November 16, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA Finals concluded last week with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, resulting in their first championship in 40 years. Now, after quite an absence, attention and pressure will finally be back on the Lakers starting on Thursday due to the long-awaited NBA Draft. But, before Lakers fans throw the 2015 Finals into the back of their memory and look to move on, I would like to highlight three lessons that the Lakers can learn from these two best teams in the NBA.
-== Best Lakers Draft Pick & Free Agent Pairings ==-
1. Maximize the Draft
Now, when first reading this title, you may be thinking, “Oh, just pick the best players in the draft to make your team better. Not too hard.” Well, not really. Yes, Kyrie Irving being picked #1 overall was a no brainier at the time and Tristan Thompson was projected to be a lottery pick, but there were many questionable players both teams chose on draft night that panned out. Stephen Curry, who was taken after Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, was deemed “unathletic” and “small.” Klay Thompson, who was one pick behind Jimmer Fredette, was said to get stronger. Draymond Green, a gem selected in the second round, had risk because he was a tweener, undersized for an NBA power forward but too big to be a small forward. All three of these Warriors are in the prime of their careers and are all max-level guys. The Cavaliers, who were not “home-grown” like the Warriors, didn’t have a risky/controversial player selected in the draft on their Finals roster. But, Matthew Dellavedova went undrafted back in 2013 and was arguably the second best player for the Cavs in the Finals. The Lakers have the opportunity to bring in three rookies to play with Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle to establish a young core of players who can grow and get better together. Lakers management must take advantage of this draft because they may not get this opportunity (of having 2 first rounders and a high second rounder) for quite some time. The Lakers owe future picks to other teams (because of trading for Steve Nash and Dwight Howard).
Next: Making The Right Trades
Feb 8, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) dribbles the ball between Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) and guard Jeremy Lin (17) in the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
2. Trades Mean Everything
This is especially true for this Finals more than previous years. For the Warriors, this was centered about trading (or not trading) Klay Thompson. They had the offer of Kevin Love for Thompson and even the Lakers offer of their first rounder for Thompson in their lap one summer ago. But the Warriors didn’t mess with the Splash Brothers, and as a result, they are champions with Thompson as Curry’s right hand man. On the flip side, the Cavs traded Andrew Wiggins for Love soon after last years’ draft, which ended up not working out as Love was injured throughout the Finals. This evaluation, of course, could be different if Love wasn’t injured, but the emergence of Tristan Thompson as a power forward may lead to Love’s decision of leaving the Cavs in free agency. Also, Cleveland’s acquisitions of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgof ended up being successful and were vital for the Cavs’ playoff success, but they still fell short in the end.
Next: Where Is Lady Luck?
Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shakes hands with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter of game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Warriors won 105-97. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
3. You Have to Run Into Some Luck in the NBA
This is more of a reminder than a rule. The Warriors won the championship with virtually no injuries on their roster, and faced teams in the playoffs who all had their starting point guards injured. The Cavs found out that not having Love (and having a small bench) was good enough to win the Eastern Conference, but wasn’t enough to win it all. This “luck” or fortunate circumstance can be applied to every championship team, such as when Dwayne Wade was a “shell of himself” in last year’s finals, or when the 2010 Lakers were fortunate to not face Kendrick Perkins in Game 7.