Breaking Down the L.A. Lakers Roster

The Lakers had an epic meltdown in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.  The Lakers were defending back-to-back championships, and were favored to at least make it to the NBA Finals.  Instead, they got swept by the Dallas Mavericks.

Now hold it right there, Lakers apologists.

Don't tell me "Hey, Dallas won the NBA Championship!"  I don't want to hear it.  The Lakers had a Jerry Springer-type meltdown, complete with bodies flying, courtesy of Andrew Bynum.  They got blown out, and this raises some questions about their roster moving forward. 

Today, I'm going to break down their roster, and I might even make a few suggestions for my friend, general manager Mitch Kupchak.

How Much Does Kobe Bryant Have Left in the Tank?

You can start and end the discussion about any Lakers title hopes on the health and effectiveness of Kobe Bryant.  There is no doubt about it, Kobe is an all time great.  Having said that, Kobe has a lot of miles on his NBA odometer. 

Think about it this way, Lakers fans... Kobe Bryant, who will be 33 years old this season, has played over 150 more games in his career (regular season + playoffs) than Michael Jordan did. 

Yeah, Kobe is now an 'old man' in terms of NBA mileage.

Kobe's minutes are down, he is scoring less, and most telling, he gets to the free throw line far less often than he did in his younger days. 

Bottom line, Kobe is still capable of leading the Lakers to a championship, but he is going to need some help.  The Lakers can't count on very many games where he goes off for 47 points and saves the day. 

Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum? Can the Lakers Keep Them Both?

Pau Gasol is the Lakers second-best player.  There, I said it.  Now disagree with me.  I dare you. 

Look at the numbers.  Pau played just as good in 2011, or better, than he did in 2010, when he helped carry the Lakers to a championship.  In 2010, Pau was tough, he stood up to the rugged Celtics front line, and he earned respect.

So what happened?

Well, Pau played awful during the playoffs last year, especially against the Mavs.  He had a really, really, REALLY bad series.  But as a good coach once told me, "Basketball is a game of matchups,"  and by playing Pau at the "4 spot" (power forward), the Lakers put him in a horrible matchup against Dirk Nowitzki.

You see, Pau is a center, a "5", not a power forward.  He is a 'finesse 5,' but a 5 nonetheless.  How many centers in the NBA can guard Dirk?  ZERO!  So don't hold that against Pau, hold it against the Zen Master. 

On the defensive end, they had Pau guarding Dirk in the pick and pop, where he is not comfortable.  Well, at the other end, the Lakers should have had a matchup advantage, right?  They could just post Pau up.  Maybe Dirk would get into foul trouble.  Maybe he would get tired and not shoot well in the fourth quarter. 

Not so fast. 

You see, Andrew Bynum was playing the low post for the Lakers.  That left Pau floating around the high post.  Dirk had no trouble guarding Pau there.  So this single matchup, playing Pau at the 4 against Dirk, really put Pau in a bad spot. 

So what do the Lakers do?  Bynum is a good, young, improving player.  He is big and strong.  He also happens to play center, the same position as Gasol, the Lakers second best player.  So I have a solution.

Trade Bynum.  He has value.  Get something for him NOW! 

Kobe's window is closing.  When that window closes, so do the Lakers' championship aspirations.  So move Bynum now, and in return, add a piece that will help you win a championship RIGHT NOW.

Trading Andrew Bynum: What Can the Lakers Get?

As I said, trading Bynum allows the Lakers to play Pau at center, where he is one of the top 3-5 players at that position in the NBA.  Bynum is a good young player, and the Lakers can get value in any trade involving him.  But before discussing trades for Bynum, a few rules:

First, no trades for Chris Paul or Dwight Howard or anything stupid like that.  Why not?  Well, would you trade Dwight Howard for Andrew Bynum?  I didn't think so.

Also, any trade I throw out there has to make sense in terms of dollars.  So we can't trade Bynum straight up for, say for instance, Derrick Williams. 

