The Los Angeles Lakers will be one of the major players this summer as they will be armed with multiple draft picks and significant amount of cap room. Getting players to sign in Los Angeles was a struggle last summer leading many to wonder if the Lakers will experience something similar this year.
— Think You Know Everything About Kobe Bryant? Take The Ultimate Kobe Quiz! —
If Byron Scott is to be believed, however, there have been a number of players who have expressed interest in joining the Lakers next season during games this year via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
You have a lot of free agents out there who would love to play for us. They’ve been making it pretty clear,” Scott said. “You have guys during the games come by the bench saying, ‘Hey Coach, I would love to be in L.A. next year.’ That makes you feel good there are players out there that want to be here.
Whether or not these players are the big names the Lakers are rumored to be going after remains to be seen, but the fact that players are still interested in the Lakers has to be encouraging. It could make for a quick rebuild, something Scott believes the Lakers have the capability of pulling off this off-season:
The turnaround can be just as quickly here as it was in New Jersey,” Scott said. “But obviously you have to hit a home run in the free agent market and with your draft pick. We have the capability of doing that.”
After Scott’s first season in New Jersey, the team acquired Jason Kidd who would help the team double their win total, from 26 to 52, and make consecutive NBA Finals appearances. The chances of the Lakers doing something like that are far less likely, but major improvement is not out of the question.
With the Lakers owning as many as four draft picks in addition to ample cap space, next year’s version of the team could look much different. Hopefully Scott can experience his second quick rebuild and the Lakers can return to contender status.
[divide]Steve Nash Retirement Press Conference (Part One)