Unanswered Questions Concerning the Lakers

Recently, the NBA announced that there was no agreement made between the owners and the players that led to the cancellation of the preseason. As mad and worried as we are, we can only hope that there is an actual season where we could watch our favorite teams.

Now, it's clear that NBA players and basketball fans lose so much. In particular, the Los Angeles Lakers, aside for the Miami Heat, probably have the more pressure than any other team in the league. Nobody wants "no basketball" to occur; and we'd be losing so much if there was a permanent lockout.

Trade rumors, development, and disagreements have filled up the minds of all Lakers fans like you and me. So what do we want to, or need to know?

Will Kobe Bryant Ever Surpass Michael Jordan?

In the eyes of most Chicago Bulls fans or of Kobe haters, he will never do anything to surpass MJ in anything. Yet, he's so close to tying in NBA titles and in points scored that you would sort of want to see this happen.

It looks pretty obvious that Kobe will eventually take the No. 3 spot on the all-time scoring list away from Jordan. Now, will he win two titles to make it seven? I, as a Laker fan, would love to see that.

If there was no NBA season happening at all, Kobe misses the opportunity to at least score 2,000 points. Those 2,000 points would escalate him to a little below 30,000. If you actually do the math, he would eventually surpass him in points.

He's 33 years old; Kobe has around three or four more MVP-contention, quality years in which he could very well average 23-plus points.

In terms of championships, this would gain him an insurmountable amount of respect, which he already very much deserves. If he ties Jordan's great six, then I'd say more people would stop hating. Now if he surpasses that, he deserves a spot in the Top Three ever to play this game.

What Happens to the Bigs?

Speculation has surrounded the top three big men in LA: Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

For Bynum, he was called "untouchable" by Jim Buss; as well as being in trade scenarios involving Orlando Magic's star, Dwight Howard. It's safe to say that shipping him out of LA wouldn't be necessarily a bad thing.

For one thing, he is injury-prone. His close-to-playoffs injuries always come about. His attitude is also a troubling aspect of his game. Mostly everyone remembers what he said about the Lakers and their "trust issues." Things like that stay in the locker room.

Pau Gasol was probably the most scrutinized player on the Lakers' squad this past June. Easily, the problems with his ex-girlfriend affected his style of play; I would totally understand that love can hurt, but try to keep it out of the gym! That didn't help the Lakers at all.

Secondly, his play significantly dropped as well as his All-Star stats. His points decreased by five points and rebounds also slumped to seven from grabbing 10 a night. He wasn't really added to trade scenarios, however there was speculation of trading him for any star point guard who can accompany Kobe in the backcourt.

Lamar Odom definitely earned the title of the "Sixth Man of the Year". He showed that night in and night out; but it was evident that he dropped his play in the playoffs. Apart from Bynum, LO was probably the biggest trade bait that the Lakers have.

Reporters and speculators said he was going to Minnesota for the second overall pick (which later turned out to be Derrick Williams). He was supposedly headed to Philadelphia for All-Star guard/forward and uprising talent Andre Iguodala. No matter the case, you can tell Odom will eventually head elsewhere.

It's intriguing when trade rumors pop around and none of these men want to leave a team like the Lakers. Now, if there is a season, we have to wait and see what happens to any of them.

What's the Deal with Ron Artest?

Another person highly criticized all season long was Ron Artest (Metta World Peace). He provided lackluster stats and didn't really do much at all as opposed to last year. I don't know one game that stood out during his season this year; I can recall more than a couple last year including Game 7 of the NBA Finals. So what's going on? I'd love to know.

Will he be traded? It's hard to come up with an answer because nobody would really take this banged up, old body of his. He doesn't have more than three to four okay years left; the question really is what's going to happen to the Lakers at the small forward spot.

Who Will Fill Up the Point Guard Spot?

Derek Fisher's aging body is clearly an issue at the PG spot for the Lakers. How do they get another guard who will complement Kobe really well? Derek Fisher has been with Kobe practically his whole career, aside from that run he had with the Utah Jazz.

Now D-Fish is known for leadership, heart, and being clutch when it's desperately needed. He can easily take that to the bench where the Lakers need much improvement.

But this isn't about D-Fish; it's about his starting spot. What would it take to land someone like Chris Paul from New Orleans or another guard? Probably Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum with some other included players.

Who can seriously fill up this spot? That's something I really want to know, that we need the season to know.

What Will the Bench Look Like This Season?

Like I said, D-Fish has to go to the bench in order to help out an already struggling backup.

Steve Blake was supposed to be an upgrade over young, athletic guard Jordan Farmar; however, he probably played one of his worst seasons in the NBA.

Aside from the game winner against Houston on opening night, he didn't really do much at all. He was even worse in the playoffs. He's very likely to be traded and replaced. Hopefully, it would benefit the Lakers.

Matt Barnes did very well as a backup until his post-injury play. He showed that he never got back to the form in which he provided needed help. It's safe to say that Barnes' first season wasn't all that was expected.

Nonetheless, Barnes will give it another go and I'm very sure he will improve with the Lakers. He adds major toughness, as he showed against Dallas, and he shows major hustle on the court.

What about the rest of the bench?

Joe Smith and Theo Ratliff are probably retiring, leaving two spots for the rookies that were drafted or any new free agents.

Shannon Brown opted out and I'm not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. He provide a spark and in the beginning stages of last season, he was amazing.

Luke Walton has really nothing going for him and he's actually the assistant coach at the University of Memphis.

As for newcomers like Devin Ebanks, Derick Caracter, and Trey Johnson, I think we can very well see at least two of these three guys on the bench next year.

Will the Youth Stay with the Lakers?

I mentioned in the previous slide how youngsters Ebanks, Caracter, and Johnson can all be back for another season.

Ebanks is possibly the most promising out of all and he could very well be with the Lakers for years to come. He has very wise teammates who know how it's like to be in tough situations. His great length and athleticism help him out in several ways, including defense and explosiveness.

Caracter didn't show much to offer last season but he can easily develop a post game and better forward abilities by learning from guys like Gasol and Bynum. He still needs to lose weight and also must get away from problems like he did at New Orleans.

Trey Johnson is someone that only big-time Lakers fans probably know about. He can be a combo guard and is actually a pretty decent scorer. He wants a full-time commitment with a team but it's hard to determine if it's here in LA.

Rookies like Andrew Guadelock, Darius Morris, and Ater Mojak all will compete to earn a spot on this squad. Guadelock and Morris seem to be the most promising and either one can be the future of this team.

The youth has to be developed quickly because players like Kobe, Gasol, and D-Fish won't be around a lot to teach them every little thing.

Will It Be This Season?

Can this upcoming season be the one in which they tie their enemies, the Boston Celtics, in amount of NBA titles? If they do the right moves and play hard all season, then certainly. It's a matter of who wants it more and who's willing to put forth the effort. We all know Kobe is, but can his teammates step it up?

The Lakers need a breakout season in order to forget what happened to them this past June.

A good amount of many questions to ask. If you have any questions you would also like address, please do so by commenting. Thanks for the read!