Lakers News: Future looks bright in the city of angels
By Mehdi Bouneb
The Los Angeles Lakers’ future has become much clearer after the latest Lakers news and the 2016 NBA Draft.
For starters, the team hired former Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton to take over the reigns from Byron Scott and become the 26th head coach in Lakers history, and he sounds pretty ecstatic:
On other opportunities: “When your dream job comes and you feel like it’s a fair offer … there’s no need to entertain offers after that."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) June 21, 2016
The young head coach led the Warriors to the greatest start in NBA history — a 39-4 record prior to Steve Kerr returning from back surgery.
Walton may not have gotten the credit for this run, but he certainly deserves it.
So what can Los Angeles Lakers fans expect from their new head coach?
According to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, the Lakers will once again be a fun team to watch:
Luke: “Our players are going to like coming into practice every day. We’re going to play a brand of basketball (fans like to watch)."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) June 21, 2016
The Lakers have a new head coach but also new players.
The NBA Draft, which took place on Thursday, also brought reasons for optimism for the Lakers.
With the number two overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Brandon Ingram of Duke University.
Barring a major blockbuster trade, the Lakers will have in Ingram the small forward they’ve desperately been missing.
Excluding Kobe Bryant‘s final season, the Lakers have lacked production from this position.
The last productive forward the Lakers have had dates back to the 2008/09 season. That player is Trevor Ariza.
The forwards following him were Metta World Peace and Wesley Johnson.
Formerly known as Ron Artest, World Peace gave the Lakers one great season in 2009/10 which resulted in a title for the purple and gold.
His production, however, disappeared following his first championship.
Wesley Johnson did not live up to the expectations of a number four overall pick and had two disappointing seasons in Los Angeles.
Although it is still early to say, Ingram has the potential to be the next franchise cornerstone.
The Duke forward is a defensive specialist, and his offensive game is well developed as he can score from long-range as well as in the paint.
However, according to Mark Medina of the LA Daily News, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak knows that Ingram will have a learning curve:
Mitch admitted that "Brandon needs to work and get stronger."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 24, 2016
The 18 year-old knows that his greatest weakness is his weight.
Ingram will need to put on significant size in order to not be bullied by stronger NBA players.
Despite his shortcomings, Ingram will bring a new hope to an already promising young core of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr.
The next important step for the Lakers begins in one week with free agency.
The Lakers have struggled to acquire free-agents in the past three seasons but there is now reason to believe that this may change.
Mitch Kupchak admitted that their free-agent pitches will not rely much on their partners as the team now has more to offer in terms of basketball – a new head coach with a current philosophy of the game, and promising young talent.
The Lakers have the recipe for success.
It is now up to the front-office to capitalize on these opportunities and bring the franchise back to the promised land.