This 2012-13 season was a year of every word imaginable except successful. Laker Nation has had to deal with coaching changes, the death of an owner, multiple injuries including their franchise player, and now a first round sweep by the San Antonio Spurs. There's already rumors & questions being asked about the future. We'll give our diagnosis about the Lakers organization & what may need to be done and/or changed going forward.
Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles right before the playoffs started, and as we all know, this was his 17th season in the league. He's dealt with injuries through most of his career but this one may be the most significant. He's said himself that retirement is right around the corner for him, next year possibly being his last. If he does recover from this injury & can play next season, you have to wonder what's still left in the tank & how much of a difference he'll really make with the roster the Lakers have now.
Mark Cuban was quoted saying that the Lakers should amnesty Kobe to save $80 million and bring in some new, younger talent that they desperately need. While that may never happen, and definitely wouldn't go over well with the Laker faithful, business wise, that may be what the Lakers need going forward. Kobe only has a year, maybe two left, and he won't be in his prime. Even with the great season he had this year, the Lakers still struggled staying under .500 for most of the season & he exerted a lot of energy trying to will them to wins that they should've been able to get without Kobe playing 40+ minutes. I'd hate to see the Black Mamba's last name not be in a Lakers uniform, and many others will agree, but is he still worth what the Lakers are giving him at this stage of his career?
Dwight Howard will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason & as we saw with him in Orlando, his decision making is everything but predictable. He has gotten mixed reactions from Lakers fans, and though he shows his flashes of greatness, I'm not convinced he has what it takes mentally to be the leader of a franchise like the Lakers. Either way, he'll need a lot more help than he's been given to him this season. It's clear that the Lakers will want Dwight to sign a long-term contract, which means max money. As of now, the Lakers will be paying out over $83 million, Kobe getting $30 million of that. So that leaves very little room to bring in new pieces that the Lakers desperately need to be a championship contender. He's expected to win, which bothers him, and even though he wants to win, it doesn't look like that's gonna happen in LA. Once again, the front office has a big decision to make here.
Coaching & management has been just as much an issue as anything else. They fired Mike Brown very early in the season, which caused confusion to some of the players including Kobe. Bernie Bickerstaff became interim coach for 5 games & the Lakers played better than they have all year under him going 4-1. Then, in the most dramatic turn of events this year, Phil Jackson was about to come back to the Lakers as coach until Jim Buss made a last second call to Mike D'Antoni. MDA was hired & every Lakers fan was pissed & disappointed. But even if Phil coached, what they've done on the floor doesn't show that they'd be much better due to age & lack of playmakers. The Lakers have went by a motto "We don't rebuild, we reload." and it's safe to say that's come back to bite them. What management has to do is find a way to not only bring in new, young talent, but keep them and give them time to grow. Andrew Goudelock surprised everyone in Game 3 scoring 20 points & getting 3 steals coming from the D-League. He's a sign of what the Lakers need to invest in as they head into what they've been trying to avoid, rebuilding mode. As far as coaching, I highly doubt Phil will want to return after getting his job essentially taken from him overnight & unprofessionally. It's tough to say what they should do or who they should go after. This is where we're just gonna have to see what takes place.
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