Note to the rest of the Western Conference: if you think the champs are going to be an easier mark next year — or the year after that — you might want to re-think your position. With most of the team’s core locked up through the 2013/14 season, the Lakers aren’t going anywhere.
2010-11 Roster:
Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest are signed for the next four seasons (though Artest has a player option for 2012/13). Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are locked up through 2011/12, and the team has options on both players for 2012/13. That’s a pretty solid core, especially if Bynum can ever get healthy and develop into the player many think he’ll become.
Bench players Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton are also signed for next season. The team holds options on Shannon Brown, Adam Morrison and Jordan Farmar. Brown will almost certainly be back, but they’re expected to let Farmar walk, and the nameplate above Morrison’s locker is probably gone by now.
Free Agents:
The Lakers’ only significant free agent is point guard Derek Fisher, who is expected to re-sign with the team.
Needs and How to Fill Them:
If Farmar walks as expected, the Lakers’ biggest need will be point guard. Some have suggested the team might look for a younger/more athletic point to start alongside Kobe, which would shift Fisher to the second unit.
The Lakers have no first-round pick this year, and they can’t bank on finding a quality point picking 42nd or 58th. The crop of free-agent point guards is somewhat slim, but there are a few intriguing names — Detroit’s Will Bynum, the Clippers’ Steve Blake, even Orlando’s J.J. Redick, to name a few — who might be willing to sign for less to chase a championship with Kobe and company.
Question Marks:
The only real area of concern for this team: who’s calling the plays? Phil Jackson’s contract expires after the season, and the Zen Master has suggested Laker management will ask him to take a pay cut. Should Jackson sail off into the sunset, the two primary candidates to take over are assistant coach Brian Shaw and Laker great Byron Scott.
Outlook for 2011-12:
Even if Jackson leaves, and even if a Western Conference competitor somehow manages to sign one of the top free agents, the Lakers will go into next season as big favorites to return to the Finals for the third straight season.
What’s Next for the Lakers? originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 10:58:14.
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