Lakers searching for new direction amid identity crisis

There is no agreed-upon moment when the Lakers began their downward spiral. Perhaps it was when Phil Jackson retired in 2011. Or when the Chris Paul trade was rescinded later that year. Possibly when Kobe’s achilles snapped in 2013. Whenever the exact moment was, what matters now is that this Laker franchise is swamped in as many questions as ever, with a long, winding path back to the Showtime era.

With Kobe stepping away after 20 glorious years and the recent firing of coach Byron Scott, who went 38-126 in two forgettable seasons, the Lakers’ descension has continued. A legend is gone, with no clear heir (maybe D’Angelo Russell, but he has not showed enough yet to warrant the title of franchise savior) and the fourth coach in five years has just been pink-slipped, basically the opposite of consistency from the sidelines.

The Lakers need to forge a new direction and stray from the path of the last few years. The key to implementing a successful and fresh identity is to get the coaching hire right. There are many names floating around; Luke Walton’s name has rightfully popped up. Current San Antonio Spurs assistant Ettore Messina has justifiably received some buzz. Bottom line is, the Lakers need a versatile coach. While Scott’s only value was being hard-nosed and facilitating the Kobe transition smoothly, their new coach needs to further develop the young core, as well as install a functioning offensive and defensive system, which Scott failed to do.

Next step for the Lakers is to embrace the spread of analytics. While relying solely on data is irrational, using it in moderation will surely reveal some valuable stats that otherwise could have gone uncovered. General Manager Mitch Kupchak certainly knows his basketball, but perhaps his stubbornness to sticking to the old-school way of scouting mildly contributed to the Lakers’ current state.

Lastly, the Lakers must nail their draft pick, which has a 55.8% chance of becoming a top-3 pick, thanks to their miserable record this year. If the basketball gods are in their favor, and the team finds a top-2 pick sitting in its lap after the lottery, major help could be on the way.

The upcoming 2016 NBA draft has a conscious top two players in forwards Ben Simmons of LSU and Brandon Ingram of Duke. Each player is considered to be a potential franchise savior, and they even play a major position of need for the Lakers, a stud to sandwich between the young backcourt and Julius Randle.

Ever since Kobe shredded his achilles, the Lakers have been clinging to his indestructible image as a face for their franchise, even though behind the curtains they were a disaster. With Kobe gone, the current situation is dire, but if the Lakers can ace the coaching hire, where they have already interviewed the bright minds of Messina and Walton, embrace the numbers game and get their draft pick right, a return to the Golden Age is right around the corner.