When looking at the Lakers roster, there are clearly many holes to fill and much talent to be added.
2014 lakers roster free#
Long story short: Nash’s contract probably is staying on the books for this free agency period. So, unless clubs are lining up to do a sign-and-trade for Kent Bazemore, we can safely assume the only way Nash is leaving is via a trade for more veteran help. It’s unlikely any team would take back Nash’s deal without getting rid of a veteran contract themselves or getting draft assets/young talent. There have been rumors of the Lakers trying to move whatever is left of Steve Nash and his contract in order to create more cap space, but they obviously have been quite unsuccessful thus far. However, according to, a player with up to six years of NBA experience ( Eric Bledsoe, anyone?) would command $15.8 million in the first year of a maximum deal. To put that in perspective, a max contract for LeBron James (or any player with more than 10 years of experience) would have a price tag of $22.1 million in the first year. (But How Much Do They Have?)Īccording to, the Lakers have the eighth-most cap space to use this summer. Okay, let’s look at how this horrific roster can be avoided next year! C.R.E.A.M.
So, if the season started today (it doesn’t), here is your 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup: He’s an interesting combo-guard that I think will make the roster based on his potential and versatility, but he’s certainly not going to factor into any free agents coming over to the Lakers. The Lakers also bought a second-round pick from the Washington Wizards to select guard Jordan Clarkson from Missouri. Randle is a selling point for getting free agents to buy in to the future of the franchise.
He fits here, and likely slots in as the starting power forward from Day 1. 1 in a lot of drafts, and was considered one of the three can’t-miss prospects at the beginning of the season. With the seventh overall pick they selected Kentucky power forward Julius Randle. Thankfully, the Lakers had themselves a good draft. The bigger picture is this is every NBA city’s dream, and probably not happening for any city but Miami.” “The big picture here is to get LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony to sign in Los Angeles. However, when he’s one of three experienced guys you have on your roster (and the other two guys are a combined 75 years of age) it does not exactly draw a ton of confidence in attracting the top stars that are all about winning immediately. He’s got real size (7’0” is always an asset), and is a great teammate. Now, you could do worse than the 25-year-old as an end of the bench guy. He was the last pick in the 2012 draft, and is better known for his celebratory dances than anything he does in a game situation. The other veteran player currently on the roster is Robert Sacre. I also would be not surprised to watch Nash fall further into oblivion, or see Kobe settle into the “ Michael Jordan circa 2002″ stage of his career so these guys are question marks right now (Note: I will not bet against Kobe being good offensively again). There was a time when I questioned if either of these guys would ever slow down, and it would not surprise me to see Kobe return as a scoring machine and Nash bounce back to have an above average point guard year (think end-of-the-road-Jason-Kidd-esque).
Unfortunately, it’s 2014 and the headliners of this five man show are 40-year-old Steve Nash and 35-year-old Kobe Bryant (he’ll be 36 when the season starts). If this was 2007, the Lakers would be in prime position to be the best team this league has ever seen. With marquee names available, and even top-tier role players, the Lakers are in position to make a difference in terms of wins and losses in the upcoming campaign.īefore we get into how and why the purple and gold will look into some of the free agents, let’s take a look at the current roster (if it even constitutes being referred to as such) and how much cash the Lakers have to throw at the big name guys. The plan has been to target this free agency period, along with 2015, in order to build the next great Laker roster. This is the time that will dictate the product put in front of all of us in the 2014-15 season. This is the opportunity to add some real pieces for both the present and the future. This is what the fans suffered through 82 games of losing, purposeless basketball for. And what a crucial date on the calendar it is. On July 1, free agency will begin for the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest of the NBA.
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