3 Trades I'd Like to See

 
The trading deadline is a few weeks away and as always, speculation on the trades that may happen before the deadline is a hobby most NBA enthusiasts share around this time. Apart from the perceived value of players matching, salaries must more or less be equal for trades to happen, thus it makes the ESPN Trade Machine a nice toy to play around with since it has a comprehensive list of player salaries and an algorithm that verifies potential trades.

I was playing around with the ESPN Trade Machine and looking for nice trades the Los Angeles Lakers would explore to continue their domination of the NBA. The Lakers' most tradeable assets are Jordan Farmar and Adam Morrison. Those two have expiring contracts that are attractive to teams who are excited to take a splash in the free agency bonanza this year.

The Lakers' biggest need right now, if you ask me, is ta reliable back-up point guard who can takeover Derek Fisher's minutes and a reliable big man. Here are three trades I'd like to see involving Jordan Farmar and Adam Morrison:

1. Lakers trade for the Toronto Raptors' Jose Calderon
   
2. Lakers trade for the Philadelphia 76ers' Louis Williams and Royal Ivey
3. Lakers trade for the Golden State Warriors' CJ Watson, Anthony Morrow, and Ronnie Turiaf
   

What do you guys think?


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Lakers Bench to The World: Yeah, We're Still Here

Pop quiz: Which of the following statements about the Los Angeles Lakers-Dallas Mavericks game is fictional?

• The leading scorer for the  was somebody who came off the bench.
• Sasha Vujacic shot better behind the three-point arc than the Lakers' starters combined.
• Adam Morrison (yes, Adam Morrison) finished with the same number of points as Pau Gasol, while netting a 100% shooting clip.

If you answered any of the choices, then you're in for a surprise: all of them happened in the Lakers' drubbing of the Mavericks.

I've always been an advocate of inspired play from the Lakers' bench and the game was a beauty. After the starters built a solid lead in the first half, the usually lackadaisical bench protected the lead and even made it bigger. Jordan Farmar, who led the Lakers in scoring for the game, was superb offensively and D.J. Mbenga protected the paint en route to 3 blocks.

If the Lakers' bench played like this every game, there wouldn't be any need for Kobe Bryant heroics in the end game. Of course, a lot of fans won't be happy with that, but give me a dominating Lakers game any day.


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No Leads Lost: Lakers Strike Thunder

Finally, a game that qualifies as a walk in the park.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the woeful Oklahoma City Thunder, 107-89, in a game that saw the Lakers not giving the Thunder any chance early on. The Lakers built a quick double digit lead in the first half and never looked back-- the Thunder never got any closer than 17 points.

This game is one of the more dominating performances of the Lakers in the last 5 games. The Lakers had habitually squandered leads and gave opponents an opening for a victory. The best example of that game is the Philadelphia game the Sixers beat the Lakers on a buzzer-beater three by Andre Iguodala.

One benefit of dominating the game early on is the rest it gives to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. For this game, Kobe and Gasol had 29 and 34 minutes respectively, which are way below their usual PT. The game also saw seldom-used players like Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown some tick. (BTW, Adam Morrison scored 0 points).

I hope to see more games like these in the last 12 games of the season for the Lakers.


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Lakers Crush Suns

132-106.

Yeah, that qualifies as a crushing.

The Los Angeles Lakers crushed a Phoenix Suns team without its two top players. Suns Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire sat out the game due to various injuries and the result was not surprising.

The Lakers played a great offensive game that the team scored at least 30 points in each of the four quarters and Adam Morrison scored his first official three-ball as a Laker. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom led the team with efficient scoring: Kobe shot 10 for 13, while Odom missed only once in his 12 shot attempts.

This game was also the first meeting between Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal, the MVP's of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.


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Lakers Stop Cavaliers

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Cleveland facing a Cavaliers team that boasted a 23-game home winning streak. They're leaving with another opponent winning streak snapped.

Lamar Odom stepped up big time, finishing with game highs of 28 points and 17 rebounds. Odom played fantastic in the third quarter, where he he single-handedly demolished the Cavaliers front line with slashes and tremendous board work. Kobe Bryant was out of sync with the flu, but he hit a gorgeous fadeaway dagger in LeBron James' grill in the final 2 minutes of the game. Sweet!

The Lakers finished the supposedly grueling 6-game road trip with a pristine 6-0 record, and beating two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the process.

What's next for the Lakers? Getting PT for new acquisition Adam Morrison. :P


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Lakers Trade Vladimir Radmanovic, Get Bobcats' Adam Morrison

The Los Angeles Lakers have shipped resident shooter Vladimir Radmanovic to the the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown.

I think it's a lateral move for the Lakers as they swapped shooting forwards with the Bobcats. The Lakers do get a younger prospect in Morrison and an athletic guard in Brown, but lose Vlad's streaky shooting.

Is this a good move for the Lakers? For the financial books, it makes sense. On the court, I'm not so sure.


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