NBA Rumors: Gilbert Arenas Would Have L.A. Lakers Back as Best in the West
This L.A. Lakers squad has dropped four of its last five games, as a Gilbert Arenas signing might just be the missing piece to the puzzle for Kobe Bryant and company.
According to Yahoo and Hoops World from USA Today, the Lakers are expressing interest in acquiring free-agent Arenas. The former Orlando Magic is yet to be signed by a team for the 2011-2012 season.
Arenas brings an ability to score the basketball unmatched by most guards in the league, despite a recent drop-off in his production last season.
It was just two seasons ago that Arenas was dominating as the starting point guard for the Wizards. Arenas averaged 22.6 points, 7.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game with Washington in the 2009-2010 season. It was back in 2005 and 2006 that Arenas was arguably the most explosive scorer in the game behind LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
It would be a remarkable spectacle to see Bryant and Arenas take the back court together.
This regular season has been a struggle for the Lakers as of late, as the team has dropped four of its last five games and are just 2-5 in the last seven contests.
The major reason for the struggles has been the inability of the back-court—with the exception of Kobe Bryant—to produce for the team offensively.
In the five losses in the team's last seven games, the Lakers are yet to eclipse the 100-points mark in any one game. Steve Blake, Derek Fisher and Darius Morris make up the majority of the playing time for guards on the team, and combine for a mere 16.4 points and 8.2 assist per game.
Yes, that's between the three of them.
If Fisher, Blake and Morris continue to struggle for the team offensively, the Lakers will be in severe trouble heading into the second-half of the season. There is too little production from a solid level of talent, which is something that has to be of major concern for head coach Mike Brown.
Adding Arenas is adding sure-fire offense. Arenas is a talent that can shoot the ball from distance and take defenders off the dribble to the rim.
To those that say Arenas is a veteran with nothing left to give, keep in mind Orlando limited his minutes to just 21.8 a game after he had played at least 35 minutes per game regularly. Arenas is a threat when he is able to get into a groove and get solid minutes, which is something these Lakers have to be more than willing to do.
As a member of the Lakers, Arenas will be able to contribute immediately to a back-court that is in much need of contributions. Arenas in purple and gold is not only a solid move, but one that could give the Lakers the right amount of scoring to put them back on top of the conference.
