As the NBA’s playoff races wind down, those teams who have long abandoned postseason hopes have only the future to look forward to. In the coming weeks, SN’s Sean Deveney will look at the state of those teams and how their offseasons will shape up.
Assets
There is not much on hand for the Lakers. They are heading into the final year of Kobe Bryant’s contract, which will pay him $25 million and take up a considerable slice of the available payroll. They will have to continue the delicate balancing act of building around Bryant while facing the reality that he is at the end of his career and not likely to pull any Lazarus acts. Bryant managed just 35 games and shot 37.3 percent from the field when healthy this year, and if the Lakers plan to ask him to take 20-plus shots per game again next season, well, it’ll be ugly again. Without Bryant, though, the Lakers did find a couple of players who might be useful going forward, most notably guard Jordan Clarkson, who has averaged 15.6 points since the All-Star game. Guard Nick Young, for better or worse, is also signed on for at least two more years, and the Lakers will get 2014 No. 7 pick Julius Randle, injured after just 14 minutes, back in the lineup to start next year.
Sources say
Though the assumption when Jordan Hill signed a two-year deal worth $18 million last summer was that the Lakers would deal him by the trade deadline and that the second year of his contract (a team option) would not be exercised, sources have said all year that there is a distinct possibility the Lakers will, in fact, keep Hill going forward. He was one of the more productive Lakers this season, averaging 12.3 points and 8.2 rebounds. Hill showed improved midrange touch early in the year, but tapered thereafter and still has his faults on the defensive end. The Lakers want to be active on the free-agent market, but considering the going rate for big men, front-office executives have told me the Lakers are leaning toward keeping Hill, unless they get some assurance they can land a star big man in free agency. Hill would still be a good deal at $9 million, and could be used then as a trade asset.
Draft outlook
The Lakers’ offseason could hinge on what happens in the draft lottery in May. The Lakers owe their pick to the Sixers, who acquired it from Phoenix last month, unless it falls in the Top 5. So it remains possible for the Lakers to endure the second-worst season in franchise history and have no lottery pick to show for it. The Lakers currently have the fourth-worst record, which means two teams would have to leapfrog them in the lottery in order to lose the pick. L.A. also holds the Rockets’ pick, which has sunk to 27th as Houston has played well down the stretch.
Shopping list
The Lakers are not in the market for a guy who can make the team better; they need a bona fide star, the kind of player they thought they were getting when they traded for Dwight Howard in 2012. The Howard deal flopped, though, and the Lakers have been rudderless since. It could be Bryant’s final season, and the franchise does not want to send him off with yet another rebuilding year, though that might be in the best long-term interest of the team. Assuming the Lakers stay in win-soon mode, it is a safe bet that they will go hard after the two top point guards on the market, with Bryant’s pal Rajon Rondo at the head of the list and Goran Dragic behind him.
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