Los Angeles Lakers Should Have Done More with What They Had This Offseason
There is still talk in Laker Land that David Stern screwed what would have been a miraculous, game-changing trade (he did). There is still talk (whispers, albeit) of Dwight Howard coming to Los Angeles. There are still fuming fans wondering how we lost a Sixth Man of the Year for nothing. Nothing.
Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss have dropped the ball on the fans this year. Unless there is a hidden agenda (which they say there is) then the Lakers lost big this offseason.
I am certainly not a general manager—although I play one on NBA 2K12—and I'm no Mitch Kupchak, but if I knew that my team needed a remake going into this season (which he knew after the defeat at the hands of the Mavericks, and after he signed Mike Brown) he should have been ready to pull the trigger once the lockout ended, but he acted too late because he didn't know what he wanted.
I would have probably looked to keep the team the same way for one more season. Mike Brown could have pumped juice into this team and made a solid run at one more championship (with an upgrade at point guard, however). But if I needed to make some trades, I believe that it should have looked like this:
Trade 1: Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher for George Hill and Tyler Hansbrough
Why It Works for Pacers
The Pacers have Darren Collison, A.J. Price and Paul George, who are all young and quickly developing players. George Hill, while he is a great player, would clog the playing time for these guys. There is also Lance Stephenson (who Larry Bird loves) and Dahntay Jones.
Derek Fisher would bring a lot of veteran championship experience to a team that has zero of that going. He could play 15 minutes a night off the bench and mentor all the younger guys.
Lamar Odom...Psycho-T...Lamar Odom...Psycho-T: Who would you take? A lineup of Collison, Paul George, Danny Granger, David West and Roy Hibbert with Lamar Odom off the bench is a solid frontcourt. It works.
Why It Works for Lakers
Is it a huge win for the Lakers? Not at all, but it gives them something that the Mavericks trade didn't...which is something. Again, Lakers got nothing for Odom.
George Hill gives the Lakers a young, proven point guard who can play defense and penetrate. The Lakers haven't had that since...have they ever? They have, but not in the last seven years. And Tyler is no Odom, but he plays with energy, gets rebounds and can hit an open 15-footer. It works.
Trade 2: Pau Gasol for Kevin Martin and Luis Scola
Why It Works for Rockets
Because they were going to do this! Only they were going to send their guys to New Orleans. They have tried to make this team a winner for years but it just hasn't worked at all and they know that.
Getting Pau gives them the big guy they thought they had with Yao Ming. They would also get some cap room and could rebuild for the future. It works.
Why It Works for Lakers
Just like the Pacer trade, this doesn't take away from their post presence/size and it gives them youth. Kevin Martin can score the ball. Luis can score the ball and he is tough.
Losing Gasol hurts on offense, but Martin can make that up, and it gives the Lakers the three-point shooting they have lacked over the last two years. Scola is a tough defender in the paint and has some fundamental moves as well.
Lakers Roster
With those two moves you lose a lot of what brought you to the dance, but you also get much more depth. It gives you scoring and you get a couple years younger. Fresh legs, fresh faces, new energy.
Starting Lineup: George Hill, Kobe Bryant, Matt Barnes, Luis Scola, Andrew Bynum
Bench: Steve Blake, Kevin Martin, Metta World Peace, Devin Ebanks, Tyler Hansbrough, Josh McRoberts, Jason Kapono, Troy Murphy, Gerald Green, Derek Caracter
It gives the Lakers a defense-minded starting lineup. Hill can stay with quick points, Kobe is Kobe, Barnes when healthy is a terrific on-ball defender, Scola can guard post players and jump out and defend 15-footers, and Bynum doesn't have to spend time worrying about Gasol's many defensive mistakes.
The bench has a couple crazy, tough guys in World Peace and Hansbrough. It has plenty of three-point shooters in Blake, Kapono and Murphy. It has athletes like Ebanks, McRoberts and Green. And guys like Murphy, Caracter (when healthy), Hansbrough and McRoberts can come in and play center minutes behind Bynum.
While not as pretty to watch as the recent championship teams under Phil Jackson and the triangle, it is a winning team. And with Mike Brown's system, this would work beautifully. The Lakers would be a contender for the next couple years. It works.
