Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Moves the Lakers Should Make Before the Season Begins
After a very frustrating start to the offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers, both Lakers fans and players are left confused about the direction that this team is heading in.
First off, they tried, and failed miserably, in acquiring Chris Paul for All-Star Pau Gasol and reigning sixth man of the year, Lamar Odom.
Next, they pulled off probably the most questionable move of this offseason by trading away Odom to their biggest challenger for a title, the defending world champions Dallas Mavericks, for basically nothing. What's even more questionable is that they added in a second-round pick to that deal.
Now, just about everyone on the Lakers roster features a question mark next to their name.
Will Gasol play with the same team-first attitude as he has been playing with over the past few years knowing the team tried trading him?
Will Kobe Bryant be able to focus 100 percent after seeing his good friend Odom leave for a box of chocolates?
Will Metta World Piece be able to return to his old form from two years ago after struggling most of last year?
Has Andrew Bynum finally matured after his cowardly act during the Western Conference Semi-finals against the Mavericks?
In my opinion, that's way too many question marks for a contending team be entering a season with.
On the one hand, the Lakers still do possess one of the most talented rosters in the league. On the other hand, they are also one of oldest teams in the league and lack depth at just about every position.
Basically, changes are needed.
With about a week left before the actual season begins, I have thought up three moves the Lakers should make that would completely retool this roster for the present and the future.
Move No. 1: Trade Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher to the Boston Celtics for Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, and Jermaine O'Neal
Yes, I know it sounds crazy to even think that the Lakers would consider trading away Bryant. However, the truth of the matter is, Bryant has passed his prime a couple years ago, and enters the 2011-12 season disgruntled and with a lot on his mind.
Besides the fact that he is completely upset with the Lakers front office and confused about the Odom trade, his wife has just recently filed for divorce. His mind will be full of thoughts over the next few months, and as focused and determined Bryant always is when it comes to basketball, one would have to think that both of these issues might be at least in the back of his mind throughout the season.
Bryant would automatically, along with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, provide the Celtics with another three years of title contention. He would be a big upgrade over a very good player in Allen.
Fisher would provide the Celtics with toughness and leadership as a back-up point guard (the Celtics would need to find someone to replace Rondo as the starting point guard).
Rondo, upset about the trade rumors he has recently been involved in, might not want to play with the Celtics for too much longer. The best solution to this: Trade him for one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
In Rondo, the Lakers would be receiving a young, defensive-minded point guard who comes at a fairly cheap price over the next four years.
In Allen and O'Neal, the Lakers would be receiving two players whose contracts expire at the end of next year.
In addition, Allen and O'Neal would still be very useful to the Lakers during this upcoming season, Allen as the starting shooting guard and best offensive weapon & O'Neal as the back-up power forward/center.
Move No. 2: Trade Pau Gasol and Steve Blake to the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith and Kirk Hinrich
Just like Bryant, it would suck to see Gasol leave the Lakers. However, the truth of the matter is, he might be upset about being dealt to the Hornets before the trade was rejected by the league. Also, there would be no point of keeping Gasol, and the three years left on his contract, without Bryant around and the Lakers switching over to a youth movement.
Gasol would help the Hawks out tremendously, providing them with a veteran presence and a complete offensive skill set very few players in the league possess. He would be a great complement to the very athletic roster this team possesses.
In Blake, the Hawks would be taking back a player with three years left on his contract. However, in order to make the deal work salary cap-wise and in order to receive a superstar of Gasol's nature, sacrifices must be made. Blake would add depth to an inexperienced Hawks team at the point guard position.
It has been widely speculated that Smith is unhappy playing in an Atlanta Hawks uniform and would like a change of scenery. What better place for a change of scenery than Los Angeles?
The Lakers, continuing on with the youth movement, would be receiving a potential superstar and one of the most versatile players in the league in Smith. In broad terms, the man can do a little bit of everything and do it well.
Hinrich would be a great spark off the bench for the 2011-12 Los Angeles Lakers, mainly backing up Rondo at the point guard position, but also Allen sometimes at the shooting guard position. His expiring contract would also help the Lakers get under the salary cap entering the 2012 offseason.
