Los Angeles Lakers Will Be Title Contenders with Small Trade, Not Blockbuster

The way the Los Angeles Lakers are involved in trade rumors these days, it seems like the team is on the outside looking in with respect to the playoff picture.

According to ESPN NBA Insider Chris Broussard, the team held a players-only meeting, with Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher leading the way, pretty much telling the team to throw all the rumors aside and focus on basketball. 

If fans hadn't regularly checked the NBA standings, they'd think the Lakers were in danger of missing the playoffs. Ever since the Chris Paul trade fell through, most news surrounding the Lakers has been portrayed negatively.

From Kobe's divorce to Lamar Odom's trade for literally nothing, and from the point-guard problems to the trade speculation involving Pau Gasol, it's been quite a difficult year to focus on basketball—especially in a condensed schedule with a new coach.

That being said, the Lakers are title contenders again.

Even without a decent point guard and being 28th in the league in three-point shooting, the Lakers find themselves with a 19-13 record—just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the division lead.

In fact, if the Lakers were just a .500 team on the road, which they are more than capable of becoming during the second half of the season, they'd be a 22-10 team right now—just three games behind Oklahoma City. 

The Lakers could very well win the Pacific Division title again and make a deep run in the postseason with the team they have. They don't need Deron Williams or Dwight Howard; they can do it with the players they have right now.

Their defense has and will propel them to success. Mike Brown's system has brought out the best in Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who have regularly earned double-doubles recently. Bynum has had double-doubles in nine of his last 11 games. Gasol, on the other hand, is on a 10-game double-double streak despite having to play through all those trade rumors.

Lakers opponents have only shot 41.8 percent against the purple and gold this season. This is the third lowest in the league. They're also in the top five in the league in points allowed and first in rebounding. 

Oh yeah, they also have the league's leading scorer on their team.

It's true that the Lakers need a tweak at point guard in order to win the title, but they don't need an elite All-Star. A simple move like getting Jose Calderon, Ramon Sessions or D.J. Augustin—using their trade player exception or first-round draft picks—should do the job. 

A decent point guard will mean that their defense would get even stronger. Opposing point guards like Calderon and Jeremy Lin won't have career nights at the expense of Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.

It'll also make the offense run smoother. Kobe's job will become easier, and the Twin Towers will have better looks in the paint.

The Lakers can then match up against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is a team that lacks major depth, as evidenced by their recent performance when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 91 of the team's 124 points against Denver. 

Without making a move for a point guard, the Lakers can still advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The injury to Chauncey Billups is going to prove costly for the Los Angeles Clippers in the long run.

The San Antonio Spurs have their own old-age problems despite being a solid, balanced team. The Lakers' size will demolish the Spurs' lack of paint presence.

Other teams in the Western Conference have their own deficiencies that will become a problem against the Lakers. Gasol and Bynum are the most valuable pieces on the Lakers right now, after Kobe, and the team is utilizing them very effectively. 

Last night, they kicked the Portland Trail Blazers in the groin by exploiting their weakness in the paint. They would constantly pound it inside to Gasol and Bynum, who would get easy layups and dunks. 

They can get past other teams in the West. They probably can't get through the Thunder with their current team because Russell Westbrook would absolutely obliterate the Lakers' point guards. But with a guy like Sessions and the fact that the Lakers are 14-2 at home, they could still win the series in six or seven. 

No, these aren't your father's Lakers. They aren't going to dazzle you with behind-the-back passes. However, they're gritty and tough on defense, and they're going to win plenty of games by exploiting opponents in the paint on offense.

So relax and enjoy the season, Laker Nation. Everything is all right. 

The Lakers' defense is going to put many smiles on the faces of Lakers fans all over the country come spring. 

Follow Andre Khatchaturian on Twitter.