An Analytical (And Sort of Objective) Look at the Los Angeles Lakers: Now and for Seasons to Come
My name is Dane (DJ) Hill. Laker fandom runs in my family.
The Los Angeles Lakers are the one of the most successful sports franchises in the world. With 16 NBA championships, 31 finals appearances, and with 4 of the 5 all-time leading scorers wearing their uniform, it is inarguable that they have maintained a sustained level of dominance over NBA history. In fact, in the 69 year history of the NBA, the Lakers have never had a decade in which they did not make it to the finals at least once, an unprecedented achievement for a team in a salary cap league. From the Minneapolis era with George Mikan, to the Jerry West Era where the Celtics rivalry was born, to the Showtime Era with Magic and Kareem, to the O'Neal-Bryant Era with Phil Jackson, to the 2nd Jackson era where Kobe ruled the NBA, the Lakers have never been far from an NBA Championship... However, 2015 may be the furthest they have ever been...
The Dwight Howard and Steve Nash trades did not turn out as the Laker's executives would have hoped. In fact, the Steve Nash trade may go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history(The Lakers gave up 2 first round picks and 2 second round picks for Nash, who only played 65 games for the Lakers, and didn't play particularly well). Obviously the Dwight Howard trade didn't pan out either. He opted for free agency instead of resigning with the Lakers, leaving the Lakers one All-Star, 1 first round pick, and 1 second round pick less than they started. Many fans of the Lakers, initially overjoyed with these trades, turned on the new Laker sibling owners when the results of these trades panned out. Although Howard and Nash will both likely never playing a game for the Lakers again, the Lakers still owe a conditional 1rst round pick to both Phoenix and Orlando respectfully.
These seemingly quite short sided moves have greatly shaped the Laker landscape over the past two seasons. Without the luxury of draft picks, the Lakers have been forced to turn to free agents for help rebuilding. Yet, with the new CBA agreement that "Byrd rule" in the NBA, a free agent is incentivized to resign with the team that drafted him, making it very difficult to pry the truly great players away in free agency. Consequently, the 2013-2014 seasons and 2014-2015 seasons have been filled with one year contracts to second and third tier players, all to conserve salary cap space for free agents that so far have been unwilling to come to the LA. Casual and hard-core fans alike are beginning to lose faith in the Buss family's ability lead the Lakers to another championship without their father and leader, the great Jerry Buss...
Flash in to today.
What do the Lakers do now? Are the new owners really running the franchise into the ground?
Kobe is out for the season, and when he comes back, will not be the Kobe of 2013. Julius Randle, the Lakers' 1rst round pick(7th Overrall) from the 2014 draft, is missing the entire season with a broken leg.
The current roster is devoid of a franchise player for the future, and lacking sure-fire building block players. So what DO the Lakers have going for them?
For one, right now they are in the bottom four record-wise in the NBA, and therefore are projected to have a top four pick in this years draft. Current NBA Standings
Secondly, the Lakers Julius Randle back next season, and he will a legitimate focal point of their offense. With Carlos Boozer and Ryan Kelly's contracts expiring, Randle should get all the minutes he can handle next season. Here are some highlights of Randle's only season at Kentucky:
Randle averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds as a freshman at Kentucky.
