An A to Z Early Summer Recap: The Off Season that Could Have Been, and the Future to Come

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and lottery pick D' Angelo Russell

It was supposed to be a blockbuster summer.

It started with the promise of a high draft pick, and the freeing up of cash for free agent spending. One month later we have three new rookies which may or may not be ready for prime time, three free agents who were not on any team's "wish list", and some summer league games which left many Lakers fans slightly underwhelmed.

Not sure what to make of it all? I’m here to break it down for you!. And before you’re done reading this piece, you’ll see that things aren’t so bad in the land of purple and gold. 

I will use the letters of the alphabet to breakdown the events of the past month. Ready?

A – LaMarcus Aldridge. The one that got away

He was the first of the big fish we failed to catch. There were others, but he was the player high on the Lakers wish list. Aldridge coming to LA looked like a sure thing for a brief moment or two. He would have been a nice addition for the team, but the rebuilding phase apparently doesn’t hold much allure for free agents these days. With the exception of Nick Young, the Hollywood pitch hasn't worked since Shaq.

LaMarcus Aldridge eventually signed with the San Antonio Spurs

B – Remember the Houston Astros Killer B’s?  Our roster now has its own version of the Killer Bees: Bass, Black, J. Brown, A. Brown, and of course the most famous B on the team, Bryant. Brandon Bass is a solid pickup, and I think he'll be a decent replacement for the loss of Jordan Hill, but I'm more intrigued with Anthony Brown. He's a lengthy tweener who could be a smallish Robert Horry (think 3's and defense).



C - Clarkson, as in Jordan Clarkson. He showed enough potential late last season that convinced me he could be the real deal given enough time. I like the fact that he isn't afraid to fail, and that he’s willing to put in the gym time to improve his budding game.

Jordan Clarkson showing off his athleticism last year against the Utah Jazz

D - The biggest D making news is D' Angelo Russell. What can we expect from this kid?

The Lakers brass decided to go small in the NBA draft. That shocked a lot of us, considering the past success this franchise has enjoyed with its cache of big men. Instead they chose a 19 year old point guard from Ohio State. Some were heralding this guy as the 2nd coming of Magic Johnson. Whoa! Easy now. There's only one Magic.

He looked average in summer league play, but so what? C'mon folks. Let's wait a little longer before we pass judgment on a teenager playing with mostly scrubs. Rome wasn't built, or rebuilt in a day, and neither will this team. D' Angelo will be fine (but my fingers are crossed).


E – Evolution. Some say the league has evolved into a small ball environment. I'm not totally convinced. Golden State had a great run last season, but could that Warriors' squad have defeated one of the Shaq/Kobe championship teams, or Tim Duncan’s group from 2014?


F – Failure. The failure of the front office to secure a superstar to play alongside Kobe and the rest of the team is a sign of the times (attention Jim Buss). I wouldn't give the front office a letter grade of F though. Lou Williams was a nice addition, Bass should be solid, if not consistent, and Roy Hibbert walking around with sunglasses, a heavy guitar and cowboy boots is still a better option than Rob Sacre in the paint.

Kupchak with the newest Lakers: Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass

G - Guts. It took some guts to draft a point guard with the 2nd pick in the draft when everyone from here to Antarctica was expecting a big man. The Buss/Kupchak gamble better pay off or the front office will be the laughing stock of the league once again.


H - Roy Hibbert. He's not what Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor may become, he's not what Shaq, Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were, and he may not even be as good as a healthy Andrew Bynum used to be. Nevertheless he's in a contract year, he's in a new city, and he'll have Kobe barking at his slow butt when he's ambling down the court.

I - Ignorant. That is the word that comes to mind when I think of Jim Buss. Pass the team on to your sister already.

Jeanie and Jim Buss

J - Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. Lakers fans are hoping these two will breakout during their sophomore campaigns. If they can contribute on a regular basis, it could elevate this team’s boring offense.

K - Ryan Kelly is still on the team?

L - Larry Nance Jr. His Kobe tweet from yesteryear apparently now a distant memory, he showed flashes in the summer league of being a hustler/banger in the vein of Kurt Rambis and Mark Madsen. This team could really use a go getter who doesn't quit on the ball. If he’s half as good as his father, then he’s already better than half of last year’s Lakers.

M – As in $40 Million. That is how much will come off our salary cap next year with Kobe and Hibbert’s contracts expiring. And with TV money kicking in, that will give the Lakers a lot of maneuverability. Unfortunately many other teams will have similar maneuverability.

