Lakers Rumors: L.A. Needs More Than Kobe Bryant Support to Land Top Free Agents
After a trying, discouraging January, the Los Angeles Lakers are barreling straight for top-five-pick status in the 2015 draft. That's about it when it comes to the rest of this campaign and good news.
Even the oddsmakers don't want to have anything to do with the team's season outlook, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
With so little to focus on in the here and now, most Lakers fans presumably have their eyes cast forward to the future, especially the 2015 free-agent class and the status of Kobe Bryant, who's under contract for next season but dealing with yet another devastating late-career injury.
Those two topics are inexorably intertwined, as next season is supposed to be the last hurrah for Bryant, who surely wants to go out on his own terms, health permitting, and set the Lakers up with some new blood.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times noted on Jan. 26 that Bryant was ready and willing to sell the Lakers to prospective free agents this offseason:
With the season-ending shoulder surgery casting great doubt upon his future, one could reasonably wonder whether his role as the Lakers' salesman would come as a potential future teammate or retired club ambassador.
According to Bresnahan, expect the former scenario:
"He hasn't officially said it yet, but people familiar with his thinking are confident he will return for the final season of his contract. He will turn 37 in August and stand to collect $25 million next season."
Bryant's likely return clears up a few questions for potential future Lakers, but it's not enough for this team to make an appealing pitch. The 36-year-old legend proved to be a drag on the team for the most part, scoring 22.3 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting and a 17.5 efficiency rating, seventh worst among players averaging at least 34 minutes per contest, via NBA.com.
Of course, his game did evolve into something resembling balance right before his shoulder injury, as he averaged 7.8 assists per game in January. Plus, he still needs to take down Karl Malone.
There is nothing like Bryant's iron will, and he surely commands respect from many players around the league, but he's not exactly the championship puzzle piece he once was, barring a miraculous evolution of his game next season. One should also note the Lakers failed on pitches to premier free agents such as Carmelo Anthony—even though talks left a strong impression.
"It was a great pitch," Anthony said, via Bresnahan. "I might take that from them, take what they did and start recruiting on my own over here."
Questions regarding some of the other key players on the team will likely prove more important to potential free agents, especially since it will take a very cohesive lineup for the Lakers to contend for the playoffs next season in a stacked Western Conference.
Bryant (and the front office) need to be able to convince players this is a team worth coming to even if he isn't out on the court next season, a very real possibility considering recent history.
As it stands, the Lakers appear to be in something of a fractious state. They've lost 10 of their last 11, including an embarrassing 92-80 loss on the road against the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Jeremy Lin, the consummate team player, has admitted to keeping his options open for this summer as his contract is set to expire after this season, per SheridanHoops.com's Michael Scotto:
"I’ll just cross that bridge when the time comes. I’m keeping my options open and see what’s out there. I’m just going to evaluate everything when the time comes because right now you could say stuff, but it doesn’t really matter until I’m presented (with something) at the time because I don’t know what the landscape is going to look like.
"
It's been a rough season for Lin, who's gone from starting point guard to backing up rookie Jordan Clarkson and aging veteran Ronnie Price at times. As a relatively high-profile free agent from the class of 2014, his experience with the team could prove informative.
“I’ve been asked to wear a lot of different hats and so that can be difficult,” Lin said, via Scotto. “I think there are a lot of obstacles that I have to try to continue to face and overcome everyday as I try to play.”
Elsewhere on the roster, the relationship between Nick Young and head coach Byron Scott has seemed strained, with Young upset after he did not play during the Lakers' aforementioned game against New York, per ESPN's Baxter Holmes.
According to Medina, however, both Young and Scott say they are on good terms now:
CBS Sports' Matt Moore responded to the reported Young-Scott situation, and in doing so made a salient point regarding the state of the team:
"Young doesn't really have a leg to stand on, here. For as much as people fall for his boyish bravado and charming personality, he's not a very good player, and particularly not for the kind of team that Byron Scott is trying (and failing miserably) to make the Lakers into.
It's a chicken-and-the-egg situation. Has Scott done a good enough job to bench arguably the second-most talented player on the team behind Kobe Bryant (who's out for the season)? Or is part of the Lakers' massive level of horribleness the result of Nick Young being their second-best player?
"
Young may not be the best on the hardwood, but he could still be valuable to the team in other ways. He's the type of player who can go to bat for the Lakers and make them a more appealing destination. Young has made statements in the past that he's willing to advocate on the Lakers' behalf this summer.
“I told Goran Dragic on the court, ‘You might be my teammate next year.’” Young said, per Medina. “I’ll talk to Marc (Gasol). Me and him are cool. Kevin Love, I’ll talk to him.”
Few players in the league bring more joie de vivre to the game than the effervescent Young. The Lakers will need his play—and potentially his relationship to the team—to grow stronger as the season closes out.
There are a number of impending unrestricted free agents already on the roster, including Carlos Boozer, Wayne Ellington and Price. Separating the wheat from the chaff is imperative here.
The Lakers also have to decide what to do with Jordan Hill, who's contract contains a $9 million club option in 2015. Don't forget Ed Davis, who's come on strong this season with a 18.37 PER and could cash in on his performance by opting out of his meager $1.1 million salary next year. The Lakers could be dealing with pitching to the 25-year-old this summer before they take a look around the rest of the league.
Granted, many of these players' situations will be sorted out by summer, but they could project an air of instability to prospective free agents. It will prove tough for Bryant to sell free agents on L.A. with so much of the roster in a state of flux. This is far from a hopeless situation, of course, but legacy, location and tradition can only take a franchise so far.
While it's easy to get caught up talking contracts, cap hits, draft picks and Bryant, one shouldn't count out the man pulling the strings on the roster—general manager Mitch Kupchak.
One only has to look at Kupchak's trade history—the Pau Gasol coup, the aborted Chris Paul deal—to realize he's Macgyver when it comes to creating a competitive roster. If the Lakers do keep their top draft pick, see Julius Randle recover and land a megastar, it could be like the 2013-14 season never happened—just a feverish nightmare.
There is still hope for the Lakers in free agency, but Bryant needs to able to pitch the roster, himself included, not just the legacy.
Contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
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