Top 5 Positive Storylines of the Lakers Season

Everyone knows the Lakers are in a tough spot.  They are a franchise based around championships that won't be contending anytime soon.  They have an aging superstar who has suffered two serious injuries in consecutive seasons and just got an enormous contract extension.  Their starting point guard is the oldest player in the league at 40 and looked completely finished as a player last season.  Over the past two off-seasons they have lost two of the best big men of the modern era to free agency, receiving nothing in  return save for cap space.  They have also struck out in their pursuit of superstar-level talent, as they don't have a roster that would provide such a player with an opportunity to win a championship.  Their draft picks have been depleted through poor win-now decisions that were made over the past few seasons, and in the midst of it all their owner, the benevolent Jerry Buss, passed away.

In short, the Lakers are slowly fading away, and the fans of the 29 other teams in the league are celebrating their demise.  Fear not though, resilient Lakers fans.  It takes more than a few down seasons to kill the greatest franchise in the history of sports.  The Lakers will be back.  Take these difficult times and use them as a way to make us appreciate the good times that much more.  

With an eye towards optimism let's take a look at the top 5 positive storylines for the Lakers this season.


1. The Development of Julius Randle- Julius Randle is the one positive thing that the Lakers received for being so terrible last season.  While some experts have questioned whether or not he has the upside of some other members of his draft class, such as Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, there is no question that Randle has the tools to be a very good NBA player.  He has an ability to attack the basket and create off the dribble that few bigs can match.

He's not without his share of challenges, such as an over-reliance on his left hand and questionable defensive abilities.  There are also concerns about his ability to shoot over lengthy defenders, which is something that nearly every NBA team has the days.

Still, every rookie areas of weakness, and only a year ago Randle was projected to be one of the favorites to be drafted #1 overall this summer, yet the Lakers landed him with the 7th pick.  LA hasn't had a rookie of his caliber in quite some time and watching him grow as a player will be a joy to watch.

This should also make Lakers fans smile: When he was going through pre-draft workouts Randle, a life-long Lakers fan, chose not to workout a second time for the Celtics (who had the 6th pick), which helped ensure that he would be available for the Lakers to draft at 7.  Gotta love a guy who will pass on the Celtics so he can be a Laker.

2. Do or Die For Jordan Hill- Jordan Hill has long been a fixture on the Lakers bench, providing hustle, rebounding, and an interior presence that is a must-have in today's NBA.  While Hill has struggled with injuries his game has intrigued Lakers fans, as many wondered if he could continue his production if given starter's minutes.

Next season the question should finally be answered.  After the unceremonious departure of Pau Gasol the Lakers moved quickly and signed Hill, the next-best big man on the market (aside from restricted free agent Greg Monroe) for $18 million over two seasons.  While this was a substantial pay raise for Hill the Lakers made a shrewd move when they made the second year of the deal a team option.

As a result, should Hill not live up to the expectations of his salary the Lakers can instantly free up cap space next summer by simply declining the option in his contract.  He could also be an interesting trade chip for teams who are looking to clear salary cap space.

For Hill though, this contract essentially means that he has 9 million reasons why he should have the best season of his career.  At 27 years old he is in his prime and will finally be given an opportunity to be the starting Center for the Lakers.  In the past he has bounced around from backup PF to backup C, but also showed the most promise when starting at the Center position.

This year will provide an opportunity for Hill to prove once and for all that he deserves to start and can handle the responsibilities that come with it.  Lakers fans should be excited too: in 8 games starting at Center last season (admittedly a small sample size), Hill averaged 16.6 points, 10 boards, and nearly 2 blocks per game.  If he can live up to those lofty numbers then the massive contract that most pundits have mocked all summer will end up looking like a bargain.
 
3. Back to Defense- Last season the Lakers defense was apparently based on the strategies employed by France during World War 2.  It was disheartening to see the opposition light the Lakers up each and every night.

With Mike D'Antoni preaching more offense than defense the Lakers got scored on in bunches.  It was obvious to any poor souls watching that teams playing the Lakers were excited to run their offense because they knew that just about everything would work.  Scrubs were getting career-highs on a nightly basis.  In fact, it became a sound fantasy basketball strategy to play guys who would be going up against the Lakers because they were all but assured to put up big numbers.

So what has changed?  Not much, except for the departure of Mike D'Antoni.  Most of the Lakers squad remains the same from last season, which isn't necessarily a good thing.  The team doesn't have a single player who would be considered a lock-down defender, and as such expectations for their defensive improvement have to be tempered.

However, Byron Scott is an old-school, defense-first coach that if nothing else will have the team competing hard on that end of the court every night.  While we can't expect the Lakers to transform overnight into a defensive juggernaut we should see their help rotations tighten up and their schemes become more sound and consistent.

At the very least they should return to respectability, which in these dark times is something to celebrate.

4.  All Lin For LA- The biggest offeason move for the Lakers was arguably the trade for point guard Jeremy Lin.  Instead of pursuing restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe or mini-might Isaiah Thomas the Lakers instead made a deal with the Houston Rockets to land Lin and a first-round draft pick.

While the deal itself was a phenomenal one for LA (especially after Houston whiffed at their attempt to land Chris Bosh with the money freed up by the trade) the acquisition of Lin gives a slight spark to an aging and relatively uninteresting roster.

While no one is expecting a return of the "Linsanity" days of 2012 there is no question that Jeremy Lin is a very good point guard.  He isn't an All-Star level player (though he may be voted in as one) but he has a fantastic ability to get to the basket and finish.  His mid-range and three-point game are nearly as good, making him a dangerous offensive player that can help the team in a number of ways.
The biggest question marks surrounding Lin are his defense and his ability to run a team.  Fortunately for Lin his competition at the point guard spot, Steve Nash, will be a great mentor in one of those areas while coach Byron Scott will help him with the other.

To top it all off Lin is in a contract year, which means that Lakers fans should get some great performances out of him this season.  He connects to the fans, wears his heart on his sleeve, and competes each and every night.  He just may endear himself to the Lakers and their fans that he sticks with the franchise long term.

5. Kobe Bryant: The Return- Kobe Bryant is perhaps the greatest Laker ever, having waged countless battles while wearing the Golden Armor.  He is also in the twilight of his career and coming off two serious injuries which cost him nearly all of last season.  Kobe spent the majority of his career defying the limitations of the human body and playing through injuries that would have decimated other players.  It was as though he would simply Hulk up and become impervious to harm.

                                                                Kinda like this

The question now is, at 36, is Kobe finally mortal?  Or can he be the Black Mamba once again?  We know that he won't be flying through the rafters like when he was 22 or have the defensive chops that he did at 28.  He is still one of the most intelligent players in the league with no offensive flaws, and if he stays healthy could average 20 a night just on his savvy alone.

No one wants to see Kobe fade away in a sea of injuries, so a strong, injury-free season would be such a relief for a weary fan base.  After paying Kobe $48 million for the next two seasons a healthy Mamba would also take some heat off of Lakers management and allow them to sell the team a bit more to potential free agents next off-season.

Kobe is the heart and soul of the Lakers, and while contention may be currently out of the question it's going to be phenomenal to watch Kobe defy expectations yet again.