Amazing how quickly things change, isn’t it?
On Thursday, the Lakers lost star guard Kobe Bryant, who was just attempting to return from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in April, to a fractured tibia in his left knee. The team announced that Bryant will miss six weeks, which puts his return date sometime in the first week of February — around the 50th game of the year for the Lakers.
Now, the Lakers are in a strange spot. This is a franchise that has finished below .500 in just 12 out of 65 seasons, and only six times since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. They’re 12-13 now, and without Bryant, in addition to missing all three of their points guards (Steve Nash, Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake) and replacing them with newly signed Kendall Marshall, that record is only going to slip further. But that is not the worst thing that could happen to the franchise.
That’s because, yes, the best thing that the Lakers can do right now is lose, and lose a lot. It’s a proud franchise, sure, but piling up the Ls is clearly in the best interest of the Lakers, long-term.
As it stands, the Lakers have the No. 12 pick in next year’s draft. It’s easy to project at least two or three Eastern Conference teams getting their acts together and moving up in the standings, and it is possible that the Lakers at least will fall behind the Grizzlies and Pelicans in the West. That would put them in line for the No. 7 or 8 pick in the draft, and with improved odds to move into the Top 3 when the lottery is drawn.
A top 7 pick in the draft, loaded as it is with talent, could well translate into a starting-caliber player, and probably one who can have an immediate impact. And if the Lakers were to get into the Top 3 (alert the conspiracy theorists!), they are almost guaranteed to add a rookie star.
This would be a rare thing of the Lakers, who have not used a first-round pick on a player since 2007, when they took Javaris Crittenton (who played 22 games for the team). They have had just two Top 10 picks in the last 30 years, selecting Andrew Bynum with No. 10 in 2005 and Eddie Jones with No. in 1994. The last time the Lakers had a pick that was higher than 10th was 1982, when they took James Worthy thanks to a trade with Cleveland.
Getting in the top 10 this year will be crucial. They will have to take some lumps in between, of course. Bryant’s injury, too, is poorly timed, because it comes on the heels of his signing a two-year extension worth $48.5 million, a deal that came with the risk that Bryant would not be able to stay healthy.
But even with Bryant’s contract on the books, the Lakers still have the ability to sign a top-tier free agent in the offseason. There are players, particularly stars, who would be reluctant to sign a long-term deal with the Lakers, in part because they would not want to play with Bryant — Dwight Howard did not want to stay in Los Angeles for that very reason. But if the Lakers were to have, say, Andrew Wiggins, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle or Jabari Parker on hand, free agents in their prime would be able to look past Bryant and see a bright future with the Lakers.
Don’t forget, over the course of the Lakers’ history, things have always seemed to work out for the purple-and-gold in the end. “One thing I've learned is that the Lakers have a history and Mitch Kupchak has a history of making tremendous moves to reenergize their team and bolster their talent,” said ESPN analyst and former Knicks and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. “When (Shaquille) O’Neal left and Kobe Bryant was in his prime, they were stuck for a bit of time at that 42‑win type team, and then they made the incredible trade for Pau Gasol. So I never discount the Lakers ability when they are in need of injecting more talent into their roster, because they have a history of making the right moves.”
The right move now is to do nothing, to let a difficult season play itself out and regroup by taking another stab at moving Gasol at the February trade deadline, then seeing how the draft lottery shakes out. It could get ugly in L.A. in the next few months. But expect it to get much, much better after that.
Dribbles
— Van Gundy also said on Thursday that he has no immediate plans or desire to return to coaching. He added that the decision to switch him off of the ESPN broadcast of the Knicks game on Wednesday was not his call, but that he was glad it happened. There has been speculation that Van Gundy could be a candidate to replace embattled Knicks coach Mike Woodson. “I was happy when I saw the game before or maybe it was two games before when my name was brought out,” Van Gundy said. “I was glad the change was made. ... I’ve coached in that market, and people start talking about your job, and I've been hung on the back page of the New York Post, with the, “Van Gone,” back page and, “Back Up the Van,” and all that stuff, so I know how painful that stuff can be for a coach going through the speculation.”
— After a rough fourth quarter in a loss to Portland last Sunday, Detroit coach Maurice Cheeks approached point guard Brandon Jennings, who had gone 1-for-5 from the field with two turnovers in a fourth quarter in which Detroit led by as many as 13 before losing in overtime. Cheeks told Jennings that he was his point guard, and as such, the ball would be in his hands no matter what down the stretch of games. Jennings responded, big-time. He had eight points with two assists and no turnovers in a win at Indiana, and again led his team with eight points and four assists (no turnovers) in a win in Boston.
“He is the starting point guard, and when the game is on the line, the ball should be in your hands,” Cheeks said. “He should be leading the team in the first quarter and fourth quarter, the ball should be in your hands. I just felt the need to say it, to let him know that it is going be in his hands, and if he can’t make a play for himself, make a play for someone else.”
