The future is not looking too hot for the Lakers.
They have been very good for a very long period of time, with very few down seasons. Every time it looked like they would suffer through a sustained bad period great management and good fortune would shine on them.
It is looking though like their luck has ran out. They have been hit with injuries, poor management and some bad luck (blame David Stern). But, they aren’t giving up hope and they refuse to tank.
“I think the teams that use that as a strategy are doing damage,” Buss said as part of a wide-ranging ESPN The Magazine joint interview with her brother, and Lakers president of player personnel, Jim Buss. “If you’re in a tanking mode and you’re doing that for three years or whatever, that means you’ve got young players from the years that you were at the bottom that you’re teaching bad habits to. I think that’s unforgivable.
“I understand the pain of Lakers fans,” Jim Buss said, in the joint interview, which will runs in the December 12 issue of ESPN the Magazine. “I feel the pain of losing, too. But I have to focus on how we get out of this. And when I look at the flexibility and the position that we’re in, we can’t be in a better position to move forward and get back on top.”
The Lakers need that top 5 pick, but if they win too much, it will go to the Suns. They also need top free agents to want to come to LA, but none seem that interested at the moment.