Big Man Wanted: Five Possible Replacements for Andrew Bynum

The Los Angeles Lakers are 26-11 and sit atop the Western Conference for at least the next nine hours and eight minutes. By then the Suns will have beaten the Clippers and reclaimed sole possession of first place.

With the loss of Andrew Bynum for the next eight weeks the Lakers may look back on these 24 hours as their last taste of first place for this season. Thursday night's game against the Suns at Staples has lost a lot of it's luster. Three days ago the game had the potential of being a milestone game for the emerging Lakers.

With Bynum now on the shelf the Lakers will be reminded of just how far they are from becoming the best in the West. Don't be surprised if this year's Laker team starts to resemble last year's team.

All hope isn't lost in Lakerdom. Bynum's injury could have been much worse. The fact that he won't have to go under the knife is reason enough to exhale. But with the 10th best team in the West only 6.5 games out of the top spot the Lakers can't just coast along and count the days until Bynum's return. It isn't unrealistic to see the Lakers drop out of the top eight after they return from their nine-game road trip that starts Jan. 31.

The two-for-one trade of Maurice Evans and Brian Cook for Trevor Ariza gave the Lakers a luxury the team has sorely lacked for years—an open roster slot. Teams hate waiving players to make room for new ones. It's not because they have emotional ties to the player they are waiving. It's because they have financial ties.

No owner—excluding Paul Allen, James Dolan, and Mark Cuban—enjoys writing a check to a player that either isn't on the team, or worse, is playing for another team.

For a team like the Lakers that's already over the luxury tax, an additional salary costs them twice the amount of what the player is making. That's of no significance when the player you sign is good and can contribute. But when that player is used as a practice dummy and spends more time in street clothes than in a uniform, it's not worth the money to bring them in.

With that in mind, the Lakers have to use their open roster slot to bring in a serviceable big man to help the team while Bynum is recovering. Bynum's recovery might take eight weeks but it will take him at least 7-10 games to get his timing back and to get over the fear of re-injuring himself. Nobody would be surprised if Jackson tried to ease Bynum back into the lineup by bringing him off the bench and waiting until the week before the playoffs start before putting him back in the starting lineup.

Which big men are available either by trade or free agency? Here's the list in the order of probability:

1) DJ Mbenga

Mbenga is a hard-working lane-clogger who played well in the Warriors two meetings with the Lakers this year. I was surprised when Chris Mullin released him because the Warriors most glaring weakness is their lack of size. When playoff time rolls around and the game slows down, Nellie might regret not having Mbenga. The Lakers and Spurs are both very good at slowing the game down and Dallas won't be dumb enough to get baited into Nellie-ball for a second straight year. Mbenga was much more effective guarding Bynum than Andris Biedrins.

Odds: 9/5

2) Jelani McCoy/Jamal Sampson

Scary, right? What makes these guys number two on the list is that the Lakers don't have to commit more than ten days to either of them.

McCoy is the most convenient for the Lakers because he was on their 2002 championship team. At least that's what Jelani likes to think. His prior knowledge of the triangle offense is a major plus but let's be honest, he's a poor-man's Kwame Brown. That's all you need to know. He's currently averaging close to eight boards a game for the Lakers' D-League affiliate. At least he knows how to get to Staples Center.

Sampson is also a former Laker from Phil Jax's first go-round with the team. Had Kobe not waited so long to opt-out of his contract then Sampson wouldn't have been left unprotected in the expansion draft and gobbled up by Charlotte. He signed to play in China with Liaoning last month. I would be shocked if he didn't have a clause that would allow him to return to the States if the opportunity presented itself. I would be even more surprised if the Lakers brought him back. I would be even more surprised than that if Phil Jackson remembered his name.

There is a much greater probability that the Lakers would add a player of their caliber than there is of them being able to swing a deal via trade or getting one of the better free agents to sign with them.

