Coach Phil Jackson and General Manager Mitch Kupchak anticipate a different lineup with many of the same players.
L.A. Times: New season, new Lakers?
The Lakers could feature a completely different makeup next season, Coach Phil Jackson said today.
“If and when [Andrew Bynum] is back, which we anticipate, it will be a different team entirely,” Jackson said.
The shifting probably will involve players sliding into new roles, rather than a full-out hunt in the free-agent market this summer.
It will include juggling a loaded frontcourt and Lamar Odom possibly moving from power forward to small forward.
“It’s a real issue,” Jackson said. “We think we can do it. We think people will have to sacrifice.”
General Manager Mitch Kupchak said the team would be creative in its rotation next year, and one option was for Odom to play guard and Kobe Bryant to move up to small forward.
“It could be the longest and biggest frontcourt in the NBA in many, many years,” Kupchak said.
“It is a team that would be very talented, very long and versatile, and I think training camp would be an important time to test out what [Jackson] has done during the summer.”
Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, Kupchak and Jackson will sit down in the next couple of days to assess the team’s future.
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