The summer of 2014 has meant one thing in The City of Angels: “Action!” Coming into the offseason, questions were abound regarding the state of the city’s two NBA teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s time to break down the major moves by both of these teams and try to make sense of it all as the 2014-2015 season rapidly approaches.
Los Angeles Lakers
For the last two decades the story of the Los Angeles Lakers was often the story of Kobe Bryant. This meant playoff victories, NBA championships, and a domination of the basketball scene in L.A. Last year, however, the script was flipped and the Lakers seemed unable to get out of their own way. Struggling to cope with Bryant and his torn Achilles, the Lakers flopped to a 27-55 record, recording the most losses in franchise history. A team loaded with marginal NBA talent simply could not hang in the vicious Western Conference, and ended up with the seventh pick in the draft, a vacancy at head coach (after finally firing Mike D’Antoni) and more questions than answers after missing the playoffs for just the third time in 38 seasons.
Thus far, the Lakers’ offseason has come with mixed results. For starters, the Lakers drafted forward Julius Randle from the University of Kentucky. Many scouts regarded Randle as the most NBA-ready player in the draft, and he showed some of his potential in the Las Vegas Summer League averaging over 12 points per game. While summer league stats are hardly an indicator of future success, the Lakers are excited about a future with him manning the frontcourt. They also added Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets, who will look to complement Bryant in what now seems like a crowded backcourt. As edraft.com's Mark Hallman detailed here, it will be interesting to see how Lin and Bryant mesh together. Joining them will be the re-signed Nick Young, the immortal Steve Nash, and young guns Xavier Henry and Jordan Clarkson.
In the frontcourt, the team attempted to address serious issues by signing Ed Davis and re-signing Jordan Hill, but it remains to be seen how much of a positive impact they will make. Davis was effective in limited minutes with the Memphis Grizzlies, but his role will surely expand in purple and gold. Hill was one of the few bright spots for the Lakers, and will be relied upon for a larger role as well. The team also hopes to strike gold by signing the recently amnestied Carlos Boozer, who was let go by the Chicago Bulls. Boozer had seen his minutes and impact decline in Chicago, being outplayed by Taj Gibson, and was released from the team before being scooped up by the Lakers.
Why will they all have a larger role, you ask? Possibly the biggest move made this offseason was the departure of C/F Pau Gasol, who bolted for greener pastures in Chicago. Gasol joins a stacked Bulls team in a much weaker Eastern Conference, and quite frankly it is hard to blame him. In addition to Gasol leaving, frontcourt mate Chris Kaman headed to Dallas to join the up-and-coming Portland Trail Blazers. The void they leave in the middle is certainly an issue the Lakers hope they have addressed.
Finally, the Lakers hope they addressed a serious need at the head coaching position. For a while, it seemed like the team was waiting to see what would happen with the Clippers’ ownership situation (more on that later), but ultimately brought in former Laker great Byron Scott. As a player, Scott won 3 NBA Championships with the Lakers, and as a coach he led the New Jersey Nets to consecutive NBA Finals appearances, and has also coached the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Bryant had earlier voiced his approval for Scott, who replaces D’Antoni at the helm of a team looking to bounce back after one of their worst seasons ever. While it remains to be seen if all of these moves get the Lakers back into the playoffs, one thing is certain: they seem certain to try everything possible to do just that.
Los Angeles Clippers
Last offseason the Clippers stole the show by trading for head coach Doc Rivers in pursuit of an elusive championship. All of the pieces seemed to fall into place as the season progressed, and heading into the playoffs the Clippers, loaded with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and a cast of role players a title seemed attainable. However, as we all know now, things spiraled out of control quickly after a bevy of racist remarks came to light from Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The Clippers season seemed to hit a speed bump, and despite beating the Golden State Warriors in the first round the team eventually fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
These comments led to a tremendous amount of uncertainty for the Clippers. Doc Rivers seemed set to walk if Sterling was not removed from power, as did some of his players. Sterling was banned for life from any NBA activity, and the story of the summer for the Clippers was the litigation between him and the league about the sale of the team to new ownership. Ultimately, the league won out and a sale was allowed to Steve Ballmer, seemingly ending the nightmare that hung over the franchise for the last several months. With that distraction seemingly in the past, the Clippers must turn their attention back to the court.
While the team celebrated the litigation victory, not all of the news was positive this summer. Griffin was recently diagnosed with a small fracture in his back, and will have to miss the FIBA World Cup in order to rehab and ensure he is fully recovered. Backup point guard Darren Collison signed with the Sacramento Kings in pursuit of more playing time, leaving the backcourt thinner than the Clippers would like. The team brought in veterans Spencer Hawes and Jordan Farmar to replace Collison and bolster the frontcourt, and the team seems ready to take the next step.
It certainly seems to be a tale of two cities when it comes to these two franchises. Though they share a building in Los Angeles it has become clear which team is headed in the right direction. The Clippers now appear closer to a championship than ever, while the Lakers appear further than they have been in decades. Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, of course, but the city of Los Angeles certainly has our attention.