Heresy 2. Mitch is doing a much better job than most credit him w/. Coming off the Shaq trade LA had a SG,a SF and a tweener SF/PF and not much else. He has drafted a potential starting PG and C,and thinking Lamar would be a SF took a chance on a talented-but potentially flawed PF-who didn’t have a killer 4/5/6/yrs left on his contract.(Note how Kobe’s choice for GM was willing to trade for a similarly talented but flawed PF he’d earlier let walk.)If Walton re-signs,there is the nucleus of a strong bench w/the steadying hand of Walton,an energy PF,and a long-range sniper.
Assuming Odom is the PF,the only starter needed long-term is a SF in the Bowen/Prince/Howard/Patterson/Artest mold-a strong defender who rebounds and can hit the open 3.

I suggest instead of forfeiting a possible glowing future for meaningless instant gratification,use this yr to groom Bynum and Farmar and try to get this yr or next the SF. Use the MLE on Stevenson-or as little as possible on Patterson,or try and pry Ross from Clips(who by the way was undrafted-this is where the scouting dept has to come up big in identifying a player who can be the stopper.) Use whatever combo of Sasha,Evans,Cook it takes to get a vet PG in to mentor Farmar. Sign Darryl Armstrong to the vet min for his lockerroom leadership and his willingness to call out his team’s stars-in private.) Bynum doesn’t have to start,but he does have to get 25-30 min every night,and Farmar should be getting 15-20. By the trading deadline the Lakers should know if Bynum can be a stud C,if Farmar has shown he can run the team. If not,then panic and try and rebuid on the fly.

Despite the efficiency kobe possesses, in terms of stats and tangibles. In my opinion him facilitating the offense is a hinderance on the team’s success, as we saw in the phoenix series this season. (kobe shot the team out of games 4, 5, and the end of game 1)

Teams that move the ball around: like the spurs, jazz, and bulls are not only more entertaining, but much more effective in the long term, and not the short (mamba’s 5 game outburst)!

Maybe we can use Kwame’s contract and the 19th pick to get a better shooting, better defending PG?

My point was that because Odom in many ways is just a less efficient version of Kobe (on offense), it is redundant to have him. The Lakers would be far better to trade him for an interior defensive force that could generate consistent stops. It is no mistake that the two teams in the finals are both top 5 defensive teams and have strong interior defenders/rebounders (duncan/oberto/elson; varejo/gooden/ilgauskus). If the Lakers ever want to win the playoffs, they must become a dominant defensive team and that starts in the paint. Oneal would provide this. It would be much easier to find a good defensive point guard with the midlevel than a dominant interior defender — they are too rare and expensive.

Finally, I think the triangle offense would run better with Oneal than Odom, even though I think Odom is a little better offensive player. The triangle works best when the big men are skilled passers, scorers, and finishers. Kwame is the anti-triangle big man. Having a good post scorer would open up the weak side of the triangle for kobe and provide a better finisher for when kobe and walton create open shots (which they are so good at for laker big men).

So, while I desperately hope they can get Oneal without giving both Odom and Bynum (a core of Kobe, Odom, and Oneal would be a dream), I don’t think it is possible. And, while including both would be overpaying in overall talent, I still think it leads to a much improved team.

Yes, but the problem wasn’t with the post-help defens, it’s the perimeter that is the issue. If the lakers could improve the 1 and three spot, they’d be much improved from the start. Not to mention, the mamba’s porous excuse for defense these days’s!

Oh, and maybe the mamba could be less dependent on his need to have the ball, and play off more, you know since he’s a proficient shooter and a shooting guard. That would be an incredible sign of leadership on his part, allowing for other players to play to their strengths; like you mentioned odom, for instance.

I believe a lot more problems could be solved, by simply trading bryant. With all players the lakers would garnish in such a trade; it makes too much sense not to.

By the way, that’s how you play basketball. Great job san antonio! Way to move the ball around, unlike certain superstars (kobe, lebron, and A.I.) I can’t stand ball stoppers (talk about bad for a motion based offense, don’t you love seeing the mamba dribble 12 seconds off the clock)! The spurs, still rusty from their layoff, put on a clinic on how to play basketball, and we call them boring. Not me, i really enjoy watching the bulls and spurs of the nba.

the mamba could take a tip or two from Mr. Duncan!

p.s. did you just say “add kobe’s scoring and defense” was that meant to be a joke?