Odds: Even

3) Chris Webber

______ _________ ________ ________. I've provided you with a free sentence to write your own Chris Webber/Timeout pun. Webber is as good an option as the Lakers can hope for. He's still a great passer and a decent rebounder but he's not really a center in the Western Conference. His lack of mobility following microfracture surgery has sort of dictated that he's now a center. Can Webber guard Duncan, Yao, or even Dampier? He couldn't really guard them when he was healthy but he was still an effective player.

What Webber lacks in athleticism he more than makes up for in basketball IQ and his ability to catch passes and make layups, something that Kwame Brown has yet to grasp six years into his underachieving career. If Webber is effective and earns a starting spot then he provides the Lakers the luxury of moving Lamar Odom to small forward and Luke Walton to the bench upon Bynum's return.

Now that Tyra Banks is shooting her talk show in New York he doesn't have to worry about running into her at one of Jamie Foxx's parties and getting caught staring at her huge forehead or listening to her talk about herself. Huge bonus points for that. I'm pretty sure that's part of Kupchak's pitch.

Odds: 3/1

4) P.J. Brown

Brown is probably the best unsigned free agent out there right now. He's a dedicated family guy and seems to be enjoying his retirement. It would be one thing to come back for a lot of money but a completely other thing to see him come back for a prorated, veteran's minimum contract. The only allure of coming back for "pennies" is the chance to win a championship and right now the jury is still out on the 2007-8 Lakers. I don't think he's coming back but if he does I think it happens in Phoenix or New Orleans.

Odds: 8/1

5) Kurt Thomas/Jamal Magloire

The addition of Thomas would be the greatest coup for the Lakers for two reasons: he's a playoff-tested vet who will accept any role the coach gives him and it would really burn up the Suns (no pun intended, seriously). What better way to get under the skin of your biggest divisional rival than to shack up with the guy they had to give away for financial reasons.

Since Thomas is in the final year of his contract, the Suns probably think the Sonics plant to waive him after the trade deadline so that he could sign on with a contender and they would top his list. The Lakers could beat the Suns to the punch by trading for Thomas before they even had the chance.

Since the Sonics are content having Thomas' expiring deal the Lakers would have to give them something that they want. They have no need for a point guard or center. They could use a team like the Lakers to take Damien Wilkins' contract off their hands. Wilkins is in P.J. Carlesimo's doghouse and has two more years and about $6.5 million left on his deal. With Jeff Green now a Sonic, they have no need for Wilkins. A trade of Kwame Brown's expiring contract for Thomas and Wilkins works under the cap. The Lakers would be adding about $2 million in payroll but he might be worth it to save their season.

If that's not enough, the Lakers can also include a 2009 first-round pick. The loss of that pick would also save the Lakers some money to spend on the free agent class of 2010. 

Maglorire is another interesting option. He considered signing with the Lakers in the off-season and opted for New Jersey because they offered him a chance to start. He's seemingly out of the rotation in New Jersey and could really help the Lakers. His $4 million salary is not as high as Thomas' $8 million but the Lakers don't really have any players they'd be willing to trade that match up. Luke Walton makes $4 million but he's signed for five more years. Derek Fisher makes close to $4 million but he's not going anywhere.

The Lakers could trade the expiring contract of Sasha Vujacic along with Chris Mihm but the absence of Vujacic would put added pressure on rookie Javaris Crittenton to back-up Kobe. Mihm has one more year at $2.5 million. Would the Nets really give up an expiring $4 million contract for another year of the injury-prone Mihm at $2.5 million? Maybe with that 2009 draft pick they would.

Odds: Thomas 15/1 Magloire 25/1

The only other option for the Lakers (besides signing a 61 year-old Kareem) is dancing with who brought them and giving Kwame and Ronny Turiaf the chance. We've already seen what that combo can produce. The Lakers were 42-40 last year. If they play at that pace for the rest of this season they'll finish 49-33. That might be good enough for just a seventh seed in the West and another first-round exit. The ball is in Mitch Kupchak's court.

No pun intended.

Seriously.