A look at the five biggest needs for the Lakers in the 2016 NBA offseason
It’s the dawn of a new era for the Los Angeles Lakers now that Kobe Bryant is gone. They obviously have to move on from one of the most important players in the history of the organization that was either Option 1 or Option 1B for five titles over the last 20 years.
To make sure they can fully move on, though, the Lakers have to continue on the right course in regards to rebuilding the team and work their way back to where they can have the success as an organization that fans and the NBA as a whole have come to expect from the Purple and Gold.
Rebuilding as a whole is obviously a lengthy process that requires a level of patience and a great deal of time. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the 2016 NBA offseason is absolutely pivotal to the future success of the Lakers. There’s so much that they absolutely must accomplish this offseason if they want to get back to their winning way sooner rather than later.
Obviously the Lakers have some positive things working in their favor right now with the likes of a potential lottery pick, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Julius Randle. However, they still need to make a few things happen this offseason for the team and franchise to be in the best position possible.
Looking at the summer of 2016 ahead, these are the five biggest needs this offseason for the Lakers.
Next: No. 5 Sign One Big Free Agent
5. Make A Splash in Free Agency
Perhaps one of the biggest and most troubling storylines regarding the Lakers in recent years has been their lack of success in regards to signing big-name free agents. The most recent example would obviously be their ineffectiveness in trying to sign forward LaMarcus Aldridge last summer, but he’s just a major example of the problem in Los Angeles.
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Not only will it take more focus on analytics and the actual basketball when the Lakers are making pitches to free agents, but it also honestly won’t hurt that Kobe Bryant is now retired. Now the team will be able to tell free agent players that they could be the cornerstone of the franchise moving forward as opposed to before when they would obviously be Option 2 behind Kobe.
While there are certainly a number of Laker fans hoping that the organization hits a grand slam in free agency by using essentially all of their massive amounts of room under the salary cap to sign multiple top free agents of this class to max deals in addition to filling out the rest of their roster. However, even that isn’t fully necessary.
The only thing vital in this regard is that the Lakers can’t completely strike out in regards to the top targets on the open market. That doesn’t even mean having to sign Kevin Durant, but they have to land a player that can be part of the foundation for the future.
Next: No. 4 Be Decisive With Clarkson
4. Stand Strong Regarding Jordan Clarkson
In a perfect world, the Los Angeles Lakers would be able to sign guard Jordan Clarkson to a mid-level contract for around three years and not think twice about it. Unfortunately, we don’t live in this ideal world and the Lakers are going to have a tough decision ahead of them this offseason regarding Clarkson as he becomes a restricted free agent on the end of his rookie deal as a second round pick.
As he enters restricted free agency, Clarkson can sign an offer sheet with any team in the league. Given that he’s a young player who’s already proven that he can be highly productive in the NBA right away, there are undoubtedly going to be teams in pursuit of the Missouri product trying to land hm with an offer sheet. Obviously, though, the Lakers will have the option to match any offer, which is where their difficult decision to make comes into play.
The idea of another team swooping int to offer Clarkson a max offer sheet to essentially force the Lakers to match it and use up all of their cap room is not out of the realm of possibility. What has to happen, though, is that the Lakers have to go into free agency and this offseason with the number in mind that they’d be willing to sign Clarkson for and stand firm there no matter what.
One of the biggest mistakes that the Lakers could make in this situation is just to essentially play it by ear. They have to go in with a strategy and a plan if they want Clarkson’s free agency to end favorably in any way.
Next: No. 3 Find Value In NBA Draft
3. Get Value in NBA Draft
When you think about a player like Jordan Clarkson, it brings about one of the more positive things about the Lakers over the past few years. Though they have been experiencing unprecedented levels of failure in regards to wins and losses over the past two seasons, one of the things that they have been able to do positively for the organization is to identify inefficiencies in the draft and capitalize by finding value later in the draft with guys like JC, Larry Nance Jr., and even Anthony Brown.
Every Lakers fan is aware of the nail-biting that’s been going on regarding the Lakers’ first-round pick as they might not have it anymore once the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery plays out. If it were to fall outside of the top-3, the pick would then move to the Philadelphia 76ers and the Lakers would be without a first-rounder after finishing with the second-worst record in the league this year.
However, the Lakers still own their second round pick and, with such a terrible finish in regards to their record, they’ll have a chance to get some value with the No. 32 overall pick. Regardless of what happens with the first round pick, the Lakers have to make sure they again can identify a quality prospect at that spot to help further their rebuilding process even more.
2. Bye Bye Byron
Quite frankly, this is something that really should’ve been quite early in the regular season this past year. However, it didn’t, which leaves the Lakers in the position this offseason where they absolutely have to give Byron Scott his pink slip and send him on his way. He can no longer coach this team.
The problems with Byron Scott have been widely covered over the past season and they all still hold true. He lacks the accountability necessary to be a successful NBA coach, he’s stuck in a past era where talking in intangibles and cliches suffices even though that’s no longer the case in the league anymore, and he’s just simply not equipped to coach a young team that’s in need of player development and not wholly focused on winning basketball games. All of these things were proven game in and game out over the past season and they aren’t going to change in the Byron Scott foxhole.
Yes, it’s wholly concerning that there are already reports out there that the Lakers are strongly considering bringing back Byron. What’s even more concerning is that one of the top candidates to fill a potential coaching vacancy in LA is now off the market with Tom Thibodeau going to Minnesota. All that’s 100 percent apparent right now, though, is that bringing Scott back to coach would be a mistake of the highest regard.
Next: No. 1 Establish a New Culture
1. Establish a Culture to Build Upon
As if the past season wasn’t hard enough to deal with for Lakers fans, one of the last storylines in the regular season saw the team’s biggest young star in then-rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell being ran through the mud for videotaping Nick Young talking about cheating on his hip-hop artist girlfriend Iggy Azalea. That led to many stupid ethical debates, many distractions, and the Lakers looking like an even bigger joke than they did before.
What that situation and incident really brought to light, though, is just how desperately a culture change is needed with the Lakers. Now that Kobe is gone from the organization, they need guys to step up in the locker room and create a culture that breeds success—not a culture that breeds TMZ headlines and distractions.
If that means getting rid of guys like Nick Young that seemingly are always at the center of causing distractions for the team, so be it. While making a quick decision with Russell would be a mistake, if it’s a certainty that he’s never going to mature, then don’t hesitate to move on from him.
Next: Randle Wants to Become 'Great' This Offseason
The only thing that’s clear with the culture of the lakers right now is that this isn’t a locker room where the culture seems to be focused on success and being the best possible version of themselves. It’s something totally different—and that has to start changing this offseason and continue to do so moving beyond.