But with all that money, there's still no guarantee our brass will pick up a superstar. This summer’s failure in free agency may repeat itself next summer. In 2016 once LeBron James and Kevin Durant sign on someone's dotted line, the rest of the free agents are talented, but aging players who are past their primes (Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Willaims, Paul Gasol, etc.).

N - Nick Young is still on the team? The P in Swaggy P does not stand for pass. But that’s just what other teams were doing when we offered to trade him. 

O - Offense. There’s no shortage of players who want to shoot the rock (Kobe, Clarkson, Randle, Williams, Young), but who's going to distribute it? Looks like Clarkson and Russell will need to be the Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon of yesteryear.

Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon attending a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tribute

P – Playoffs? Can this squad, with a probable starting five of Clarkson, Russell, Kobe, Bass and Hibbert, make the increasingly tougher Western playoff bracket?
 
Looking at it another way, can this team beat out any of these eight potential playoff teams for a playoff spot: Oklahoma City, Golden State, that other LA team, Houston, Memphis, San Antonio, Portland and New Orleans? And don’t forget teams on the rise who can potentially challenge for a spot: Utah, Minnesota, Phoenix, and Sacramento.


Q - Quiet: the noise level of Lakers fans during many games last season. LA fans have been known to fall asleep on the job before, but last year you could hear the crickets inside Staples Center.

R - Robert Sacre is still on the team?????????

 

S - Coach Bryon Scott. If there's ever a Lakers squad that needed to bring back Showtime, this may be it. It may be time to bring out Pat Riley's old playbook.


T - Taking one for the team. It's looking like this will be Kobe’s last season. He can cement his legacy, not by trying to lead the league in scoring, but instead he should share all his years of experience with the kids on the team. Scott, whose final season in the league was Kobe's first, mentored Bryant. Kobe should take the younger guys under his wing and pay it forward.

Kobe mentoring some former Lakers

U – Underrated. I think the Lakers should use underrated as one of their themes. And why not? Analysts and experts have written them off for the most part. Maybe playing with a chip on their shoulder will give them that competitive edge or spark that they so desperately need. Channel the spirit of Lakers teams on the past. Man do I miss those matches with the Celtics back in the day. 

Famous Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird dust up from the 1984 NBA Finals

V – Victory count.  The last two seasons combined the Lakers won only 48 games. That’s only three more than the season before that, and lowest win total amount over two seasons in the organization’s 67 year history.


41 victories may be a stretch for next season, and it may not get us into the playoffs in the West, but I would be happy with it. That would mean the older guys sucked it up, the younger guys got it early, and the organization is moving in the right direction.


W - Lou Williams won the 6th Man of the Year Award last season. He is going to be fun to watch coming off the bench, unless Nick Young’s love of shooting cancels him out.

Lou Williams

X - Who is the X factor on this team? Hell it could be anybody. But my gut tells me it will be the development of the Clarkson/Russell back court. They could be a great combo some day, with either being able to play both guard positions. 

Clarkson and Russell: Lakers back court for years to come?

Y - Y oh Y did I re-up my Lakers season ticket seats? Just kidding.

Z - As in ZZZZ. Last year's team put me to sleep. But I think this year's team has the potential to keep me awake. 

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It seems like it was a lifetime ago when we were dreaming up future championship lineups: D'Angelo Russell/Jordan Clarkson, maybe Kobe, INSERT ANY SMALL FORWARD HERE, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMarcus Cousins. We're we all being too greedy? Charles Barkley said so, and you know what Charles says is gospel!

 

The front office thinks they’ve scored a box office hit in D’ Angelo Russell (only time will tell), but they lost their way in the challenging seas of free agency. They ended up with some decent acquisitions, but the big superstars sought their potential rings and big paychecks elsewhere. 

Then it looked like we’d pick up a big man via a trade from our little cousins up North in Sacramento who were interested in dealing the very big DeMarcus Cousins. But that scenario started to lose steam like an old man who forgot his Viagra. 

DeMarcus Cousins and Kobe Bryant

I’m sticking to my gut that in the long run this team will be all right.

Looking at some of the positives going into next season:

*If this indeed is Kobe’s last year, and it turns out to be a healthy one for him, we will have the fortune of watching this great player sail off into the sunset........or not.

*With one of our best rookie classes in years, we can watch 3 new young guns, and two who left us wondering “what if” from last year, as they make this team their own.

*With the addition of Lou Williams, and the return of Kobe, and with all the youthful speedsters waiting their turn on the bench, our offense could be fun to watch.

*Hibbert and Bass are serviceable veterans. Paired with Williams, the three may not be the superstar free agents we were hoping for, but they will definitely add depth to the team.

*There’s no way this year’s team can be as bad as last year’s team……………right?

Till the muse jiggles the dendrites again, see ya next time!