Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards in Washington, D.C., USA on February 3, 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The Los Angeles Lakers are in a difficult position. They have the talent to be a playoff team for the next few seasons. However, they are not necessarily among the elite of the NBA. They can certainly make offseason moves, but the Lakers do not have a lot of options. Therefore, I think it may be safe to suggest that Kobe Bryant is not going to win another championship with the Lakers. Kobe has his rings, but he will not win any more in Los Angeles.
Lack of options
The Lakers have a number of holes. They need an upgrade at point guard and small forward. They could use several contributors off the bench. In addition, the Lakers need to decide if Andrew Bynum has the maturity and drive to be the type of player that Los Angeles can build a team around. Unfortunately, the Lakers have sizable contracts, no cap space, and no draft picks that could be used on young talent. Reloading will very difficult.
Time to rebuild
Los Angeles is not very tolerant of losing teams. The Lakers have been fortunate enough to avoid the long droughts that inevitably befall teams that must go through a rebuilding process. Fans may not be happy about it, but the team may need to go through a patient retooling process from the ground up. This can take a number of years. Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant's salary and his expectations about playing for a perennial contender may be a deterrent to the construction process.
Two years and then?
Bryant has two years left on his deal, and he also has a no-trade clause. I have to assume that Kobe will expect the Lakers to patch together a group of veteran players that are willing to come to the Lakers for less money. If Los Angeles makes moves that are geared towards the future, perhaps #24 will change his tune and ask to be traded. However, I think Kobe wants to retire with the Lakers, so maybe he will stick around and just apply pressure to the club until his contract runs out. At that point, it is hard to know what the Lakers might do, but I would be surprised if they re-signed Bryant to another deal.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/kobe-not-win-another-title-lakers-fan-reaction-042200694--nba.html
No comments:
Post a Comment