First, the Lakers are getting a little long in the tooth. Collectively, they are one of the "senior" teams in the league, so they have to get younger.
Secondly, the Lakers are in desperate need of improved point guard play; this issue is connected to the first. Our beloved D-Fish does not have the foot speed to keep up with the top tier point guards in the league.
Finally, the Lakers need an additional consistent scoring threat from the perimeter. Too many of our guards and small forwards are streaky scorers, and we need a knockdown, dead-eye shooter or explosive scorer.
I know, I'm no GM. I'm just a basketball junkie and Lakers fanatic who constantly thinks about who we could add to the mix to properly re-load and be better equipped to fight for another championship. We have several players of value and I would hate to lose them, but sometimes you have to give to get.
Kobe Bryant is untouchable! Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are the next two players I would most want to keep. So that leaves Lamar Odom and Ron Artest as the most decorated players with major value.
We have some other pieces like Matt Barnes (who just re-signed), Luke Walton, Shannon Brown and Steve Blake, but I'm not sure what we could get for them, unless they are thrown in for salary purposes.
As I sit here and try and play GM, I'd be willing to part with anyone on the roster except Kobe if the right offer was made. Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are the most talked about and most coveted players out there, but I think the odds are against either of those things happening.
I hope I'm wrong about that.
The following slides are of the players I'd be thinking about acquiring if I were Mitch Kupchak. Some names are bigger than others and some may not be realistic because of cap...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
