That's not an insult; it's just the truth. Now in the last few years of his storied career, the Mamba isn't content to just sit around and wait for the Los Angeles Lakers to complete a lengthy rebuild, instead hoping they make noise right away. He wants them to be competitive during the 2014-15 season, as he made clear back in April:
And his sentiments didn't change in May:
However, in July, they may have to take on a different approach. The Lakers haven't managed to land any of the marquee free agents in the 2014 class, though it's not from a lack of effort. Instead they opted to re-sign a couple pieces from the 2013-14 bunch and trade for a player who lines up at an already-crowded position.
I hate to be the one who breaks it to Kobe (fortunately, I'm not the first to say this), but next season is not going to be epic. Well, unless epic involves being part of the group of teams that ends up in the hunt for Jahlil Okafor, the presumed No. 1 pick of the 2015 NBA draft.
The future Hall of Famer may have expected changes this summer, but the Lake Show is just treading water until 2015.
The Players Involved
Thus far, the Lakers have made three major moves.
First, they traded for Jeremy Lin, helping the Houston Rockets free up some cap room by sending cash to general manager Daryl Morey for the point guard and a 2015 first-round pick, per USA Today's Sam Amick. After that, it was on to the free-agency pool.
As Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the Lakers re-signed Jordan Hill to a two-year deal worth $18 million. While the contract is a steady one, paying the dreadlocked big man $9 million each season, it contains a team option for the 2015-16 season, allowing LAL to get out of its financial commitment should it pr...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
