As good as the Los Angeles Lakers have looked over the last few games (nine wins in last 12 games), their fourth-place position in the Western Conference is a façade. They are not the contenders we think they are.
If it weren’t for Kobe Bryant putting up 30-plus points per game and Andrew Bynum having the best year of his career, the Lakers would be fighting for the seventh seed in the playoffs. Bynum and Bryant can’t do it alone.
Hinrich will make the jobs of the skill players easier, but unless he can get Pau Gasol right mentally and offensively, his impact is all for naught.
HoopsWorld NBA Writer Alex Kennedy is reporting about the possibility of a deal involving Hinrich:
Los Angeles has also been pursuing Kirk Hinrich in recent weeks. The Lakers have been linked to Hinrich in the past and the Atlanta Hawks would move the veteran point guard if the right deal came along. The two teams have had conversations in recent weeks. Hinrich missed the first month of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery, but has been effective since returning. He’s currently backing up Jeff Teague and while his numbers don’t jump off the page, he does a good job managing Atlanta’s offense and he’s still a stellar perimeter defender. This season, Hinrich is averaging 4.9 points and 2.6 assists.
After a serious winning stretch that has re-instilled some confidence back into the Showtime Lakers, making a move to add yet another older backcourt piece with limited abilities won’t solve anything.
I will admit that Hinrich gets the nod over Steve Blake, but in crunch time it would still be Derek Fisher on the court with Hinrich on the bench. It’s not that big of an upgrade.
If ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
