Trading expiring contracts, draft rights and picks for a proven All-Star in Gasol was a coup. Turning your back on potential, team chemistry and an unmatchable front court for an All-Star on offense who’s questionable on defense in Carmelo Anthony? That’s a cop-out.
For the record, the Lakers haven’t let the trade talks faze them in any significant capacity.
“I let Mitch [Kupchak] do his job,” Kobe Bryant told 710 ESPN’s Mason & Ireland. “He’s done a fantastic job to this point in making key acquisitions for us, building this championship team so I just let him do his job. My role and responsibility is just to manage the team that I have assembled.”
Yes, the Lakers of late have had their share of struggles. Trading a so-far injury ridden 23-year-old center, Andrew Bynum, for a score-at-a-moments-notice player like Anthony looks very attractive in theory. In practice, however, shaking up the complexity of this team so drastically puts the Lakers back at square one. The triangle isn’t for everyone and the Lakers struck gold when Gasol was able to be integrated into the lineup so quickly, but it could be a different story with Anthony altogether.
Assuming the Lakers keep the pieces they have now, they face several challenges in route to getting themselves playoff-ready. The long-term fix to get them back on track would be to simply work-out the kinks and focus on execution. The quick-fix, or at the very least a jolt of confidence would be a win against a title contender.
Next: A win against the C’s will boost the Lakers’ confidence