Dwight Howard to The Lakers, Part 2

A week into the 2011-2012 NBA season and the Los Angeles Lakers are a .500 team. While that seems pretty forgivable in the post-lockout context, it's quite unacceptable given the team's talent and history.

The Lakers are considered contenders, but not favorites to win the NBA crown. I feel they need a legitimate presence on both ends to improve their chances to a title. Enter Dwight Howard.

I outlined in a previous post how the Lakers could get Dwight Howard in a three-team trade with the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Hornets. But we all know how the Lakers were screwed by the NBA in the botched Chris Paul trade. Things are also a little more complicated with a key trade piece in Lamar Odom actually getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks before the season started.

I've come up with a few other scenarios where the Lakers could get Howard using ESPN's Trade Machine.

Scenario 1:

• Los Angeles Lakers get Dwight Howard and Chris Duhon
• Orlando Magic get Andrew Bynum, Derrick Caracter and Matt Barnes

In this trade scenario, the Lakers would be offering the emerging Bynum and expiring contracts to the Magic. Also, the Lakers would be absorbing Duhon's 3-year contract.

Secnario 2:

• Lakers get Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu
• Magic get Bynum, Metta World Peace, and Matt Barnes

This is not too different from the first scenario, except the Lakers would be taking in a bigger contract in Hedo Turkoglu and giving up better talent in World Peace. This seems to make more sense, but any trade involving World Peace is a reach.

Scenario 3:

• Lakers get Dwight Howard and Luis Scola
• Magic get Andrew Bynum, Kevin Martin, and Jordan Hill
• Houston Rockets get Pau Gasol and Hedo Turkoglu

This is a little more complicated and it involves the Houston Rockets, one of the principals of the failed Chris Paul trade. It's been said that the Rockets have their eye on Pau Gasol and this trade gets it done. The Lakers get to replace their starting frontline with new pieces completely.

Scenario 4:

• Lakers get Dwight Howard and Mehmet Okur
• Magic get Andrew Bynum, Anthony Morrow, and Jordan Farmar
• New Jersey Nets get Pau Gasol, Hedo Turkoglu, and Chris Duhon

This now involves teams that are in Howard's wish list and solves a lot of the teams' needs. The Nets get a better supporting cast with Deron Williams after losing out on the Dwight Howard Sweepstakes and the Magic get to shed their unwanted contracts. The Lakers get the best center in the league.

The scenarios are just,well, scenarios and this could change as the trade deadline in March.


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Unhappy Odom Sent to Dallas

This sucks.

After the NBA shot down the deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, and Lamar Odom to the New Orleans Hornets, it left a bitter taste to the players involved in it.

Nobody took it harder than Odom, who spent seven seasons with the Lakers and the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. He felt that he was unwanted by the team that he helped win two championships in the last two years.

This prompted him to request a trade out of the team and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak obliged. Odom was sent to the Dallas Mavericks for a salary exception an draft picks.

As a fan, this is utter crap.

How do you replace a versatile big man who's always a threat to a double-double?

Some will argue that Odom will be less effective in Mike Brown's system than he was in the Triangle Offense. A double-double threat? A lot of people see an inconsistent power forward.

The way I see it, this deal is disadvantageous to the Lakers because 1) they give up a trade piece that could be packaged with other players to obtain an All-Star (like Dwight Howard), and 2) There's no immediate replacement for Odom's production. Yes the team saves salary, but the Lakers have never been about penny-pinching.

If this is the last deal the Lakers will make in the off-season, then we'll see more of Derrick Caracter off the bench. And that is NOT a good thing.


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Lakers Get Screwed By NBA Again on Chris Paul Trade

A couple of hours ago, I was already playing scenarios in my head with the trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. With Pau Gasol going to the Houston Rockets and Lamar Odom going to the New Orleans Hornets, the team's thin frontline was a great thing to think about.

However, the Lakers got screwed by the NBA. Again.

Yahoo Sports reported that the deal was blocked by NBA commish David Stern. Why? Because the New Orleans Hornets is a team owned by the NBA (it's in the process of being handed over to a new owner) and the rest of the NBA raised hell because the Lakers supposedly got better.

Are you kidding me? The Lakers got better in this deal?

By sending two-thirds of the frontline that won the 2010 NBA championship, the Lakers lost their edge on defense and rebounding. Between Gasol and Odom, you're looking at 20 rebounds a game and 3 blocked shots. Yes, the Lakers get a top-flight point guard, who does he feed the ball into the post to? Derrick Caracter? You might as well count that as a defensive rebound by the opponent.