Bynum is going to make over $15 million next year, and the Lakers are over the salary cap.  So any trade involving Bynum means the Lakers have to bring back roughly the same amount of money in return.

You are allowed to disagree with any of these trades, as we all have an opinion!

So here are a couple trades the Lakers should consider (courtesy of NBA Trade Machine):

Bynum to the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith and a future draft pick (first rounder, 2013)

Smith makes over $12 million, and this trade would basically work straight up.  The Hawks would have to sweeten the pot with a draft pick because although Smith is an exceptional athlete, talented seven footers don't grow on trees. 

This trade really would help both teams 'balance' their lineups.  The Lakers could play Pau at center, and Josh Smith would slide in at power forward.  He is one of the elite defenders/rebounders at that position in the league, something Mike Brown covets. 

Meanwhile, the Hawks could play Bynum at center, allowing Al Horford to play his natural position, power forward.  The Hawks would immediately leapfrog the Orlando Magic and maybe even the Boston Celtics in the East.  The Lakers would once again be a legit contender in the West.

Bynum to the Portland Trail Blazers for Greg Oden and Nicolas Batum 

The Trade Machine actually rejects this trade, but it doesn't take into account Oden's $8.8 million option for next season... the guy has sat out more than he has played, but makes almost $9 million?  Only in America... But this gives the Blazers a solid big man to play up front beside LaMarcus Aldridge. 

The Blazers can afford to part with Batum, since they already have Gerald Wallace at small forward.  This gives the Lakers two solid players to put in their rotation.  Batum could be a starter, and if Oden ever gets healthy, he has the ability to be a game changer.

Or the Lakers could stand pat.  They could keep Bynum, continue to play Gasol at power forward, and just pray they don't meet Dallas in the playoffs!  Hey, the Grizzlies had a lot of success with two "bangers" inside.  The Lakers could do the same thing.  It just depends on the matchups.

Leave Lamar Odom Alone!

Whatever the Lakers do, I think they should leave Lamar Odom as their sixth man.  He has excelled in this role with them, and as he gets older, I think it will continue to be his best fit with the Lakers. 

Odom is one of my favorite players to watch.  He can do it all... good rebounder, can go coast to coast, good defender at multiple positions, and he can score... Who wouldn't want a guy like this on their team?

So why not start him?

Well, Lamar can definitely put up numbers, but it's about putting a guy where he is most effective.  Lamar is not the best power forward in the league.  He is not the best small forward in the league.  However, he might be the biggest mismatch in the league! 

By using him as a sixth man, it allows Mike Brown to dictate so many matchups on the floor.  He can put him at the 3 and go big, he can play him at the 4 and allow Lamar to take his man off the dribble. 

This is what Lamar Odom brings to the Lakers.  It has worked for most of the last three seasons.  Don't screw it up!  Leave him right where he is.

The Dilemma That Is Ron Artest

Let me start by saying I think Ron Artest is a good basketball player.  Hey, you have to have a guy like this if you are going to win a championship. 

He is strong, tough, physical, fearless, and he does the grunt work that a lot of guys don't want to do.  He guards guys that other guys don't want to guard.  I would want Ron Artest on my team.

Having said that, with the current makeup of the Lakers lineup, Ron Artest is a huge liability. 

Artest is not a gifted scorer, and that brings up a major problem with this roster, "Where does the perimeter scoring come from for the Lakers?"  What about the point guard, Derek Fisher?  I don't think so (more on him in a moment). 

"What about the shooting guard, Kobe Bryant?  Well, as we said earlier, Kobe can still score, but he isn't going to go off for 35-40 night in, night out anymore.  That leaves it up to Artest to pick up the slack, and that is just not his game.

To sum it up, if Artest could score at a decent level, just 15 points per game, his value would increase exponentially.  The way he defends and rebounds from the 3 spot is a rare commodity in the NBA.  But the Lakers need him to score! 

That's why the Bynum trade for a guy like Batum would really help the Lakers.  It would take pressure off Artest, and in turn take some pressure off Kobe.  The Lakers need another guy that can create offense from the perimeter.  Artest is not going to be that guy.

