Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference forward Kevin Durant (35) of the Oklahoma City Thunder and guard Kobe Bryant (24) of the Los Angeles Lakers react during practice for the 2013 NBA All-Star game at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Step 4. The Durantula
Finally! First the Lakers missed out on LeBron, then Carmelo, but this time, they will score. If the Lakers want to win a championship with Kobe Bryant, they will need to sign Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016. If Russell has a successful rookie season, and Love shows he is still the player that he was in Minnesota, LA will look like an attractive free agent destination again.
Because of the TV deal that the NBA signed, the salary cap is expected to increase in the 2016-2017 season. To make things better, the Lakers would have plenty of dollars to spend that summer, so it’s safe to say that they will be able to contend for Durant. The Lakers would be able to give Durant just as much as anybody else, and would also be able to offer him a great team to play around.
Another small part of the 2016 summer (small compared to signing Kevin Durant), would be re-signing Jordan Clarkson. Even if the Lakers sign Kevin Durant, they should still have plenty of money to spend improving their bench. Clarkson could be a great sixth man, a guy off the bench who can score himself and run an offense.
So the roster after the summer of 2016 would look like this:
PG- D’Angelo Russell
SG- ???
SF- Kevin Durant
PF- Kevin Love
C- Tyson Chandler
Bench- Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, Carlos Boozer, then whoever else the Lakers may sign.
It’s worth noting that by 2016, Julius Randle will likely become a very good player in this league, giving the Lakers a potentially great young bench duo of Clarkson and Randle. Now, there was just one player missing from that team…
Next: Who will play SG?