Now that most of the offseason roster changes have occurred, let's take a look at the moves the front office has made.
First things first. Dwight Howard did not re-sign with the Lakers. Instead he chose to go to Houston where he believes the grass is greener (read: there is less pressure to win). Some people can't handle the lime light I guess. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but....whatever.
Because of this, the Lakers have planned to completely overhaul the team for the 2014-2015 campaign. They are able to do this because all of their current contracts (except Nash) expire after this season. While great in potential, it does cause problems for assembling a team for this year. Being that the Lakers want a "clean slate" means that they don't want to sign any players to deals lasting longer than 1 year. This makes it difficult to attract quality players since most players prefer multi-year deals since it means more $$$, security, and comfort.
Operating under those constraints the Lakers have made the following moves:
Amnestying World Peace: This was done purely to save money. They like MWP as a person & player, but him being gone saves the team millions in taxes
Lost out on Earl Clark: While LA was waiting on Howard to make his decision, Earl Clark was offered a 2 year $9M deal from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers weren't willing to pay that much for Clark (who I liked), and I can't blame him for taking the extra money. It at least solves the minute sharing issue between Hill and Clark.
Signed Chris Kaman: Kaman is a great signing as a back-up center. He has a well developed post game and put up decent stats last year in this role. He gets injured when he gets too many minutes, so it's perfect for him to relieve Pau and keep them both fresh throughout the season. I've heard whispers of some experimental Kaman/Gasol lineups. I think it would be fine on offense, but far too slow on D. Maybe good for spot minutes.
Signed Jordan Farmar: True Lakers fans remember Farmar from his days on the repeat Championship team ('09 & '10). Look for him to be the same except more mature from his days playing over seas. With him the Lakers add much needed speed & athleticism in the back court. It could also mean Steve Blake is expendable now...
Signed Nick Young: This guy is the perfect classic sixth man in my opinion. He's an LA native who grew up watching the Lakers and idolizing Kobe. He's got major scoring talent and the tools to be good defensively. IF he takes some notes the Bean, and reaches his full potential....look out! He'll have to hold down the scoring fort until the Mamba returns.
Signed Wes Johnson: He's an athletic small forward. Something the Lakers have desperately needed since the days of Trevor Ariza. His specialty is defense, but he has the ability to knock down the open shot. The Lakers will need his perimeter defense when Nash and Kobe are playing together. Let the young guns do the hard stuff.
RUMORS
I typically don't post rumors because they move so quickly, and they rarely come to fruition. But this one is close to my heart so I'll post it. Rumor is the Lakers are looking to bring back Lamar Odom. His performance has definitely fallen off a cliff since he won 6th man of the year with the Lakers in 2011. But I would love to see him retire as a Laker. Especially if he was able to rejuvenate his game. He would fit right in to D'Antoni's system. If they don't pick him up, look for the Lakers to get Tyrus Thomas or Austin Daye. Thomas is an athletic 4/5 defender while Daye is 3/4 who is lanky with some offensive skills.
More analysis to come when the roster is finalized and we can see what type of system the Lakers will implore.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
OFFSEASON: Free Agency (07/01/13)
Now that the season is over, congratulations to the back to back champion Heat, it's time to figure out how the Lakers can get back to the mountaintop. Roster changes are a guarantee. The only question will be who will stay and who will go. To answer that you have to look at the Lakers organization from a cap space, coaching choice, and "Kobe's last run" perspective. These are the factors that weigh the most heavily on the decisions they will be making.
Cap Space
Without getting into the gory details, cap space is simply the amount of money a team has to bring in players. There is a limit to how much a team can spend, and if a team goes over that then they must pay penalties called the "luxury tax". Most teams are unwilling to pay this tax and therefore keep their player salaries as low as possible. Typically the Lakers have paid as much as necessary to have a winning team. However, the rules are different than they use to be, and the luxury tax can be A LOT higher than it used to be. Also, the rules on trading/ signing players change for luxury tax teams as well. I bring this up because the Lakers will sign players this off season with those rules in mind.
Currently the Lakers are over the salary cap and paying luxury tax. For next season, they only have one player signed (Nash), and can start fresh. Depending on their plans this may limit who they want to bring in this year as they may not want to bring in someone on a long contract which would damage their flexibility.
Coaching Choice
When the Lakers chose head coach Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson lots of fans were in uproar. Whether that was the right choice or not doesn't matter currently. D'Antoni is the coach, and as such he's going to need players to fit his system. He needs teams that are athletic, like to run, and shoot lots of 3's. The Lakers team as constructed is not elite at any of those skills. If he remains coach, look for the Lakers to get players to fit that mold.
