After months of speculation with regard to his usage by coach Byron Scott, Kobe Bryant suffered a torn rotator cuff recently, per ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne.
Bryant, of course, took a humorous approach to the revelation:
The injury is unfortunate and casts a shadow of doubt over the future of the organization. That said, this upcoming offseason and the season after have always been focal points.
The latest rumblings reaffirm this notion. Instead of focusing on what is, perhaps it is time the Lakers' faithful focus on what could be.
The Brook Lopez Cost Dynamic
The Brooklyn Nets want away from Brook Lopez.
Given Lopez is one of three players with a max contract and the front office wants to start fresh, it only makes sense the Nets want to move their veteran big man.
One man's trash is another's treasure, or something like that. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are one of a few teams in on Lopez:
Therein lies the problem, though.
The end of that note is the common theme—the Lakers do not have a whole lot to trade at this point.
There are expiring contracts such as Jordan Hill, Jeremy Lin and Steve Nash. Lin continues to see erratic playing time and the experiment seems over as the Lakers move more toward Jordan Clarkson and others, but that does not mean the Nets want to bring him on board.
Lopez is a nice piece to build around. He's 7'0", 275 pounds, 26 years old and averages 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and a 19.07 player efficiency rating on a miserable team. He even hails from North Hollywood, California.
The problem is putting together a package that entices the Nets to ship Lopez away. If they were w...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
