Well there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The 2014-2015 NBA season is mercifully drawing to a close and the Los Angeles Lakers are closing in on making history– in a bad way. They have the most losses by any Lakers team EVER.
There are no playoffs aspirations or preparations this year. Lakers fans have the painstaking task of deciding who to root for in the playoffs if not the purple and gold. Lakers brass are rather testing out the youth, sitting down veterans (what’s left of them after injury) and seeing who is written in the future plans of this team which is unmistakably in a rebuilding mode.
How does one be an optimist about this?
Make no mistake, as bad as the Lakers are and as close to rock bottom things look, the Lakers will be one of the most trending teams this summer.
All eyes will be on Purple and Gold.
The reason being is that both Lakers lovers and Lakers haters alike know that this team doesn’t stay down for too long, although this is definitely one of hardest stretches in Lakers history. I can’t recall back to back seasons being at the bottom of the West. But there is reason to believe that this team can turn things around very quickly.
The Lakers are in need of only a few pieces. It seems like they need a complete team overhaul, but when you consider all the close losses they’ve had this season, it shows the lack of a dominant go-to guy or two, and a closer. Even if Kobe returns anywhere near his former self, he will not be enough. Look at teams like Cleveland, Miami and OKC to see how missing only a couple key players can change the complexion of a team. Miami lost LeBron. Cleveland gained LeBron and Kevin Love. The Thunder played much of the early season without Westbrook and KD and looked awful. Understanding this logic, we can see how a couple of star quality players can transforms this team. The Lakers need only 2.
This season saw the Lakers completely outplayed on the glass and in the paint. They were simply undersized. By forcing 4’s to play the 5, they have had players like Jordan Hill and Ed Davis play out of position all season long. This is the most glaring issue to address.
That is not to say that they couldn’t benefit from a great player at almost every position. But this team has draft picks and the money to pick up a big ticket free agent. With names like Gasol, Munroe, Rondo and Dragic available, the Lakers can make a huge splash if they do it right. Declaring for the draft you have Karl Townes and Jahlil Okafor among others that can also make a big splash and contribute quickly.
The Lakers have a solid bench and a budding star point guard in Jordan Clarkson. They have Julius Randle poised to make strong return next year and the Black Mamba expects to go out on a high note. They grabbed solid bigs in Ed Davis, Tarik Black and Jordan Hill. Wayne Ellington has just about guaranteed his place as the back-up 2 guard. Can’t forget about Swaggy P.
It’s important for Lakers to address the Center and Small Forward position. We know that the players on the fringe such as Jeremy Lin, who has made a case for his return the latter part of this season, must be considered after the draft and free agent attempts. I would be disappointed if they didn’t address those two positions.
Needless to say, we as Laker fans will be watching intently to see if the Lakers will come up big or come up empty this off-season.
So next season may be “epic”, if the Lakers OFF-SEASON is epic.
The Lakers Optimist 