What’s next for Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant

With the departure of Dwight Howard and the projected amnesty of Metta World Peace, it begs the question, what’s next for this most storied-Lakers franchise?

Is the team to enter into the tanking phenomena in search of more first-round draft picks in the deep 2014 NBA draft? Or should the team continue to free up cap space to be able to surround Kobe with enough stars from the strong 2014 free agent market, which includes LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and make a championship push in one of Bryant’s last seasons?

These are just a few of the tough questions facing the Los Angeles Lakers this off season, who currently, assuming the amnesty of Metta World Peace, doesn’t currently have a small forward on their roster.

For argument’s sake, let’s assume that the Lakers decision to evoke their amnesty rights on Metta World Peace for the upcoming season is in the pursuit of saving some $30-odd million in cap space for the extremely strong free agent market and draft class of 2014.

If the objective is for the franchise to save as much money as possible going forward, wouldn’t amnestying Kobe Bryant and his huge contract be most effective in achieving this goal, especially considering the Achilles injury?

Furthermore, a year off for Kobe could possibly be best for him allowing his Achilles to be fully rehabilitated. Although, Kobe would never succumb to such an idea as the move would go against every fibre in his body. Not to mention the backlash that would occur from fans and broadcaster alike if the superstar was rested for the season.

Therefore, with the Lakers aggressively clearing cap space, the most logical option for this coming season would be to tank for more picks from the talented 2014 NBA draft, and not even consider bringing Kobe back until possibly January allowing his aging body time to recover for one last Championship push.