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:
Clarkson is excited to be a part of the Lakers' next generation.
"I think it's going to be fun," he said, per the Los Angeles Times' Jesse Dougherty. "We're a whole new group. A young, talented group of guys coming together."
Lindsey Thiry of the Los Angeles Times shared a clip of Russell highlighting the positive changes he sees with Bryant gone:
Nick Young, on the other hand, misses Bryant's presence, per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press:
Like Clarkson, Russell and Randle, Brandon Ingram will be another key piece of Los Angeles' long-term outlook, but expectations are tempered for the No. 2 overall pick in his rookie year. He'll have to beat out Deng for minutes at the 3, and Randle and Larry Nance Jr. will limit ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
