Fans got their first look at the Kobe Bryant-less Los Angeles Lakers during the team's media day Monday.
With Bryant retired, the Lakers are embarking on a new era. The franchise isn't in a complete rebuild, though, having spent a combined $136 million on Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng in the summer.
Still, the Lakers' focus in head coach Luke Walton's first season on the sideline will be developing younger stars and building a contender for the long term.
The team shared a photo of three of its brightest talents, 20-year-old point guard D'Angelo Russell, 24-year-old shooting guard Jordan Clarkson and 21-year-old power forward Julius Randle:
It's unrealistic to expect any one player to single-handedly fill the void Bryant's retirement left. For 20 years, Bryant was the center of attention in Los Angeles. Even in his final season, when he was well below his peak, he ranked fourth in the NBA in usage rate (32.2 percent), per Basketball-Reference.com.
Walton is waiting to see which player or players step up to compensate for Kobe's absence, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Joseph Zucker
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