Oh the drama of the NBA...in Lakerland

The first week of the NBA is over. Free agency officially started last Friday and this shorten season proved to be just as drama filled as the season's past.

As of Sunday, the Lakers are officially out of the Chris Paul trade hunt. The NBA, aka David Stern, rejected a trade that would of sent Paul to the purple and gold in a three team deal. The New Orleans Hornets would of received Lamar Odom from the Lakers and Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and a 2012 first round draft pick from the Houston Rockets. For the Rockets, they would receive Pau Gasol from the Lakers. The Hornets would of made out better than the other two teams. The Lakers would of landed a top five point guard, but the loss of Gasol and Odom would of weakened the Lakers front line, that they still wouldn't of been a championship team. The Hornets would of had three automatic started and could be All-Stars. But that deal fell through when David Stern cited basketball reasons to reject the trade.

Lamar Odom. Photo from sports.gather.com

Then on Saturday, he came out with a statement saying that the Hornets would of been better off with Paul in a Hornets jersey than accepting that trade. With the rejection of the trade, the entire league went into an uproar, stating their disgust with how he vetoed the trade. But the trade is now in the past and the Lakers have to move on. To extent, the trade being vetoed was a blessing in disguise. The Lakers were able to keep to their size and not empty their team for Paul. But the trade also backfired. Odom was so hurt by the fact that the Lakers wanted to trade him without letting him know, he asked to be traded. He met with Mitch Kupchak on Friday instead of practising with the team. As of Sunday night, Odom has been officially traded to the defending Champions and team that swept the Lakers last year, the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs now have a trio of fowards that could rank as the best trio in the league- Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Odom. This move hurts the Lakers. Odom was a very effective player, one that the entire team enjoyed playing with. Even Kobe was upset with this trade. On media day at the Lakers facility, Kobe said he "was pissed off" by this move, but he hoped management knew what they were doing. But Odom didn't want to be somewhere where he didn't feel wanted. All the Lakers got for Odom was a 2012 draft pick, which will most likely be in the high 20s, and a one year player trade exception.

There were rumors going around that this trade could help the Lakers land Dwight Howard, but the player trade exception isn't big enough to take on Hedo Turkoglu's contract. Plus Orlando wants both Gasol and Bynum, which would deplete the Lakers front line so much, even a team with Kobe Bryant and Howard couldn't win a championship, unless they could find some other guy that could like - like a Robert Horry or Rick Fox. J.A. Adande, NBA analyst, said that the Lakers might of made this move to make Odom happy after upsetting him and that they could use the player trade exception to sign a younger player who could play center and help fill the void of a back up center. If the Lakers keep both Gasol and Bynum, they would just need a guy to come in and play 15 maybe even 20 minutes of solid effort, crashing the boards on both ends of the court and maybe even put a few points on the score board.

Ronny Turiaf. Photo from Sports Illustrated 

The idea of a guy like Ronny Turiaf, who was drafted and played with the Lakers for a couple seasons, could be a nice fit on this team. He knows the players and he could fill the energy gap that is left for Odom. Turiaf was traded from the New York Knicks to the Washington Wizards to make room for Tyson Chandler. It has yet to be seen if the Wizards are going to keep Turiaf or if they will look to cut him free or trade him. The Wizards do have a log jam at the power forward/center position with the likes of Rashard Lewis, Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee, Trevor Booker and recently drafted Jan Vesely. If they do look to trade or release him, the Lakers should look into him. Is he Dwight Howard, no, but with Gasol and Bynum, the Lakers only need a back up to help rest them.

The Lakers also have their "mini mid-level" exception that could be used on a center or better yet, a power foward to take the spot for the now traded Odom. As for the point guard position, something the Lakers were trying to fix with bringing in Paul, there are a few older, veteran players that have been released from their teams that could take a veteran minimum contract and still bring a lot to the team. Chauncey Billups is the biggest name of this list. He said he wants to go to a championship ready team and not waste his time as being part of a rebuilding effort. That is understandable, he only has a few years left at the quality he has been playing. Another play, who is a free agent, is Delonte West. He would be a step up from Steve Blake and could play both positions at the guard. He was coached by Mike Brown, so he would be comfortable with the system.

Odom is going to be missed, that is a cold hard fact that the Lakers have yet to really grasp. The players already know what Odom brings to the team and what is going to be missed with him gone. The answers of who will play the back up power forward and center positions and if there will be another point guard brought in to help out only can be answered by the Lakers front office, who probably don't have the answers yet.

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.