What happened following that nightmarish series was panic. A lot of panic.
Phil Jackson "retired", walking away from the Lakers to pave the way for another head coach. That head coach was supposed to be assistant Brian Shaw, but the Lakers went in a completely different direction, hiring former Cavs head coach Mike Brown.
That wasn't the only attention that the Lakers got from the press, as the 10-11 Lakers were supposed to "coast" their way to the Finals only to be blown out in a one-sided series at the hands of the Mavericks. The media and the public were calling for the team to be "blown up" and to start from scratch.
Rumors were thrown around from May until the beginning of the lockout about possible trade scenarios involving Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol.
The majority of these rumors that held some merit mainly involved the likes of Bynum and Odom.
The Lakers reportedly attempted to trade Odom to the Timberwolves right before draft night, but the T-Wolves wouldn't bite.
There was also speculation at the same time of the Odom trade proposal about the Lakers trying to trade Bynum, but reportedly, those were false.
With all things considered, seven of the Lakers' nine "rotation" players are over the age of 30. The Lakers were a team that was exposed numerous times during the regular season and the postseason against playoff caliber competition and there is little debate that the Lakers do need to be "shaked up" because they looked old, slow, tired, and maybe most importantly, vulnerable, throughout the entire season.
The Mavericks series simply exposed all of the Lakers' flaws that had been apparent throughout the entire season in front of a national television au...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
