Seems to me the LAL are a good trade partner

[ggp]

The Lakers are watching Kobe's window get smaller and smaller. They could really use Harrington. The following article is an indication that they are getting impatient with Bynum. Maybe they are our best trade partners.

HoopsHype.com Columns

Time to face reality

by Roland Lazenby / August 7, 2006

Once the Lakers finished their summer league play, Phil Jackson packed up the tapes of the games and sent them to Tex Winter, his longtime mentor and assistant coach who now serves as a team consultant.

Jackson wanted from Winter what he has always wanted – that perfect set of basketball eyes to look over the games, break them down in detail and determine if the team has found any players who can help once the games get serious this fall.

It’s something that Winter has done for Jackson since the days when they were assistant coaches and Winter was assigned to teach Jackson how to be a head coach.

Winter has always broken down the game tape and gone over it with Jackson, taking the time to point out players’ strengths and weaknesses as well as team strengths and weaknesses.

“I go over the tape with him,” Winter said. “He’s always liked that.”

This time around, Jackson and his coaching staff wanted to see what Winter thought of the play of the team’s young players, especially teen-aged center Andrew Bynum.

“We all were in hopes that he would really arrive,” Winter explained.

However, after studying the tape, Winter offered the truth. The 7-1 Bynum had “a couple of really good games,” Winter said, but the 84-year-old guru came away with questions about Bynum’s intensity, his lack of “fire in the belly. His energy is a question.”

Winter also raised questions about Bynum’s quickness, his reaction to the ball, to events on the floor.

Part of that lack of reaction time is due to his size, Winter said.

“He seems to still be getting bigger. He is huge, but the bottom line, in my opinion, is that we can’t rush him.”

Because Bynum is so big, and a true center, his development is going to take longer, Winter predicted. And that means bigger questions for the Lakers in terms of the upcoming season.

“The organization has to make some tough decisions," Winter said. "You bet. From what I saw of the summer league tapes, there’s just not a whole lot of players there on the roster who can make a difference.

Winter said rookie first-round pick Jordan Farmar could possibly help.

“He’s tough, but he’s still probably not ready. I also liked JR Pinnock. He could be some help as a reserve. He’s a keeper. He has enough talent.”

Beyond that, though, there’s not much in the way of talent ready to help. Which means the Jackson and the Lakers must toss back a stiff dose of reality – life without Shaq means thin opportunity.

Unfortunately, it’s not just a question of players learning the offense.

“As far as execution, I thought our summer league team did an excellent job. It’s just a question of how good the talent is,” Winter offered. “The people on the floor can execute the offense, but do they have the skills to make the offense function?”

Winter says he’s pretty sure that Jackson is concerned about the situation.

“Phil’s got the attitude that he’s gonna do the best he possibly can do with the players available,” Winter explained. “He’s back to the point of knowing that he’s not putting an NBA championship team on the floor but of having the best team he can have with the talent available. I think Phil is pretty realistic about things. He’s not a dreamer.”

What makes this reality so problematic is that this is the Lakers, Winter said.

“The expectations are always so high. They won’t go away. That’s part of the franchise.”

Although Winter has said often that the Lakers had little choice but to trade O’Neal because of his huge contract demands (he wanted roughly $30 mil per season to play for the Lakers but agreed to a $20 mil per season extension with Miami), the reality of the center’s absence will likely set in this season as the team struggles not to be locked into the middle range of the league.

This brings immediate questions about Kobe Bryant’s patience as the guard watches the best years of his career slip away in a rebuilding situation.

“His patience might be wearing a little thin,” Winter said of Bryant. “On the other hand, he seems okay with things. I think he likes the idea of it being his team. That’s what he wanted and that’s what he’s got. He’s like Phil. He’s a realist.”

On the other hand, Winter said, a realist also has to look at last season and realize the Lakers exceeded expectations.

“We could still wind up being a pretty good team this season,” he said. “It wouldn’t take a whole lot more for us to win 55 or 60 games. Actually it would take people continuing to get better like they did last year. You would hope we could duplicate last season and improve on that. But each year is a new situation.”

