10 reasons for Lakers fans to have hope for the future

Aside from when Magic Johnson announced his retirement from NBA due to becoming HIV positive, the Los Angeles Lakers are enduring what is undoubtedly their roughest stretch ever as an organization.

The team has been missed the playoffs by a mile for two straight years, Kobe Bryant is a shell of the star he used to be, the team's head coach and front office are out of touch with the modern-day NBA landscape, and there are already fears highly touted rookie D’Angelo Russell will be a bust. Things are bad in LaLa Land. Really bad.

That being said, there is reason for Lakers fans to have hope for future. In fact, there's more than they might realize. Although the 2015-16 NBA season appears to be another lost year for the Lakers, there are a number of reasons for Lakers fans to believe that the sorry state their beloved franchise is in IS NOT the new norm. Rather, it’s just a rough patch, an aberration that the they can and will recover form.

Here are 10 reasons why.

1) The young bucks

Despite the feeling that the sky is falling in Lakers-land, it’s really not. The primary reason is that they have three young, talented players whom they can rebuild around. Julius Randle, 20, Jordan Clarkson, 23, and D’Angelo Russell, 19, are all potential stars in the making. Granted, they may not be on the same level as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka were for the Thunder a few years back, but all three of them are guys who can learn to play and excel in the NBA at a high level.

Randle looks to be a surefire 20-10 player a few years from now, and Clarkson is already a pro at getting penetration into the lane and scoring. Those two will be fine. However, when it comes to the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, D’Angelo Russell, there is already fear that the Lakers' front office blew the pick. In the words of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, "Relax, Lakers fans." Russell is a 19-year-old who isn’t quite physically or intellectually prepared to make a massive impact on the court at this point.

But the talent is there. Russell is a uniquely gifted passer, and most importantly, he can shoot. Assuming he doesn’t collapse under the pressure of playing in Hollywood, Russell has all the tools at his disposal to become a star in the NBA. It’s just going to take some time for him to develop. If James Harden and Andre Drummond both failed to score more than 10 points per game in the NBA as 19-year-olds, Russell shouldn’t be rashly labeled a bust for doing the same.

2) Kobe Bryant’s final year

Lakers fans will be forever grateful for Kobe Bryant and what he’s done for the franchise over the past 20 years, but at this point, Kobe’s presence is a hindrance to the Lakers' long-term success. Clearly no longer the MVP-caliber player he once was, the specter of Kobe only serves at this point to take away minutes from players who need to develop and is psychologically draining on the locker room.

Bryant has turned into that guy who whenever he enters a room, everyone around him freezes up from the tension in the air. As difficult as it might be for the Lakers organization, its fans and for Kobe to realize, his presence on the team serves no useful purpose anymore.

That being said, Bryant is the final year of his contract and could very well retire at the end of the season. The Lakers need to finally get rid of this notion that they can recapture flashes of the old Kobe or that his greatness will rub off on the rest of the team. For the sake of the Lakers' future, this needs to be Bryant’s last year with the team, and in all likelihood, it will be.

3) The salary cap

With Kobe Bryant’s massive $24.5 million contract coming off the books at the end of this season, and with the NBA’s salary cap projected to rise anywhere from $20 million to $30 million, the Lakers' front office is going to have a lot of money to play with. Free agents have been hesitant to come to play for the Lakers the past few years, but an excess of cash can do wonders in professional sports.

4) The luxury tax

Unlike many other NBA franchises, the Lakers do not care if they exceed the NBA’s salary cap and are forced to pay luxury taxes. The Lakers' willingness to pay the NBA’s luxury tax will always serve to give them more options and financial flexibility. It’s an advantage they have over many other teams when it comes to acquiring new players.

5) Embracing analytics

After years of dismissing the analytics revolution in the NBA, the Lakers have finally come to embrace it. They have added an analytics department to their front office and are beginning to invest in the information it's producing. Hey, better late than never.

6) Trade chips

Although it would likely fetch them nothing more than second-round picks on the open market, the Lakers do have two trade chips in Nick Young and Roy Hibbert. Both have trade-friendly contracts and could be appealing to a contending team looking for scoring depth or an extra rim protector.

Again it’s hard to imagine the Lakers could trade Young or Hibbert for more than a second-round pick or an unproven youngster, but an asset in an asset. The more assets, the better, and the Lakers will likely have the opportunity to acquire a few more come the February trade deadline.

7) Byron Scott will eventually be gone

Head coach Byron Scott just doesn’t fit into the present-day landscape of the NBA. Ten years ago sure, but today, no. Scott is utterly tone-deaf when it comes to the present-day culture of the NBA and is out-coached on a nightly basis.

Ironically, former Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni would be a better fit for their current roster than Scott. Just like Kobe, Scott needs to go at the end of the season. In all likelihood he will. A new coach, who is in touch with what NBA basketball has become, would breathe new life into a Lakers organization that desperately needs it.

8) Other teams are fading as well

The Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers are no longer the powerhouse teams that they once were. All three of these franchises are on the decline. Hell, even at some point Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are going to be gone from the Spurs, and they’ll likely take a step back.

Additionally, despite having mega-star Anthony Davis, the Pelicans look to be much further away from being a true contender than most initially thought. The point here is that in a few years the West isn’t going to be as strong as it currently is. This gives some wiggle room for the Lakers to improve.

9) The Lakers' front office isn’t the disaster you think it is

The vast majority of the basketball world, Lakers fans especially, abhor Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations Jim Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak. Although the pair have made some poor decisions in recent years (largely in terms of hiring coaches), their track record isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be.

Buss and Kupchak pulled off a trade for Chris Paul in 2011 only to have it vetoed by then NBA commissioner David Stern. The Steve Nash trade looked like a great move at the time, and the Dwight Howard trade looked like an amazing coo as well. 2014 draft picks Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson both have promising futures, as does D’Angelo Russell.

The point here is that Buss and Kupchak seem to have a larger problem with how they are perceived by the basketball world, rather than how they actually operate within it. That being said, perception is too often mistaken for reality. At the very least, if the Lakers do fail to successfully rebuild over the next several years, Buss has stated he will resign.

10) It happens

I know this isn’t the happy-go-lucky answer Lakers fans are looking for, but this happens. Teams go through rough patches, ESPECIALLY after years of sustained greatness. In every sport, teams rise and fall like the spokes on a wheel. The Los Angeles Lakers just happen to be one of those franchises right now. There are good reasons for Lakers fans to have hope, but a sense of fear remains.

The uncertainty of whether this decline is just a short-term aberration or whether it will turn into an epic 30-year quagmire is the existential fear that Lakers fans face. And boy, is that feeling ever something new for Lakers Nation.