Los Angeles Lakers: Why It's Time for LA to Start the Gilbert Arenas Experiment

It's been over a week since the Orlando Magic released Gilbert Arenas, and no team has taken the risk on the veteran guard.

Yet. 

You can't really blame teams for being pessimistic towards Arenas, though. Does anyone really want a guard coming off a horrendous half-of-a-season who has recently had gun issues in the locker room? 

Still though, Marc Stein has reported that Arenas was interested in the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, and "eventually, though, someone will take a chance on an unrestricted free agent who once averaged more than 25 points per game for three straight seasons."

The Knicks, after signing Baron Davis and now Jeremy Lin, are clearly not interested in Arenas. The Heat looked good in their first game and appear confident in the combination of Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole.

That leaves the Lakers.

I originally thought Arenas was a bad fit for the Lake Show, and I think most people would tend to agree with that. Most people would tend to agree he's a bad fit anywhere.

Furthermore, it's unsure how mature the 29-year-old really is and it's questionable how he would share shot attempts with Kobe Bryant. 

But at some point, the Lakers organization needs to realize this team isn't going to compete for a championship with the current roster.

I realize Andrew Bynum is out and that's why no one should overreact to the 0-2 start. But missing Bynum could very well become a common occurrence with his past injury problems. You certainly can't count on him.

Even when the big man is healthy, this looks like a playoff team, but a playoff team that would be eliminated in the first or second round.

Derek Fisher at point guard just isn't cutting it anymore and the depth is still a problem. Kobe-Gasol-Bynum is a terrific trio, but it's not strong enough to carry the whole team.

Los Angeles needs to take a risk.

And is there anyone else out there that screams "risk" as loudly as Gilbert Arenas does?

He could very well come in and score eight points per game. Then again, he could also come in rejuvenated in a new environment and new system and provide the spark the Lakers need. 

They don't even have to start Agent Zero if they aren't so inclined. If the Lakers want to keep starting the "true point guard" Fisher, then that's fine.

But with Arenas in town, they wouldn't have to keep give Fish more than 25 minutes per game and they could use the former All-Star as instant offense off the bench. If he's willing to, and that's certainly a big "if," he could turn into a Jamal Crawford-type of player.

Also, it's clear that Bryant isn't 100 percent healthy. With this condensed schedule, he'll need days off every once in a while, and Arenas would immediately step in as a viable backup 2-guard when the situation presents itself. 

Gilbert Arenas is a name a lot of people won't like. Don't forget, though, this is a guy that is just one year removed from a season in which he averaged 22 points and seven assists per game. 

When it comes down to it, he can play basketball at an effective rate. If you don't like him, I can understand that. But at this point, if he accepts the right role, there's no way he doesn't make this team better.

At the veteran's league minimum, that's a win-win.