Lakers Making Progress

<font size=""1"">Before the free agency period began it was thought that the Lakers would address the point guard position as priority number one, but that wasn?t the case. It became apparent as soon as free agency started that the guy the Lakers really wanted was Clipper small forward Vladimir Radmanovic. Within minutes of the free agency period Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Vlade Divac, and Magic Johnson were calling Vladimir in a conference call to make their pitch for him to become a Laker.

Despite originally committing to the Clippers, Vladimir let the Lakers know that he intended to sign with them and not the Clippers. The Clippers were offering the exact same deal, as were two other teams, but Vladimir felt that the Lakers were the best situation for him.

Vladimir?s feelings are correct too, as the 6?10 SF/PF from Serbia-Montenegro brings a lot of things that the Lakers were missing last year. With two creators like Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom on the floor, you need a consistent 3 point shooter out on the floor. Vladimir will torch teams when they pack in the lane to keep Kobe and Lamar for penetrating. Also, with Lamar at the power forward this season, Vladimir will likely have smaller forwards on him all the time. He?s got the ability to play inside and will have the mismatches to utilize it in the triangle.

The knock on Vladimir is that he doesn?t rebound or defend very well. The rebounding issue won?t be too big of a deal, as he?ll likely always be on the court with any combination of Mihm, Kwame, Lamar, Luke, and Turiaf, who are very good rebounders. He won?t be expected to go out there and get ten boards a night; the Lakers have other guys who can do that. He will need to concentrate more on the defensive end than he has in previous years so he?s not hurting the Lakers, as they plan to keep him out on the court lots as a 3rd option.

At 25 and for the MLE, Vladimir Radmanovic is a very nice pick up that will have an immediate impact on the team. He?ll likely start from day one, and like Kobe told him, he could average 18-20 points here. That may be difficult, especially in a new offense, but 14-16 points is definitely something Vladimir is capable of. His presence will also help open things up for Kobe, Lamar, and Kwame Brown as teams will be hesitant to double down inside.

The big question is now, what do the Lakers do to address the point guard situation? With their entire MLE gone they won?t be able to pick up a starting point guard via free agency, leaving a trade as the only option. The Lakers shouldn?t be too eager or feel the need to go out and get a point guard in a trade unless a good deal comes around. This Laker team as assembled is very deep and has good chemistry as all the guys who played significant minutes in the playoff series are back, except Devean. The Lakers point guard rotation isn?t the strongest as of right now, but it is serviceable. As of right now, the Lakers roster looks like this:

Point Guard: Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar
Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant, Maurice Evans, Aaron Mckie
Small Forward: Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Devin Green.
Power Forward: Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf, Bryan Cook.
Center: Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum.

For 82 games last year Smush Parker was a solid starter who played a big role on the team. Essentially coming off his rookie season, Smush Parker still has a lot of growing and improving to do. A lot of Laker fans are low on him at this point, mainly because of his horrendous play in the last three games of the playoffs, but if he is still the Lakers starting point guard opening night, they?re not in too bad of shape. He?s a decent three point shooter, is good for a steal or two a night, and is good at attacking the basket. According to an interview with Kobe Bryant on Power 107 a few days ago, his training regimen ?black out? begins today. Hopefully he?ll have Smush in there working on his defense and spot up shooting with him.

After his sharp shooting performance in the playoffs Sasha Vujacic?s confidence should be at an all time high. He proved to himself that he can go out there on a big time stage and have an impact. If he doesn?t become a solid contributor this season, he likely never will. He?ll find himself with lots of open three point shots, and with his home country buddy Vladimir Radmanovic taking the role of top three point shooter on the team, Sasha should feel a bit less pressure on himself to hit those open threes. He?ll need to be smarter on defense, as too often he plays with his hands rather than his feet.

An early verdict is about to come out on Jordan Farmar coming up in the next three weeks as he?ll be participating in the summer league with some of the Lakers other young guys. If Farmar plays well, and it carries over to training camp, he could see some time come mid season. Phil doesn?t like playing rookies, but Farmar?s got a point guard headiness that neither Sasha nor Smush have. He?s also got a great work ethic, and if reports are right, he?s been working on that three point shot hard. The hope of Laker brass is that Farmar becomes the point guard of the future; they?re just not sure what he can give in the short term. If he does show the ability to play early in his career, they could feel like the need to bring in a starting guard is not too important.

On the other hand, if Andrew Bynum puts up a convincing performance in SPL, while the Lakers point guards do not, things change. In this scenario, Mihm would become expendable if a point guard became available. Parring up Mihm with Mckie to a team who needs a big man and some cap room could be enough to bring in a good starting guard like Chris Duhon.

As of right now, it?s unknown what the Lakers will do. Even if they don?t make any moves, they?ve got a 50 win team. They?re said to have interest in Shammond Williams, but hopefully that?s not the route they choose to take, as Shammond doesn?t have much defense. Summer Pro League starts July 8th, and what the Laker brass sees there could impact what personnel decisions they make. They could like what they see from their young guards and go with a three center rotation. Or they could trade off Mihm to get Andrew some more minutes if he?s ready and hope to get a starting guard in return. All we can do is wait and see.</font>

 

Nice Post. The Lakers are surely making progress and I too think this is a 50 win team next season. But we must address the point guard postion heading into training camp. Two guards that I'd like to see the Lakers go after is former Laker Tyronn Lue and Damon Stoudamire. Both Lue and Damon I think would be a perfect fit for the Lakers and would help us out tremendously. Let?s see what the Lakers do in the coming months. Hopefully we will have a veteran point guard in place soon.

 

I wanna see Chris Duhon in a Laker uniform. C'mon Mitch.

 

Chris Duhon would be great, but then that leaves us with 3 other PG's. Smush, Sasha, and Farmar. I think it should be a priority to get Mckie, Mihm, and Cook outta here as well. We don't really need them anymore, no offense to them.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post">Chris Duhon would be great, but then that leaves us with 3 other PG's. Smush, Sasha, and Farmar. I think it should be a priority to get Mckie, Mihm, and Cook outta here as well. We don't really need them anymore, no offense to them.</div>

If only Sasha would put an NBA body on, we would switch him to SF. Get Cook outta here mitch please. I don't like his jeresy number, his nba body, and most importantly his game.

 

i rather have marcus banks

 

I actually dont mind keeping Mihm. It keeps our center position a little deeper,although I would like to see Bynum develop more. Anyone know how well Mihm plays the PF spot?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trench:</div><div class="quote_post">I actually dont mind keeping Mihm. It keeps our center position a little deeper,although I would like to see Bynum develop more. Anyone know how well Mihm plays the PF spot?</div>

Well he isn't good to play it. He is too lanky/wavy being skinny and tall meaning most stronger PF's just/will "destroy" him (KG, TD, DH, etc.)

Though you are right about him adding depth. He has a good 15 foot jumpshot for a big man and he can throw it down when he needs too. I still think however that Cook, and Mckie should get lost.

EDIT: Hey I just noticed Duncan21 stole my sig quote!

 

Dumping Cook and Mckie would be the best moves IMO. I want a point guard! Then I'll be happy with this years offseason moves.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post">EDIT: Hey I just noticed Duncan21 stole my sig quote!</div>