My point is, you can't say outright that this deal was lopsided in the Lakers favor.

If the deal does get permanently killed, then the Lakers' problems would be chemistry, since Odom and Gasol will have a cloud hovering over their heads all season.

Damn you, David Stern.


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How to Fix the Lakers (Part 2)

After I figured that Brian Shaw would be the best option for the Lakers' coaching vacancy, the team went on to hire Mike Brown as the next coach.

Now onto the next way to fix the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2011-2012 season: The NBA Draft.

The team has the picks for #41, #46, #56, and #58 in a two-round draft of 30 picks per draft. This means that the Lakers have very low picks. Who should the Lakers draft in a relatively weak class?

If you ask me, go for serviceable bigs that can replace Derrick Caracter. This person should be able to put in the efforts to defend the opponent's big men and rebound on the offensive glass. I believe this was sorely missed with the aging Theo Ratliff and Joe Smith coming off the bench to spell the frontline starters.

Some names that come to mind in the draft:

• Kenneth Faried
• Jordan Williams
• Rick Jackson
• Willie Reed
• DeAngelo Castro
• Greg Smith
• Keith Benson

The common denominator among the names I listed is that they are all big men who are active on the defensive and rebounding ends.

If the Lakers pick majority of those scrappy bigs, I think they're on the right path to replace Derrick Caracter.


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L.A. Lakers First Quarter Report

After a quarter of the 2010-2011 season gone, how's the Los Angeles Lakers' chase for its historic three-peat?

If you ask me, it's not looking good.

A quarter into the season, the Lakers showed that its dream season will not go without the bumps and kinks.Yes, they are one of the top teams in the NBA in terms of offense, but over-all, their play is far from championship caliber.

But let's look at the bright spots first:

• The Killer B's - The Lakers have found a good consistent bench rotation in the Killer B's (Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, and Shannon Brown). Brown has been the offensive sparkplug off the bench, thanks to his much improved outside shooting. Barnes and Blake have done what is expected of them-- play good defense, make outside shots, and don't do too many mistakes. This group makes people forget about the Bench Mob of the past.
• Kobe's Minutes - Did you know that Kobe Bryant is playing five minutes less this season per game compared to the previous season? As of now, Kobe is playing 33.4 minutes per game, his lowest since the 1997-1998 season. Coach Phil Jackson knows that at age 32, Kobe Bryant needs close monitoring of minutes played. And it seems to have worked in the past: 32 is the age when Michael Jordan's minutes of the Chicago Bulls were reduced by Jackson.
• Lamar Odom - His tour of duty for the USA team at the World Championships may have improved Odom's offensive efficiency. Odom's scoring average is up by 50 percent and he is shooting less three balls for the season. Odom has emerged as a reliable third option for the Lakers for sure.
• Pau Gasol -  Not to take away anything from Kobe Bryant, but Pau Gasol has been the Lakers' MVP so far. In the absence of Andrew Bynum, Gasol has held the fort in the paint for the Lake Show, upping his rebounds and blocks numbers. There was a stretch at the start of the season where Gasol was a constant 20-10-5 threat. It's surprise that the Lakers went on an eight-game winning streak then.

Now for the bad:

• Big Man Woes - Outside of Gasol and Odom, the Lakers are thin in the middle. Andrew Bynum is still out, with Theo Ratliff joining him in sick bay. Derrick Caracter has been doing his best Ronny Turiaf impersonation as an undersized big, with no results.
• Team Defense - No doubt that the Lakers can out-shoot their opponents, but the team has shown little interest in the defensive end on a regular basis. The team did a pretty decent job in the first couple of weeks into the season, but struggled as of late.
• The Four Game Losing Streak- A first since the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol, the Lakers went from a unstoppable juggernaut to middle-of-the-pack contender during this swing. Yes, there were pretty bad breaks, but the team lost games it should have dominated over weaker opponents.
• Ron Artest - Can someone look for Artest's shrink? Ron-Ron has been an offensive disaster this season, with his shooting taking a huge dip. 36 percent shooting from the field and seven points for a starter are unacceptable numbers.
• Weak Schedule - Interesting thing about the Lakers's past 24 games: You will not find the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks, the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics, and the Miami Heat. If you ask me, the 17-7 record is a little inflated.

It's still early and the Lakers have shown they are capable of making a complete 180 when it matters. What I don't want to see is this becoming a trend going to the All-Star break.



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