Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
While most basketball fans are focused on the excitement of the NBA playoffs, Laker fans do not have a horse in the race and are more interested in what the team’s roster will look like next season. For the past two years the Lakers swung for the fences but struck out in free agency. While they finally had a top draft choice last year, the player they selected, Julius Randle, was hurt in his very first game and missed the entire year. The Lakers can ill afford to continue this disturbing trend, which makes the stakes enormously high this offseason.
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There are a number of high profile free agents who are expected to test the market this summer. This will include stars such as LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Draymond Green, Goran Dragic, Brook Lopez, and Greg Monroe, to name a few. Aside from these household names, there are other solid free agents at every position who would at least improve the team’s fortunes.
It will be hard for the Lakers to convince any of the “A” list players to join such a depleted franchise with all the uncertainty and instability generated by Kobe Bryant’s return. The fact is that no one knows how long Bryant will last and what he can contribute, yet while he is around he will dominate and control everything. Further, the Lakers will be asking free agents to join a team without a roster — no one knows who will be on the team next season. Other than Bryant, the only other players under contract are Jordan Clarkson, Nick Young and Ryan Kelly, both of whom the Lakers would love to unload this summer; and Randle, who is yet to prove he can stay healthy let alone be a legitimate NBA player. That is a tough sell.
Still, the Lakers have to try. Here are the top five reasons the team must be a winner in free agency this summer
1. It Is Unclear if the Team Will Even Keep Its Top Draft Choice.
No one wants to think about it, but the Lakers are not even assured of having a top draft choice this season. When the ping pong balls stop bouncing they could fall to sixth or seventh, in which case they would forfeit the pick to Philadelphia. While it is hard to believe the basketball gods could treat the Lakers so cruelly, the franchise has been jinxed ever since David Stern nixed the trade for Chris Paul. Nothing has gone right, and the unending series of injuries the team has suffered the past three seasons is a reflection of their declining fortunes. Disappointed, yes, but would anyone really be all that surprised if the Lakers fall to sixth or seventh in the draft?
Next: No Guarantees In The Draft