Lakers in hot pursuit of DeMarcus Cousins

According to multiple sources ,  the Lakers are doing all they can to reach some type of agreement with the Kings in order to bring Cousins to the city of Angels. As one can assume, the biggest standstill could possibly be whether or not the Lakers are willing to give up their number 2 pick. If the Lakers can manage to receive Cousins AND keep their pick this year, they will be much improved. If this were to happen, it would be believed that the Lakers would at that point select point guard D'angelo Russell. The tandem between Russell and Cousins would give Kobe life , and give the Lakers two stepping stones to build around for the future.

If the Lakers are unable to do both, they would more than likely have to give up that #2 pick. If this is the case , they still receive one of the top centers in the league. The Lakers hope that this would entice players to consider during free agency of 2015 and 2016.

Kobe Retirement

Should Kobe Really Consider Retirement?

Nineteen years in the NBA Kobe Bryant has endured. He is the last of his 1996 draft class, arguably the greatest NBA draft class, to still be playing in the NBA at an elite level. His number of accomplishments is infinite. He’s overcome countless setbacks many thought that would have been the end of him. He’s never been known to take the easy route and this time shouldn’t be any different. So when the question comes up on whether, the great, Kobe Bryant should retire or not, my answer is a definitive and firm, N-O. There is no way in hell that the legendary folklore of Kobe Bryant can end on such a negative note of injury, on a season where he led the league in scoring for a lengthy timetable, played an unreasonably high amount of minutes at age 36, and even achieved a game with a career high assist total.

Kobe can still Ball, and the Fans think so too

Kobe Bryant has proven that he can play at an elite level of basketball this season, whether people agree or not. Is he playing at the same level he did 5, 10 years ago? No, but the vast majority of NBA players would love to be averaging 22.3ppg, 5.6apg, and 5.7rpg. His legendary work ethic is what got him to be averaging those totals, even in his 19^th season in the NBA while averaging more than 35 minutes per game in the majority of those seasons. This same work ethic is what will help him arise in the 2015-2016 NBA season with some more troops to make one last run at an end of one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball. The fans still want to see him play, as the NBA All-Star voting proved. They long to see the circus shots that no other player could make, or even attempt to execute, the nostalgia of a player who’s career has been mirrored by none other than the greatest of them all, Michael Jordan, and one of the last players in the NBA who play and carry themselves with an old school mentality.

He does, indeed, have a shot at a Title

Many would argue that Bryant doesn’t have a shot at a good run at an NBA Championship, but they forget the Lakers have a top 5 pick next year (unless the Cavs somehow manage to get the 1^st pick of the draft somehow), return Julius Randle, and have enough cap space to sign some pretty good players. There’s no question that Bryant would have to approach his run with a different mentality and that the Lakers may have to trade a young piece to actually think about contending, and that the possibility is extremely low; however, the possibility is still there. Kobe has to play more similar to how he did right before his injury than he did the start of the 2014-2015 season as well, but it seems he is more than willing to take on that role with the results he saw.

Yes it’s about the Money!

Lastly, and lets be honest and frank here, why in the world would Kobe give up over 25 Million dollars plus a good chunk more for endorsements? Yes, it’s true that he has made a lot throughout his long career, but for anyone to give that type of money up would have to be delirious. Call it greed, call it classless, call it whatever you want, but it’s easier for us, as a third party, to say that he should retire and let go of this type of money. Kobe is no idiot, but there are many athletes who have gone broke after retiring... No matter how much they had made during their careers.

The Final Chapter

 Let us come to the conclusion that there is no way that Kobe Bryant is retiring, whether you think he should or not. There are more than 25 millions not to... most of them green, but still there are other reasons too. No real NBA fan could be happy to see him go, let alone go this way. So how about we all buckle up, and hope Kobe Bryant can prove the doubters wrong one more time, shutting the door closed on the final chapter of his career.

           

            

Are the Lakers Actually... Decent?

The Los Angeles Lakers have one of the worst records in the NBA right now, sitting at 5-13. However, are they really a terrible team? Or are they a victim of a brutal schedule given by the NBA? By no account am I saying that the Lakers are a good team, or even an 8th seed contender by any means, but the Lakers seem to have been competitive in many of their games that they have played against, and most of those games have been against strong teams. They have even taken out the Raptors in the last two days, the Eastern Conference's best team. 

Really Bad Losses?

Out of the Lakers 18 games that they have played, 13 of them have been against playoff teams. One may be quick to point out that they’ve had poor losses to the T-Wolves and Nuggets, but those games were highly competitive and it seems had the Lakers gotten a break or two, they would be the victors in those games, and many other of their losses as well. Three of the Lakers 5 wins are against top 4 seeded teams in their respective conferences as well.

What’s with the Scheduling?

            Although many of us may forget it now, the Lakers had a ridiculous opening schedule that was part of their 5 game skid. For some reason, the NBA felt it right to give the Lakers 4 games in the first 5 days of the NBA season. Some teams hadn’t even played their second game by the time the Lakers were starting their fourth. Team chemistry is tough to develop quickly, and with all the new players, coaches, and styles of play, it made the opening to the season really rough for the Lakers.

Conclusion:

            All in all, it just seems unfair to deem the Lakers as one of the worst teams in the NBA. They have some decent talent. I think we can all agree at this point that Kobe Bryant is not just the 40^th best player in the NBA per ESPN. Nick Young has come back and provided the Lakers with some good firepower to go along Kobe. The Lakers may just need a simple fix to get back on track. My suggestion: start Ed Davis over Carlos Boozer, who has the worst +/- statistic on the team. The Lakers just don’t play well when Boozer is on the court because of his poor shot selection, bad defense, and lack of effort. The Lakers need to start closing games better as well and maybe, their record will show them to be a decent team.