At further inspection, the Lakers actually find themselves in a similar position to the young Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ roster is headlined by the last two first overall picks in the NBA draft: rookie big Karl-Anthony Towns and wing Andrew Wiggins. It also features at least three other promising young players, athletic second-year guard Zach LaVine, and third year players Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.
While Towns and Wiggins are the obvious future of the franchise, each of the others provides additional production while several other young players, such as Adreian Payne, Nemanja Bjelica and Tyus Jones, might also become future contributors.
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Added to the team’s mix are two younger veterans still in their prime, Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic, while grizzled older hands Kevin Garnett, Kevin Martin, Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince provide voices of experience.
The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, have a slightly younger, less-experienced and perhaps not quite as talented group of five youngsters of their own in rookies D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr.and Anthony Brown, and second-year players Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson.
They too have several veteran presences on the roster including future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant in his final NBA season, Lou Williams, Roy Hibbert, Brandon Bass, Nick Young and Metta World Peace.
The teams have virtually the same payroll this year, a little over $72 million each. But that’s where their paths start to diverge.
Next season, almost every player will return to the T-wolves. Only Miller and Prince will be free agents. Management has seemingly committed itself to staying the course and seeing how the young guys will develop. With currently the fourth-worst record in the league, they will also add a high draft pick.
By contrast, only six Lakers are signed for next fall: Russell, Randle, Nance, Brown, Willams and Young and the front office hasn’t publicly supported or otherwise shown that it will remain patient with their young core.
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Rumors have even surfaced recently that they may already be shopping Russell, the number two pick in last year’s draft, although they would demand back a significant return.
Exactly what steps the Lakers take to fill out their 2016-17 roster are yet-to-be determined. If the team gets lucky in the May lottery, they will add a top three draft pick but otherwise, the front office has much work to do.
We will learn if that means re-signing current players such as Clarkson, delving heavily into free agency, or perhaps making a deal or two before the February 18th trade deadline. Right now both teams are faltering but each is hopeful of a turnaround in the not-too-distant future.
Next: Three Things We Learned After LA Beat the Wolves
Which franchise will become more successful? Will either the Lakers or Timberwolves develop into a contender in the coming seasons? Might the seeds be planted now for a future rivalry? Only time will give us clear answers.