The L.A. Lakers have a whopping three players under contract for next season: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre. That’s it. So this is a proverbial transition year or “rebuilding year.”
Obviously, things aren’t going to turn around any time soon, so don’t be too shocked if they end up in the lottery again in 2015. I know it sounds weird to say that: L.A. Lakers in the lottery. It just doesn’t fit. But with all that money tied up into Kobe, they don’t have all that much wiggle room under the cap to construct a new team. Let’s see what they can do; and might do, starting on draft night.
Obviously, this draft is HUGE for the L.A. Lakers, they cannot afford to mess this up. Here’s what we have The Lake Show doing in our latest NBA mock draft
7. L.A. Lakers- Julius Randle, PF, Kentucky, 6-9, Fr.
There has been some recent speculation that teams are souring on Julius Randle because of an old foot injury. The Lakers roster is wide open with needs all over and they could use a physical and athletic post player like Randle. There is also a very good chance L.A. ends up trading this pick for a veteran.
Go here for more on Julius Randle
The Lakers do not have a second round pick, but in case you’re interested, here’s the second round of our mock.
The Lakers are in a position they’re not used to as a franchise. They might trade the pick or shock everyone and take Elfrid Payton; or Marcus Smart. Anything can happen.
Or the Lake show could just end up doing this on draft night:
MOCK DRAFT pic.twitter.com/vfGDkduI5W
— Jared Dubin (@JADubin5) June 26, 2014
Anyways, ESPN analysts Fran Frischilla and Tom Penn joined the media on conference call yesterday, this is what they had to say about which direction the L.A. Lakers might go.
Frischilla: “The seven pick could be an asset in a trade, get back a veteran player, maybe particularly on a team that’s trying to rebuild a little bit.
They’ve got to balance out who’s available in a trade versus how much production they’ll get out of the 7th pick in the draft.
Like you, I’ve heard Marcus Smart. I’ve heard Julius Randle. Both of those guys would be good pieces to a long term future. Neither one of them may end up being a star. They might reach a little bit, take somebody like Payton at 7, although I think that’s very high because, as much as I like him, he’s going to have to shoot the ball at the point guard spot.”
Penn: “The conundrum with the Lakers is how to build a team around Kobe’s timeline. And trading seven for a veteran makes a ton of sense if you can do it.
If you’re going to try to get a player like, let’s say, Kevin Love, you need to be able to offer other assets to Flip Saunders that can help him right now, and the Lakers, as you’re well aware, do not have any other significant assets under contract. That is a clean slate, and the cupboards are bare, and they don’t have future first round picks to offer.
So the challenge for Lakers management is how to turn seven into immediate help for Kobe. If they’re looking for a player who can run with him right away, I think Marcus Smart’s a great choice because he’s one of the most – he’s probably the most competitive kid in the draft, which Kobe’s going to like. He’s physically mature and ready to go bang with any guards in the league, and he’s got upside for the future that the Lakers could build around.”
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on talk shows across the world. Banks has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, Washington Times, NBC and the History Channel. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)