Recently, on 710 ESPN Los Angeles, Jerry West, the successful former Laker and GM, said this:
“I don’t think the Lakers will be good for much longer. You can keep a car running for a long time by changing the tires, but you can’t change a player’s tires.”
West also said many of the Lakers’ current players are “getting long in the tooth.” and "age is a factor," referring to the present Laker team, and specifically regarding the accumulation of minutes (46,000) in Kobe Bryant's regular season and playoff career.
Magic Johnson then piled on, saying in essence that the Lakers needed to make a trade to revitalize the team; citing Laker struggles against the NBA's elite teams like the Celtics and Heat. (Magic said this prior to San Antonio's buzzer-beater win last week in LA, the Spurs second win over the Lakers.)
Regarding trades, Magic said, "I think we have to," Johnson told ESPN.com in regards to the prospects of general manager Mitch Kupchak making a deal. "We have to do something. The Lakers are not responding and two things showed me that—the Miami Heat Christmas game and then the Boston Celtics game. When you don't get up for your two biggest games during the season and you have flat performances, then you have to start looking at trade possibilities to improve the team and bring some energy to the team and bring some new life to the team."
Johnson added, "Unfortunately we're looking old and we're playing old," Johnson said, according to ESPN. "We're not responding to the more athletic teams and the quicker teams. So we must change something. I think we have to now look at this team and maybe say we're not good enough. Things might have to change
Whether age is catching up to the Lakers as a whole, and more so to Kobe Bryant, or simply that 24 is saving his en...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
