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.
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