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?
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Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver (middle) poses with draft prospects in attendance before the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
2. Even if the team has a top five draft choice, there is no certainty the player selected will become a star.
It is true that most NBA stars were first round draft choices. The truth is, however, many high draft choices never pan out. Exhibit one is the Lakers’ very own Wesley Johnson, who was chosen fourth overall in the 2010 NBA draft. In the past few years players such as Anthony Bennett, Otto Porter, Aaron Gordon, and Derrick Williams were all top five selections in the draft, which speaks for itself.
The fact is, the draft is a gamble which sometimes pays off and other times it does not. It is especially risky in recent years because most of the top choices are 19 year olds who played college basketball for one year. With free agents, there is a body to NBA work from which to judge. You generally know what you are getting, and you can anticipate how that player will fit your needs. In short, free agents are far less risky than draft choices.
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Jul 24, 2014; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak during a press conference at theToyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
3. Free Agency is the only option if the Lakers hope to make the playoffs again anytime soon.
What do Andrew Wiggins, Nerlens Noel, Elfrid Payton, and Jordan Clarkson have in common? They were top rookies this season all of whom played on the worst teams. Wiggins, who was rookie of the year, played on the worst team of all. Michael Carter Williams, rookie of the year the season before, played on the equally awful Philadelphia 76ers and has already been traded once. The fact is, other than the rarest of players like Magic Johnson or LeBron James, who come along once in a generation, rookies, no matter how good they are, do not contribute much to a winning record. It was a good two to three seasons before Bryant became the player who later dominated. So if the Lakers hope to turn things around sooner rather than later, they will need top tier free agents to do it.
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Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and forward Kevin Durant (35) during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
4. Top Free Agents Attract Other Top Free Agents.
It has been well documented this season that the biggest problem the Lakers face in trying to sign a top tier free agent is that there is no one on the team that any prominent free agent would want to play with. Most stars have choices, and while they want top dollar salary-wise, they also want to play with other top players on a team where they have a chance to win. It is very rare that a star in the prime of his career would voluntarily agree to join a team that is at the very bottom of its fortunes, where it could take years to become a contender again and that is only if things go well. The Lakers need a break-through. They need to sign a Aldridge or a Gasol, who will attract other free agents to join them.
Next: Your Reputation Matters
5. The team’s reputation and stature will take another huge hit if they are again shunned by big name free agents.
It was embarrassing two years ago when Dwight Howard chose to leave the Lakers to take less money to play in Houston. Then last season the Lakers were unable to sign any prominent free agents although they went all out to do so. What a slap in the face! This is the Lakers. Stars join the Lakers, they do not voluntarily leave or say no. Yet, this is no longer the Lakers of years past. This is a new, dysfunctional organization led by Jim Buss and Jeanie Buss, who are unqualified to lead a major sports franchise they just happened to inherit, and Mitch Kupchak, whose ability to relate to and inspire modern NBA players seems suspect. If the Lakers lose out on another group of top free agents for the third season in a row, it will do immeasurable damage to the team’s image and reputation making any meaningful rebuild longer and harder.
The odds are stacked against them, but if the team is going to return to respectability over the next two or three seasons it will require that prominent free agents choose to come to the Lakers. Management has to gear up to give it another try this summer.
Next: 11 Players The Lakers Missed On In The NBA Draft
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