The LA Lakers are coming into the 2014-15 season with some major questions with Kobe Bryant coming back after a serious injury and while there's a chance that either Steve Nash or Jeremy Lin could get moved in a trade this year, it's a near certainty that the Lakers will go after players like Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, Greg Monroe and Ricky Rubio in free agency next summer.
The Lakers have made a number of moves this summer to help add talent to the roster and while the team will not be a title contender, they at least have the chance to make the playoffs. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers are looking towards next summer as the chance to fully rebound from last season's terrible performance, as there will be a number of free agents on the market. The Lakers will have money to spend and names like Rondo, Gasol and Greg Monroe all could be in the mix for Los Angeles.
The Lakers likely won't be very good this season and they are on a multi-year rebuilding plan after what happened last year and next summer will be big for that. The team could look at trades with Lin and Nash to help free up cap space ahead of time, but at least for the team both of those players are on expiring deals and will be off the books next summer. Nash was supposed to start for the Lakers this season, but once again he is dealing with some injury issues and that could leave Lin as the starter.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Nash is dealing with some back and leg pain and he could miss the start of the season after sitting out some preseason games. The Lakers are playing on opening night and they will be in action against the Houston Rockets and that game is on October 28 and is the late game after the Spurs and Mavericks open the season. The Lakers season may rest on whether Bryant and Nash can stay healthy, but adding Lin helps and the team also brought on Carlos Boozer to help with the loss of Pau Gasol.
The Lakers brought back a number of players they had hit the market, including Wes Johnson, Ryan Kelly and Xavier Henry as well as Nick Young, who led the team in scoring last season. Keeping those players gives the team depth and with Scott coming in, the team will have a new outlook and a new scheme and he expects them to play much better on defense as well. Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin were solid additions and Boozer came in off of an amnesty deal, while Lin was acquired in a trade with the Rockets.
Last season the Lakers won just 27 games and now they are getting Bryant back and they have Julius Randle coming in as a rookie. The Lakers ended up with a very solid pick and had the draft had been a year earlier with Randle coming out, he likely would have been a top three pick. Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker pushed back Randle out of the top five and now the Lakers have a great young prospect to build around in the middle.
