What should the Lakers do?

The Lakers are currently in limbo, and the feeling amongst fans and basketball observers is that the Lakers don’t know what direction to head into, as far as the future goes. Should they continue to build the team around Kobe Bryant? Trade everyone who’s old and slow? Re-sign Dwight Howard and/ or fire Mike D’Antoni? The Lakers have more questions than answers and by the look of things, the future of this franchise is flirting with the Houston Rockets! By future, I mean Dwight Howard.

The Lakers’ brass has to really ask themselves, is Howard the future? Can he lead us to more titles in the near future? Those are important questions to ponder. There is also a power struggle in the front office and the future of team may be up in the air from the owner’s box. This off season is the most important one for the Lakers because the direction of the team’s future will be decided. Whether Howard and company stay or go, The Lakers need a path to follow. For this organization, following the model of other teams will be tough because they have been leaders for so long. Here are a few scenarios that can help the future of the team.

First, trade Pau Gasol. There is no doubt that Pau Gasol has been a true Laker for the past 5 ½ years. He helped the Lakers get to three straight NBA Finals appearances, but he has slowly declined each year, and he is now having knee problems. It’s unfortunate that he may be moved, but his value is high because he is now considered an expiring contract. With one year remaining on his contract the Lakers need to somehow get younger assets and Gasol is their biggest trade chip. Indeed it will be a sad day for Gasol and Laker fans everywhere, but it is time for a change and Gasol can help the Lakers get younger.

One trade scenario could be the Lakers sending Gasol to the Washington Wizards for the # 3 pick in this year’s draft and a few expiring contracts. This would help both teams. The Lakers would be getting a top 5 pick, and the Wizards would get a proven big man who could help carry them into the playoffs. Both teams would benefit from a potential move because of the immediate impact for both clubs.

Second, don’t build the team around Kobe anymore. When Kobe comes back, he will have to adapt to a new team. Kobe is of course a Hall of Famer and a legend in the making, but he must understand that the Lakers need to get younger, and he will have to help guide a younger team in the right direction, if he does in fact continue his career wearing the purple and gold. Maybe Kobe would relish the opportunity to help coach a young team on the floor instead of thinking about scoring every point, but most likely Kobe will not be the same player that he was, and will probably have to play less minutes at a slower pace.  

Third, get younger! The Lakers need a shot of youth. If they can somehow get a mixture of young talented players to go along with the savvy vets, the results may be great. Getting into this year’s draft would certainly help matters. It’s not a star studded draft class, but these players can surprise us and turn out to be impact players in the near future.

Fourth, get rid of Mike D’Antoni! He is a terrible fit for this Laker team. He does not deserve to coach such a historic franchise with his track record, and Jim Buss deserves to be labeled an idiot for this hire. As a coach, D’Antoni has never been able to get to the NBA Finals with any of his past teams, and his run and gun system of scoring in less than 7 seconds worked for a few years, but will not work going forward. That offense has had its time. D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns were fun to watch, but they could not get past great defensive teams, like the San Antonio Spurs. He is not the kind of coach who will adjust his system to fit the current roster. He did at the end of this past season, but it was too late. Bottom line; get D’Antoni out of there because he will turn the Lakers into a door mat team that gets swept and beat up every year.

The Lakers should look at a coach who will demand respect and demand that they play with heart each night on the floor. The candidate for the job is of course Phil Jackson, but let’s be real, Phil doesn’t want to coach. He wants to enjoy the life of an executive in the front office, but Brian Shaw, who was once Phil’s top assistant with the Lakers, is dying for a chance at a head coaching position and he could lead this team back into contention with running a tough, hard, and physical defense. Not to mention the “Triangle Offense.” If you think he’s not operating a tough defense, just watch the Indiana Pacers because Shaw is their defensive coordinator right now!

Lastly, Dwight Howard… The Lakers knew the risk of trading for this guy last year, and Orlando was more than happy to send Howard and all of his drama out west. At this point, Orlando’s future is more defined than the Lakers. The Lakers find themselves in the same situation that Orlando was in, last summer, but this year is different because Howard can leave on July 1^st as an unrestricted free agent. The NBA Finals has not even started but it seems like Howard is getting all the attention and has told multiple sources that there is a 50-50 chance that he may leave the Lakers to join the Houston Rockets. In my opinion, the Lakers should either try a sign and trade or simply let him walk and save the cap space. Howard has been a headache all year, and is not the same player he was when he played in Orlando.

The future of the Lakers rests on Dwight Howard’s decision. There is no doubt that the Lakers may be hesitant to make any moves until he makes his decision, but at the same time the Lakers need to realize that Howard is not the next Shaq, Kareem, or Wilt. He’s nowhere near close to them in comparison. Those big men were dominate with post moves and could score each time the ball touched their hands and were the anchor for their championship teams. Howard has no post game and is not a gifted scorer, he has been to the finals once and didn’t win.

Yes, Howard is still one of the top centers in the league, but the problem with him is that he has not realized that he cannot be the number one option on a championship team. He is the second or third best player on any championship team. If he does re-up with the Lakers, they can build a team around him faster than the Rockets winning a championship. Indeed Howard is a good fit for the Rockets, but they are not the Lakers. The Lakers are a special brand and are committed to winning. It is a tough time for every fan right now, but this dark time was coming. Another thing about the Lakers’ franchise is that they really don’t rebuild, they reload. If Howard doesn’t see the potential of becoming the next great big man to lead the Lakers into the future, then he should walk to Houston because he may not be cut out for the greatness that the Lakers franchise prides itself on.

One trade scenario that the Lakers could look into would be a trade with their Nor Cal rivals, the Golden State Warriors. Every Warriors fan will probably hate me for writing this, but if Howard wanted to go up north here’s how the potential trade would go. The Lakers would send Howard to Golden State for Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Andrew Bogut! Why not at this point? Its wishful thinking, but anything can happen in the Dwight Howard business. After all, he has become a nightmare for all Lakers fans. The next team that gets him will only have to wonder, “Why did we get this guy?” After all, greatness isn’t cut out for all of us even though we may think it is… Peace!