The LA Lakers are coming into 2014 looking to rebound and a trade for someone like Kyle Lowry, Ricky Rubio, Deron Williams or Kyrie Irving at point guard would be a huge upgrade for Steve Nash and while a trade would be hard to pull off for Kobe Bryant support, the team has money in the future and would love nothing more than to add a superstar back to the lineup.
The Lakers have a top 10 pick after being horrible last season and part of that was due to the injuries to Kobe Bryant and now they are trying to bounce back. According to ESPN.com the team thinks it has a chance to get LeBron James, but if that doesn't work they can look at some other options. Lowry has been mentioned as a target and while Irving and Williams likely will not be traded, it's something the Lakers could look into. Rubio has said that he wants Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota and that means he may do so as well.
The Lakers were a total mess last season and if Pau Gasol leaves they will need to add even more and it's unclear how much the team will be able to rely on Steve Nash. Bryant is hoping to come back fully healthy and if the team can add one of these players, they could be back into the playoffs soon. Much of that hinges on the recovery of Kobe and also who the Lakers end up hiring as a coach, but with Lowry coming off of a great year, he could cash in with a sign and trade here with the Lakers.
The Lakers dealt with a number of injuries last season apart from Bryant and now they are hoping that Kobe can return and stay healthy for a full season. The team went 27-55 last season and were terrible on defense, ranking 29th in the league in points allowed per game and the Lakers also were 25th in rebounding. The team fired Mike D'Antoni and nearly anyone could have told the team that was how that would have ended, but not they search once again and so far they have interviewed a high number of candidates and have not yet picked one.
The Lakers have Kobe and Steve Nash and not much else signed and that puts them in position to make a number of moves if they want to this summer. The team reportedly is looking to hire a coach that could help snag LeBron James, but that is a tough thing to do and if that falls through there are a number of other players to go after. The Lakers have long been mentioned as a destination for Kevin Love, but they likely don't have the pieces right now to make the trade and that puts the Chicago Bulls and Warriors ahead of them in those talks.
The Lakers are looking at Byron Scott as a head coach option and Kobe Bryant may approve of that hire if it ends up going down. ESPN.com reports that he is coming in for his second interview and so far has been the only coach the team has interviewed multiple times. The team was hoping to make a splash with someone like John Calipari, but he is staying in college and now Scott will meet with vice president of player personnel Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak.