Kobe's Last Run
We all know Kobe is only going to play for a few more years. He's still as focused as ever on getting #6. Because of this the Lakers are more inclined to surround him with experienced players rather than young players who will take time to develop. It's a gift and a curse though because the young players tend to fit D'Antoni's system more, and they can also help provide rest for Bryant.
Roster Changes
Now that we understand the framework the Lakers are using, let's look at some current and potential roster changes from last year's squad.
Gone: Ebanks, Goudelock, Duhon,
All players who contributed little on the court last year
Likely gone: MWP, Jamison
MWP is top candidate to be amnestied. It would save the Lakers $30M in luxury tax.
Jamison took a pay cut and spent time away from home for the shot at a ring last year. Can't see him doing it again.
Likely staying: Clark, Morris
Clark is a free agent. He already said he'd take a pay cut so as long as another team doesn't offer him a ridiculous contract he'll be back. Morris has been invited to summer camp. If he performs well he'll be back.
Staying: Sacre, Nash, Meeks, Bryant, Blake, Hill
Pending a trade all these guys will be back
???: Howard, Gasol
Talking with other fans, a lot of folks are mad at Dwight Howard, and maybe rightfully so. Reports come out everyday that he doesn't like the coach, can't play with Kobe, wants to go to Houston, etc. While it all may be true it's important to remember that they are just reports and rumors. Not fact. Take it with a grain of salt. Pau's stay with the team has a lot to do with Dwight's decision. If Howard leaves there is little doubt the Lakers will keep Gasol to play center. If he stays they may trade him to get some younger players who fit the coach's system better. I think Dwight will stay, but you just never know. One thing is for sure, Lakers fans only want players that want to be here. It's a privilege to play for this ball club.
P.S.- Free agency starts today, so now Dwight Howard can start talking to teams. July 10th is the earliest he'd be able to sign any contract with any team.
Cap Space
Without getting into the gory details, cap space is simply the amount of money a team has to bring in players. There is a limit to how much a team can spend, and if a team goes over that then they must pay penalties called the "luxury tax". Most teams are unwilling to pay this tax and therefore keep their player salaries as low as possible. Typically the Lakers have paid as much as necessary to have a winning team. However, the rules are different than they use to be, and the luxury tax can be A LOT higher than it used to be. Also, the rules on trading/ signing players change for luxury tax teams as well. I bring this up because the Lakers will sign players this off season with those rules in mind.
Currently the Lakers are over the salary cap and paying luxury tax. For next season, they only have one player signed (Nash), and can start fresh. Depending on their plans this may limit who they want to bring in this year as they may not want to bring in someone on a long contract which would damage their flexibility.
Coaching Choice
When the Lakers chose head coach Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson lots of fans were in uproar. Whether that was the right choice or not doesn't matter currently. D'Antoni is the coach, and as such he's going to need players to fit his system. He needs teams that are athletic, like to run, and shoot lots of 3's. The Lakers team as constructed is not elite at any of those skills. If he remains coach, look for the Lakers to get players to fit that mold.
Kobe's Last Run
We all know Kobe is only going to play for a few more years. He's still as focused as ever on getting #6. Because of this the Lakers are more inclined to surround him with experienced players rather than young players who will take time to develop. It's a gift and a curse though because the young players tend to fit D'Antoni's system more, and they can also help provide rest for Bryant.
Roster Changes
Now that we understand the framework the Lakers are using, let's look at some current and potential roster changes from last year's squad.
Gone: Ebanks, Goudelock, Duhon,
All players who contributed little on the court last year
Likely gone: MWP, Jamison
MWP is top candidate to be amnestied. It would save the Lakers $30M in luxury tax.
Jamison took a pay cut and spent time away from home for the shot at a ring last year. Can't see him doing it again.
Likely staying: Clark, Morris
Clark is a free agent. He already said he'd take a pay cut so as long as another team doesn't offer him a ridiculous contract he'll be back. Morris has been invited to summer camp. If he performs well he'll be back.
Staying: Sacre, Nash, Meeks, Bryant, Blake, Hill
Pending a trade all these guys will be back
???: Howard, Gasol
Talking with other fans, a lot of folks are mad at Dwight Howard, and maybe rightfully so. Reports come out everyday that he doesn't like the coach, can't play with Kobe, wants to go to Houston, etc. While it all may be true it's important to remember that they are just reports and rumors. Not fact. Take it with a grain of salt. Pau's stay with the team has a lot to do with Dwight's decision. If Howard leaves there is little doubt the Lakers will keep Gasol to play center. If he stays they may trade him to get some younger players who fit the coach's system better. I think Dwight will stay, but you just never know. One thing is for sure, Lakers fans only want players that want to be here. It's a privilege to play for this ball club.
P.S.- Free agency starts today, so now Dwight Howard can start talking to teams. July 10th is the earliest he'd be able to sign any contract with any team.
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