Who Will Be L.A. Lakers' Most Valuable Player in 2013?

The Los Angeles Lakers were the third-best team in the Western Conference last season, yet nobody had much of a belief that they would win a title. This offseason it seems pretty clear that they are one of the five most improved teams in the NBA, so an NBA championship has to be a possibility.

With the addition of Steve Nash—and even Antawn Jamison—this Lakers team has a completely different dynamic, and those two guys could lead to the rest of the team's sliding into place.

The benefits of the addition of Nash are obvious. He's the best point guard in the league at getting the most out of his teammates. Without Nash last season the, Suns would have competed for the worst record in the Western Conference.

With him they were a borderline playoff team.

So long as he runs the offense and becomes the focal point in terms of controlling the ball and distributing it, then everyone on that team is better offensively.

Adding Jamison was a much sneakier move. He may be 36 years old, but if he can rediscover his shooting stroke (which seems entirely possible playing in the midst of All-Stars), then he can basically play the role that Lamar Odom did for this team before they traded him, albeit with about a quarter of the defense.

Jamison's shooting well would then mean Metta World Peace has the ball in his hands less on offense, which would probably make everyone in Los Angeles feel a bit better. Those two as a ying and yang of basketball could make for some interesting lineups when they're out there together.

However, we all know that this team is going to rely on four players more often than not, but which one of the four All-Stars will be the team's most valuable player?

Let's take a look. 

Pau Gasol

Have you all noticed how as soon as Steve Nash was plucked from Phoenix the Pau Gasol trade rumors died down quicker than heat in a thunderstorm?

That's because Gasol is likely going to be the player most improved by the Nash deal.

Nash's running the pick-and-roll with Gasol (even if Mike Brown doesn't focus on it much) is going to open up the offense more than anything else, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Gasol is going to get the ball in perfect spots, either while posting up or at 14 feet to receive the ball after the defense attempts to rotate and collapse on a penetrating Nash.

He'll be drastically improved in comparison to last season, but he's not going to be the Lakers' most valuable guy. 

Andrew Bynum

He's going to need to be the heart and soul of the defense, even more so than he was last season, especially with Steve Nash's now playing the point.

If he continues to show weaknesses against the pick-and-roll, then the Lakers defense is going to be a weak point of the team. Otherwise Bynum should prove solid.

While Bynum, alongside Steve Nash, will probably end up looking like the best offensive center in the game, he's not going to be the most valuable player to the Los Angeles Lakers, should everything go right.

Kobe Bryant

For the most part, Kobe Bryant is going to be doing what he's always done for the Lakers. He'll be taking the bulk of the shots, leading the team in scoring and being Kobe Bryant.

It's going to be very interesting to see what Nash does to the number of times Kobe gets the ball, but it shouldn't make a huge difference in the end.

The only unknowns until they actually play some games together are how they'll work alongside each other and how well they complement each other. 

As under normal circumstances, if Nash comes in and isn't as outstanding as he has the potential to be, then Kobe is your Lakers MVP.

Steve Nash

Kobe is going to continue to be Kobe, which is one of the 10 best basketball players in the NBA, but what Nash is capable of doing is enough to push the Lakers to a title, should the pieces fall in the right direction.

Nash is going to make every one of the guys on the Lakers better. All they need to do is have faith enough and not worry about their own touches so that Nash becomes the de facto leader on the offensive end.

Given full reign of the offense, Nash is going to turn this Lakers offense into a finely tuned scoring machine, but everyone is going to have to check his ego at the door.

If everything goes right for Los Angeles—and let's be honest, that seems to happen a lot—then Steve Nash should end up becoming the most valuable player the Lakers have this season, based solely on how much better he makes the rest of the team.