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In this “what have you done for me lately?” and result oriented society, it was no surprise that immediately following the end of the Lakers/Celtics series, many people were already trying to figure out where Los Angeles went wrong and what the Lakers needed in order to win an NBA Championship.
Well, if one thing is for certain, we found out that just having Kobe Bryant is not enough. We also verified that Pau Gasol is no Shaquille O’Neal, and that Lamar Odom is no Scottie Pippen.
So what do they need? Afterall, it was originally thought that adding Gasol was enough, and that Odom was a great supplemental wingman to compliment Kobe’s game.
But to answer the question, the first thing the Lakers need to do is consider getting rid of one Mr. Lamar Odom. He was supposed to be the Robert Horry of this team, but let’s face it, the experiment has failed. In his time since coming to L.A., where he was traded to as the jewel piece of the Lakers side of the Shaq deal, he has done nothing but continue to underpeform. Every now and then he wows us with his versatility and makes us think that he is better than he is. All the while, the truth remains that he does very little in the clutch most nights, and when he is presented with someone who can match him in terms of size and quickness, he never is assertive enough to use his wonderful array of talents.
Just look at how Kevin Garnett locked him up all series. Sure, KG is the defensive MVP, but if I had no history of their track records or personality, and I just had a scout tell me about each of their talents, there is no way I wouldn’t expect Lamar to average at least 18-20 points against KG, even if they were a difficult 20 points.
I think Odom needs to go to the highest bidder. The unfortunate thing is, I don’t think anyone has a real use for a 6’10” small forward who doesn’t have the ability to be a true #1 scorer and shies away from competition.
As a result, I don’t think Odom is going anywhere. The Lakers won’t give him away for nothing (nor should they), and nobody will give them the price they want.
But you can’t have a lineup of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, can you?
You’re damn right you can’t!
One of those guys will have to be relegated to the bench. People were so quick to clamor over Gasol’s mid-range game, but I didn’t see much of that through out his several months with the Lakers. And in Phil Jackson’s triangle scheme, he surely had his opportunity to shine from the mid-range perimeter. So if you ask me, I think that Gasol is really the same position as Bynum, and thus they probably can’t be on the floor at the same time.
So should one of them have to go?
No. Neither has to go. But one of them has to come off the bench.
And that will be what they do this season for contractual reasons. But if you ask me, after Bynum’s knee is healed and Gasol’s contract is about to expire, you can rest assure that soft, non-jump shooting, Pau Gasol will be looking for another squad to play for.
So what will the Lakers actually do this off-season to get better?
You can rest assure that they’ll be shipping out some of those coveted bench players for whatever they can get. They badly need an assertive wing player who can become the #1 scoring option when Kobe is off the floor, because Gasol and Odom show up too infrequently. That’s why I think you’ll see a package that includes some of (or all of) Jordan Farmar, Chris Mihm, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasah Vujacic and Luke Walton. Maybe even Trevor Ariza if they can get the right price for him.
Who will they seek? I can only throw out names like Antawn Jamison, Shawn Marion, and Elton Brand, because they are people who are on the block. But I don’t really know who they will get.
I will tell you this though. They are going to get somebody. The Lakers didn’t make moves like getting Pau Gasol so that they could continue sitting on the sidelines. They want to win. Kobe wants to win. And they know that scoring small or power forward is really what they need, and they will go get it.
Everything else is in place.
Lamar Odom can be a 4 if they get a small forward. Or he can be a 3 if they get a power forward.
Pau Gasol’s “soft” minutes should be tempered with a healthy Andrew Bynum.
Hopefully. Derek Fisher won’t disappear like he did in these past NBA Finals.
And of course they have Kobe Bryant. Who is no longer the best player in the NBA (in my mind anyway), but he sure is one of the best. So if the Lakers make the right moves, he’ll have a chance to reclaim that throne once again.
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