Los Angeles Lakers: Should Get Maggette Before It's Too Late

The Los Angeles Lakers are the best team in the league going into next year, even after that whipping they suffered to the Celtics in the finals a few weeks ago. They have the league's best player (Kobe), a couple of great big men (Bynum & Gasol), very good role players (Odom & Fisher) and an excellent young bench. (Farmar, Ariza, Sasha, Walton, Turiaf)

They are going to be much better next year even if they don't make a trade or a major free agent signing just because of the presence Andrew Bynum will give them which they sorely missed in the finals against the more physical Celtics.

Bynum will be that defensive force in the middle the Lakers needed, an excellent rebounder and a solid offensive low post player. He also puts Pau Gasol back to his natural position at the power forward spot and gives Kobe another option in the middle to play with.

The Lakers will also be better because of the experience all of the Lakers got in their terrific playoff run this season. Remember, only Kobe and Fisher had made it past the second round before last season and all of the young players of the bench and Gasol/Odom got a lot of invaluable experience by making it to the finals which will lead to better play from them deeper in the playoffs.

Going into the offseason, the Lakers only have two free agents. Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic are both restricted free agents. GM Mitch Kupchak has said publicly that he wants to resign both of the them.

He wants to keep the team intact with maybe only a minor free agent signing to help their shaky perimeter defense or a big man inside to help solve some of the rebounding woes the Lakers had throughout the playoffs.

I personally think the Lakers should trade Odom for a more true small forward and/or a solid starting point guard. However, that scenario looks extremely unlikely right now even though he has a lot of value because of his huge expiring contract. (around $14 million)

The Lakers didn't catch a break when Ron Artest decided not to opt out of his contract even though he isn't in the long term plans of the Queens. Artest would have likely signed with the Lakers for the full midlevel because he is good friends with Kobe & Odom, would like to play in Los Angeles (supposed rap career) and would like to contend for a championship.

However, now there is absolutely no chance of the Lakers getting him because they can only do so through a trade with Sacramento which won't happen because they wouldn't want to help improve their main division rivals.

Currently, there is only one free agent who could make a difference for a team already contending for a championship and that is Corey Maggette. Right now, the two teams with the best chance to sign Maggette are the Spurs and Celtics after the Magic pretty much gave up going after him.

The Spurs and Celtics are the three best teams in the NBA along with the Lakers. Maggette would fit perfectly with the Spurs. The Spurs have been wanting an athletic offensive wing player for the last few years and Maggette is exactly that. Also, Maggette would start at shooting guard and that will allow Ginobli to continue being the best sixth man in the league.

The Celtics don't really need Maggette, but signing him would drastically bolster their weak bench. He would back up both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and help relieve them from playing so many minutes in the regular season so they will be fresher in the playoffs. He would also be a great offensive weapon to come in the game off the bench and give the team a lift to their offense when needed.

The Lakers need to offer Maggette the full midlevel deal for 5 years at around $6 million a year. They have more to offer than both the Celtics and the Spurs. They can offer the same money, but signing with the Lakers will keep Corey in L.A. where he has played for the last 8 years, he gets to play with a very good friend of his in Kobe and he gets to contend for a championship for the next 5-6 years.

The Lakers should sign Maggette to the midlevel and keep the team for this season. Their lineup would be Fisher, Kobe, Maggette, Pau and Bynum with Odom off the bench as the backup small and power forward and Farmar, Sasha, Ariza, Walton and Turiaf. That team if healthy would definitely win the championship.

Then after next season, the Lakers would let Odom go, sign Bynum to the max contract that he wants and extend Kobe for 4-5 more years. Then, they would have the core of Kobe, Maggette, Pau and Bynum for the next 5-6 years and form the next dynasty in the glorious history of the Lakers.

All they need to do is convince Maggette to sign with them and keep their core for the next half decade and several championships will be on the way. That is all they need to do.