The Lakers organization has tried almost everything. There’s no team out there that wants to help the Lakers, so any opportunity Mitch Kupchak can find, he needs to explore and do the best that he can.
This is the best the Lakers have.
The general plan seems to be about rebuilding through free agency through cap space. It makes sense. After all, cap space is attainable after the end of this season for a large contract. Even more cap space is available once Kobe Bryant‘s contract is up in two years.
What’s funny is when I hear the argument, “Kobe Bryant should have been paid reasonably and taken less money.” Fine. Drop his salary by $10 mil. The Lakers are still over the cap. Take out Lin and Boozer as acquisitions, roughly $11 million in combined salary, and name solid free agents that even thought about coming.
I didn’t hear any interest, did you? Frankly, if there was a free agent worth finding that showed interest, the Lakers would have made the moves. After all, the Lakers gave up Anthony Peeler and George Lynch to Vancouver just to make room for Shaquille O’Neal.
Did you really want Kobe Bryant to give the keys to Dwight Howard and act like nothing is wrong?
Unfortunately, all of this just means a lot of waiting through the season. The Lakers acquired Jeremy Lin, but also picked up a first-round pick in the process. Essentially, the trade was a salary dump for the Houston Rockets. The Lakers were fortunate to get a chance to acquire Carlos Boozer. Honestly, 12.5 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game in 26.2 minutes per game is very reasonable considering his $3,250,000 contract per Basketball Reference.
Wayne Ellington was picked up as a free agent shooter. While he’s not a shot-creating type of shooting guard, when his feet are square to the rim, chances are, the shot is going to drop.
Ronnie Price was added as well. He provides a spark to the team, but brings a defensive-mentality. He’s been most famous for a nasty crossover during the regular season, but his defensive focus remains underrated.
Overall, this is a scrap up team. There’s a lot of potential and individual development that can be done in-house, but in the end, it’s still development. There’s a lot of learning to do. One of the best ways is to learn through practice, push a player’s buttons, have him excel through coaching, and see the results during games.
Kobe Bryant isn’t the only frustrated one out there. The entire team is. The organization is. But, there are times in life when you need to fight through the trenches and make the best of what you’ve got.
It’s not like the Lakers wanted Julius Randle to be injured since day one.
Kobe, this is your team. Make the best of it.