What Lakers need to do.

[TheRealLakersGM]

Hey, just want to say hello to everyone and give my take on the Lakers. They are ok at this point, certainly not great as most of us thought they would be, but it is fine, patience is what we all need. Patience, and they will get there, it could be february or even march, but they will get there. Coaching changes, injures, new players, combination of all these things makes it harder for guys to adapt.
Most of you here want to trade Gasol, it is not gonna happen!!! Here are the reasons:
1) Dwight Howard effect, if he leaves in free agency and the Lakers have traded Gasol it would be a devastating loss for the francise. Pau at this point is (as a great player as he is) a sort of insurance for the Lakers in case Dwight is gone. If Dwight resigns in July, Lakers can always trade or even amnesty Pau if they will be looking for ways to save money.
2) It would be incredibly hard to get equal value for Gasol in a trade this season, because of his 2-year deal, his recent injures, and on court struggles. But to get 2, 3 or even 4 role players (probably even bench players) in return for him plus maybe 1 or 2 current Lakers bench warmers, even though these players might fit the system better is not the solution. It will require significant time for them and the team to adjust... Lakers have no time for that anymore, time to win now with what they got.

Lakers big 4 simply need time to gel, to figure it out together, by going through losses that we had, by listening to the critics. And they will get better. We (Lakers) got what we need in terms of main talent, we are simply 2 maybe 3 role players away from the championship, and the management and ownership understand that. The problem is how to get these 2-3 pieces. Money is definitely a concern (if it wasn't they would have waived couple of bench guys and signed D.West and Raja Bell and or others who were available earlier), lack of future draft picks doesn't help it either to make a trade. It is also important to understand that no one wants to help the Lakers, NO ONE.

But who do we really need to get us to another level? We need two perimeter players (better if they are defensive minded), who can also shoot 3's. These players will have to have 1 year deals only. Lakers do not want to carry over contracts to the next year when luxury tax will be enormous. We are fine with point guards, power forwards and centers, considering that all are healthy. So who are these players that management is looking for?
1. Raja Bell (very likely, he gets his buyout and signs with us) 2. Reggie Williams (likely) 3. Omri Casspi (very likely) 4. Martel Webster (very likely) 5. Corey Brewer (number 1 choice, although very unlikely Denver makes a trade) 6. Daequan Cook (likely) and that is it. Our players who will go out in trades : Morris, Johnson-Odom, Ebanks and Clark.

Once again no major trade will be made, just 2 small ones plus Raja Bell signing, and we will be fine. Patience is the right word for this team. Looking forward to your remarks.

[Compton310]

no more players over 30... were old an slow.. an we cant play defense becuz were old an slow wit no athleticism. no one can create there on shot for themselves are others. no true ball handlers that can break there man down an get in the lane for easy buckets drop off are kick out for open looks. were the oldest team in the league being coach by a guy who wants to run an gun

[Yunsta]

I thought the Knicks were the oldest team, aren't they first in the east?

[moocow007]

I thought the Knicks were the oldest team, aren't they first in the east?

Yes. The Knicks are the oldest team in the NBA. In fact they are the oldest team in NBA history to start a season (according to cbssports). And yes, the Knicks are in first place in the East. Not sure that the Lakers problem with defense is age. I'm sure it's not helping.

[Compton310]

yes the knicks are the oldest team but there old dudes are bench players wit limited rolls.. are old dude play 40plus min a game. big difference. we have the oldest starting 5

[briansaddleback]

Why do we keep using age as our excuse?
Starting five for age:

Kobe. Playing like he was five years younger. Smarter
Certainly he isn't the problem per se

Nash. Out.

Mwp. Playing better than last year.

Dwigt. Young. Changing and altering shots like we haven't seen previously w **** Bynum.
Just need to hit fts. I see this as a major issue coming from a young player. Not old.

Pau. Perhaps a problem. Old. Still age is not a club problem. Just a pau problem maybe. Jamison is playing well.

[laduane1]

Just win the games.

[TheMidnightSun]

maybe this is what the lakers need, to start sucking and getting some young blood with draft picks, oh wait, we traded all our draft picks for a 40 year old point guard, this is what happens when you build an old ass team then tell them to play up-tempo, when you think too much about the present you forget about the future, i actually hope dwight does leave, and with him all the band wagon fans at staples making zero noise keeping all the real fans from attending the games because of the crazy ticket prices,

[TimmerFredette]

Even though we SHOULD be winning some of these games with the roster we have...

We need a bench.

[leeprettyp]

I'm telling ya'll everything goes downhill when Darius Morris gets into the game lol

[Gek]

Awww don't blame D-MONEY! He can't help it that he's being asked to do WAYYY more than he's able to do and ready for, but at least he seems like he gives effort.

[contract]

What the Lakers need to do is figure out what kind of team they want to have. You either need players that fit D'Antoni's style of play, or you need a coach that fits your current roster. D'Antoni and this current group of players simply don't mix. And quite frankly, D'Antoni simply isn't worth the trouble of turning over half the roster.

Dump D'Antoni, give Phil Jackson whatever the hell he wants, and then get out of his way and let him do his thing.

[madmaxmedia]

Age isn't an excuse for the team to underperform, but it is a critical issue for front office to address.

Kobe- still great, but there's a ton of miles and with his offensive workload he's not going to be flying around the court all the time. He has to pick his spots (he's sort of entitled to it), but it affects overall team speed.

Nash. Out. Yeah it was a freak injury but age affects how fast you recover. And you don't think 16 years of running and gunning in the NBA doesn't take its toll on your body?

MWP. Playing better than last year (which is not saying much BTW), and is still not the same as 6-7 years ago when he was leading playoff teams.

Dwight. The only player out of the 5 who is in the prime of his career.

Pau. As the others, older but effective. But still older and slower than other guys at his position.

Any of these guys could produce All-star level seasons right now, they are still very good players so individually age is not a 'problem' since each can play at a high level. But throw them all together, and the overall age (outside of Dwight Howard) is an issue. Age is a very much club problem, even if each of these guys are still very good players.

The Knicks are apparently older overall, but they have guys like Kidd and Camby in key backup/leadership roles. That's so much different than the Lakers waiting for 38-year old Steve Nash to recover from a broken bone to save the season.

Why do we keep using age as our excuse?
Starting five for age:

Kobe. Playing like he was five years younger. Smarter
Certainly he isn't the problem per se

Nash. Out.

Mwp. Playing better than last year.

Dwigt. Young. Changing and altering shots like we haven't seen previously w **** Bynum.
Just need to hit fts. I see this as a major issue coming from a young player. Not old.

Pau. Perhaps a problem. Old. Still age is not a club problem. Just a pau problem maybe. Jamison is playing well.

[H00PDREAMS]

Great video on simple defensive coaching and team defense.

[H00PDREAMS]

Lakers Defensive breakdowns broken down.