few. In a perfect world, aka 2008 (miss you Pau), this would
mean trading Steve Nash, Jordan Hill, and Ed Davis, and
magically turning them into picks or trade exceptions. Let’s
be honest, while Jordan Hill and Ed Davis have both made
leaps and bounds while on the Lakers, something which
numerous players seem to be able to do while on the Lakers
only to leave us in coming years (I’m talking to you Shannon
Brown, Josh McRoberts, Kent Bazemore), these aren’t the
forwards the Lakers are looking for. Having said that, neither
are any of the Lakers currently on the roster, but that’s
besides the point. Both of these players are perfect trade bait
for title contenders in need of a rim protector or a willing
rebound machine, who most importantly, won’t demand the
ball or disrupt the offense.
Begin Preparing for the Off-Season, Yesterday...
Rumors have been flying about the Lakers willingness
to offer Greg Monroe or Jimmy Butler max contracts, which
wouldn’t truly be “max” contracts (see Gordon Hayward
article for reference) but this isn’t what the Lakers are. The
Lakers aren’t and have never been an organization that
simply settles when they can’t get the best. It’s just not what
they do. Every year they make it happen, with exception
of the vetoed Chris Paul trade in 2011, and this off-season
will be another example of this when they manage to haul in
another Big Fish that no one expected, and every expected,
they would land.
guards D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay. Regardless,
it is essential that the Lakers get a top five draft pick AND
one of these premier free agents this off season. After doing
so, their best bet would be to go after second tier players
such as DeAndre Jordan, Roy Hibbert, Omer Asik, Reggie
Jackson, Gerald Green, Wes Mathews, and Greg Monroe
with the hope that they’ll hop aboard on “discounts” in order
to hook the only fish that matters next off season.
Even though they missed out on the big time names in
Lebron and Melo, the biggest name of all is still swimming
around in Kevin Durant. The mere idea that in 2016 the
Lakers will have the cap space, hopefully two young
cornerstones to build around, a veteran guard or forward
from 2015 free agency, but most importantly, the lack of
a superstar in Kobe Bryant, should be more than enough to
persuade Kevin Durant that LA is the place for him.
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Next year’s biggest names include Rondo, Marc Gasol,
Goran Dragic, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love -- and
technically Lebron, who most likely won’t be moving -and pending a few moves, the Lakers will have more than
enough cap space to land one, maybe even two of these
players. With this being said, this wouldn’t be the smart play.
Instead they should sign one of these players, in accordance
to who they are able to draft -- this is assuming they do the
right thing and land a top five draft pick. This is to say if
they pick up Jahlil Okafor, Karl Anthony-Towns, or Myles
Turner, they’d be better off snagging Rondo or Dragic, than
Aldridge,
Gasol, or Love, and vice versa if they drafted
Sports Life 10
Bring Out Some Throw Backs
This last section is less serious but I still think it should
be done.
If you’re going to lose, you may as well lose in style. Over
the past few seasons, there has been a gradual reemergence
of throwback jerseys with main headliners being the Raptors,
Heat, and Nuggets. The last time I recall the Lakers wearing
their throwbacks was back when Shannon Brown had a
nasty oop from Steve Blake against the Knicks and those
unforgettable, hideous short shorts, but that was years ago.
The text shadow, the block font and the classic cut, as
opposed to the deep v-neck that is currently trending, are
classy and deserve to be showcased. Not only will this
remind fans of the Lakers’ dominance during the Showtime
Era or the beginning a new dynasty with the arrival of Shaq
and Kobe, but also give fans hope that good times lie in the
near future. What better way to honor one of the most storied
franchises in the league than by bringing these jerseys back?
The Lakers have seemingly chose the other path of moving
forward from their roots and onto the next generation with
new Hollywood Night jerseys, but my motto has always
been, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” -- more so applicable to
the running of the overall organization than anything.