1. The price tag. His salary is obscene for his production on court. And to add injury to insult, they’re demanding two members from our starting lineup, while only getting one back. The injury bug is a matter of luck, but it’s still a downside

2. Of course we must expect that (or at least they do). They spent a high pick on him. Rejected Jason Kidd for him. I think they still have hopes. I personally have them as well…

3. Odom should resume playing at the level he wasplaying at the beginning of last season. Bynum should make a small leap and be even better, getting more minutes as the season goes by. I epxect no less than that. And I expect that the TEAM will be better defensively, not making us cry for JO (and the improved D that comes with him).

Personally,I think the Odom experiment has failed and it’s time to move on. Three yrs,1 missed Play-Offs,2 early exits w/7 of last 8 Play-Off Games ending in a Laker loss. Something similar(except 2 brutal Game 7 losses instead of 7 of got the Rockets coach fired. Phil isn’t getting fired,but something has to be done to change the dynamic.
There are many differ ways to get to Finals.The 2 or 3 star theory is not the only path. It can be done w/1 star and several very talented role players. (Dirk’s Mavs,Wade’s Heat-Shaq is limited these days-LeBron’s Cavs,the Billups’ Pistons,AI’s 76s for recent examples.) I believe the Lakers should go this route in buildng a team of very good players to complement Kobe,and if another star becomes available…hello new Dynasty.
Which brings me to Lamar. It’s obvious by now that he cannot be traded even-up for another upper echelon player.Instead of trying to find the right package for a star,the Lakers should be looking the other way.Get a solid starter and a promising youngster,one of whom can pass and defend.

Anyways, here are some points of agreement and disagreement on my part:

1. I do not expect much more from LO this year, except I hope he stays healthy – that would be enough to noticeably improve this club.

I agree. I don’t think its fair to ask Odom to be KG or JO down low. Lamar will be Lamar and for some reason, I still love the guy’s heart. I’m sure Kobe appreciates it too.

2. Jim Buss seems to expect this. Kupchak too. I can’t for the life of me, for a variety of reasons, see Bynum being the player we need him to be for at least 2 years. Call it instinct or whatever, but he just doesn’t seem to have the drive and work ethic to get over that hump. He has no heart and I question his attitude. Part of it is he’s only 19, but how long is it gonna take for him to grow up?

I love how you put this one. I could not agree more. As I have said, AB needs to GROW UP as a person first, before he can become THE MAN we need. Much of this makes me think his breakout season might coincide with Kobe’s opt out. Ouch.

3. Biggest obstacle to me is the price-tag. LO and Bynum for JO just doesn’t make sense. It is a very lateral move in my opinion. We gain with JO’s defense, rebounding, and post ability, but we lose our primary facilitator in the Triangle in Odom, who is also a versatile player who scores, rebounds well, and plays decent enough defense. Throw in that we also lose our back-up/starting center, who some claim is gonna be great and is at the very least a solid future NBA center, which also minimizes our front-court depth. Plus, Kobe becomes the primary facilitator of the Triangle again.

On the Odom being the facilitator… I kinda disagree. I’m not sure if my facts are right, but I think we lost more games with Walton out last year than we did with Odom out. Much as I’d like to see a starter quality SF start for this Laker team, much as I’d hate to admit it, Walton seems to do a better job facilitating the Triangle. So I disagree that Kobe IS the primary facilitator. Walton is – like Scottie – less the athleticism and less less less the defense. I think he will be a very big factor on how we do this year. If he could perfect that corner jumper or a Rick Fox-like spot up 3, I think trading LO to Memphis for Pau COULD improve the team. Odom is a better fit in Memphis than Pau anyway, IMO.

Lastly, I still think the Bynum+Odom=JO offer STILL stands for a reason. Indiana may seem to think that is the best value for an oft-injured and on-his-prime star JO and LA for sure keeps this deal afloat JUST IN CASE things blow up in their faces. As of now, I am still half-hearted in saying : Lets Do It.

1. I think that the issue is “packaging.” My guess is that Indiana wants us to take a second player with a multiyear contract or we don’t get Jermaine.

2. Bynum keeps Laker trading options alive–so we don’t trade him easy.

3. Bynum and Odom will be OK–they both will be trying to prove something.

JO will improve the attitude of Phil, Kobe, and the entire team just by being there.

We’re getting beyond the point of simple risk/rewards–or sound strategic thinking these days. If I KNEW that the Lakers refused a simple deal of Bynum/Odom for O’Neal and I were Phil, I wouldn’t sign a deal to coach beyond this year. If I were Kobe, I might not show up for training camp–at least for awhile.

My own strategic assessment is to wait until mid October–but I’m very nervous.

Kupchak must be living in a pressure cooker. I hope he doesn’t get a heart attack!

1. Biggest obstacle to me is the price-tag. LO and Bynum for JO just doesn’t make sense. It is a very lateral move in my opinion. We gain with JO’s defense, rebounding, and post ability, but we lose our primary facilitator in the Triangle in Odom, who is also a versatile player who scores, rebounds well, and plays decent enough defense. Throw in that we also lose our back-up/starting center, who some claim is gonna be great and is at the very least a solid future NBA center, which also minimizes our front-court depth. Plus, Kobe becomes the primary facilitator of the Triangle again.

2. Jim Buss seems to expect this. Kupchak too. I can’t for the life of me, for a variety of reasons, see Bynum being the player we need him to be for at least 2 years. Call it instinct or whatever, but he just doesn’t seem to have the drive and work ethic to get over that hump. He has no heart and I question his attitude. Part of it is he’s only 19, but how long is it gonna take for him to grow up? Two more years? Three? Four? Do we really want to find out if we can get JO without surrendering Odom? Not sure we can right now, but I would if LO stayed.

3. I expect Odom to come back and become an All-Star for the first time in his career. He was on clearly his way there until the injury derailed his season in the first half last year. Lest we forget, the Lakers were 30-18 I believe when Odom went down, or something very close, and he was having a career year. Add in his warrior mentality he exhibited against the Suns when he was playing with 2 serious injuries and he’s just the type of player I want on the team. I think Kobe has to appreciate Odom more now after his performance and sheer will to compete in the playoffs this past year, but I can’t be sure given his erratic state of mind.

Bottom-line, I’m all for JO. But if it goes anything past Kwame, Bynum, Farmar, filler, and picks, I’m against it.

1. What is the biggest obstacle hanging in JO’s head?
Injury or Price Tag? – surely we would not have this debate if it was KG.

2. Does this mean we can expect Bynum to be above-average since we are not letting both Bynum and Odom go for JO?

3. How do we foresee Odom and Bynum to do after this summer’s rest and preparation as supposed to what can be EXPECTED from JO?

Let it be known, I am a fan of JO coming to LA. However, as to whether Bynum and Odom are worth him is the one I am seeking an answer to.

PS – I would love to hear what Drrayeye, CraigW, Renato, the Stephens, chopperdave, Gatinho would respond to my questions. The varying answers might convince me or disprove my theories altogether.

As soon as some have already posted their opinions, perhaps I can put in my 2 cents as well.

You say, ” trading both Odom and Bynum for JO does not make the Lakers a dramatically better team or a contender. Doing it just to do something is how teams end up like the Knicks—”

Or the Mavericks?

I know we’re a Lakers blog and all, but I was wondering if anyone had any opinion on Rasheed’s purported move to starting at center (and McDyess’ move to PF)? I don’t really remember, but apparently back when he was with the Blazers they tried the same thing, except instead of McDyess, it was Randolph, and it didn’t work very well. It’s great for a bunch of the younger talented bench players too, but expect Sheed’s foul trouble to go up?