Should the Los Angeles Lakers Make Lamar Odom A Sixth Man?

The Lakers have arguably the most talented team in the league going into the 2008-09 season. They have the league's best player in Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest frontlines of all time in Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, a deep bench (Jordan Farmar/Sasha Pavlovic/Trevor Ariza/Luke Walton/Chris Mihm) along with arguably the greatest coach of all-time in Phil Jackson.

Personally, I think the Lakers should have traded Odom for a more natural small forward who would be able to defend opposing players at the position better than Odom would and be able to stretch the defense with outside shooting, which Odom can't do.

I also thought the Lakers should have traded him because he has an expiring contract and it is extremely unlikely they would re-sign him, so they could get some value from him by trading him.

There were several rumors in the offseason including Odom for a variety of small forwards, such as Richard Jefferson (before he was traded to the Bucks), Mike Miller, Gerald Wallace, Ron Artest, Josh Howard, Corey Maggette, and others. 

Personally, I thought both Miller and Artest would have been perfect, as Miller would burn opposing teams with his deadly outside shooting and Artest would have been a lock-down perimeter defender while also being a very good offensive player.

However, even though there were several rumors with Odom, nothing came about, and it looks like the Lakers want to see how their team plays and how well the frontline fits first before deciding to make any moves with Odom.

Even though I wanted him to be traded, I still think Odom can be an extremely important player for the Lakers if he is put in the right situation, and I think that situation is to be the sixth man of the team and the facilitator of the second unit.

The starting five would be Derek Fisher and Bryant in the backcourt and Ariza, Gasol, and Bynum in the frontcourt. Ariza would defend the opposing team's best perimeter offensive player, which would allow Kobe to have more energy to score and control the offense.

Ariza can add a different element offensively, as he is an excellent slasher and finisher at the rim and, besides Kobe, no one else on the team really drives to the rim and finishes. He is also a solid rebounder and passer and an overall good, efficient player.

Odom would flourish as the leader of the second unit, as he will facilitate the offense, which he does very well, play several different positions on both sides of the floor, and be the main option offensively, as well as the main rebounder.

This move would help the second team tremendously while the starting five would be as good as it was last season, with Bynum replacing Odom and Ariza replacing Vladimir Radmanovic. This would also allow the Lakers to start a more natural lineup with a natural canter, power forward, small forward, and backcourt.

Offensively, the team would be devastating with a trio of Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, and several good supporting players, and defensively the team would be very good, as Fisher and Gasol are solid defenders and Kobe, Bynum, and Ariza are excellent defensive players.

No matter what Phil Jackson decides to do with Odom and whether or not management trades him, anything less than a championship would be a huge disappointment to all Lakers fans, as they were only two wins short last season and they were without Bynum for the majority of the season and the whole playoffs.