In other words, for the Lakers to have a good season, they’ll have to hope for very good fortune, because the talent level is good but not overwhelming.

Jackson has always done better with overwhelming talent, although many observers thought he did some of the best coaching of his career last season.

Other observations from Winter’s tale of the tape:

• If the team can find guard help (if Jordan Farmar or one of the veterans can play well), the Bryant can move to the 3 and that frees up Lamar Odom to play more at the 4, or power forward. “I think Odom will end up playing quite a bit of 4 depending on who fills those guard spots,” Winter said.

• As badly as the team needs players with experience in the triangle offense, it was time to cut loose Devean George. “He couldn’t develop the kind of consistency it takes to help us,” Winter said. “In his defense, he was hurt an awful lot and that hurt his efficiency. Brian Cook is another one in that situation. Can he show he’s more than just a shooter?”

• The Lakers staff is divided on free agent Kareem Rush. Some want to sign him (likely Jackson and Winter), while others (assistant GM Ronnie Lester) don’t think Rush is the answer. “Some say he might help us a lot,” Winter said.

• Luke Walton has tremendous value as the team’s sixth man. “He’s versatile. He can do a lot to help us. He can play both forward spots, plus he can even help us in the backcourt.”

Roland Lazenby is the author of The Show: The Inside Story Of The Spectacular Los Angeles Lakers In The Words Of Those Who Lived It, recently released by McGraw-Hill

Tell us what you think about this column. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com

[Diesel]

I was listening to the radio (in LA) yesterday. There was one guy who called who made a very astute point about the Lakers.

He said that they have to realize that they are a big dog team in a big market. i.e. they have to always be one of the elite teams. He and most of the fans who called in were disappointed that the Lakers have guys on their team (like Bynum) that they are trying to develop.

He basically said that Kobe is getting older and soon Phil will be gone and we will have nothing to show for these years. He concluded by saying that the Lakers need to get ready talent. The truth of the matter is developing players is for teams with no identity and low market... However, you can't develop players if you charge people 300-500 dollars to go to a game.

I think that LAL is a good trade partner because it puts Al out of our division.

LAL has some ending contracts that would work well for us.

I actually like what Mihm can bring... I think he would also be good trade bait IF we decide to trade him.

I can understand LAL not wanting us to have Mihm!

[DrReality]

I've read for a while that the owner wants to keep Bynum while Phil wants to trade him. Well the person who seemed to throw their weight around when they traded Shaq was Kobe. You gotta wonder to what extent does he make his wants known and how much weight will it carry. Glitter town wants everything NOW, and that could play into our hands with Bynum where in good old Atl we realize we have to wait for good things.

[thesheedera]

LAL's an ideal partner for the Hawks for the HAwks if we're willing to take back a little bit. Hopefully that's not a complete deal killer.

While I hate to say it due to my Carolina pride, Kupchak is the kind of guy you can get the best of in a deal. I guess the main question other than if we'll take back salary is: are the Hawks an ideal trade partner for LAL?

If they want to move Kobe to the 3, and Odom to the 4, where does Al fit in? Do we take back Odom in that scenario??? Or would the addition of Al make them more flexible on keeping Kobe at the 2?

[Diesel]

The problem I see in LAL is that they just picked up Radman.

There's a problem.

How do they take Al with Radman already being there.

I can see them keeping Kobe at the Sg.

Moving Al to the 3 and having Al/Odom man the forward spots with Kwame as the C.

But they can do the same thing with Radman.

Nobody seems to be addressing Radman... It's like he's already slated to be a BU. That may be the case, but it's strange.

[Guest Walter]

This is the definition of perfect opportunity for BOTH teams. Al and Childress for Bynum/filler, perhaps lotto protected 1st.

