Morning of Free Agency in Lakerland...

Lakerland has been rocked by trade news and it is not positive. Late last night, ESPN and NBATV both were reporting that a three team deal, featuring the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets was in place to go through at the start of free agency today.

The Lakers would of received All-Star point guard Chris Paul, the guard they have been chasing after all week. Then the Lakers would of sent Pau Gasol to Houston and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. The Rockets would have sent Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and 2012 first round draft pick to the Hornets. On paper, the Hornets were winning this trade. Even off paper, on the court the winners were clearly the Hornets.

But the trade was killed. Shot dead by the Hornets owners, which just so happen to be the NBA and David Stern. The NBA took over ownership of the Hornets last year, but left the basketball decisions up to the front office of the team, until last night. On the same night the league was officially started again with the CBA being officially signed, David Stern killed the trade.

Dan Gilbert, Cavs Owner

ESPN reported that owners, like Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers, pressured David Stern into rejecting the trade, calling it "a travesty." Fans are probably asking why a trade like this is a travesty. The Hornets are clearly going to be a better team than they were last year. The Lakers get another superstar in Paul, but this trade doesn't make them any better, in fact it might make them a little weaker because they are down to one big man and that big man is Andrew Bynum - who has only played one full season in his six year career. The league shot down this trade, but they didn't shoot down the trade that had the whole league upset when Memphis and Lakers switched centers, Gasol and Kwame Brown - a trade that was extremely one sided.

Now all the players involved in this trade have training camp today. Will they all show up? Will they not want to play for the team that wanted to trade them? Only time will tell. Hopefully for Lakerland, Gasol and Odom both show up and dust this off. Players know it is a business, but something like this also hurts because it is like they are being "fired" from their current team.

Dwight Howard talk

What is even going worse for the Lakers, is that the Dwight Howard may wind up somewhere else via trade. ESPN reported this morning that Howard was requesting a trade to the New Jersey Nets. The Nets would build a trade around Brook Lopez and draft picks, and would even take the big contract of Hedo Turkoglu. If Dwight gets this trade, he would team up with Deron Williams and would instantly make the Nets a lot better. And it would keep D'Will in a Nets uniform past this year.

The Nets of course won't be in New Jersey for too long. They are moving to Brooklyn for the 2012-2013 season, so the lights of NYC will be enticing to a talent like Howard, plus the chance to play with a superstar guard like D'Will.

This is the second major blow to the Lakers in the last 24 hours. What does it mean for their trade hopes? Is a trade for CP3 worth it now if they can't land Howard who would help the weak front line of the Lakers with Odom and Gasol traded away. If the Lakers could of landed Howard after CP3, then all the trades are worth it. But if they can't, then they shouldn't send both their top power forwards away for a guard and not get another big body back.


Point Guard talk

Chauncey Billups

The point of this trade was to land a point guard that could help the Lakers and inject them with some youth. The point guards under contract with the Lakers are Derek Fisher and Steve Blake. Fisher could easily move to the second unit and lead those guys on the court. If the Lakers don't land CP3 in a trade before Christmas, it won't be a total lost of the season. There are still a few point guards out there that could help this team. A veteran team like the Lakers could use a proven player with Championship experience and has the nickname "Mr. Big Shot." Chauncey Billups. ESPN is reporting that Tyson Chandler will be signing with the New York Knicks once free agency starts and that the Knicks will be looking to cut Billups, either with a trade, buyout or amnesty cut. If Billups hits the market, the Lakers should look into him. He still has some gas in the tank and with a chance to make it to the Finals again, that could be extremely enticing. He can pass, shoot, and play lock down defense, something that the Lakers need. It will also increase their 3 point shooting. Would he be a savior, not sure, but he could help the Lakers and could come cheap, since the Knicks would still be paying part of his salary.


Another player that could help in the point guard spot is Delonte West. He would be better off as the second unit point guard, but he would be a step up from Steve Blake. He played for Mike Brown in Cleveland, so he would be comfortable in this system. He also started out with the Celtics, which prided themselves on tough, hard nose defense. West could help the defensive side of the second unit and add a scoring touch. He can shoot the three, drive to the basket and hit the mid range jumper. The Lakers are also on the short list of Delonte's list of teams he'd like to play for, along with Boston, Suns and Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! NBA analyst. 


Would either of these guys replace a talent like Chris Paul. No. But they could help the Lakers if they stand pat with this current roster and solidify the bench, something that needs to be worked on.


This afternoon, at 2pm Eastern time, questions will be answered and probably more questions will be asked in Lakerland.