Less than five minutes into the Los Angeles Lakers media day, the internet was flooded with images of a 37-year-old Kobe Bryant, once again donning the legendary purple and gold that he is now about to wear for a 20th consecutive season. At the same time, hyped Summer League sensation D’Angelo Russell put on the same colors for the first time. Welcome to the 2015-16 edition of the Lakeshow.
The future of Bryant is unclear; just one day into the new season and the question is already at the forefront – is this the end of Kobe Bryant’s epic 20-year run as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers? And if so, is it also his last season in the NBA or will he find a new home to finish out his career and chase ring number six?
Lost in this Kobe query is the Lakers youth movement, led by Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Russell. As much respect the Lakers and their fans have to pay Kobe, their collective eye must now be focused on the future, like Sauron, looking for the next ring.
After declaring their own analytical prowess earlier this offseason, the Lakers appear to have also chosen to follow a similar path to that of the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the franchise’s current legend on the way out – Kobe and Kevin Garnett, respectively – and the addition of high lottery picks – Russell and Randle or Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns – both squads feature youth with varying degrees of upside. Whereas the Timberwolves brought in veterans Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince to work with their younger players, the Lakers opted to bring in Metta World Peace and James Worthy.
Pulling in a Laker great to work with the young frontcourt seems like a fantastic idea, similar to watching young players work with greats like Hakeem Olajuwon. A couple of key differences is that the Lakers are likely going to have somewhere between exclusive access to Worthy and his full attention during the season. Also, like Garnett with the young Wolves, the Kobe and Worthy combination can help the team attempt to ingrain the Laker way in a new generation.
While the front office claims to have made significant advancements in their analytics and added some veteran depth both on the court and on their coaching staff, they still have to play with a team that features players about equal distance apart on either side of their respective primes. That is to say, this Lakers team is more exciting and has more potential than the previous couple of seasons, but they are still a long way from a championship and probably still a good 10-15 wins shy of the playoffs that they will likely miss this coming season, which would be the third consecutive year that has happened to the proud Los Angeles basketball franchise.
The Lakers roster for 2015-16 shapes up to be a tasty League Pass option. Watching the development of Russell and Randle, coupled with the impending Kobe swan song possibilities is really all the draw that you should need. But the team also has Clarkson, a second-season guard that I am unreasonably high on. Clarkson, originally drafted by the Washington Wizards, was traded to the Lakers and found himself bouncing back and forth between the NBA squad and the NBA D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders. After being recalled for a final time on January 4, 2015, Clarkson solidified his position on the court, playing in a total of 59 games, starting 38.
The Clarkson situation is a compelling follow as he will be the primary “point guard” designated player on the depth chart, though sharing a roster – and the ball – with Bryant, Russell, Lou Williams and Nick Young might limit some of those duties.
Beyond Clarkson at the point guard position, the Lakers feature a lot of two-guard options with versatility to move those players into other roles. Hinted at in the prior paragraph, players like Swaggy P and Russell tend to be primary ball handlers. Swaggy famously loves to gun, whether the shots are falling or not, and Russell looked comfortable with handling the ball during the Vegas Summer League. Bryant is the best of the bunch, by far, even with skills diminished by age and injury, but he could be a new wrinkle this season.
With World Peace brought in more for veteran presence than for major minutes and two first-year players in Anthony Brown and Larry Nance, Jr., it would seem that Bryant is going to occupy a fair amount of time at the forward position, which presumably means more time on the court for a combination of Williams and Russell, sharing the backcourt with Clarkson or taking over some of those duties while he sits. Or they just give Swaggy P the rock and let him do his thing. But not that.
The acquisitions of forward Brandon Bass and center Roy Hibbert shore up their front court. The departure of Jordan Hill is yet to be determined as a loss, though the team probably wished to keep Ed Davis around. A change of location might help Hibbert get his mind right, and Kobe might be the spark to get him focused and back to being one of the league’s elite bigs, though the odds are against it.
Everything about this Lakers team looks and feels better than last year. The sadness of the Steve Nash and Kobe injury situations are behind them, bringing in Williams and drafting Russell to combine with Bryant and Clarkson should help them bury Nick Young on the bench for a while. The optimism of a healthy Julius Randle and the upside of the noted off-court troubled Robert Upshaw are real. Hibbert isn’t the guy the Lakers wanted, but analytics will tell you that he was an elite rim protector at one point and might still have a little bit of that in him.
The Lakers finished 2014-15 with a record of 21-61. The 2015-16 win projection for LA is 29.5. Is there a nine-game improvement in this new-look Laker squad? That likely answer is “no.” It isn’t because the Lakers are that terrible; it’s because there is no way of knowing the health of Kobe and if his presence will help them win or help them lose. Also, probably more likely, it has to do with the Western Conference somehow being more stacked than ever before. The Spurs, Warriors, Clippers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Thunder and Pelicans are all definitely better than the Lakers. That’s seven teams that are head and shoulders above the current Los Angeles level of skill.
Their schedule will also do them no favors; they play 22 of their first 33 games on the road. The Lakers also have 18 back-to-backs, which is unkind to rookie and oft-injured veteran alike. Basically, whether playing depleted Portland or defending NBA Champion Golden State, they have their work cut out for them and they have no easy path to wins. Expect the organization as a whole to take a step forward in 2015-16, but don’t be surprised if they struggle to hit the 30-win plateau and beat the over. The under seems like the smart bet, but if Kobe stays healthy all year, I’m not betting against him and I think they can steal a few games from the Suns, Trail Blazers and Mavericks that they would have lost last season.
Ultimately, the team is going to need to take some major steps forward on the court over the next couple of seasons to get back into the playoff picture. A lot of that can be pinned on the skill level in the locker room, but not just the skill of players. Byron Scott had a less-than-stellar first season in charge and there is justifiable reason to be critical to his approach of coaching, from strange minute management to his seeming abhorrence of three-point shooting. If the Lakers are lucky, the players won’t be the only employees in the organization that take a step forward in 2015-16.
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