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The Los Angeles Lakers done with the Kobe Bryant era

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau

January 4, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) moves the ball down court against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 4, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) moves the ball down court against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Los Angeles Lakers are no longer going to make Kobe Bryant the focal point of their team as they are starting to look ahead in the future.

Kobe Bryant is 36-years-old and he’s in his 18th season in the NBA. Bryant also is the only active player remaining from the 1996 NBA Draft.

Regardless of how much we’ve enjoyed Bryant play over the last two decades, all of this means that his basketball mortality is coming to a close.

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Because Bryant’s time is almost done playing basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers are starting to make sure that they are prepared when he does retire from the game of basketball.

In an interview with the California media, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said this:

"“This team primarily has been Kobe’s team now for almost 18 or 20 years and we’re much closer to the end of those 18, 20 years than we are to the middle or the beginning.So at some point we have to start a new run…To jeopardize the next five or seven years, bring in old veterans that make a lot of money, just to win one more year, because that’s Kobe’s last year or could be his last year, I’m not sure that fits into doing it the right way.If you have picks and you have a lot of financial flexibility, there are a lot of ways to improve your team quickly. I can’t sit here and say that’s what we’re planning on.”"

This should come as a surprise to anyone. A few years ago in 2011, when Chris Paul was set to become the point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers, he was going to become the person that the Lakers wanted to build around.

Even as recently as 2013, when the Lakers traded for Dwight Howard, he was set to take the reins away from Bryant and become the next big start in Los Angeles.

Thankfully the Lakers might not have to wait too long trying to infuse young talent onto their team. Next season the Lakers are hopefully going to have a healthy power forward in Julius Randle, to pair with their young point guard, Jordan Clarkson.

In addition to those two young and talented players the Lakers are also going to most likely have a top five pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Next year’s draft is quite strong and it might feature players such as Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay from China, Arizona’s Stanley Johnson and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell

On another note: Check out where these players rank within our college basketball player rankings.

Bryant may want to win now, but the future of the Lakers might not be ready enough yet to do it.

Next: Lakers' Kobe Bryant compares himself to Mozart

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