The Aftermath

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Kobe Bryant

Now that the hoopla surrounding the final NBA season of shooting guard Kobe Bryant is done, it is time for the Los Angeles Lakers to put on the full court press as far as turning things around. This marks the first time in the illustrious 68-year history of the Lakers franchise that they have had three consecutive losing seasons along with the largest postseason drought for the organization. The Lakers front office might not want to admit it, but part of their recent struggles can be attributed to the presence of Bryant as they have struck out in free agency over the past few years as quality players didn’t want to come to Los Angeles in order to play second fiddle to him. But with Bryant now gone, and some young talent on the roster such as power forward Julius Randle, along with point guards Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers could be ready to improve as this is a very important off-season for them as team general manager Mitch Kupchak has to evaluate everything about this franchise; starting with head coach Byron Scott.

Byron Scott

Two years ago Kupchak hired his former Lakers teammate in Scott to be the team’s head coach. Scott has a ton of experience coaching in the NBA, but his best run as a head coach in the league came during his stint with the New Jersey Nets when he led the franchise to their only two appearances in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Scott was able to get the New Orleans Hornets to the NBA Playoffs in 2008 and 2009, but he never got things turned around for the Cleveland Cavaliers during his three-year stint there, or over the past two seasons with the Lakers. The Lakers hired Scott merely because he was a person that Bryant would respect. But the combination of Scott and Bryant hindered the growth of the youngsters as the head coach was there to solely placate the aging superstar.

This past season, Bryant led the Lakers in points per game (17.6) and field-goal attempts (16.9). I understand that Bryant is one of the greatest players in NBA history, but making sure that he gets his shots each game wasn’t going to make the Lakers a better team going forward. And as for Scott, I am not sure if he can get his message across to today’s younger players which means that the Lakers should think about moving on from him in spite of the fact that he helped the organization win three NBA Titles in the 1980’s as a player.

Luke Walton

This spring began with some quality head coaches available that included the likes of current Golden State Warriors assistant head coach Luke Walton, former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, and former Warriors head coach Mark Jackson which should make Kupchak think long and hard about retaining Scott. And if Kupchak wants to make a coaching change, he needs to act fast as some of these coaches are signing with other NBA teams.

Walton is very familiar with the Lakers winning tradition as he played with the organization for the first 10 years of his of his NBA career which included winning a pair of league titles. After helping the Warriors begin this season with a record of 39-4 while serving as the team’s interim head coach, Walton should be hot commodity this spring as teams are looking to find a new head coach.

Scott Brooks

In six-plus seasons as the head coach of the Thunder, Brooks never had a losing record in a full season which included him guiding Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals in 2012. And with the Lakers expected to court Thunder small forward Kevin Durant this summer in free agency, it would have made sense for Los Angeles to make a push at Brooks. But that is only wishful thinking now as Brooks is expected to become the next head coach of the Washington Wizards.

Jackson coached the Warriors for three years and he was looked at the man who laid the ground work for what Golden State has become. Jackson is itching to get back into coaching as he could have a positive influence on a very young Lakers team along with the fact that his hire would add intrigue to the rivalry between Golden State and Los Angeles as they are both in the Pacific Division.

Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell

Aside from the young talent that the Lakers currently have, they have the opportunity to add to that in the NBA Draft this June as long as their first-round pick doesn’t fall out of the top three which would then send it to the Philadelphia 76ers. But if the Lakers are able to hold on to their first-round selection, they will have the chance to bring in a quality player such as Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram who have both shown the play making ability in college that could get the Lakers out of their prolonged funk. And we cannot lose sight on the fact that the Lakers only have $26 million committed to player salaries for next season which means that Kupchak could have a field day this summer in free agency with his main focus being Durant.

Mitch Kupchak

Make no mistake about that this will be the most important off-season for the Lakers in franchise history as for better or for worse, Kupchak’s legacy will be cemented.

Source: Basketball-reference.com

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