National Basketball Association

Los Angeles Lakers: Youth Revolution Finally Starts In 2016-17

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Now that Kobe Bryant is officially retired, the long overdue youth revolution for the Los Angeles Lakers officially starts in 2016-17

As the Black Mamba sunk his final free throws, the final line of the last chapter of a storied career, Kobe Bryant was able to finally put a bow on a championship career. And for the franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to end things on a good note, and start a new process.

The problem, however, was that process had started two seasons ago, as the Lakers had began dealing aging players and pieces away in favor of younger pieces and picks. Around them, however, the Mamba wanted badly to end his career on a championship note.

And so the conflict raged, with the Lakers seeking to give the guise of an attempt at competitiveness. And the coaching staff (the different ones that came over the past few seasons) attempted to keep the Lakers in a position where they could fight for playoff spot. While members of the front office seemed to look toward the future when plans to stay competitive fizzled.

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It’s not to say that the Lakers weren’t making an effort, with the front office seeking meetings with almost every marquee free agent that came on the market the last few off seasons. But few see the Lakers as having a tangible plan, and opt out of the situation.

So, the team has taken fliers on players that had accomplished previously in the NBA, and paired them with Kobe for faux competiveness.

But in Kobe’s retirement, the Lakers became just another team in rebuild, and were able to fully press the restart button in a way that they couldn’t with the Mamba still pacing the sidelines.

So, press the restart button they did.

Luke Walton has been brought in to jumpstart the pace of play, and reengineer the Lakers in the style of the Warriors team he helped design. The Lakers doubled down on their point guard of the future in D’Angelo Russell, who now can become a more integral part of the offense in Kobe’s absence.

Russell has looked spectacular in the Summer League, and looks ready to take charge of the offense with no more dominant isolation players in the backcourt with him.

Most of the aging veterans from last season are moving out. Roy Hibbert and Brandon Bass moved in favor of a youth revolution down low. The Lakers gave big money to Timofey Mozgov to anchor the center position.

Behind him will be a massive amount of youth and unproven players to settle the paint. Ivica Zubac looked good in international play, and seems like a player with huge upside.

Julius Randle playing at power forward is a budding star, and has all the post moves to be a forcible big man from here on out. With improvement, it looks like the Lakers have their big man of the future. They’ve got another young pick from Larry Nance Jr. who should improve. Add in a flyer on Yi Jianlian, and the Lakers have a mass of youth to sort through.

The forward spot should be full of depth, as the Los Angeles Lakers chose to retain Nick Young and gave some big money to Luol Deng to come in to play the forward position. Deng was a revelation in Miami last season, and showed he’s got a massive amount still left in the tank. He should fill in for scoring that Bryant gave, and more efficiently.

Behind them, however, is the future of the franchise in top pick Brandon Ingram. Ingram looked absolutely stellar in his play with Team USA, going against some top NBA talent. While his impact is largely a season away, he’s got some serious talent. And the Los Angeles Lakers have double down on it with Deng as his mentor.

Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams rotate being the first true shooting guard starters for the Lakers without Bryant. And Clarkson will be called on to improve.

What this leaves is a Laker team that has absolved the mixture of age and youth that has peppered its roster over the last few seasons, and instead went into the full rebuild. The youth movement is alive in Los Angeles, with a potential future starter or current starter at every position in Russell, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle, and Zubac.

Kobe Bryant’s era brought amazing fortune to the Los Angeles Lakers, and his five championships certainly gave him some leeway. But the last two years certainly felt like a dragging weight on the franchise. Which had them stick one foot in rebuild and one in semi-contention.

Now, the pedal is pressed firmly on the gas pedal toward a revamp. And these Lakers look much less like those Kobe Bryant led-Lakers.

And while the nostalgia of it all certainly hurts, it’s not a bad thing.

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