If this were all swirling a year from now, the Lakers would be sitting pretty. They'd be coming off a 2014-15 NBA season with a new coach, a promising young prospect from this year's draft, some recently situated free agents and, perhaps, a healthy and rejuvenated Kobe Bryant. All of that would, presumably, entice Love, who plans to opt out of his current contract in 2015 (per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein), to return to the city of his birth and brief collegiate education.
As would the oodles of cap space at the Lakers' command.
Instead, L.A. will now be thrust into these superstar sweepstakes a year ahead of schedule, coming off arguably the worst season in franchise history, with little to offer the T-Wolves in return and even less to offer Love in the way of certainty, much less any of the championship variety.
Not to mention the lengthy list of teams with the wherewithal to outbid the Lakers in trade talks with the T-Wolves. So far, that list includes (but certainly isn't limited to) the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, the Golden State Warriors, the Phoenix Suns, the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks. Just about all of those teams can offer more to Minnesota and Love than the Lakers can.
Which, at present, isn't much. Only three of last season's Lakers are slated to wear purple and gold in 2014-15. Two of those (Bryant and Steve Nash) are coming off injury-riddled campaigns, with Father Time pushing them toward retirement. The other is Robert Sacre, who's better known for his cheers and his tattoos than for anything he does on the court.
Of course, the Lakers won't be a three-man operation for long. Nick Young could opt into the second year of his deal, though he figures to test the market in pursuit of a ric...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
