The LA Lakers are coming into the season with eyes on 2015 and down the line the team may consider looking at Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe, Ricky Rubio or Marc Gasol in trade deals or free agency, as some of those players will be free agents next summer and with Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin on expiring contracts, they likely will be gone for Kobe Bryant next year.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers basically sat out of free agency this summer among the big names to help set up for next summer, as the class will have a number of big names out there. LA did go after Carmelo Anthony hard and showed they were willing to spend, but he really did not want to leave NY and didn't, so the Lakers did not have to pay up. The team wanted Kevin Love the most, but clearly that is not happening and now they may focus on other names like Rondo, Bledsoe, Monroe or Gasol.
The team reportedly wants to try and sign both Bledsoe and Goran Dragic if they make it onto the market next summer, but right now that is looking unlikely. Bledsoe will likely be on the market if he signs the one year qualifying offer with the Suns, while Dragic has a contract option and has expressed his interest in staying in Phoenix. Bledsoe and the Suns have been at odds over a deal and the Lakers reportedly looked into a sign and trade option with the Suns, but it never went farther down the line.
The Lakers aren't a great team right now, but they should be markedly better than last season even with losing Pau Gasol. The team needs Kobe Bryant healthy and if he can last through the season they have a chance to at least hang in with the western conference to make the playoffs. The team signed Carlos Boozer and traded for Jeremy Lin and they also kept Wesley Johnson, leading scorer Nick Young, Xavier Henry and Ryan Kelly to help give the bench and lineup some depth.
Nash is coming back from an injury and he is expecting to be healthy, while Lin has the chance to start if Nash can't be on the court on a consistent basis. The Lakers brought in Byron Scott and he will give the team a tough mentality and after teams walked over the Lakers last season, they should be a tough out this year even if they are a losing team.
Adding Boozer was a solid move and while he is not even close to as good of a player as Gasol it, he can really help make up for that lost production. His $16 million salary was insane for him in Chicago at his minutes and production, but now that he is on a regular deal, his averages of 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in 76 games and just about 28 minutes per game look very good. The Lakers will need him to play well on both ends of the court to be successful but this was a solid signing for the team this summer.
