Lakers News: Latest Buzz Surrounding Los Angeles for 2016 Opening Week

A new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball kicks off Wednesday night when the team takes the floor without Kobe Bryant to battle the Houston Rockets. The face of the franchise's retirement leaves a void new head coach Luke Walton hopes one of his young stars eventually fills.

The Lakers feature an impressive group of promising players, led by Brandon Ingram, D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle. Now the question is how quickly the rebuilding efforts can turn a corner and get the team back on the path toward contention in the Western Conference.

The evolution won't happen overnight, but signs of progress should be on display after Los Angeles went 17-65 last season. For now, let's check out some of the latest news and comments surrounding the team with the new campaign set to get underway.

Thomas Robinson Earns Roster Berth

Robinson long looked like a future frontcourt stalwart before the Sacramento Kings drafted him with the fifth overall pick in 2012. Scout rated him as a 5-star prospect coming out of high school and, after steady development, he averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds during his final year at Kansas.

He's never found his footing in the NBA, though. The 2012 Big 12 Player of the Year played for five teams across his first four seasons in the league. None of those stops resulted in an extensive role as he's averaged just 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 265 career games.

Robinson signed with the Lakers in September and did enough during training camp and the preseason to earn a place on the final 15-man roster. Serena Winters of Lakers Nation passed along comments from Walton, who praised the power forward's effort to make the squad:

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Then you assume that once you get to a more structured setting that you'd see some reasons why he hasn't stuck (in the NBA), and he was great. Great all throughout training camp. Not only as far as the way he played, but the way he interacted with the team in preseason games. Even when he was getting DNPs (Did Not Play), he was talking in the huddles, talking at halftime.

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Los Angeles is a team with several core foundation pieces in place, but the need for depth is still evident with a quick glance at the roster. Making the team gives Robinson an opportunity to earn one of those spots for the long haul if he can showcase some untapped potential.

He's still just 25, so it's not too late for a breakthrough campaign. But he needs to take that step forward soon with number of opportunities beginning to dwindle.

Lakers Value Metta World Peace's Experience

World Peace survived the final cuts to make the Lakers' roster. He's nothing more than a fringe asset at this stage of his career. His role will likely remain pretty much in line with last season, when he averaged 16.9 minutes across 35 appearances.

His presence on the squad is about more than on-court production, though. He's an experienced veteran who can help the young team grow. The Lakers noted Walton likes some of the qualities he possesses that can benefit the team:

Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported last week Los Angeles were considering the forward formerly known as Ron Artest as an assistant coach if he didn't make the team. The report noted World Peace wasn't prepared to move on from a playing role quite yet, though.

The expectation he would seek playing opportunities elsewhere if the Lakers cut him may have helped him earn one of those final spots. That said, moving onto the coaching staff is something to keep in mind if he's forced to play limited minutes during the first half of the season.

Either way, the Lakers clearly see value in what World Peace brings to the table as the most battle-tested member of a mostly inexperienced group.

Jeanie Buss Expects To See Improvement

Buss, the Lakers' team president, spoke with William Weinbaum and Steve Delsohn of Outside the Lines about a wide variety of topics leading up to the new season. She is confident in Walton's ability to lead the franchise and doesn't think Bryant's massive contract was a critical issue in recent years.

Looking ahead, she wasn't prepared to make any ultimatums when asked about the status of her brother, executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss, or the rest of the front office. But she made it clear it's time to start moving in a positive direction.

"We need to see progress," Buss said. "I will do whatever I can to ensure the success of Laker basketball. Whatever it takes."

That's not exactly setting the bar super high, of course. But it will be intriguing to see what happens if the Lakers only end up with 20-25 wins this season. That's technically progress, but it would still leave them light-years behind the top teams in the West.

Ultimately, Los Angeles is probably still one marquee player away from making a playoff charge, but there's finally a light at the end of the rebuilding tunnel. If that narrative takes a negative turn during the season, changes could be on the horizon to get things back on track.