Los Angeles Lakers' Time To Panic? Overdramatic Trades To Put Beside Kobe Bryant
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a major slump right now and the entire sports-world is wondering why?
The logic doesn't really add up, if you take the 2010 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers roster add Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Theo Ratliff, the result shouldn't be a struggling squad being blown out at home by sub-par teams.
Was the loss of Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic really that devastating?
I think the Lakers are going through 'Focker' syndrome.
Let me explain.
The first Meet The Parents, the original, was an awesome movie and the sequel Meet the Fockers was even funnier. They took a winning cast filled with names like Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robert De Niro and then added into the mix the legendary Dustin Hoffman and the surprisingly funny Barbra Streisand for the sequel. The Lakers were the same way.
The 2009-2010 team with the addition of Ron Artest was better than the original championship squad and there is no way the 2008-2009 team would have beaten the '10 Celtics in a series.
But then came the third installment to the franchise; Little Fockers. The addition of Jessica Alba to the cast seemed like it should carry the third movie into the same level of greatness, possibly more than the preceding two movies. This was the Steve Blake, Matt Barnes type of addition, but somehow it didn't pan out.
RottenTomatoes.com has given Little Fockers a 10%. To put things in perspective Gigli received a 7% and even Gulliver's Travels reached the 22% mark.
Sometimes a winning cast, or in the Lakers case, roster doesn't add up to wins on the court even if they have won championships before. Los Angeles is right in the center of the overly dramatic Hollywood and maybe now is the time to pull off some equally overly dramatic trades.
The Steve Nash Trade
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The Phoenix Suns looked at their roster that took them all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season and thought it'd be smart to not re-sign Amar'e and trade away Jason Richardson.
The next logical move should be getting rid of their Hall of Fame point guard right?
While I don't agree with the way the Suns have managed their team, I think they have worked themselves into a corner now and something as seemingly crazy as trading away Steve Nash might actually make sense. Goran Dragic has proven he can produce at a high level in the minutes he takes over at point and at 24 he will eventually be the starting point guard, this would just speed up the process.
As for the Lakers, Steve Nash could speed up the tempo and would give Phil Jackson by far the best point guard he's ever had running the triangle offense. Surround Nash with Kobe, Odom, and Gasol as his offensive weapons and I think you see their points per game rise with Nash dishing out nearly 12 assists per game.
The Lakers could then look to ship off Steve Blake for a quality big man. Bynum has primarily been injured during the Lakers' championship runs and Gasol proved at the beginning of the year he could play the Center spot.
The Suns would have a 23 year old 7 foot center in Bynum and a 22 year old 7 foot center Robin Lopez.
I would be interested to see how they could play together a la Tim Duncan and David Robinson, Two-Tower Spurs attack. They'd still have Gortat and Channing Frye as backups too.
With Grant Hill and Vince Carter in their last years, the Suns could turn their team into a physical, defensive minded squad with two giants down low, a hard nosed defender Dudley at small forward, and defensive specialist Pietrus at shooting guard.
Steve Nash needs to win an NBA Title. Phoenix needs to build for the future.
The Carmelo Trade
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Kobe does not like Dwyane Wade.
Kobe does not like LeBron James.
Kobe does not like Twitter and he does not like this new generation of players with their AAU, and their texting and their Hannah Montana.
All except for Carmelo Anthony.
Kobe's deepest friendship from the Olympic team was with Carmelo and I think the combination of being 32 years old mixed in with the Christmas Day beat-down the super-team Heat gave him, Kobe might realize he needs a little more help.
Carmelo could be that guy.
Denver is running out of time (about 50 days left) to get something back for the soon to be departing in the off-season Melo. With the recent tragic death of Carmelo's sister, I think it only makes sense for Anthony to have a desire to be closer to his family, which would mean playing for the Knicks next season.
While I think this ultimately makes sense for Melo, I can't help but entertain the thought of a Kobe-Melo-Gasol big three. Here's how it would work:
Carmelo Anthony (17.1) million for this season. Carmelo would sign an extension with the Nuggets at about 20 million a year then the Nuggets would trade that contract to Los Angeles for Andrew Bynum (13.8), Ron Artest (6.3), and however many draft picks they want.
This Lakers team would be unstoppable. Kobe could play four or five more seasons with Melo slowly taking the keys of driving the Laker franchise. When Kobe retires, it's the Anthony era. Los Angeles needs stars and Melo certainly fits the description.
The Nuggets will be growing more and more desperate not to have Cleveland's fate and the 23 year old Bynum might be the best young player out there they could receive for Melo (teams aren't going to trade their Dwight Howards, Blake Griffins, or Amar'e Stoudemires). Artest would give them someone to now guard Melo.
Lakers become a guarantee to win the title. Denver, well, yeah they don't get nearly as much out of this.
Ron Artest to New York Knicks
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Believe it or not, this quote:
"I can’t wait to possibly one day play in New York, and come into the Garden with Kobe in the front -- I don’t know how this would ever happen -- and win a championship in New York and go onto the Queens Bridge right after and party hard," Artest said.
was said by Ron Artest on July 18, 2010.
