NBA begins offseason of change

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

New coaches for the NBA’s winningest franchises. New superstars for some of the teams chasing them.

Anything is possible in an offseason that could reshape the league, and it officially started after the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 on Thursday in Game 7 of the NBA finals to win their second straight championship.

While Kobe Bryant and the Lakers headed off to more celebrations everyone else will spend the next few weeks plotting ways to close the gap.

The draft is Thursday, and then it’s only another week after that until the most anticipated free agency period ever opens on July 1, when Miami will kick off its quest to get LeBron James or Chris Bosh to play with Dwyane Wade.

What would you think about going for three in a row against a team like that, Kobe?

“I don’t want to think about that,” Bryant said. “Those guys, I’ve seen those guys up close and personal. I don’t want to think about playing against both of them at the same time.”

Chicago and New York also dream of a team with multiple superstars, and it might take something like that to stop the Lakers. Bryant, the two-time NBA finals MVP, is still near the top of his game, and Pau Gasol appears to be getting better every year.

But they don’t know yet who will be coaching them. Phil Jackson, who won his 11th title, will take some time before deciding if he will return. He could walk away and retire if he’s not satisfied with a likely pay cut, or perhaps draw an offer from somewhere else — perhaps to coach James in Cleveland? — if he wanted to stay on the sideline.

A chance for yet another three-peat — he’s already done it three times — could keep him in Los Angeles. He wouldn’t offer much after the game, beyond saying that winning the title improves his chances of returning.

Down the hall, the Celtics were preparing to be broken apart.

Doc Rivers isn’t sure of his future, and even if he does return he knows it will be to a different locker room.

“We’re not going to be the same team next year,” Rivers said. “Guys are going to not be there, so that was tough for me.”

The Celtics haven’t been together that long, with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett acquired in separate trades in the summer of 2007, joining Paul Pierce to form the core of a team that made two finals in three years.

Their turnaround from laughingstock to powerhouse gives hope to the teams hoping for the quick fix this summer, leapfrogging the slow process of building through the draft by acquiring veterans who are ready to compete for a championship now.