yet. So, why rush it?