Carmelo Anthony to the Los Angeles Lakers: How It Could Work

Over the past month, trade rumors have started to swirl around the Los Angeles Lakers making some trades.

The team has not played with the same passion or desire as other aging teams, such as the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs.

Further events to push the issue more into the limelight were Ron Artest’s poor play this season and GM Mitch Kupchak’s recent announcement that the Lakers would consider hearing trade offers.

Today, ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported that the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets are having preliminary talks of a trade centered on swapping Carmelo Anthony and Andrew Bynum.

For the entire season thus far, I have been against trading Bynum for Anthony straight up.

By giving up Andrew Bynum, LA loses a lot of length, size and interior toughness that helps give the team an advantage over nearly every other club in the NBA.

In addition, with Anthony on board, Los Angeles would have a logjam at the small forward position, along with Ron Artest and Matt Barnes (both of whom are better defenders than Anthony), as well as Luke Walton.

Artest was especially key last year in defending Kevin Durant and Paul Pierce in the playoffs.  He could prove useful this year against LeBron James should LA meet the Miami Heat in the Finals.

So far, LA has given up size up front and defense on the wings.

In addition, Anthony may further stall ball movement on the team and by having to learn the triangle offense, the Lakers’ chances of winning a title this year would diminish.

But here’s how a deal might make sense for both teams.

The Proposal

The Lakers trade Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest, and Luke Walton (along with using the trade exception acquired from Sasha Vujacic) for Carmelo Anthony and Nene Hilario.

For Denver, the advantages are obvious. The team gets a young center in Bynum to build around and Artest, still one of the best wing defenders in the NBA. 

In short, Denver would at least get some decent pieces in exchange for Anthony, rather than losing him outright.

On the other side, Los Angeles would get Nene Hilario to fill the hole in the middle created by Bynum’s departure.  While he gives up a couple of inches to Bynum, Nene scores at a more efficient clip and has a decent mid-range jumper.

In addition, Nene also provides some toughness inside that could help replace Bynum.

Anthony, despite his limitations, can provide a second scoring punch for LA and would give the team one of the best go-to options in the clutch.

That latter point is especially critical as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have both struggled in close games in the fourth quarter this season.

Anthony, at 26 years of age, is just entering his prime and could give Los Angeles star talent to build around once Kobe retires in a few seasons. 

In the mean time, LA could have a lineup that includes Nene, Gasol, Anthony, and Kobe with the versatile Lamar Odom coming off the bench.

Once Matt Barnes returns from his injury, he could provide a defensive punch at the small forward position. While the loss of Artest could potentially hurt the team, Barnes has out-played him all season long, while seeming to grasp the triangle offense much better.

Furthermore, the Lakers would keep a decent amount of size to go along with a more dangerous offensive lineup to go against the elite teams of the NBA.

And best of all, LA would rid itself of the horrible contract surrounding Luke Walton.

Dwight Howard

There is one additional benefit to this trade scenario, and that is Dwight Howard.

No one knows what the new CBA rules will be, but next summer Los Angeles could potentially make a run at acquiring Dwight Howard—who has stated that it would be a dream of his to play for the Lakers.

LA, with the trade mentioned previously, could offer Nene Hilario and another player for Dwight Howard.

The Lakers could use a similar line of reasoning with the Orlando Magic that it is better to get something in return for Howard than nothing, since Howard could indicate that he wouldn’t want to re-sign.

Now all of a sudden we can face the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers having a lineup of Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Carmelo Anthony, and an aging Kobe Bryant.

Depending on the deal to acquire Howard, LA may possibly still have Lamar Odom to bring off of the bench. 

That team could rival the best frontcourts in NBA history with some dominant interior defense and rebounding to go along with two serious wing scoring threats.

More importantly, the Lakers would have a bigger window to win championships. After Kobe Bryant retires, the Lakers would still have Howard and Anthony to build around for a few more years.

These scenarios may be a bit of a stretch, but they are possible. 

What do you think? Have I convinced you or do these proposals make little sense?