The Future of the Lakers (May 10, 2011)
After getting embarrassed and swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers certainly have a lot of thing that they need to address. Likely, they will need a new head coach as it is fairly certain that Phil Jackson will not return to coach the Lakers next year. Many people believe that if the Lakers are comfortable running their current system, they should elevate current assistant coach Brian Shaw to head coach. Who’s to say that Shaw would like run a different kind of system though. Changes in player personnel also need to be made. Rumors have been swirling that the Lakers are interested in trading for Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. If the Magic are certain that they will not be able to sign Howard to a contract extension, I’m sure that they will entertain trade offers for Howard. Any trade for Howard will likely have to involve Andrew Bynum who the Lakers front office believe is the future of the franchise. Other concerns the Lakers have are the point guard position the overall age of the team. The Lakers have been a solid franchise over the past few years and I’m sure the Lakers front office will not allow the team to become bad just because they got embarrassed in the playoffs. I believe that finding the right coach that will be able to work with Kobe Bryant will enable the Lakers to remain competitive and compete for NBA Championships.