In all my years watching basketball (or sports for that matter), I have never seen a defending champion under so much scrutiny from the fans and media. Not to mention, a back-to-back championship winning team. All of the buzz and the rumors circulating around these days about the team needing to make a trade to have a chance to claim their third straight championship is somewhat hasty.
Who are we going to trade? Andrew Bynum? Our youngest star player, and arguably the future of the franchise. Lamar Odom? The heart and soul of the Lakers' bench. Ron Artest? The guy who single-handedly won game seven for us last June. Sure, the team is not getting any younger, but we are a veteran championship team. I will take that any day over being young and on the rise.
Are our struggles so rough that we need to trade one of our proven players for someone unfamiliar with the Lakers system? Also, what would bringing in a player who is unproven in the playoffs accomplish? I would understand the Lakers making a trade if the team had come up short the last couple of season. But that is surely not the case.
For the most part, the Western Conference is muddled once again this season. The Spurs look as dominating as they ever have. But do Lakers faithful really think we couldn't beat them in a seven game series? Or the Mavericks? Or Thunder for the matter?
Considering they beat Boston last season, will everybody be shaking in their boots if there is yet another rematch this spring?
Before we start exiling players and bringing in unproven younger players, let's respect what these current players have done for the franchise.
