Sep 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) answers questions during media day at the team practice facility in El Segundo. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
4. D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle Must Emerge as Future Stars
It’s hard to wrestle away a top-flight free agent from his respective team in the modern NBA era, because the deck is stacked in favor of players staying where they are.
That team can offer the player an extra year on his contract, and that means an additional $20,000,000 or more in guaranteed money for max players.
For that reason, it is imperative that teams draft well, because high draft picks can be locked up at a reasonable salary for at least seven years. Thereafter, the team has the upper hand in re-signing that player for max money.
At the moment, the Lakers have as many as eight players who could make the final roster who are either rookies or second year players.
Several will have to make a big contribution for the Lakers to compete for a playoff spot this season. The pressure is on Russell and Randle in particular.
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
They are the highest draft selections the Lakers have had in over 30 years, and a lot is riding on their success. They happen to play point guard and power forward, critical positions on any team.
If Russell and Randle both emerge as future stars the Lakers will be fine and eventually attract big name free agents that have eluded them in recent years.
If Russell and Randle are busts, or even if they prove to be only average NBA players, the organization will be back at the starting gate. There will be no end in sight for the long, frustrating rebuilding process.
Unless they finish the season with one of the three worst records in the league, the Lakers will have no draft selections next year.
The past two seasons have been an anomaly for a team that rarely relies on rookies. The Lakers will continue to rely on inexperienced players the likes of Randle, Russell, Clarkson, Jabari Brown, Tarik Black, Anthony Brown, and Larry Nance Jr. this season.
They team also just signed two young players to semi-guaranteed contracts for training camp, and Laker fans are begging the front office to sign the ghost of Robert Upshaw.
For better or worse, this is what the last two rookie classes have yielded for the Lakers, and the team’s future is in the hands of these young players. Russell and Randle must excel, in particular, or it will likely mean the end of the Mitch Kupchak/Jim Buss era.
Next: Clarkson Must Continue To Improve