NBA Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers Must Clean House In Offseason

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By @JosephMCrevier

Los Angeles Lakers

Stephen Dunn-Getty Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are the quintessential example of living in the past. Kobe Bryant aside, Los Angeles ceases to embrace a full rebuilding process by latching onto several good, but not great players. Thus the continuity developed throughout a rebuilding process is eliminated, as the majority of the current roster will be elsewhere next season.

Working with a plethora of guys on expiring contracts is nearly impossible for head coach Byron Scott. Everybody is playing for himself, hoping to boost his personal statistics to potentially yield a higher salary in the free agent market. Jordan Hill is the poster boy for this theory, shying away from his true strength: rebounding. Hill instantly manifested himself from a bench warmer to a beloved figure amongst Lakers fans because of his willingness to do the dirty work.

Energy, offensive rebounding and excitement were all words associated with the former lottery pick, but an inflated salary and increased role have soiled the tremendous potential exhibited early on by Hill. He constantly drifts outside the paint, taking ill-advised mid-range jump shots, in turn costing the Lakers precious offensive rebounds.

Defense is apparently a foreign policy in Hill’s mind too, as he is consistently beat off the dribble by opposing big-men. Albeit his solid stat line of 12 points and eight rebounds per game, Hill has developed an extremely soft style of play contrary to his counterpart Ed Davis.

Good news, Hill is likely a goner either before the March 1 NBA trade deadline or during the offseason. So who else must go?

This may be an unpopular opinion, but as beloved a figure as Nick Young is, he has had a profoundly negative effect on the team’s overall success this season. Young is a selfish player, who shoots an inordinate number of bad shots and has the stats to back it. The man called “Swaggy P” averages a steady 14.3 points per game off the bench, however he barely dishes out one assist per game, a trend that has remained a constant throughout his eight-year career. We can throw Young a mulligan in the early stages of his career since he played significantly less minutes.

Primarily with the Lakers, though, Young dominates the ball especially when Kobe Bryant is out on rest. Instead of creating for his teammates, Young jacks up awful shots and fails to adjust his game to better suit the team. Due to his likeable personality, it is difficult to attack him, but there comes a point when enough is enough. Everything is not a joke. The three-point celebrations and lollygagging down the court afterwards when the franchise is in flux is an absolute embarrassment to the forefathers who have contributed so much to the modern NBA. Therefore, it would be highly beneficial if Mitch Kupchak explored trades for him before his stock begins to plummet.

Hill and Young are just minor examples in the overwhelming issue that is the Los Angeles Lakers. This roster fails to recognize the value of defense and toughness leading to a painful display of professional basketball. The elite talents have refrained and will continue to refrain from considering Los Angeles a realistic destination in free agency until this glaring problem is addressed. The only way to solve it is to clean house from top to bottom with the two exceptions being Bryant and rookie Julius Randle.

Joseph Crevier covers the New York Knicks for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, @JosephMCrevier, and Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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