Artest has a desire to return home to New York to play basketball. Artest is also still one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. The Knicks need someone to guard LeBron James and Paul Pierce.
The Knicks could ship Gallinari (3.3 million) and Kelenna Azubuike (3.3 million/expiring contract) to Los Angeles for Ron Artest (6.3 million).
The Lakers would get a legitimate scoring small forward in Gallinari who could take responsibilities off of Kobe's shoulders.
The Knicks, who will have enough money to go after Carmelo in the off season, will be able to build their new starting line-up with Raymond Felton, Carmelo for scoring, Artest for defense, Landry Fields or Wilson Chandler, and Amar'e still as the team's go-to guy.
Both teams get better and could legitimately meet up in the 2012 NBA Finals. The NBA would love to see a New York vs Los Angeles finals.
The Spanish National Team Trade
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In the 2008 Olympics, the Spanish National Team gave the United States a real scare in the gold medal game.
Even with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Deron Williams the United States would not have won that game if it weren't for Kobe's late game closing performance.
Two years later 3/5 of that starting Olympic team lineup plays for the Miami Heat. So how can the Lakers create a team capable of beating these Olympic stars?
Surround Kobe with Spaniards.
Part 1
The Memphis Grizzlies sign Marc Gasol to an extension at about 9-10 million a year then trade the contract to Los Angeles for Lamar Odom and Matt Barnes.
Part 2
Trade Andrew Bynum (13 million) for Jose Calderon (9 million) and a couple other Toronto Raptors (Julian Wright/Ed Davis) to make the contracts match up.
Part 3
Trade away Shannon Brown to Portland Trailblazers for Rudy Fernandez
Part 4
Trade Steve Blake to Minnesota T'Wolves for Ricky Ruuuuubio!
The new look Los Angeles, and by "Los" I mean pronounced the way you see "Los" put on the "Los Suns" or "Los Spurs" jerseys, and Angeles with an accent thrown over the "e" would look like this:
Calderon, Kobe, Fernandez, Pau Gasol, and Marc Gasol
They could go sign Euroleague star Juan Carlos Navarro and bring him and Ricky Ruuuuubio off the bench. The question would no longer be can the Lakers compete with the Heat, it would be could these Spanish Lakers beat the entire United States National basketball team?
Bring Shaq Back
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The trade between two sworn enemies, Boston and L.A., Kobe and Shaq, Paul Pierce's team vs. Ron Artest's. Kobe Bryant needs Shaq the way Batman needs the Joker, both know their time is running out and only together can they win more rings.
The meeting would go down like this, Boston would take Ron Artest away from Los Angeles so that Paul Pierce would no longer have to go against him in the finals. In return the Lakers would take Shaquille O'Neal along with Nate Robinson and Glen Davis who would allow the contracts to match up and also take away the stars of last years finals Game 4 that the Lakers lost.
It'd be on for one final battle. Could Kobe and Shaq unite and beat the Celtics, a team they never had to beat in their first three-peat era. With Ron Artest's miraculous game 7 shot gone, would the Celtics be able to beat the Lakers the way they did in 2008?
Best kept secret is Kobe could use Shaq to win 1 or 2 more titles while still always remaining 1 title ahead of his former teammate.
Skechers Shape-Up To Win Additions
6 of 7These Skechers Shape-Ups ads (which I love) mean one of two things, either Skechers is not complying by the Truth In Advertising Laws of this country or Karl Malone is really ready for a comeback. I say the Lakers give it a try.
They could sign Malone for the minimum contract and help him get that first NBA championship ring.
But why stop there? Bring back Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to start at center. Suddenly the Boston Celtics current starting five has some competition in terms of all time scoring records. Look at what the Lakers would put on the floor:
Kobe Bryant: 26,654 pts.
Karl Malone: 36,928 pts.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387 pts.
That's 101,969 points for the new Lakers Big 3. Compare that to the Heat's 39,890 and there's no contest, Abdul-Jabbar nearly has that on his own.
It's cost efficient and they can even wear their Shape-Up shoes during the games.
Trade Kobe Bryant
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Should the Lakers see what they could get in return for Kobe? Kobe for Dwight Howard? Kobe for Miami's Big 3? Kobe for the entire Detroit Pistons roster?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
I intentionally allowed these trades to grow more and more ridiculous to show just how crazy it is that we are panicking over a 23-11 two time defending champion team who is 8 games ahead in their division.
Yes, right now the Lakers are struggling, but think about the Celtics last year when they played .500 basketball for over half a season.
Great teams sometimes struggle to be motivated by regular season games since really all that matters is the post-season.
If it aint broke don't fix it.
The Lakers do not need to make any changes during this season, and if this current roster proves unsuccessful in the playoffs, then they can address issues in the off-season.
For now, a roster with MVP candidates Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, along with one of the best defenders in the game Ron Artest, a 23 year old top 10 center in Andrew Bynum, the 2010 FIBA starting center coming off the bench in Lamar Odom, five time champion Derek Fisher, AND Shannon Brown, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes coming off the bench, this team is still the NBA Champions until proven otherwise.
