Kobe Bryant says Lakers can come back
He called this season a "wasted year of my life," understandable because he wanted to catch Michael Jordan in the worst way but was still one championship shy. It kills him to no end.
"In terms of this being the decline of the Lakers, this is nonsense," Bryant said Wednesday. "I remember they had a pretty good era in the '80s and they didn't win three in a row. They didn't break that team up.
"Do I believe we can come back and win it again? I absolutely believe that. If this team came back as is, I believe we can win."
The Lakers have plenty of time to analyze their roster, though they're too far over the salary cap to sign anything but a mid-level free agent. They have four second-round picks in next month's NBA draft, though none higher than No. 41 in what is only a so-so selection of players.
Basically, all the Lakers can do is make trades. They got lucky in 2008 when Pau Gasol arrived and became the second-best player on a two-championship run. There's no predicting future success this time.
"There's really nobody out there looking to help the Lakers," Kupchak said. "With the core players that we have intact, we do think that we can continue to contend. We may have to look to improve certain areas …"
Speed and youth were the main areas of emphasis to come out of the final day of media interviews with Lakers players and personnel Wednesday. Other than Andrew Bynum, who is 23, the Lakers are firmly a 30-and-over nucleus.
The trading period tends to heat up around draft time, which is June 23. Bynum and Lamar Odom each had solid seasons and are the likeliest Lakers mentioned in trade talks because of their talent and contract situations.
Each has only one more year fully guaranteed. Bynum is owed $14.9 million next season, with a team option for $16.1 million in 2012-13. Odom is owed $8.9 million next season but only about one-third of his $8.2 million salary is guaranteed in 2012-13.
"I'm not sure anybody with the exception of Lamar had a really great season," Kupchak said.
