NBA Rumors: Return of Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher Won't Solve Lakers' Woes

If Kobe Bryant were to lure Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher back to the Los Angeles Lakers, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com suggests he might, there'd be no shortage of hugs among the players in the locker room and hosannas sung by the fans in the stands at the Staples Center.

But not much in the way of on-court improvement, or prying the team's window of contention back open.

True, the Lakers have enjoyed tremendous success with Odom and Fisher on the roster in the past. Odom was an invaluable member of LA's two most recent title teams, serving as the de facto leader of the Lakers' second unit and earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2011 along the way. Fisher's history of success with the Purple and Gold dates back to the Kobe-Shaq three-peat, when he first established himself as a key contributor who almost always came through in the clutch.

And that's all without mentioning the close relationship that each veteran shares with the Black Mamba.

Bringing back Odom and Fisher would be popular moves for GM Mitch Kupchak to make, but they wouldn't necessarily be all that helpful for the Lakers' championship hopes.

For basketball reasons, of course.

Both will enter the 2012-13 season as shells of their former selves. Odom, who turns 33 in early November, has posted career-lows across the board this year after forcing his way out of LA in the midst of the Chris Paul debacle. Fisher, on the other hand, will be 38 in August and has been on the decline for some time.

At their respective ages, neither player figures to find much improvement in the comforts of home after possibly ditching the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

Odom will have to wait and see if the Mavs cut him loose, while Fish will be destined for free agency at season's end.

And if there's anything the Lakers need to do in the offseason to boost their prospects for success, it's get younger, not older. The Ramon Sessions trade should serve as Exhibit A in that case, with the 25-year-old point guard showing the team the value of having key contributors whose bodies haven't yet borne the brunt of long NBA careers.

Had the Minnesota Timberwolves not nixed the Michael Beasley deal at the deadline, he'd likely be Exhibit B.

As heartwarming as it'd be for Kobe to get the band back together after a year apart, doing so simply doesn't make sense for a Lakers squad that so desperately needs an infusion of fresh blood to fend off the young guns of the Western Conference in the not-so-distant future.

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