While the Lakers have had a rough two year stretch, this off-season is an opportunity for them to get back on the right track. They’ve struggled to attract free agents these last couple of years, which is something that is new to this franchise.
Since Dwight Howard opted to sign with the Houston Rockets instead of the Lakers, this team has not been the same. Granted, the Lakers have had dealt with the most injuries in the league since then, but the Laker fan base was not content with management’s inability to bring in some quality talent.
With the salary cap going up in 2016-17, the Lakers will finally have some more financial flexibility. The Lakers will also be spending some money on a new training facility. According to Carley Dryden of the Daily Breeze, the Lakers have approved a new $80 million facility in El Segundo:
"The El Segundo City Council has granted unanimous approval of a new state-of-the-art training facility and exhibition venue for the NBA team, just one block north of the home it shares with he Los Angeles Kings at the Toyota Sports Center. The two-story, 122,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in spring 2017 at 710 N. Nash St. in Campus El Segundo."
The Lakers have been training at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo for several years now, but they’ve shared the facility with the Kings and organizations and events. Now, the Lakers will have their own facilities, which is important when attracting free agents to Los Angeles.
In this day and age technology is very important and the Lakers need to put themselves in a position where they can host free agents and impress them with a state of the art training facility. The Lakers will stay in El Segundo and this new facility will serve as the team corporate headquarters.
This is long over-due and the Lakers will surely build a facility that will be second to none. The Daily Breeze provided an artists rendition of the new facility set to be open in the Spring of 2017:
H/T: Daily Breeze