Sports

The Lakers and the Clippers continue to try to build a power roster

It was just four years ago that the Los Angeles Lakers were coming off back-to-back NBA championships and three consecutive Finals appearances. That same year the other Los Angeles team, the Clippers, found themselves in a familiar spot, another losing season and first pick for the NBA Lottery.
Fast forward four years and it’s a complete role-reversal. It’s the Clippers, with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, who have all the star power. They have one of the best coaches in the league (Doc Rivers), and just got rid of owner Donald Sterling who has made racist remarks.

Now it’s the Lakers who find themselves with a barren roster and dysfunctional ownership. The team has yet to name a new head coach after Mike D’Antoni resigned. General Manager Mitch Kupchack has sacrificed future assets in trades that have backfired miserably. Add a stubborn, aging superstar like Kobe Bryant to the mix, and you have one of the bigger messes in the league.
However, the Lakers aren’t totally hopeless. They’re still one of the marquee franchises in sports, which means they’re always going to be a prime destination for free agent superstars. Players want to play in Los Angeles; the only difference now is that the Clippers have become a legitimate contender and their current state looks awfully attractive.
With free agency now nine days old, here are some of the best and worst case scenarios for both teams.
Lakers

• Best Case Scenario
– Though much has gone wrong for the Lakers lately, their one major asset is cap space. As of today, only three players are signed for next season (Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and, eventually, rookie Julius Randle). They have about $26 million in cap space available to sign a max-level player. The best case is signing Carmelo Anthony and rebuilding around him and Kobe. With Anthony signed, they’d be able to attract other veteran players on cheap deals. More importantly, signing Melo would soften the transition from the Kobe Bryant era. He’s almost done, and he has said that he’s not interested in hanging around just to score 20 points a game. As an added bonus, Bryant and Anthony are extremely close off the court, which could lead to terrific chemistry on the court. This signing would be a coup.

• Worst Case Scenario
– They miss out on everybody. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh look at the Lakers and decide there are better situations for them than being part of a rebuild, one that doesn’t even have a head coach yet. They end up settling for lesser talent just so they can fill out the roster. They might keep their cap space flexibility, but what’s the point if superstars don’t want to play for them? They already failed to re-sign Dwight Howard, and not being able to sign an all-star in free agency would continue the downward spiral they’ve been on. This is where the Lakers excel, or at least where they used to. Failure here secures failure in the future.

• Most likely to happen
– There’s a strong possibility that their best case scenario will come to fruition. Anthony is reportedly down to choosing between the Lakers and New York Knicks. But if Melo decides to stay in New York, the Lakers would focus on short-term deals with secondary free agents like Lance Stephenson, Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol. They’d be competitive while still having long-term cap flexibility. They’d immediately shift their attention to all-stars Kevin Love and Kevin Durant, who’ll be free agents in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Clippers
• Best Case Scenario
– Actually, this is pretty much it. They’re the best team in Los Angeles, and now that they don’t have Sterling owning the team, they’ve become infinitely more likable and easy to root for. There’s one significant piece that could put them over the top: Paul Pierce. He has a great relationship with Rivers, and he’s from Los Angeles. If he’s willing to come off the bench, he’ll provide the scoring and leadership that becomes invaluable during the season and playoffs.

• Worst Case Scenario

– Sterling isn’t going out quietly, the longer the ownership transfer takes from Sterling to Steve Ballmer, the more embarrassing it is, not necessarily for the Clippers, but for the sport in general. Regardless, the worst case would be that this continues to drag on, otherwise the Clipperss will not only steer away top prospects, but also be in negative light. Surely Ballmer will want to put his mark on the team, but he won’t be able to until Sterling finally gives in.

• Most Likely to Happen
– The team is just about set. They signed big-man, free agent Spencer Hawes earlier at the start of free agency, but other than that, they were already a pretty loaded team. Their core is about as good as any in the league, and there’s still a strong possibility that they will sign Pierce. All is well in Clipperland for now and the foreseeable future.

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