People have a wide range of opinions when it comes to how the new-look Los Angeles Lakers will do this season. LeBron James and several other starters and key players left, while the team brought in a total of nine new players.
ESPN's panel of experts picked Los Angeles to finish sixth in the Western Conference with a 45-37 record, which seems like a somewhat gloomy prediction. Former Lakers power forward Horace Grant, who won an NBA championship with them in 2001, said in an exclusive interview with Action Network that he feels they're on the right track toward building something special around Luka Doncic, despite James' departure.
“I think LeBron knew that when Luka was traded there, that the writing was on the wall,” Grant said. “They were
going to start building around him. I think the core with [Austin] Reaves, Luka and [Walker] Kessler — I think he’s going to be very good for them in the middle. Whenever LeBron leaves, it’s not a good thing, but I think it was time for him to get re-energized.”
Some feel the price the Lakers paid to get Kessler in that sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz -- two future first-round draft picks, two pick swaps and a four-year, $130 million contract -- was too steep. But Grant knows that the 25-year-old will give L.A. something it has needed from the center position, other than rebounding and rim protection.
“No disrespect to (Deandre) Ayton and the rest of those guys, but I think they were missing that toughness in the middle,” Grant said. “The rim protector. He can score, block shots, rebound. That toughness. I watched him in Utah and I enjoyed what I saw.”
Kessler played just five games last season due to a torn labrum in his shoulder, but he underwent surgery to fix that injury, and it shouldn't be a concern moving forward.
He has career averages of 9.5 points on 68.1% field-goal shooting, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 25.3 minutes a game. For the first time in his career, he will be playing on a team that not only expects to make the playoffs but is looking to win the NBA championship within a few short years.
Grant also compared Kobe Bryant favorably with Michael Jordan
Grant spent his first seven seasons with the Chicago Bulls, where he won three straight world titles alongside Michael Jordan. Jordan was a little rough on him at times, but he gained a great amount of appreciation for arguably the greatest player in basketball history.
He's one of the luckiest basketball players who has ever lived, as he got to play with not only Jordan but also Kobe Bryant, not to mention Shaquille O'Neal. Grant chimed in on the persistent Bryant-Jordan comparisons and implied that Bryant was almost like Jordan's twin.
“It’s like my brother Harvey [Grant] and I,” Grant said. “We’re twins, and everything is similar, but I was just a little better. That’s the way with MJ and Kobe. Everything was similar. MJ was 1, and Kobe was 1A. The work ethic. The preparation. The mentality. They were just killers.
“I don’t use that word lightly, but on the court, we could be down 10 points with four minutes left on the clock. When you had one of those guys on your team, you’re still comfortable knowing you have a very good chance to win that particular ballgame.”
While playing with Bryant and O'Neal during the 2000-01 campaign, Grant averaged 8.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks a game. He returned to the Lakers for the 2003-04 season, his last in the NBA, but by this point, his abilities had greatly diminished.
He was unable to participate in that season's playoffs due to injury, and he had to watch as L.A. lost in the NBA Finals in five games to the Detroit Pistons. But his contributions to the team's then-record 15-1 romp through the 2001 postseason en route to the world championship will never be forgotten by Lakers fans.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Horace Grant: Walker Kessler brings Lakers a quality they have lacked
