Los Angeles Lakers: Do the Lakers Really Need to Make a Trade to Win?
The Los Angeles Lakers have tried their best to dissipate trade rumors recently, and they've done so in the best possible fashion: winning.
The more they win, the easier it is to see that the Lakers don't even have to make a trade to go deep in the playoffs. They're already a great team.
Seemingly everyday there is a different rumor circulating. Today's stew features the Lakers sending Steve Blake to Portland for Ray Felton. (This might actually be a great trade on paper, but the Lakers probably will have to include more in the deal, which is something they might not want to do.)
It doesn't just end there.
Fans have created an obsession for themselves. They've created a problem that doesn't exist. They constantly think that a trade has to be made.
Hell, my cousin incessantly sends me massive three-team blockbuster deals on ESPN's Trade Machine every single day. The chances of one of these babies working out is equivalent to the probability of a snowstorm shutting down Interstate 5 in Los Angeles.
Not happening.
And it doesn't need to happen.
Have you not seen the Lakers play recently?
Have you not seen them dominate other teams in the paint all season long? Or Kobe Bryant average near 30 points per game with a bruised and battered body and face?
Fans love to overreact when something isn't going their way. When the Chris Paul trade was vetoed, every Laker fan decided that the world was going to end and that the Lakers were done.
Then the Lakers traded Lamar Odom for literally nothing.
Fast forward a few months and it looks like the Lakers have won that trade by a mile-and-a-half. At first, fans crushed the organization for letting something like that happen. Turns out they know what they're doing.
Folks, the Lakers are essentially tied with the Clippers right now and that's after a horrid start to the season, a new coach and system, no Bynum in the first several games, a condensed schedule and a completely revamped bench.
That's pretty impressive.
And while their road record isn't the most attractive stat in the world, they've managed to win in hostile environments like Denver, Utah and Boston and they recently knocked off Dallas. They're getting better and that record will improve as the season commences.
It's true that the Lakers still need an upgrade at point guard if they want to win a title. Currently, their net Player Efficiency Rating (PER) at point guard is minus-seven, which is atrociously low. In fact, Derek Fisher's PER this season is 9.1, while his opponents have a PER of 17.7.
A PER of 15 is considered average, so one can really see how ineffective Fisher is. Upgrading at the position by trading their exception for a guy like Ramon Sessions, Jose Calderon or Ray Felton is a necessary move the team must make to win a title.
But as you can see, that's a small, under-the-radar move.
The Lakers don't need to sell the house and make a gigantic trade that will ruin their chemistry, which they have just attained.
They're doing fine with their 17-2 record at home. They're improving on the road and they still lead the league in rebounding.
Just give this team a decent point guard and they're going to cause some damage in the playoffs.
And please, let's end these crazy trade scenarios.
