The Los Angeles Lakers have been in a rebuilding process for the past few years. However, Kobe Bryant believes this is the way to build a dynasty.
It has not been an easy past couple of years for the Los Angeles Lakers since the departure of Kobe Bryant. Due to the Lakers missing on free agents and not having their own draft picks for a few years, the rebuilding process has not been a quick one.
However, the Lakers have recently had their own picks and have been able to build nicely in the NBA Draft. Starting with Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram, the Lakers were able to begin to add some of the elite college basketball players.
In addition to doing well early on in the draft, the Lakers also drafted Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr, who were good contributors prior to being traded by the Lakers to the Cavaliers.
Last season, the Lakers might have had one of the best draft classes in the history of the franchise, as they selected Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart in the first round. Even though the process has not been a quick one, the Lakers do now have an impressive young core.
Recently, Bryant talked about the rebuild for the Lakers and commented about how building through the draft in his opinion is the best way to do it. Here’s what he said on the Chris and Caron Show with text from LakersNation.com.
"“This market is like man, listen, ‘You’ve got to win, like, yesterday.’ And that’s not always the case. You want to build a team that has longevity and could potentially be a dynasty. Those things take time and generally are grown from within. You slap a couple All-Stars together and you may go on a run where you win two out of three or something like that. But eventually players get traded. But if you build the team organically, that dynasty team tends to stay together longer.”"
Looking at the success of the Golden State Warriors in recent years, they are a great example of what building through the draft can provide. The Warriors were able to draft well with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. While that core did win a title on their own, they were able to recruit Kevin Durant to join them.
Like the Warriors, the Lakers have been building through the draft and have positioned themselves nicely to land a star. While their core is younger than the Warriors’ was when they landed Durant, they appear to be trying to replicate that.
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For sustained success, building through the draft is a good way to keep players around on affordable contracts. As of now, it looks like the Lakers are on the path that Kobe believes is the right way to build a dynasty. Now, we will have to see if it results in sustained success for the Lakers.