Reports of Lakers’ forward, Brandon Bass‘, decision to decline his player option may actually be a good thing for LA
Brandon Bass is a terrific role player who was severely misused during his short tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers.
If you don’t believe that just look at his stats from his past two seasons with the Boston Celtics where he averaged double-digit points and almost a rebound more per game. Even then, it’s the things that Bass does that doesn’t get recorded on the stat sheet that makes him a good fit on nearly any NBA team.
However, for the time being, unless LA makes the doubtful decision to re-sign him in the off season, it seems like Bass’ brief run with the Lakers has come to an end.
According to Chris B. Haynes a Cavaliers beat reporter and NBA Insider for Cleveland.com, Bass has decided to decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.
Lakers F Brandon Bass to decline 2016-17 player option, become unrestricted free agent this summer, league source informs @clevelanddotcom.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 20, 2016
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Why this news was broken by a Cleveland beat writer remains to be answered, but his credibility is well established on the Twitter-sphere.
That said, the 11 year veteran’s departure may actually be a good thing for the up-and-coming Los Angeles Lakers. When he was first signed last off season alongside Roy Hibbert and Lou Williams, many questioned the direction that Mitch Kupchak and the front office were trying to take the team.
Quite simply, wasn’t the season supposed to be devoted to developing the guys you just drafted?
This question was quickly answered when coach, Byron Scott, consistently opted to play the old trio over the young bunch to start the season.
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However, with Brandon Bass gone, and Roy Hibbert primed to follow, next season will represent the first chance the young Lakers will have to truly spread their wings.
Whether or not they’ll actually soar or struggle remains to be answered.