Wait. Hold that thought.
Even though their embarrassing campaign will be over in a few short months—when the Lakers enter the summer armed with more cap space than anybody else, a possible top-three draft pick and fresh optimism ushered in by Kobe Bryant’s departure—that doesn’t mean L.A.’s front office should sit on its hands at the trade deadline.
Even if nothing seismic occurs, the deadline is a fantastic opportunity for all teams to shape their future by collecting assets to better themselves in the short and/or long term. The Lakers are no exception and should aggressively look to move their long-miscast elder statesmen.
Wrong Place, Wrong Team
Lou Williams, Nick Young, Brandon Bass and Roy Hibbert should all be shopped. Their average age is 29.5, far from ideal for a rebuild. Each is dispensable, and moving them for younger players (on equally short, exceedingly cheap contracts) or a draft pick would effectively kill two birds with one stone.
The Lakers need to be as terrible as possible. By shedding their starting shooting guard, starting center, backup center and backup small forward, they can get even worse than they already are.
Losing more games than the Philadelphia 76ers is good news for L.A.’s lottery odds, but even winning is acceptable so long as guys like D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., Tarik Black, Jordan Clarkson and Anthony Brown can build their confidence doing it.
By the way: Since Jan. 1, ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
