Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would never admit it, but his aggressive pursuit of Carmelo Anthony presumably has more to do with satisfying Bryant than building a viable long-term enterprise.
Why the cynicism?
Let's start with L.A.'s obvious desperation. Or isn't that what you call offering a maximum-salary contract to a guy who's 30 years old and probably doesn't really fit with your operation?
Los Angeles doesn't need Anthony's services, but it wants them anyway. The organization is throwing its hard-earned cap flexibility to the wind in a bid to land the New York Knicks' star forward.
Can you blame these Lakers?
Yes.
But you can also understand where they're coming from.
The truth is that Anthony would be a terrible fit. He and Bryant both prefer to dominate the ball, working from isolation schemes or the post and operating with minimal ball movement. That might be acceptable from time to time, but it's a dangerous standard-operating procedure, prone to allowing defenders to zero in on predictable threats and leaving non-factors alone.
The other truth is that Los Angeles would probably be better served by saving its cap room for 2015, when better fits such as Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo will come up for grabs.
Back in March, that seemed to be the plan, according to Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding:
Everything goes out the window if LeBron James opts out of his Heat contract and is interested in the Lakers this summer, but otherwise the Lakers plan to piece a roster together again next season around Kobe Bryant and save their cap space for 2015 free agents such as Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol and maybe James.
That plan made sense.
You can imagine Love stretching the floor for Lo...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
