Since moving to Los Angeles in 1960, the Lakers have enjoyed tremendous success. Since 1960, the Lakers have only suffered eight losing seasons. In their franchise history (both in Minneapolis and Los Angeles) the Lakers have won 16 NBA Championships which is second all-time in NBA history and their 31 appearances in the NBA Finals are more than any other NBA franchise. This season the Lakers have a record of 19-37 which is the worst in the Western Conference and they are on pace to lose 50 games in a season for the first time since the 1974-1975 NBA season. Losing and the Lakers simply do not go hand in hand due to fact that they have not had consecutive losing seasons since 1994 as long-term rebuilding is not a part of their motto.
The wheels for the Laker problems this season have been in motion since Phil Jackson stepped down as head coach in 2011. Since then the Lakers have had three different head coaches and also their longtime owner in Dr. Jerry Buss passed away last year. Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant suffered an Achilles injury late last season that forced him to miss the start of this NBA campaign. Bryant attempted a quick return to the floor this season, but a knee injury as well has relegated him to just six games this season. After acquiring center Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic in the summer of 2012, the Lakers were hopeful that he and Bryant could be the next dominant combination that would lead the Lakers to more championships. However there was tremendous unrest between Bryant and Howard last season which led to Howard leaving Los Angeles last summer as a free agent to sign with the Houston Rockets.
Currently the Lakers only have four players under contract for next season which accounts for roughly $34 million of their salary for next season. The Lakers currently have the fifth worst record in the NBA as they’re hopeful that the ping-pong balls will bounce their way this spring at the NBA’s Draft Lottery as they will be looking to get an impact player through the draft. If the Lakers somehow do not get a top 10 pick in the NBA Draft you can expect Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to attempt to trade the pick, but he really wants to hit it big in free agency as well.
“The Big Three” of the Miami Heat consisting of shooting guard Dwyane Wade along with forwards LeBron James and Chris Bosh all have early termination options in their seven-year contracts that were signed back in 2010. The same can be said about New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony as all four players will be heavily coveted this summer if they choose to opt-out of their current deals. Since being drafted by the Heat in 2003, Wade has never collected a paycheck from another NBA team and I do not see him leaving there as a free agent this summer. James’ name has swirled around in the rumor mill as some people feel that he could potentially play with Bryant and the Lakers next season. But when James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 after spending the first seven seasons of his NBA career there, he was deemed as the villain by many people (not just the folks in Cleveland). It took James several years of MVP basketball with the Heat along with winning two championships in Miami for people to embrace him again. Unlike in Cleveland, Miami is not a city that you have to beg people to come to in order to play basketball. Once you add in the fact that Heat president Pat Riley is one of the best in the world of sports as far as constructing a team; why would James want to leave that to join the Lakers with an aging Bryant that is coming off of two significant leg injuries? Like Wade and James, Bosh took a pay cut to sign with the Heat in 2010. Bosh will be 30-years old next month and this summer could be the last chance for him to get a big NBA contract. But if James stays in Miami, then the topic of Bosh’s potential departure would become mute.
Out of all of the potential big-time free agents this summer in the NBA, the Lakers have the best chance to sign Anthony. Like James, Bosh, and Wade, Anthony was selected in the top five of the 2003 NBA Draft. But Anthony is the only player that was selected in the top five that year that has not been on a championship team in the NBA. Anthony will be 30-years old this May and he wants to be a part of a championship team. The Denver Nuggets traded Anthony to the Knicks in 2011, but he has become a frustrated player that is consistently asked to put the team on his back on a nightly basis in New York City. Like many before him Anthony will not win an NBA Championship with the Knicks, but he does have a “get out of jail free card” this summer that he can use in the form of his early termination option.
Playing with Bryant would alleviate some of the pressure off of Anthony to be the guy, but would he be able to co-exist with current Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni? D’Antoni coached Anthony with the Knicks for nearly two seasons. But D’Antoni’s system relies on the play of the point guard to create offense for the team as opposed to Anthony’s isolation style. If Kupchak and the Lakers were able to lure Anthony away from the Knicks, would D’Antoni still be the Lakers head coach next season?
If D’Antoni is the head coach of the Lakers next season you can expect to hear the name of current Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry in relation to joining the Lakers this summer. Lowry is an eight-year NBA veteran that is averaging a career-high in assists this season with 7.7 per game. The Raptors have never been known as a franchise that will not spend big money on players and if they fall asleep at the wheel this summer it wouldn’t surprise me if Lowry would be bound for Los Angeles. D’Antoni’s offensive system relies on a veteran point guard and Lowry fits that mold.
In the current NBA we have seen quick turnarounds from teams that led to championships. After winning just 24 games during the 2006-2007 NBA season, the Boston Celtics missed out in the NBA Draft Lottery for an opportunity to draft current Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant. Celtics general manager Danny Ainge would go on to acquire power forward Kevin Garnett and shooting guard Ray Allen in trades to team with small forward Paul Pierce that led to the Celtics winning the NBA Championship in 2008. Like the Celtics, the Lakers are considered as NBA royalty and we expect Kupchak to put on the full-court press this summer for a Lakers overhaul.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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