The Los Angeles Lakers had exit meetings that left the players very encouraged for the future.
The Los Angeles Lakers saw big turnover during the 2016-17 season. Not only did they struggle to win games, going 26-56, they underwent a huge overhaul within their management, shaking up the front office.
Team governor Jeanie Buss decided it was time for a change. She promoted Magic Johnson, who was brought on as an advisor, to president of basketball operations.
General manager Mitch Kupchak was fired as a result and her brother, Jim Buss, was stripped of his title as vice president of basketball operations. Also shown the door was vice president of public relations John Black.
It was a major change to make in general, let alone days before the NBA trade deadline. Without a general manager in place, Johnson was tasked with running operations and executed two trades with the Houston Rockets.
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The Lakers eventually landed agent Rob Pelinka to be their general manager. With so much turnover in the front office and an abundance of youth on the roster, the Lakers are in a position they haven’t been in a very long time — rebuilding.
A rebuild can take a while to come to fruition, but the Lakers are excited about the future they have. The Lakers new management duo of Johnson and Pelinka held exit meetings with the players last week.
The meetings lasted about 30 minutes apiece for each player, with goals being outlined for each individual player and the need for endurance on the team overall to improve.
Pelinka compared the rebuild to a Rubik’s cube, but how much he and Johnson can improve on the Lakers’ present young core is still up for debate.
"“We are evaluating which players on the roster are going to buy into that process and make it a habit into their lives,” Pelinka said. “It’s too early to assess definitively which ones are and which aren’t.”"
One player that bought into what was shared in the exit meeting and wants to take the next step in his playing career is Larry Nance Jr.
Nance took some steps forward in his second season with the team. He is one of many youngsters the Lakers are hoping make up their next championship core.
Nance was one of the players that came away very encouraged from the exit meeting, saying it was a pursuit of excellence. Nance likes the position that the Lakers are currently in with their roster as well.
"“The sky’s the limit,” Nance said. “You look at what we’ve got. We’ve got every position and then some. It looks very promising.”"
Nance would be right. There is a ton of young talent on the roster budding with potential. Nance spoke highly of D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Ivica Zubac. All are 24 years old or younger, so there is plenty of room to grow.
Nance also wants to improve enough defensively to warrant some attention in the Defensive Player of the Year race.
Head coach Luke Walton is excited about the future and rightfully so. The Lakers showed flashes of their potential at times this season with development trumping victories.
"“We weren’t going to win a championship this year. We all knew that,” Walton said. “The message going into training camp wasn’t about how many games we could win. It was about starting to build a foundation and to create winning habits and starting to create a winning culture.”"
The Lakers began putting those pieces together near the end of the season. Losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors sandwiched a five-game winning streak in April.
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While winning lessened the Lakers chances of finishing in the top-three of the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery, the young Lakers started to click and blossom the final weeks of the season.