If it were up to head coach Byron Scott, the Los Angeles Lakers would not retain any player currently on the roster. Preparing to clean out their lockers in just over a week, the 2014-15 season has been a forgettable one for the franchise. With Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Julius Randle all suffering season-ending injuries, the year never really took off for the Lakers. However, free agency will be a different story as the team has money to burn and a lengthy wish list of players to recruit.
Scott let frustration get the best of him when the Lakers fell to the Portland Trail Blazers by 30 points. The coach made it clear that he does not trust any of his players at the moment while criticizing players like Nick Young and Jeremy Lin. Scott made it clear that he was frustrated over the lack of effort being put forth and he expects more from the team.
"I thought the last two games, we didn't come close," Scott said, via ESPN.com. "So that frustration boiled over. At that particular time, there wasn't a lot of guys that I would want to be in the foxhole with. I want guys that I know I can go to battle with. That's the bottom line no matter how the season is going."
According to the Los Angeles Times, Scott will be safe from firing this year, but the Lakers need to add talent to the roster if the coach is going to succeed. Confirming that he will be very active in free agency talks, Kobe Bryant likes Rajon Rondo for the point guard role. Rondo confirmed to the media that he has talked to Bryant and the veteran has let him know what he is thinking. The two players are good friends and would ideally like to team up for Bryant's last season.
Kevin Love is also a priority. ESPN has been reporting that Love and Russell Westbrook would ideally like to be teammates on the Lakers in 2016. The jury is out on Westbrook who still has a year in free agency, but Love could easily make the jump over the Lakers should he opt out in Cleveland. The forward has maintained that he plans on remaining with the Cavaliers, but could easily do something different if the opportunity presents itself.