The LA Lakers are getting ready for a splash in the future and after having a terrible 2013-14 season, the team could look at a Kyle Lowry trade and sign with the Toronto Raptors to upgrade for Kobe Bryant and ESPN rumors report that the team is targeting LeBron James as a free agent this offseason and that comes as Byron Scott is interviewing to be the next head coach for Los Angeles.
The Lakers need an upgrade at point guard and with Kyle Lowry set to hit the market, Pro Basketball Talk reports that he could be an option for the team. The Raptors are going to try and keep Lowry after he helped lead the team to their best season ever and the playoffs, but that might be exactly why they can't afford him. Lowry averaged 17 points and seven assists last season and teams like the Knicks and Rockets will be coveting him as well.
The Lakers are looking at Byron Scott as a head coach option and Kobe Bryant may approve of that hire if it ends up going down. ESPN.com reports that he is coming in for his second interview and so far has been the only coach the team has interviewed multiple times. The team was hoping to make a splash with someone like John Calipari, but he is staying in college and now Scott will meet with vice president of player personnel Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak
The Lakers had a terrible season and that is one reason why they are looking to bounce back quickly and while that will be very tough in the NBA, the team has put themselves in a good situation to do it. LA now has a top 10 draft pick after being in the lottery and that is their first real first round pick in a while and that should turn into a very nice player. This year the draft is very stacked up top and while the team may not get someone like Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins, they should have the chance at getting Marcus Smart, Julius Randle and other players and that could be huge for Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers have Kobe and Steve Nash and not much else signed and that puts them in position to make a number of moves if they want to this summer. The team reportedly is looking to hire a coach that could help snag LeBron James, but that is a tough thing to do and if that falls through there are a number of other players to go after. The Lakers have long been mentioned as a destination for Kevin Love, but they likely don't have the pieces right now to make the trade and that puts the Chicago Bulls and Warriors ahead of them in those talks.
The Lakers dealt with a number of injuries last season apart from Bryant and now they are hoping that Kobe can return and stay healthy for a full season. The team went 27-55 last season and were terrible on defense, ranking 29th in the league in points allowed per game and the Lakers also were 25th in rebounding. The team fired Mike D'Antoni and nearly anyone could have told the team that was how that would have ended, but not they search once again and so far they have interviewed a high number of candidates and have not yet picked one.