NBA Draft Recap: LA Lakers

With the #7 pick, the Lakers selected Julius Randle of Kentucky.  As a Wildcat fan here's my observations on Randle: he's a terrific rebounder, good size with a real nose for the ball, can be a great garbage man around the rim, gonna be a good #4 defender, but his offensive skills are only okay and will take a coupla years to get going.  Can he play right away in the NBA?  Yes.  His size and instincts around the rim are legit and he'll compete on day one.  Will he be a big star?  Well, uh, I doubt it.  'Big star' nowadays means offensive filler-upper and I don't think Randle has those talents or at least won't develop those talents immediately.  He's gonna be a good player, I am convinced, but can he remake a franchise...I am not convinced.

I can't recall a time when a major power team looked so vulnerable.  The Yankees have had ups and downs but they've always had some weight to throw around; European soccer probably has an example or two, a team that used to be great that now everyone looks at like the Chicago Cubs.  The Lakers have been great from the very beginning of the NBA, they've been at the top through every phase, every shift or metamorphosis of the league, rolling with great stars in the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and the aughts.  But since the death of Dr. Buss the franchise has lost its moorings: couldn't keep Phil Jackson, couldn't keep Dwight Howard, couldn't get Chris Paul, stuck with an albatross named Kobe, haven't been able to coax Bosh, Westbrook or Love, lost all team definition with floundering coaching moves (Rudy T, Rmabis, D'antoni, Mike Brown, I'm assuming Byron Scott is next on the flounder pile), and all while the Clippers are ready to be re-born.  The Lake show used to be the only game in town and suddenly they're playing second fiddle to the Clippers--the (say it like John Goodman in Revenge of the Nerds) Clippers!  Hell, even the Kings are winning championships!  The Lakers are on the precipice right now, it is very possible that 5 years we look at this team and say, 'What the hell happened to the Lakers?  Remember when they were good every year?  And, man, the Clippers just won their 4th banner, wow!'

Is Julius Randle gonna resurrect this team?  No, but he's got a good strong back to build on.  What kind of moves can the Lakers make?  Can they get Melo and/or Lebron?  No and no.  No chance, no shot, they'd have to move heaven and earth and even then Kobe is still gonna want all the glory.  No big time star in this league wants that thankless task.  The cap-gurus say 'if Kobe just took less money, they could afford another star'--yeah, that's why he did NOT take less money!  Kobe would rather be the captain of a sinking ship then first mate on the Space Shuttle.  Kobe is perhaps the toughest, hardest working dude in all of sports, but he is so fuckin' deluded about the potential of his game that he honestly thinks he can win championships by himself.  First off, that was NEVER true and secondly, with a blown-out Achilles and $23m price tag, there's no way the Lakers could be good next year. None chance.

So do they bite the bullet and just tank til Kobe finally, mercifully leaves them?  No, that just ain't the Laker way.  I expect they'll overpay for short contracts for a coupla years (a la the Dallas Mavericks since they won their title), and just hope that next summer they get to take another run at Lebron, Melo, Love and Durant.  I think its a pipe dream but the Laker organization if clearly filled with pipe dreamers.  Dr. Buss used to make those dreams happen.  When they needed Kareem or Magic or Worthy or Shaq or Pau or whoever, Dr. Buss could pull those threads together.  These Junior Busses aren't as talented at that (and I can't help wondering if the 6 heirs to the throne are all in agreement over the future of the franchise.  I mean if the goddamn Clippers are worth $2b then maybe we've got to take a minute and figure out how much this franchise can fetch.  'But Daddy wanted us to keep the team!'  'Yeah, but Dad didn't realize the team was worth THREE BILLION DOLLARS!  I mean, come on, sis!') and with their Arena roommates as the more attractive landing spot right now, the best they can do is dog paddle until Kobe retires.  But again, that's not how they do things, so I assume they'll make unsuccessful runs at the brass ring and then sign the lesser brass for too much gold.

The big winner of this off-season is clearly going to be Luol Deng.  I think he's a perfect fit for the Mavs, the Hawks, the Jazz, the Heat and the Lakers--and those are just the first 5 teams I thought of!  Of those I think the Heat offer the least money/most upside while the Lakers offer the most money/least upside.  If Deng is smart I'd suggest the Hawks as a place with real team upside and the Mavs as one of the few teams that actually have a shot at taking out the Spurs.  But if Deng wants the money, he'll hang around and sign with the Lakers for something like 2 years/$32m, a deal he'll never get with Miami or Dallas.  I suspect the Lakers will re-sign Pau Gasol for too much money (2 years/$24m) and then pretend like they wanted back all along (incidentally the way the Lakers have treated Pau over the years has been shameful: that guy loves the Laker life, has done all the little things and brought you championships, how about a little hint of respect for the guy?).

Other Laker targets: Lance Stephenson, Andre Drummond, maybe Gordon Hayward.  I suspect they get none of those guys--if they wildly overpay for Lance maybe they lure him away from the Pacers, but I think Drummond and Hayward are not gonna happen.  And the Lakers just don't have anything to trade except the corpse of Steve Nash but expiring contracts aren't as valuable in times when everyone has cut the cap to the bone to lure Melo and Lebron.  So how do the Lakers turn their one asset into a worthwhile player?  Can they trade Nash for Rajon Rondo, for example?  I'm sure they'd love to but no, of course not, why would the Celtics do that? (Also, where else can Rondo play?  Seriously, give me one team that actually NEEDS Rondo right now)  They could get cute and bring back Ron Artest or Lamar Odom or even Antawn Jamison (hell, Robert Horry would be an upgrade for them).  And even after vastly overpaying Lance Stephenson or Shaun Livingston or someone like that, what's gonna happen when Kobe can only play Dwyane Wade-type minutes while demanding Carmelo-type money?  Dude...they're gonna suck next year.  That's why they couldn't get Calipari: Cal knows no matter what happens that roster is a mess for at least two more years and the next guy's job is to get rid of Kobe--Cal doesn't need a headache like that (hell, they won't get Brian Shaw with that scenario).

The Lakers are dying, man.  Like hair metal in '80s, it just feels like their time has passed.  As long as Kobe is around, they cannot get any better.  And by the time he leaves, the Clippers may be hanging banners in the Laker living room.  *tsk, tsk*  The times they are a-changing.