Season Predictions 2016
Current seeding: 15th
Projected seeding: 15th
It was only maybe a couple of years ago when Laker Nation was talking about not only sending Kobe out with one last trip to the playoffs, but having him exit the stage with a ring on the other hand. Yikes. Kobe’s farewell tour has been great, don’t get me wrong: very emotional and well-deserved respect for an absolute legend, and he probably didn’t expect a record much better than this. But “this” is a race to the bottom for LA, so that they can preserve their top-three protected draft pick, and something just seems wrong about that -- it’s just everything un-Kobe. Still, I suppose the Lakers need to start gearing up for the next generation sooner or later, and it’s great that prospects PG/SG Jordan Clarkson, SG/PF D’Angelo Russell, and PF Julius Randle are all having excellent seasons. It seems as if the logical path for the front office to follow in the immediate post-Kobe era is one of the future, rather than the present.
Current seeding: 15th
Projected seeding: 15th
It was only maybe a couple of years ago when Laker Nation was talking about not only sending Kobe out with one last trip to the playoffs, but having him exit the stage with a ring on the other hand. Yikes. Kobe’s farewell tour has been great, don’t get me wrong: very emotional and well-deserved respect for an absolute legend, and he probably didn’t expect a record much better than this. But “this” is a race to the bottom for LA, so that they can preserve their top-three protected draft pick, and something just seems wrong about that -- it’s just everything un-Kobe. Still, I suppose the Lakers need to start gearing up for the next generation sooner or later, and it’s great that prospects PG/SG Jordan Clarkson, SG/PF D’Angelo Russell, and PF Julius Randle are all having excellent seasons. It seems as if the logical path for the front office to follow in the immediate post-Kobe era is one of the future, rather than the present.