This has been a crazy 10 or 11 months for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers dropped to the Suns in the first round for the second year in a row. At that point they just didn't have enough talent outside of Kobe Bryant to compete with a top team in the West. Weeks later Kobe came with a bombshell and demanded a trade, then the story goes back and forth all summer.
I was in LA the day where things really seemed to heat up even more. It was the pre-season and Kobe didn't practice with the team, it was reported that he may have been traded to Dallas, but then the heavy Chicago rumors heated up all day as well. LA sports radio was out of control, it was a circus of info and nobody knew what was really going on, just tons of speculation.
The season begins and Kobe is still a Laker, then reports come out that Kobe was traded to Detroit for a package including Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, but Kobe nixed the idea of playing in Auburn Hills. Joe Dumars came out and completely called the rumors false, do you believe him? That's a big package for Kobe, since it included Amir Johnson, but we are talking Kobe Bryant, aren't we?
Weeks go on and all of a sudden the Lakers are one of the best teams in the league. Kobe is averaging under 30 points per game, Odom has stayed fairly healthy, the bench has played well and Andrew Bynum was playing at a level that made people forget about Jason Kidd's near Laker appearance. The Lakers had the best record in the West, then Bynum got hurt.
Now all of this happens, Pau Gasol is a Laker and the Lakers only parted with Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and some picks. Pau Gasol was acquired and the team didn't have to trade any of their key players, phenomenal. Obviously, Gasol didn't want to be in Memphis and this his departure was a year in the making. Kwame Brown is a bust, he's not that great and Memphis wanted him for the nine million dollars that is going to come off the books this summer, not for his skill.
Now look at the Lakers roster:
PG- Fisher/ Farmar
SG- Bryant/Vujacic/Ariza
SF- Odom/Walton/Ariza
PF- Gasol/Turiaf/Radmanovic
C- Bynum/Radmanovic/Turiaf/Gasol/Mihm
This team was already good. Now, I think they are definitely the favorite to win the NBA Title. Of course, in order for everything to really fall into place they will need Bynum to be where he was before the injury, or close to it. I think that will happen.
You now have Kobe Bryant, the best player in the league. You have Odom, who, if he stays healthy, can do it all and has so much pressure off his shoulders as Kobe's number two guy (something I don't think he was ready to fill). You have Bynum, who before the injury was close to earning himself a spot in the All-Star Game. You have Fisher who is the guy that I really think kept Kobe in check and is responsible for much of this success. Now you add Pau Gasol, an All-Star and a guy who led Spain to the 2006 FIBA Title. Add to the fact the Lakers have a really complete bench and this team has the components to win a title.
The West is deep, but the Lakers have moved atop of everyone today with this move. The Spurs have been battered and obviously don't have success with winning back-to-back, so it can be safe to say that on paper, the Lakers are the favorite. Realistically the Pistons, Celtics and Cavs are the only teams in the East that have a shot at the Finals, barring a trade. Looking at those three, you have to like the Lakers chances over any of them in a seven game series.
In 2004 the Detroit Pistons were a good team, one of the best, if not the best in the East. They had a great shot at winning the title, but still the Lakers had Malone, Payton, Shaq and Kobe--nobody was betting against them. Then all of a sudden in February at the deadline, the Pistons get Rasheed Wallace for pretty much peanuts (Bob Sura and Chucky Atkins were the best players that Detroit gave up). Everyone knows the end of this story, 'Sheed arrives and the Pistons go above and beyond everyone and destroy the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
This trade reminds me a lot of that 2004 Detroit deal, it really does.
So Lakers fans, enjoy this day.
Now we all have to wonder where Jason Kidd will go? Are the Lakers still working on another deal?
The next few weeks could be crazy in the NBA, McGrady is also on the block according to various reports.
It is now time for Kobe to put up or shut up, and his chances of putting up outweigh the shutting up with Gasol on his side.
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