Allen Iverson: Entertaining AI Shows LA Lakers are Truly Desperate

The Los Angeles Lakers remain desperate for help at the point guard position.

After commissioner David Stern vetoed a deal to bring Chris Paul to the team, which would have addressed the gaping hole with emphasis, the Lakers are still searching for a way to address a very clear area of need.

The Lakers have to seek an upgrade.

The combination of Derek Fisher and Steve Blake has not had the impact the team so sorely needs, and it's led to a good deal of collective head scratching in the front office.

Los Angeles has already been linked to Gilbert Arenas.

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Arenas, who turned 30 last month, looked "slimmed down" and "explosive," according to a source with knowledge of the workout, but no signing is necessarily imminent as the guard flew back to his home in Orlando, Fla., from Los Angeles on Sunday night.

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That's right; the same player who Orlando decided to waive using its amnesty provision and pay more than $60 million to just to get him off the roster worked out for the Lakers.

But the Lakers are keeping their options. How open? Wide open.

Stephen A. Smith reported that the team held some level of interest in Allen Iverson had the veteran been interested in spending some time in the D-League.

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Allen Iverson, who sources indicated the Lakers had some interest in as long as he was willing to go to the NBA Developmental League for a few weeks first, is not the answer. He's simply not a point guard.

The Lakers are also said to be interested in former Toronto Raptors point guard Rafer Alston, who helped the Orlando Magic reach the NBA Finals in 2009. But who knows if that will materialize into anything?

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Smith is right about one thing—despite his nickname, Iverson is not the answer for the Lakers.

The last thing Los Angeles needs is a 36-year-old guard, who has been out of the league since the 2009-10 campaign, to come in and start chucking up shots rather than serving as someone capable of facilitating the offense.

But this speaks to a larger problem: The Lakers are in dire need of support on the offensive end.

Fans are so quick to criticize general manager Mitch Kupchak for an inability to land help at the position, but it's imperative to remember one thing: He tried.

Kupchak concocted an agreed-upon deal for Chris Paul, and had Stern allowed the deal to go through, we'd all be discussing a very different Lakers team right now.

But it didn't happen.

The Lakers are struggling to adjust on the offensive end under Mike Brown.

The team has just three players averaging double-digit scoring, and the residual effects of that lack of production have been stunning.

An inability to space the floor effectively (paired with a shortcoming of talent on the perimeter) has left the Lakers tied for 29th in the league in three-point shooting.

The Lakers only player to average more than four assists per game currently? Kobe Bryant.

But what about the scoring?

Los Angeles has had just three games all season where the team has scored 100 points or more.

Not so coincidentally, the Lakers' record in those games stands at a sterling 3-0 mark.

The Lakers are scraping at the bottom of the barrel in the pursuit of upgrading the roster, something that Kupchak and the rest of the front office knows is necessary.

In a recent question-and-answer session with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, Kupchak was asked specifically what he'd like to address before the March 15 trade deadline.

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Well, if there were a way for us to get a 25-year-old, All-Star, ball-handling guard we'd love to do it … but that's not likely in February. So you look at other alternatives, and see if it's better than what you have. That's all.

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Kupchak should be taken very literally. He's always been very forthcoming in answers he's provided to the media without ever stating exactly what he's got cooking in the kitchen.

Are any of Arenas, Iverson or Alston an improvement over Fisher and Blake in 2012?

That's the question on many fans are asking in the search of upgrading the point guard position.

But, just like prior to the nixed CP3 trade, Kupchak is undoubtedly working with diligence to find a solution that's more than just a mere stopgap.

Kupchak was very specific to say acquiring an All-Star point guard was not likely in February, but what about in March when the trade deadline nears and teams are looking to make improvements to the roster?

That's the same question Lakers fans will be asking themselves over the course of the next month.