He can still contribute to the Lakers, but maybe his role will be diminished at this point in his career.  He will be 32 years old this season.  On the other hand, he has a very manageable contract (only $6.8 million this season), and could have value in a trade. 

Would another team want a potential headache?  After all, Artest does have a bit of a checkered past.  I don't know, but if I were Mitch Kupchak, I'd at least make a few calls.

Point Guard: The Lakers Need an Upgrade!

If Derek Fisher is your starting point guard, you probably aren't going to win the NBA Championship.  There, I said it. 

Hey, I love Fisher's heart, his competitive spirit, and his professionalism.  He had his run, and it was a good run, but come on people!  If we are being honest, and Kobe needs help, this is really where we should start looking, right?

Derek Fisher's biggest contribution to the Lakers this year might be as their union president, to make sure the players don't get crushed in this lockout!  Okay, that was just mean.  I'm sorry!

But seriously, at age 37, he is a backup.  He can provide leadership and advice, but the Lakers need some young legs, and they need some more scoring from the point. 

I don't think Steve Blake is the answer, either.  I think the Lakers need to be really creative and try to find a quick point guard, somebody who puts some pressure on the ball defensively, somebody that can break the defense down off the dribble.

Who better than Juan Jose Berea?  He torched the Lakers in the playoffs, and he is a free agent.  Not only would he make the Lakers better, but it would hurt the Mavs to lose him.  Can the Lakers afford him?  That is the question.  I would make every effort to sign him to a reasonable contract.

Can We Do Something with Luke Walton?

Luke Walton will make over $5.6 million this season, and then over $6 million the following season.  I mean, the guy played about 9 minutes per game over the last two seasons. 

He shot 32.8 percent from the field last season.  Did I mention he also plays on the perimeter?  So let's recap, here are the Lakers who can't get their own shot and/or can't score:  Fisher, Blake, Walton, and Artest.

Once again, it all falls on Kobe to score from the perimeter.

Hey, Luke Walton is a good passer.  He is a smart player.  But can we get a little more bang for our buck here?  I could see the Lakers throwing Walton into any trade that needed to involve salary. 

At this point, this could be his greatest contribution to the Lakers' success.  Because it looks like he won't be contributing to what happens in the actual games.

Can Mike Brown Lead the Lakers to a Championship?

Phil Jackson is somewhere in Montana.  Mike Brown takes over as the head coach of the Lakers.  Brown definitely has a few good things going for him:

1. He has coached a superstar player in LeBron James, so he should be able to establish a relationship with Kobe Bryant.
2. He is known as a defensive-minded coach, an area the Lakers struggled in during the playoffs last season. 
3. He might have the best smile in coaching.  I mean, just look at those pearly whites!

Of course, a lot of Brown's decisions will be shaped by his roster.  If he has Bynum, Gasol, and a bigger, slower team, he will have to coach this team one way.  If Gasol is the center, and the Lakers get younger and quicker, he can coach them a different way. 

Either way, I think defense will be the backbone of any Lakers improvement.  If they improve defensively, it will help overcome some of their shortcomings on offense, especially on the perimeter.  If they improve defensively, they can be right back at the top of the Western Conference. 

I would also offer this advice to Coach Brown, scrap the Triple Post.  Maybe a new offense that features some high-low action, more misdirection, etc., would allow Gasol and Bynum to play together.  Who knows?  Maybe they will try to isolate Kobe more, or let him post up some, like Michael Jordan did later in his career, in order to make Kobe more effective. 

Or maybe Coach Brown will give the ball to Kobe at the top of the key, tell him to dribble until there are four seconds on the shot clock, and then Kobe will force up a shot.  Because that's what Coach Brown did with LeBron!  So on second thought, maybe he should just leave the offense alone. 

Maybe none of it matters, and there won't be an NBA season.  Maybe the lockout will drag on, and on, and on, and we will have to keep reading these "What If" articles instead of watching real basketball!

Comments, Questions, or Thoughts?

Follow me on Twitter @DavidHeeb