Plenty of questions for Lakers as preseason ends in Vegas

As the Los Angeles Lakers conclude their 2014 NBA preseason Friday, they do so with so many questions that probably won’t have answers until spring.

For starters, there’s Kobe Bryant. He’s 36 years old and coming off two major injuries in the last two years — a ruptured left Achilles tendon and a fractured left knee that has limited to six games in the last year and a half. He’s still going to be asked to lead the Lakers even though he is adjusting his game to accommodate his age. What can he realistically still do?

Bryant will not play when the Lakers face Sacramento at 7 p.m. at the MGM Grand Garden in their annual visit to Las Vegas. He was held out of Wednesday’s preseason game in Ontario, Calif. against Portland and will return to action Tuesday when the Lakers meet the Houston Rockets at the Staples Center to open the 2014-15 NBA regular season.

Then there’s Steve Nash. The team confirmed reports Thursday that the 40-year-old point guard will miss the upcoming season as his back problems continue to linger. Nash played in only 15 games last year and one preseason game this year. He came out after one quarter of a second preseason game on Oct. 12 and hasn’t played since. Now that Nash is gone for the year, and perhaps for good, can the Lakers get by without his experience?

The Lakers added Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin, two veteran players, to the equation, in the offseason. Can they raise their individual games while at the same time fit in playing with Bryant?

Julius Randle represents the future for the team. The 6-foot-9-inch power forward from Kentucky is exactly what the Lakers are looking for to help bolster their frontcourt. But he’s an NBA rookie with just one year of college under his belt. He’s going to have a lot to learn.

Finally, the Lakers didn’t hire a head coach until August when they brought Byron Scott back to the family. Will he be able to get this team to perform at a high level on a consistent basis?

General manager Mitch Kupchak acknowledges it will be a challenge for the Lakers to make the postseason this year. But he believes that the team, as currently constructed and with everyone healthy, can compete in the NBA Western Conference.

The Lakers have been dealing with an assortment of injuries during the preseason, which has them at 3-4 heading into Friday’s finale with the Kings, who are 1-4. In addition to Nash, Nick Young is out following surgery on his right thumb and isn’t due to return until December. Jordan Hill has a sore neck, Xavier Henry has had issues with his right knee and Ryan Kelly has a strained right hamstring. Jordan Clarkson returned to action in Wednesday’s 94-86 win over Portland after being out with a strained left calf. Lin also returned to the court earlier in the week after missing a couple of games with a sprained left ankle.

“We haven’t had a chance to play everyone together,” Kupchak said. “But we feel if we have everyone healthy there’s no question we can get to the postseason.

“I’m not saying its going to be easy. There are a lot of very good teams in our conference. But I think where we have our entire team available, we’re good enough to compete.”

The Las Vegas oddsmakers aren’t seeing it that way. They’ve posted the number of total wins by the Lakers for this year from anywhere from 30 to 33 games.

Kupchak also understands the Lakers are a team in the midst of change. Yes, they have Bryant for the next two years, having given him an extension at the cost of a whopping $48.5 million. But they believe they have a future star in Randle, who they took with the No. 7 pick overall in last June’s draft.

“We are in a transition period right now,” Kupchak said. “When you have a player like Kobe for 20 years and is now 36, you’re going to go through a transition. Every team goes through it. We’ve been through it before and we’ve been very lucky in that regard.

“But we’re trying to get younger and we’ve got a lot of flexibility with the salary cap. We’re very excited about Julius and have him as part of our future going forward.”

With all the injuries the team has sustained, it could give free agent Roscoe Smith a chance to be part of the team’s immediate future. The former UNLV forward was signed for training camp after playing for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League and has appeared in six of the seven preseason games so far. He had six points and six rebounds in 19 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Trail Blazers.

Scott said he will coach who he has and Kupchak believes that bringing him in will help ease the team through its transition.

“Byron’s a veteran coach and he understands what the Lakers represent, having been a player, and he’s been well received by our players,” Kupchak said. “He’s going to hold all the players accountable.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj