NBA Trade Rumors: Could the Los Angeles Lakers Make Play for Tony Parker?

The Los Angeles Lakers drafted two point guards in the NBA draft.

I think it is safe to say that the are Lakers on a mission to find a replacement for the soon-to-be 37-year-old Derek Fisher. Despite Fisher's valuable contributions in the postseason, LA needs someone who can take a little bit of the pressure off of Kobe during the regular season, and contribute more to the offense than just experience.

Enter Tony Parker.

The 29-year-old Frenchman is not the most trustworthy guy in the world ("Tony Parker cheating" produced 1.17 million results on Google), but he is a fantastic point guard. He's lightning quick, has tons of playoff experience (three championships, including one Finals MVP), and would provide instant offense to a position that Lakers fans have long expected limited offensive success.

San Antonio has clearly been trying to dangle him in recent deals, possibly because of his idiotic comments to a French newspaper.

Either way, the Spurs are looking to deal, and the Lakers need a younger, more effective point guard.

The result? A top-five list, obviously.

Ladies and gentleman, your top-five reasons why Tony Parker could end up a Los Angeles Laker.

5. The Lakers Are Desperate

Kobe Bryant just got swept. Phil Jackson just got swept. The Lakers just got swept.

That doesn't happen.

Fans are anxious, and fans are angry. They want Gasol traded. They want Bynum traded.

I mean, cut the team some slack, will you? I hate the Lakers as much as anybody, and watching them crash and burn this postseason was glorious, but Lakers fans have to chill out.

Your team just won two titles in a row, and they could have won four. You have one of the top-10 players of all time, and you've had the luck of witnessing his greatness for 14 years now. I am not suggesting that you should accept mediocrity, I am suggesting that you let the team operate without calling for Pau Gasol's head.

The Lakers front office, in the meantime, has grown nervous. Jim Buss, trying to carve out his legacy and separate himself from his father's shadow, has defiantly turned away any discussions that involve trading oft-injured, but immensely talented center, Andrew Bynum.

With all of that said, the Lakers may be looking to make a splash this offseason. Add a big name.

Tony Parker would certainly qualify, and he would fill a huge need. If the right pieces come together, I think the Lakers seriously consider making a move.

You know, shake it up a little.

4. The Spurs Were Apparently Looking to Trade Parker Before the NBA Draft

If the Spurs were looking to deal him then, why wouldn't they look to deal him now?

There were a few different outlets suggesting the Spurs were trying to deal the French PG.

From HoopsWorld:

"

The San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers nearly completed a blockbuster trade on Wednesday afternoon, but the deal fell apart in the late stages. San Antonio was prepared to ship Tony Parker and the No. 29 pick to Portland in exchange for Andre Miller, Nicolas Batum and the No. 21 pick.

"

From Yahoo:

"

The San Antonio Spurs are engaged in discussions about trading point guard Tony Parker to secure a high pick in Thursday’s draft, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.The Spurs have talked to teams in the lottery, including the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings, who hold the fifth and seventh picks, respectively.

"

The obvious rebuttal is that the Spurs dealt backup PG George Hill, and therefore Parker is clearly staying.

Not true. With rumors swirling around, Parker could easily still be on the trade block.

Just for fun, here are two blockbuster trades I worked out on ESPN's Trade Machine:

Trade 1:

Lakers receive Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Antonio McDyess.

Spurs receive Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor and Lamar Odom.

Hornets receive Kobe Bryant.

It seems crazy, but the NBA wants New Orleans to stay in New Orleans, and Kobe would surely get fans flooding New Orleans Arena. Also, the Lakers remain strong title contenders with a ridiculous starting five of Parker-Ginobili-Artest-Gasol-Bynum, while the Spurs add some superb young talent to give Timmy Duncan a couple of more shots at a championship.

Trade 2:

Lakers receive Tony Parker, Antonio McDyess, Robin Lopez and Mickael Pietrus.

Spurs receive Steve Nash, Channing Frye and Lamar Odom.

Suns receive Pau Gasol, Steve Blake and Matt Bonner.

Also seems crazy, but works out for all three teams. Kobe finally gets a good point guard, while Bynum gets a terrific backup in Robin Lopez. Nash goes to a contender. Odom and Frye can spell Duncan for long stretches during the regular season to keep him fresh. The Suns trade their aging superstar for a younger superstar in Pau Gasol, and build around a nice, young frontcourt of Gortat-Gasol-Morris-Dudley. I really like this one.

3. Tony Parker Has Disrupted the Spurs' Championship Chemistry

Sometimes, you just talk a little bit too much.

That's what happened to Parker a couple of weeks ago when he said to a French newspaper, "we [Spurs] can no longer say that we're playing for a championship."

Huh?

I would have never imagined that a team coached by Gregg Popovich, a team led by the infallible Tim Duncan, a team that just finished a season with 61 wins, would have to worry about a leader like Tony Parker mouthing off his frustrations to the press in a foreign country.

Whether what Tony said was true or not (we'll get to that in a minute) is irrelevant. Parker is one of the "big three" on this Spurs team. He is a big part of their heart and soul. What was he thinking?

The funny thing about it is that if it was going to be somebody, it was going to be Parker.

Tim Duncan would never, ever say something like that, and Manu Ginobili is usually pretty tight lipped around the media. Parker was the only one who would've done it.

Popovich (and to a certain degree, Duncan) runs a tight ship. No egos. No boasting. Let your play do the talking. Think of Pops as the Bill Belichick of basketball, or better yet, think of Belichick as the Popovich of football.

It's their way, or the highway.

With Parker trying to torpedo San Antonio's group culture, it seems that Popovich might be getting fed up.

All I know is that when Randy Moss went out of line, Belichick traded him (in the middle of the season, no less) like the merciless assassin that he is.

I would imagine that Pops is capable of doing the same.

2. Parker Is Right, San Antonio Is Done

Going against the likes of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, Tim Duncan, finally, was not the best big man on the court.

Father Time catches up to the greatest of superstars.

It happened to Shaq. It happened to Jordan. It happened to Bird.

You can't play forever no matter how talented you might be. For Tim Duncan, the time has come. He is no longer the best, or even close to it.

Duncan got dominated by the younger, less talented Gasol brother, while Randolph played so well against Duncan that he received a contract extension in the middle of the series. To make matters worse, media outlets all around the world were writing "eulogies" for Duncan and his championship era Spurs after the butt-whooping that Memphis laid on them.

Who could blame them?

The Spurs won 61 games in the regular season, but who cares? They clearly are too old and too thin to withstand the force of power that is the Western Conference.

We are talking about the Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trailblazers. That is four extremely talented, young, athletic teams, and one world champion.

Now, you could say that if Dallas can win then San Antonio could win. But you would be wrong, because unlike Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki is still in his prime.

San Antonio, after a decade of utter dominance, is finally a team of the past.

The future is now.

1. Kobe's Window Is Closing Faster Than Anyone Wants to Admit

Listen, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

He might even be top-five.

But he is no longer the dominant force he once was. You can choose to believe me or you can choose to disagree with me.

The problem with my argument is that statistically, Kobe has put up almost identical numbers every year for the last three years. There is the fact that his minutes dropped from 39 MPG last season to just 34 MPG this season, but that is about it.

The argument lies in the way he plays the game. Four seasons ago, Kobe and a rejuvenated Pau Gasol led the Lakers to a championship duel against the rival Boston Celtics.

In that playoffs, Kobe was totally unstoppable.

He closed every game. He made every big shot, and he did everything short of strapping the rest of the starting five onto his shoulders at certain points. He was simply amazing.

Fast forward to now.

Kobe still gets to the hoop. But only when he needs too. He has totally transformed his game, seamlessly, into shooting almost exclusively jump shots.

Is he the best in the game at what he does?

Yes. But at the same time, when the shots aren't falling, Kobe isn't able to dominate like he used to. He can't physically overpower you, or use his athleticism to jump over you.

He needs help. Derek Fisher is done. Over. Finished. Enough with him already.

If the Lakers want to win, they need to trade for a good point guard. Someone who can take the scoring burden off of Kobe. Someone who can make his own play instead of having Kobe set him up. A point guard who can penetrate the lane and create open looks for Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

Tony Parker would be a pretty good place to start.

Tell me what you think in the comments section! I can't wait to hear you Lakers fans!!

Thanks for reading!