Move No. 3: Trade Andrew Bynum, Devin Ebanks, the rights to Andrew Goudelock, 2012 first-round pick, Dallas Mavericks' 2012 first-round pick, and 2014 first-round pick to the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard
In an effort to complete the dismantling of the Lakers own "Big Three," Andrew Bynum would be dealt to the Magic for arguably the best center in the league.
Bynum, loaded with potential and still very young, would provide the Magic with a perfect rebuilding tool. He is good on both sides of the floor and has the potential to be great on both sides of the floor.
He has a team option on his contract following the 2011-12 season, which would give the Magic an opportunity to keep him around for one year or two years if they'd like as a test to whether he will reach his full potential.
Ebanks and Goudelock would add youth to a rebuilding Magic team, while the draft picks, although most likely not high, would give the Magic three opportunities to find talent through the draft pool in the near future.
Howard is one of the best players in the league right now, and receiving him would keep the Lakers in championship contention for years to come. His defensive abilities are unmatched by anyone else in the league, while his developing offensive skills are pretty good as well.
Oh, and did I mention that he is still young?
Conclusion
Following these three moves, I would use the amnesty clause to cut Luke Walton and the remaining two years of his contract. Then, I would sign Elijah Millsap, a training camp invitee, for the rest of the season. This would lead to the depth chart looking like this for the Lakers:
PG: Rajon Rondo, Kirk Hinrich, Darius Morris
SG: Ray Allen, Gerald Green, Elijah Millsap
SF: Metta World Peace, Matt Barnes, Jason Kapono
PF: Josh Smith, Josh McRoberts, Troy Murphy, Derrick Caracter
C: Dwight Howard, Jermaine O'Neal
In my opinion, this is a roster that is set up great for the upcoming season and for the future.
The starting line-up is loaded with former, present and future all-stars who still have a lot of basketball left in them.
Rondo, Howard and Allen were all members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team in 2011. Two of them (Rondo and Howard) probably have many more all-star game appearances scheduled in their future plans, while Allen is still a lethal offensive weapon, even though he is aging quickly.
Smith has the potential to be an all-star in the very near future with his versatile skill set, while World Peace has participated in an all-star game in the past. At the age of 32, he is still a very good defensive player and possesses a sold offensive skill set, as long as his focus is accompanying him.
In addition to featuring many past, present and future all-stars, four of the five members of this starting line-up have been selected as members of the NBA All-Defensive Teams throughout their careers. Two of them, World Peace and Howard have also won NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in the recent past.
Basically, this team would not be lacking any talent on the defensive side of the ball.
The bench possesses a lot of depth and talents at just about every position, as many of these players have seen a good amount of playing time at some point during their career and have performed very well in the rolls they were assigned to perform by whatever team they were a part of.
In terms of the future, the Lakers would have a very solid "Big Three" of their own featuring Rondo, Smith and Howard. All three of these players are very young, 25, 26 and 26 years old respectively, and are still improving different aspects of their games on a yearly basis.
Rondo would be locked in with the Lakers for four more years at a fairly cheap price, while Smith's contract has two years left at a decent price as well. Assuming the Lakers would extend Howard's contract and provide him with a maximum deal, the Lakers would be contending for the NBA championship trophy on an annual basis for years to come.
With the exception of the "Big Three," World Peace and McRoberts, the rest of the roster would be under contract only throughout the 2011-12 season. This would give the Lakers two options to consider.
The first option would be playing out the entire season with the same roster, leaving them with an opportunity to re-sign the players they would like to keep for the future or letting all the players leave to other teams, putting the Lakers under the salary cap entering the 2012 offseason, meaning they could utilize the entire mid-level exception on a decent offensive weapon.
The second option would be using the expiring contracts as trade assets for teams looking to rebuild and save salary before the trade deadline. Utilizing the expiring contracts as trade assets would provide the Lakers with an opportunity to gain talented players from teams looking to shed salary.
Regardless of the direction the Lakers' front office would take, if these three completely reasonable trades were completed before this upcoming season began, the present and the future would be very bright for the Lakers.
One can only dream!
