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| Both teams have great assets that they must capitalize on |
And while that is true to an extent, both of these franchises have tons of reasons to be optimistic about the near future. Cap space in 2015 and 2016, incoming draft picks, and an expected 22 million dollar jump in the NBA salary cap in 2016-2017 all bode well for both franchises. So let's look at each team's situation and break down how each team can get back to contending in a hurry.
The Lakers: When the sun set on the 2011-2012 NBA season Los Angeles seemed to be stuck in neutral, after three straight NBA finals appearances and back-to-back championships L.A. suffered two straight embarrassing second round defeats and you could sense in the air that after the throttling at the hands of the OKC Thunder that things need to change. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak provided his team with the boost they needed when he turned some draft picks into Steve Nash and some more draft picks and all-star center Andrew Bynum into superstar center Dwight Howard. The consensus going into the 2012-2013 season was that the NBA's galactic empire had successfully repaired the Death Star and was ready to re-claim it's rightful place on the NBA throne. A zillion injuries later coupled with the immediate departure of Dwight Howard, and the Lakers were left with a recovering Kobe Bryant and a roster in shambles.
Last season L.A. did a great job of capitalizing off of it's on court failures by drafting Julius Randle out of Kentucky with the 7th overall pick and coming up with the steal of the draft by nabbing Missouri point guard Jordan Clarkson with the 46th pick. Clarkson has been a revelation for LA this season and even though L.A. lost Randle to injury early on this season, it shouldn't effect his career or his potential to develop into a very good player for a very long time. The Lakers were also able to land Houston's first round draft pick in an off-season trade in which they also took on Jeremy Lin's big contract. In the upcoming draft L.A. could have up to 4 draft picks with one being a projected top five selection.
Also, the Lakers could possibly enter free agency with around 25-28 million dollars in cap space. That would give them room to sign one max contract and another smaller, but still lucrative contract. This off-season should be key in restoring the "Laker Way", they could set themselves up to contend for a playoff spot next year and contend for championships for years down the road. Here's a realistic look at what L.A. could actually accomplish this summer:
PG:Emmanuel Mudiay, SG: Kobe SF: Khris Middleton, PF: Julius Randle C:Deandre Jordan.
Selecting Mudiay with the 4th pick and offering Jordan the full max are within the realm of possibility for L.A. and Khris Middleton could be a target when using whatever is leftover from the Jordan deal. The Lakers would get young, talented and athletic very quickly and as long as Kobe Bryant stays healthy they would be very dangerous as well.
The Knicks: Let's take it back to the trade deadline of the 2010-2011 season, The Knicks have just paired Carmelo Anthony with Amar'e Stoudumire and basketball is back in New York, kind of. After two early playoff disappointments in a row and a string of nagging injuries to Stoudumire, New York was finally able to put it together in 2013 going 54-28 as well as reaching the second round of the playoffs before falling to the upstart Indiana Pacers. The Knicks looked to be on an upward curve and seemed to be poised for huge things last year, but instead the hopes and dreams of Knicks fans disintegrated before their very eyes as they watched their team inexplicably dive head-first back into the pits of mediocrity. New York decided to clean house this past off-season by bringing in Phil Jackson to be the new general manager and Derek Fisher to fill the role of head coach. Jackson promptly broke up the old core by moving Tyson Chandler in the off-season as well as buying out Amar'e and trading fan favorites Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland.
In New York there's been a complete overhaul of the old model which has been closely followed by a good old fashioned tank. Everything about the city of New York is the biggest and the best and it's only right that the Knicks have been the biggest losers and the best tankers since they're projected to land the number one pick in the summers draft. To New York's credit, with all of their wheeling and dealing this season they have created ample cap space with a projected 24.4 million to play with. The Knicks can land the top pick and add a max free-agent along with another smaller scale player. This off-season is vital for New York because they need to put a team around Carmelo Anthony that can contend in the Eastern Conference soon, there aren't many more years of prime Carmelo Anthony left so the Knicks need to get on it before their moment passes them by. Here's what they could cook up this summer:
PG: Jose Calderon, SG: Danny Green, SF: Carmelo Anthony, PF: Greg Monroe C: Karl Towns.
If the Knicks have the top pick Towns is easily the best fit for their system. I see no reason why New York shouldn't throw a max or near max contract at Monroe, he's only 24 and will only get better as time goes on. Danny Green and Calderon will help space the floor for the front court players and all of the players in the starting lineup should fit nicely into Fisher's/Jackson's triangle offense. This team could easily compete for a top 6 seed in the East immediately.
So there you have it, The Lakers and Knicks are more than capable of turning things around in the blink of an eye, but only time will tell if these franchises can pull off the necessary moves to get back in contention sooner rather than later.
