NBA: 7 ways Lakers can achieve basketball nirvana
By Josh Hill
6. Make D’Angelo Russell The Face Of The Franchise
Kobe Bryant is a lot of things — legend, icon, future Hall of Famer — but one thing that he’s not is the face of the Lakers franchise. One thing Kobe definitely isn’t is the future of the franchise.
Once the vision of the future, Kobe is a face of the Lakers franchise in the same way that Magic Johnson, Kareem Adbul and Jerry West are. None of those players are going to help the Lakers in the next few years, but D’Angelo Russell will.
The rumors that the Lakers want to trade Russell to the Kings for Cousins are asinine and need to be considered blasphemy. The one thing the Lakers lacked, even in their prime Kobe years, was a superstar point guard.
Maybe it was because they didn’t need it then, but the Lakers are way behind the times if they think they can win in the NBA with just big men. History lesson: the Lakers only won with Shaq as their big man because he had a star guard.
Kobe is a relic, and D’Angelo Russell is the way of the future. Star point guards are like elite quarterbacks in the NFL, you can’t win without one.
Next: 7. Hire Tom Thibodeau At All Costs