Asai of Relief

Who knew the commissioner wanted to add fantasy stats to his resume? The Lakers & Rockets got blocked and the Clippers got a huge assist.

The Trade that Never Happened.

It’s all retrospect at this point, but since I’m a die hard Lakers fan here’s reality & what COULD have happened:

Odom to Hornets: Lakers fans were crying when we sent him to Dallas, but based on the shape he’s in and how poorly he’s played, this might end up being a very good move (we’ll just have to wait and see). Let’s face it, the Lakers were trying to get rid of him a couple years ago, but Phil fought to keep him here. Truth is, they weren’t going to pay him anyways, so I think Mitch did the cordial thing and shipped him to a team he wanted to play for. He played his best season last year, so it’s all downhill from here. Why didn’t he come into camp in shape? That would have been him dragging on the Lakers you know? Maybe the Lakers know something about Odom that the public doesn’t. Let’s just wait to see what we get for the 9M trade exception.

Gasol to Rockets (re-routed from Hornets): His poor play in the playoffs has doomed him in L.A. and he hasn’t recovered since. I was loving the Gasol to Minnesota for Love & the #2 pick (Derrick Willams) talk over the summer (let’s hope they can revisit it since Minny hasn’t offered Love a contract extension & his agent’s deadline is 1/15). Instead, the plan was to package him in a 3 team trade so we could get CP3. With Bynum’s recent play, Gasol is now the #3 option. The problem with him is heart. He’s super talented, but has a soft, sensitive mentality. He’s his own worst enemy and I think it would be better to part with him sooner than later. I love what Derek Fisher has done for the franchise and I think he’s an even better person, but can you name a worse starting point guard in the NBA? Gasol for any starting point guard would be a good move.

Bynum for Howard: I don’t care how well Bynum has been playing lately, even at his peak he isn’t as good as Howard. Some say Dwight won’t be as good when he loses his athleticism, but look at Bynum’s knees right now. He’s the oldest 24 year old in the league. Bynum could be blossoming into an offensive threat, but Dwight is a defensive monster. Last year Dwight worked on some post moves and he’s gotten a lot better on the block. All the talk about him having to be surrounded by 3 point shooters is nonsense. That’s Van Gundy & Orlando’s fault for not giving him anything else. Trust me, Kobe & Dwight would be nice. He’s not Shaq in many ways. One way is, he would gladly defer to Kobe when needed. Shaq didn’t. The silver lining in his recent play is as the trade deadline approaches, Orlando might do this deal straight up.

CP3 to the Lakers: The initial reaction (before Stern blocked it) was Lamar & Pau were too much to give up for CP3. BS. Look at how Odom & Gasol are playing now. Lamar is out of shape and wait until Khloe starts hating Dallas. Pau is soft as ever and doesn’t have the trust from Kobe anymore. I watch the Clippers and really outside of Chris Paul, they probably would barely make the playoffs. It’s clear they don’t have anyone who wants to take the big shots in the 4th quarter (beside Billups, but he’ll be injured a lot). He’s made a huge impact so far, imagine what he, Kobe & Dwight or Bynum could do. Scary. I used to think if I had a choice between Dwight and CP3, I’d choose Dwight for chemistry purposes. Now I look at the Lakers and like the pickups of McRoberts & Murphy (so now Gasol is expendable), but their PG situation is horrible. They really need a floor general who can penetrate, defend and set up scorers. Even in the Phil Jackson era they didn’t have this type of guard. Call me a dreamer, but if they can’t do the Gasol/Love trade, look out for Dwight for Bynum and Gasol for D-Will. With that potential All-Star 1, 2 & 5, take your pick at who plays the 3 & 4. 

There really is no bad answer. It’s like choosing 1A or 1B. In this case, let’s zoom in on the word “fit” (not be mistaken for talent, which is arguable).

CP3. There’s no doubt the weakest position on the current Lakers roster is the point guard spot. Derek Fisher, a.k.a. El Presidente, is a Lakers cornerstone, but on the decline of his career. He has a decent 3 point percentage, but his downfall is his on the ball defense. Point guards relish knowing they are playing the Lakers because they know they have a “buffet” of options. Shall I take it to the hole? Pull up for the J? Muscle my way for a mid-range or post him up? Chris Paul is lighting quick, drops frequent dimes and can hit the open shot. No doubt he’s a top 5 point guard in the league. The Lakers would be blessed to have him.

Dwight. The most athletic center since Shaq. He’s not as powerful or dominant as O’Neal in his prime, but pretty close. His offensive game made leaps last year, but his presence is felt on defense and the boards. Throw an alley-oop and he’ll catch it. Penetrate in the lane and you pick you poison: leave him and get dunked on or guard him and get burned at the basket. His charisma and personality brings energy to his team and players seem to want to play with him. He is the premier center in the game and would add to the legacy of the Lakers big men.

So who’s to choose? I’d say CP3 has a stronger will to win and personality. Dwight is a freak big man and those are hard to come by. To me the slightest of determining factors looks at two things: 1) the Lakers current cast of characters 2) the alpha-male trait. If you take what the Lakers have right now, plug CP3 in and it’s game over (advantage CP3). Yet if you look at the alpha-male gene (see Kobe & Shaq), there can really only be one leader on the team (sure you can make the argument that DFish is the vocal leader & Kobe is the leader by example, but they actually compliment each other). Dwight is more like LeBron. He doesn’t want to be the man. He’s tried that and failed. He would gladly let Kobe take the last shot each game, as long as he got his 20 & 10, plus a ring (advantage Dwight). See my answer comes down to “fit.” Both are great players, but have you ever seen CP3 get in the face of his teammates? That wouldn’t fly with Kobe (see Kobe & Shaq). The Lakers are weakest at point guard, but if you look at the league, you can win with a great big man and above average point guard (as long as he distributes the ball and plays D). You can make a lot of noise with a decent big man and great point guard, but not win it all. If I had to make a choice between Dwight & CP3, I’d take Dwight. Also, take in consideration that Bynum wants a greater role within the team, but his pecking order is 3rd at BEST with the current roster. Dwight would happily be the 2nd best player on the team and he could learn a lot from Kobe’s mental game. I love talent as much as anyone does, but chemistry makes a winning team (ask the 2004 Lakers & 2011 Miami Heat how that worked out for them). Don’t get my wrong, I’d take either if it came down to it, but there was a choice that had to be made, I say choose Dwight.