Los Angeles Lakers Looking at Their Options This Offseason

Not much is going on in Lakerland this offseason, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are doomed for another run at the NBA Finals.

As expected, Trevor Ariza exercised his contract option for next season. Ariza has proved this past season that he can run in the triangle offense, and they need him for his great defense. He is a good slasher—which will be key to his scoring success next season when he plays with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

With defensive players busy trying to contain those two, Ariza can easily make a name for himself on the court.

Also, as expected, Chris Mihm exercised his contract option for next season. It would have been foolish not to. After all, who wouldn't like to make $2.5 million dollars for sitting on a bench?

But lets not be too hard on Mihm. In case you have forgotten, before the ankle injury in the '05-06 season, he was averaging a decent 10.2 PPG to go along with 6.3 RPG. He's got a good hook on him and has shown that he can step out and shoot a nice mid-range jump shot.

He hasn't been the same since the injury, but he did have successful ankle surgery back in January, and came back in time to get his few minutes of fame in the NBA Finals. Mihm's minutes obviously wont be the same, but he's a good enough backup for Bynum and Gasol.

Ronny Turiaf will be coming back as a Golden State Warrior next season and it's sad to see him go. He was without a doubt the most energetic player on the Lakers roster, and he brought a spark off the bench that the crowd won't soon forget.

But as far as NBA Economics 101 is concerned, letting him go was the correct choice to make.

Golden State offered him a very large contract that the Lakers simply couldn't match. They are already paying luxury taxes up the wazoo. Matching that four-year, $17 million dollar contract would not only make those worse—but also force them to forfeit any hopes of re-signing Sasha Vujacic.

With that kind of contract, the Warriors are looking to give Turiaf a much larger role and the Lakers can't do that. So long, Ronny, and good luck on your new team.

As long as I brought up Vujacic, lets talk about him next. In a contract season, Vujacic was able to put up career-bests in points at 8.8 PPG, while shooting 43.7 percent from the three-point line.

But the Lakers learned quickly from their Luke Walton mistake, and didn't take any chances by offering Sasha a pathetic one-year qualifying offer of $2.6 Million.

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