There are some major decisions to be made by the Lakers’ front office after a very long season and a very short postseason. Needing until the final day of the regular season just to secure a playoff bid, the Lakers
There are some major decisions to be made by the Lakers’ front office after a very long season and a very short postseason. Needing until the final day of the regular season just to secure a playoff bid, the Lakers were swept swiftly and soundly by the Spurs in the opening round. What lies ahead are some glaring questions with few obvious answers, but the choices they make in the next few months will define what this franchise is to become for the next decade.
L.A. must quickly decide whether it wants to try to keep this nucleus together for another run, or if they should tear everything down and rebuild from scratch. Financially, they’re in a great position to do either. Few teams, if any, have the financial freedom the Lakers have, as far as money being no object. Right now, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant ($30 million), Pau Gasol ($19.3M), Steve Nash ($9.3M), Metta World Peace* ($7.7M), Steve Blake ($4M), Chris Duhon ($3.9M), Jordan Hill ($3.5M) and Jodie Meeks* ($1.6M) on the books for next season. (*World Peace and Meeks have player and team options, respectively, which are likely to be picked up.) Yet after 2013-14, the only contract they still have on the books is Nash for one more season ($9.7M). If the Lakers wanted to rebuild, it wouldn’t take very long because they have so little money tied up after this coming season. They could be an immediate player in free agency during the summer of 2014, when someone named LeBron James could be available.
The whole decision would revolve around whether or not they want to sign Dwight Howard to a long-term deal. It seemed like a given a few weeks ago that Howard would be with the Lakers, but frankly, after his play and behavior in the Spurs series, should L.A. really want him to be its leader and franchise player? He got himself ejected in the third quarter of a playoff elimination game. He was badly outplayed by Tim Duncan — nothing to be ashamed of on its own, but nothing to be proud of if you’re supposed to be the best center in the league and the best player on a title contender.
If the Lakers decide that Howard isn’t the guy they want to build around, then it could all come apart fairly quickly. Their best option in that scenario would be to also trade Pau Gasol and hope to get one or two young players and draft picks in return. Using the amnesty clause on Gasol, which has been brought up this week, doesn’t make sense to me. He still has plenty of trade value with just one year left on his contract, but they don’t have enough around him without Kobe Bryant to make a run next season.
If the Lakers decide to sign Howard to a max contract, they should keep Gasol and hope that Kobe can return for some of the 2013-14 season after his achilles injury. If they decide to let Howard walk, they should go into immediate rebuild mode and move Gasol, perhaps even — gulp — amnestying Kobe. This year’s free agent class isn’t outstanding, so getting Kobe’s $30M off the books immediately isn’t a necessity, but if the Lakers want to maximize their flexibility, it would have to be a consideration.
My lean would be toward letting Howard walk, moving Gasol for some building blocks and hoping Kobe can return from injury close to what he was. Hitching their wagon to a moody, fragile big man doesn’t seem smart.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
