NBA Trades: Los Angeles Lakers Need to Be More Proactive Like the Boston Celtics

It's not news to anyone that the Celtics and Lakers are two of the older teams in the NBA. Many feel that because of their old legs, the chances of either team getting to the NBA Finals are slimmer than they were a few years ago when they met in an epic NBA Finals.

The difference between the two teams is that the Lakers have not really shown any sign of getting younger, while the reports are surfacing that the Celtics have recently made efforts to acquire Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma City and Chris Paul from New Orleans.

The Celtics know that they need to get younger in order to compete with Miami and Chicago in the Eastern Conference. While they know that Rajon Rondo is their biggest asset in terms of young super stars, they also know he's a facilitator for the Big Three, not a guy like Derrick Rose who can put up MVP type numbers.

So what do they do? They try to shop him around to Indiana in order to get some pieces to eventually land CP3. Paul is the ultimate point guard. He has Rondo IQ along with Rose skill. He will single-handedly put the Celtics back on the championship map.

He alone can elevate the game of Garnett, Allen and Pierce. It won't matter that Garnett is 35, Allen is 36, and Pierce is 34 because Chris Paul will become the new focal point of the offense, turning the Celtics into a juggernaut.

The Lakers, on the other hand, know that they are aging and have not been doing anything about it. So far, no serious effort has been made to land Dwight Howard or Chris Paul and the Lakers look like the same team that bowed out in the second round last season.

Why do the Lakers expect things to be different this time around? Oklahoma City is only better. Miami and Chicago look like stronger teams than the Lakers. Dallas is more confident in their abilities after sweeping the Purple and Gold last season. And if Boston gets Chris Paul, they'll have a better shot than the Lakers as well.

The Lakers can't expect to win with their current roster. Kobe may be a legendary player and there probably is no age limit on him, but in order to win a championship, it must be a team effort. Pau Gasol, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom are not getting any younger. The Lakers need to make an urgent move for Dwight Howard or Chris Paul as soon as they can.

Finally, the Lakers are extremely thin at point guard. Has Derek Fisher even worked out this offseason? He's been in 15 hour meetings for labor negotiations seemingly every week. His play has already diminished considerably. Who knows if he'll be ready when the season starts? He has already become a huge liability defensively against elite point guards.

Steve Blake, whom the Lakers acquired last season to be his backup, shot terribly from the field this past season shooting less than 38 percent.

The NBA is turning more into a point guard driven league. Is Derek Fisher really going to contain the Derrick Roses and Russell Westbrooks of the league? Definitely not. 

The Lakers need to make a better effort this offseason. We need to be seeing their name in headlines more often. They need to be pursuing the big fish in the market.

Boston is being progressive. They're thinking of winning immediately and in the long run. The Lakers seem like they're entering a season with a lot more questions than answers. They can't rely on Kobe completely.

With Andrew Bynum being so injury prone and Pau Gasol playing inconsistently at times, the Lakers need to bring in a new Kobe that they can build around for years to come.

This isn't to say Kobe is done. 

No. He can definitely lead the Lakers deep into the playoffs. But at the end of the day, he needs reliable help like he got in Game 7 back in 2010. Can he get that from this inconsistent, aging bunch?

Probably not. Boston can't either with their Old Three.

But at least they're doing something about it rather than standing pat and watching the ship that is CP3 sail into the night.