More than a week after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, the team remains in the spotlight. Unfortunately, the team is not in the news for their play, instead the team that has been crowned champions the last two Junes has been in the news for what they will do during this off-season.
Seemingly everybody has an opinion about what the Lakers should do. Laker legend turned ABC analyst Magic Johnson stated that he believes the team should be blown up, while Kobe Bryant and Mitch Kupchak expressed the sentiment that this team could make another run as is during exit interviews.
While there are several differing opinions about what Kupchak and the Lakers’ decision makers should do, the consensus among most is that the Lakers looked old and tired in their dismantling at the hands of Dallas.
Is this because of age or the rigors of appearing in three straight finals plus many core players playing internationally also?
The answer to this question is probably a combination of both but does this mean that change is necessary? Probably, as it may be time for the Lakers to go through a youth movement of some sorts. This doesn’t necessarily mean blowing up the team, but some the integration of younger players is necessary for the Lakers to return to the top of the NBA.
Next: Roster moves that contributed to the team’s age
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It seems like just yesterday that the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals and everybody agreed that it could be the beginning of yet another Laker dynasty.
That team featured the youth of players such as: Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Andrew Bynum. Now the Lakers feature one of the oldest teams in the NBA.
Ariza was replaced by Ron Artest and Farmar was replaced by Steve Blake, both moves were seen as upgrades but now most of Lakers Nation probably wishes that Kupchak could have a mulligan on those decisions.
The 31-year-old Artest still shows flashes of his younger self with tough defense but he can be characterized as inconsistent, and there are all too many times when the former defensive player of the year looks slow. Meanwhile, Ariza, 25, is still developing as a player in nearly every facet of the game. Ariza’s development was put on full display when he gave his former teammates headaches in the first round of the playoffs.
Kupchak also made a mistake at the point guard position. The Lakers general manager can’t be blamed for the departure of Jordan Farmar, but the addition of Steve Blake turned into a major bust in his first season with L.A.
The Lakers need a young, quick point guard in order to survive in a now point guard driven league, and Blake certainly doesn’t have those traits. This was proven in the playoffs when Chris Paul made history and even worse, role players such as J.J. Barea ran circles around the Lakers defense.
The Lakers bench also featured quality role players such as Sasha Vujacic, DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell. The Machine was sent to New Jersey in a cap saving move for the ancient Joe Smith. One has to wonder if Vujacic would have been valuable in the Dallas series both as a pest to Jason Terry and as a shooter when the Lakers couldn’t seem to buy a three pointer.
Mbenga and Powell departed by way of free agency, both rarely played with the Lakers, but when they did they both brought energy. Something the often lethargic Lakers could have used this season.
Aside from the Ariza-Artest decision, these roster moves seemed minor at the time they were committed but they were all costly to the Lakers efforts to defend their title.
Next: Is the current roster too old?
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Perhaps the toughest decision Kupchak will have to make is whether to keep the Kobe-Pau-Bynum-Odom core together. We all know that Kobe isn’t going anywhere but rumors will swirl about the other three.
Gasol is coming off of his worst season in purple and yellow which was highlighted in the playoffs. Whether the alleged girlfriend drama was a part of this or not, Gasol often looked tired and it appeared that all of the basketball he has played over the past three years finally caught up to him.
Odom is coming off of his best season as a Lakers and perhaps his career. Despite the NBA’s Sixth Man’s great regular season, Odom’s inconsistencies during the playoffs may also make some wonder if his mileage is starting to catch up to him.
Bynum is the youngest Laker and was by far the team’s second best, and some would even say the best, player during the playoffs. Because of this, for the Lakers to acquire a star of the caliber of Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, the young center would likely have to be involved. Meaning we will have another summer full of Andrew Bynum trade rumors.
Kobe also appeared old at times this season, and concerns over him not practicing have been brought up. Bryant is going through a metamorphosis in his game, but expect a longer than usual off-season to cure some of the problems the Lakers’ leader had this season.
Other players such as Derek Fisher and Ron Artest also showed that the end may be near, causing the belief that the Lakers may have to address their respective positions sooner than later.
With that being said the Lakers should not push the panic button. A longer off season should be beneficial to all Lakers players, most notably Gasol. This doesn’t mean they should all remain with the team; the Lakers should listen to any offer that doesn’t involve Kobe as long as the trade allows the Lakers to remain a powerhouse and get younger.
Next: What to do?
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The Lakers need to do everything in their power to get younger in two areas, point guard and their bench.
A few years ago the Lakers featured the bench mob which consisted of a group of young players who pushed the tempo. Now the Lakers bench doesn’t run and struggles to defend in transition. Many contenders use their bench to provide energy; the Lakers should follow this blueprint by rebuilding their bench with younger more athletic players.
This will not be easy, but perhaps little used rookie Devin Ebanks can be the start of this youth movement as he seems to share some features with Ariza.
With Derek Fisher near retirement, the Lakers need to look for a suitable point guard in order to defend some of the elite floor generals in the game. Perhaps even more importantly the team needs a point guard with the ability to push the tempo.
One of the major flaws in the 2010-2011 Lakers was their non-existent fast-break offense. This became a problem as the Lakers seemingly always faced set defenses.
Even with the likes of Kobe and Gasol, playing against a set defense every possession is a major disadvantage when other teams are getting layups and dunks in transition. Phil Jackson alluded to this in his exit interview press conference.
“It’s still a good team. It needs to build speed. It needs to have some speed and they get some easy baskets as a group. I think that’s the biggest key in basketball, you have to be able to find a way to score that’s not always in a set offense, not always in the half court offense,” Jackson said.
Much of the focus will feature on a potential pursuit of Dwight Howard and deservedly so as the Lakers need to find a star for life after Kobe but the Lakers can build youth without making any drastic moves.
One thing is for certain though, with young teams such as the Thunder and the Bulls becoming elite before expected, the NBA is on the cusp of a changing of the guard. For the Lakers to avoid this they might need to make major changes but one thing is for sure, the Lakers need to install some youth to their core unit.
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