This single, solitary move has the potential to remove any and all major problems from our roster and rebuilding effort. Bynum is the best available, true center at a reasonable price we could ever hope for, much less expect. He's only remotely available because of LA's win now situation. We'll never draft high enough again to get a better big talent (as even Sene went 11 this year and he's certainly not as good a prospect as Bynum) and FAs has to beavailable, want to come here, if a RFA they might be matched, their team has to be compensated for them heavily, they usually have to be overpayed for...There is no betteer time than now or situation than this. This is proactive, bold, decisive, aimed, directed, ideal GMing! Get this done!

...

I love Tex an' all but I don't expect him to judge high school age talent. He's old-school always having worked with 4-year college or more developed players. 18 yr olds have to be a unique challenge for a guy like him.

W

[Weez]

good take and intersting perspective on things. thanks walt.

[mountain_jim]

Looks like it's an opportunity LA would not agree to if this article has any validity.... but I like that fact that BK apparently is trying to get Bynum, and that was not just a made up rumour somewhere...

Quote:

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August 9, 2006 09:15 PM | Link to this

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_18380.shtml

“Laker Report: Harrington Apparently Out of Reach

By Eric Pincus for HOOPSWORLD.com Aug 9, 2006, 19:16

Though a number of interested free agents remain on the market, the Los Angeles Lakers may already have their roster in place.

Al Harrington has yet to find a home and the Lakers have often been mentioned as a suitor. Unfortunately for LA, the Atlanta Hawks want a package that includes young center Andrew Bynum. That’s a price the Lakers are simply not willing to pay. They have very high hopes for Bynum, who made dramatic strides in his second summer league. Still just 18 years old, Bynum’s development is still inconsistent, but LA is more than prepared to wait.

With Bynum off the table, the Lakers have a standing offer based around Chris Mihm. At this point talks are quiet as Atlanta, along with Harrington’s (impending) new agent Arn Tellem, shop for the best deal.

Should all other discussions fail, the Lakers could be a fallback option. The Indiana Pacers are still considered the favorite.

That said, LA is moving forward with the expectation that Harrington will not be a Laker.

Another option at forward would be Drew Gooden of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who has expressed interest in playing for the Lakers. Whether a sign and trade with the Cavaliers is feasible is immaterial. LA isn’t willing to overpay for Gooden’s services.

Laker GM Mitch Kupchak is assuredly aware that his mentor, Jerry West of the Memphis Grizzlies, traded Gooden for Mike Miller a few years back. Though Gooden has developed into a relatively solid player, he is not on the Laker radar.

Barring a change in the Harrington situation, the Lakers are confident that their current roster is strong enough to exceed last year’s campaign.

The following is an early depth chart projection:

PG Smush Parker, Shammond Williams, Jordan Farmar SG Kobe Bryant, Mo Evans, Sasha Vujacic, Aaron McKie SF Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton PF Lamar Odom, Brian Cook, Ronny Turiaf C Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum

Will Bynum overtake Mihm? Turiaf get Cook’s minutes? How much time will Farmar get? What will role with Vujacic play?

As it stands, the roster doesn’t leave room for the restricted free agent Devin Green, the recovering Laron Profit or the non-guaranteed contract of Von Wafer. Second round draft pick Danilo Pinnock will probably end up in Europe next season; the Lakers retaining his rights. LA is no longer considering Kareem Rush.

The Bottom Line Though there is obvious duplication on the roster, don’t expect any changes before camp. The Lakers are amenable to a multi-player trade to open a few roster spots, but have yet to come close to anything real.

They have a small shot to land Harrington, but it’s simply not likely to happen.

The team isn’t prepared to consider buying out any of their players (McKie), but as training camp opens that certainly can change.

Though still imperfect, the Lakers have improved. They added the shooter in Radmanovic, depth in Evans and Williams, along with a very nice prospect at the point in Farmar.

Only the most diehard fan expects the Lakers to win the championship this season, but a more realistic goal might be 50 wins and a visit to the second round of the playoffs.”

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[AHF]

Quote:

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Bynum is the best

available

, true center at a reasonable price we could ever hope for, much less expect.

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I do not think that word means what you think it means...