It wasn’t long ago that the Los Angeles Lakers were the alpha dogs in the NBA. As one of the elite franchise in NBA history, L.A. ran off five championships in 11 years and lost in two others during that same time span. Before that, the Showtime Lakers were the west’s best during the 1980s, and before them the Logo (Jerry West), Elgin Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain dominated the west in the 1960s. The Lakers have the second most championships in league history, and their past is storied as any.
Recently, however, the Lakers have become a laughingstock. With the fourth worst record in the league, L.A. is well on its way to missing the playoffs for the second straight year. This would be the first time that has happened since the franchise moved to Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant is out for the rest of the season with a torn rotator cuff, and after missing most of last year as well it appears his career could be over. The Lakers have done a poor job of transitioning out of the Bryant era, and they let several high-quality pieces walk without getting anything of value in return. So now the question is, how can the Lakers ascend to the top of the league once again?
Cut Ties with Kobe
As much as it may pain Lakers fans to hear this, it is time to move forward without Kobe Bryant. He has been an icon and a Lakers’ great for decades, but he is no longer worth what he is making. He has one year left on his enormous, 2-year, $48.5 million contract, and he plans on making it through that contract. However, his production shows that he is way over the hill, and there were times this year where both the offense and defense functioned better without him. This team is very young, and needs to learn to gel and stop passing up on the important moments at the end of the game, where real lessons are learned about winning. Kobe has been the closer on this team forever and loves being the guy when it matters. However, for this Lakers team to be great again, the young pieces in place need to learn how to win without him. If he returns next season, the Lakers’ growth will be stunted yet again, and we will be talking about the same things next season.
Get Higher Return on Free Agent Investments
Looking at the current contracts on the Lakers’ ledger, it becomes evident that there may not be a more overpaid group in the NBA. Aside from Kobe’s huge contract, some other notable contracts are:
Steve Nash - $9.7 million per year through 2014-15 season
Jordan Hill - $9.0 million per year through 2015-16 season
Jeremy Lin - $8.3 million per year through 2014-15 season
Nick Young - $5.3 million per year through 2017-18 season
The cumulative return on investment here is horrendous, as Nash’s career is over, Young is a streaky scorer who does not play good defense, and Lin has been beaten out of the starter role by rookie Jordan Clarkson. Hill has played well, but is hurt, and quite frankly is not worth $9 million per year. The upside here is that three of the six most expensive contracts expire after this season, and the Lakers have money to spend on free agents. The key here is to sign free agents that fit the Lakers’ system and can contribute on both ends of the floor.
Find Another Great Coach
The Lakers were great for years in large part because of their coaches. The most notable recent coach, Phil Jackson, navigated turbulent times to five championships, and then was spurned for Mike D’Antoni in 2012. Jackson is now in the front office of the Knicks, and the D’Antoni experiment did not work out. Now former Laker Byron Scott is at the helm, but he does not appear to be the answer. Scott has not been successful as a coach since leading the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals, and has had only two winning seasons since 2004. There is no doubt the Lakers will look at all options going forward, but one of the staples of a successful Lakers team has always been a great head coach. Pat Riley led the Lakers to four titles, and John Kundla led them to their first five. The Lakers need a coach that can handle the scrutiny that comes with leading one of the league’s most famous franchises, and Byron Scott has yet to prove he is capable of handling that role.