Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchack reiterated several times that he wouldn't compromise the team's future and its long-term flexibility just to give Kobe Bryant enough supporting cast to make another run at the championship in what many believed the final season of his legendary career.
But with how things are shaping up this early into the offseason, it appears the Lakers are determined to swing for the fences on the trading front and the free-agency market, and give Bryant a sweet parting gift.
With the no.2 overall pick falling to their hands at the draft lottery, the Lakers knew from the start they are stumbling on something big. While the draft is pretty loaded up to the seventh pick, the Lakers would not stop in seeking other options where they can get a better premium out of their lottery pick.
So without any second thought, they dangled their no.2 pick and other assets in a trade proposal to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for All-Star and All-NBA center DeMarcus Cousins. Averaging 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game last season, the 25-year old man beast is considered by analysts as the next dominant force inside the paint since Shaquille O'Neal.
The Lakers championship teams features a bevy of centers (O'Neal, Pau Gasol, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain) who lorded in the paint during their respective eras and the current management has high hopes Cousins will join that prestigious list.
Finding a game-changing center is just one of their plans this summer, as the Lakers are also keen in signing the best frontline player available in the free-agency market, LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge, who was putting up a career average of 19.4 points and 8.4 rebounds over eight years with the Portland Trail Blazers per ESPN stats, is reportedly looking for a change in scenery, and sources close to situation that the Lakers are among the favorites to land the All-Star forward, via CBS Sports.
Acquiring two All-Star big men is already devastating sight for other teams, but the prospect of having Cousins and Aldridge, two of the most offensively gifted frontline players in the league, manning the paint makes the Lakers even more formidable. Moreover, there's a chance the Lakers could add another game-changing player with Jimmy Butler expressing interest in signing a one-year offer sheet from the Lakers per Yahoo Sports.
Bringing all of these players together to play with another high-salary player in Bryant will blow the Lakers' payroll through the roof (probably $20 million over the luxury tax threshold), but it will also give them an opportunity to become a title contender once again after two dreadful seasons.
If the Buss family is true to their words about taking the Lakers back to the promise land, then shelling out a big load of cash should never be a problem in the first place. And so far, the purple-and-gold is aggressively heading to that direction as they look to make a serious splash this summer.