The Los Angeles Lakers are entering a very important summer for the franchise, as the team is planning on making a run at keeping star center Dwight Howard and they also have to deal with the recovery of Kobe Bryant and with all that, should the team sit out this free agency period and wait for LeBron James in 2014?
According to ESPN.com, the Lakers could wait out for that free agent period rather than go big on this one, as the crop of players is stellar and includes James as well as names like Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Danny Granger and Luol Deng and other names that could end up being available includes Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Tony Parker and Zach Randolph and others. The team could end up changing the entire makeup of the roster with one of those signings and that could be a good idea to wait rather than go all in on Howard.
The team is feeling pressure to go after Howard after this season and while that is a smart move since he is so good, he has had back issues and his attitude could be called into question. Players like James and Anthony could be attracted to Los Angeles and while it seems that he is happy with the Heat, if James loses the finals to the Spurs, he could change his mind down the line after next season. Apart from trading for Howard, the Lakers haven't made a big splash in free agency in recent years and Steve Nash doesn't count in that assessment.
The team could make a hard run at those players and if they can sign one or two, that would be a good way to bridge things from Kobe Bryant to the next generation of the franchise. The team has some aging stars in Pau Gasol and Bryant as well and with Howard flirting with the idea of going somewhere else like the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn, the Lakers need a Plan B and that could be James or one of the other stars. Howard, Chris Paul, OJ Mayo and Al Jefferson are all free agents this summer, but the Lakers may not have the financial space yet to make a move.
The Lakers will try to sign Howard to a big deal, but some feel that is a mistake, as while he is an All Star, some feel that he doesn't have that championship edge like James and Bryant does. The Lakers went through a tough season and got swept in the playoffs in four games against the Spurs and while many fans want immediate results, the 2014 free agent class could end up giving the team titles in the future with a bit of patience.