EL SEGUNDO – I sat down with Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss on Wednesday for nearly an hour, and one of the clear revelations was just how excited Buss is about the Lakers contending for the NBA championship in 2014, not just this season and next.
"We purposely ended all contracts that year," Buss said. "I can't talk about Kobe (Bryant), but this is what he signed till. So basically we put everything to that, and we want to make a big splash in the free-agent market if we get to that spot. So we designed the contracts and the players and our future all around that."
That makes for a completely viable scenario wherein Bryant retires in 2014 – and LeBron James signs a free-agent contract to replace him on the Lakers' marquee.
One day after I spoke with Buss (longer profile piece coming in the Sunday paper), Miami-based writer and longtime LeBron tracker Brian Windhorst coincidentally was also looking ahead and reporting: "Several teams' executives have told ESPN.com they believe the Lakers are positioning themselves to make a run at LeBron James in 2014, when the Miami Heat star can choose to become a free agent."
No doubt.
Buss specifically did not mention anyone by name and wouldn't be allowed to because of NBA tampering rules. Yet if Bryant steps aside, the Lakers envision having a re-signed Dwight Howard with Steve Nash in the final year of his new contract and some new, incredibly potent blood.
"Yeah, depending on the free agents that year," Buss said. "We would basically, money-wise, be able to sign the top free agent – maybe even two. I don't know the numbers exactly, because we're not privy to what the cap is and how much room we have, but it's going to be close to two of the top free agents that year."
It's not just all eggs in James' basket, as other stars such as James' Miami teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and New York's Carmelo Anthony could be free agents in 2014. Other big-name players who could be unsigned then (besides Bryant and Pau Gasol) are Dirk Nowitzki, Amar'e Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, John Wall, Danny Granger, Luol Deng, Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, Monta Ellis and Andrea Bargnani.
The Lakers' scenario could be put on a hold a year also if James doesn't opt out of his Heat contract in 2014. He, Wade and Bosh all have opportunities to opt out in 2015 again before their contracts expire in 2016. Some potential 2015 free agents are Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyrie Irving, Tony Parker and Anthony.
If Bryant, then 36, is amenable to returning in 2014, the Lakers' changes could be put on hold a year for that reason, too. Or Bryant could return at a heavily discounted rate that might allow the Lakers still to sign James or another new star to team with Bryant, Howard and Nash.
The possibilities are enough to make a Lakers fan dizzy – even before possible champagne bottles are opened with Bryant, Gasol, Howard and Nash these upcoming two seasons.
Buss said it had been "a little scary" to contemplate beyond two seasons ... until the acquisition of Howard.
"Because if we don't win championships (in 2013 and '14), we basically failed," Buss said. "But with Dwight hopefully wanting to stay with the Lakers, we feel our horizon is bright."
Buss had his eye on James as far back in 2005, when the Lakers were structuring the payroll for the possibility that James, Yao Ming and Stoudemire would not re-sign with their teams before 2007 free agency. Those scenarios didn't come to pass, but the Lakers are the masters when it comes to figuring out ways to cycle and recycle toward titles.
The post-Kobe incarnation of the Lakers might be the slickest turn of them all.
The new collective bargaining agreement is largely meant to shut off the Lakers' flowing spigot. Off-the-charts luxury-tax penalties kick in come 2014 for clubs who've been taxpayers for three of the previous four years. The Lakers basically have no choice but to duck under the tax threshold in '14 and '15, theoretically meaning they shouldn't continue to contend with suddenly light payrolls.
But Buss and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak are still ready and able to be the best. They should have a then-28-year-old Howard anchoring a suddenly low-payroll yet again high-expectation team in 2014.
"With Dwight Howard now, the future's so bright," Buss said. "If he re-signs with us, the future is so bright that now we can start looking into the three, four or five years from now and say, 'OK, we're again going toward championships.' "
Had the Lakers not traded Andrew Bynum for Howard, Buss said the same approach would've been in place by re-signing Bynum: "The plan was Andrew would carry us." Buss acknowledged, though, that the sun rising again in '14 isn't as cloudy with Bynum's clunky knee brace out of the picture.
Asked whether Howard's acquisition – pending him re-signing this summer – could be described as a "relief" for the future, Buss paused. He views it more as the Lakers doing what they do, preparing their chess moves well before their turns come up.
"It was a game plan, and to me, it came to fruition," Buss said. "So 'relief' might be a word, but more 'excitement.' I'm excited about the future – not only these two years, but moving forward. Very excited."
