The Los Angeles Lakers had a tough season this past year despite dealing for center Dwight Howard and after going 45-37 and barely making the playoffs, the team was swept out by the San Antonio Spurs and now they must regroup to get their future in line.
Superstar Kobe Bryant was injured at the end of the year when he suffered an Achilles injury against the Golden State Warriors and that basically sidetracked any chance the team had in the playoffs. The toughest part for the Lakers was the fact that Bryant and Howard were finally starting to play well together when the injury occurred. Bryant had successful surgery, but he may be out for part of next season, leaving the Lakers in a tough spot as they head into free agency this summer.
The team dealt with a ridiculous amount of injuries during the season, including with Howard, who dealt with a bad back all year, point guard Steve Nash, who missed time with a broken leg, Steve Blake, who dealt with surgery, as well as Jordan Hill, Ron Artest and Antawn Jamison, leaving the roster fairly depleted. The team is planning on making a hard push at Howard to keep him over the summer and although they have an advantage of signing him longer than another team, his experience in LA may lead him to elsewhere, including Dallas, Atlanta, Golden State or Houston.
The Lakers will have a number of options in the free agent market and after ranking sixth in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding, they may decide to go for defense. The team ranked 22nd in points allowed and 17th in assists per game, but if they don't have Bryant back for the beginning of the season they may look for alternatives elsewhere. The team has Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill and Steve Nash guaranteed for next season, while there are a few players with team options and other issues.
Based on projections they will have some room to work with but not very much after their roster will put about $100 million in overall salary and some names that they will look for will likely be with one year deals. Some names include Elton Brand and Chris Andersen, who could both add size and rebounding to the team, as well as someone like Kenyon Martin, who was solid for the Knicks last season. Martin and Andersen would be more rebounders than scorers, while Brand is getting up there in age but could contribute more on the offensive side of the ball. He is hitting over 40 percent from midrange from last season and he is a top 10 shot blocker.
Some other options for the Lakers include Martell Webster, JR Smith, Francisco Garcia as well as Marquis Daniels or Ronnie Brewer, who could provide some outside help on defense. Brewer is not much of a shooter anymore, but his defense could be enough of a reason for the Lakers to sign him. The Lakers are coming off of a tough year and if Howard decides to bolt, the team could wait until 2014 to make a bigger move when they have more cap space for someone like oh say, LeBron James. Stranger things have happened.
