When the Lakers lose three in a row, as they did last week, everyone you know has a theory.
I have mine and to me it all comes down to one reality.
The roster is deficient. This is not a roster up to Laker standards. The question is why.
That’s the question which management will ultimately have to answer. If fans and media members can see it, management certainly can too.
What seems to be happening is the Lakers are sacrificing the season in order to position themselves financially for the next one. Or, at best, hoping to get by for now without significantly upgrading the roster.
At Staples Center Sunday night I asked several people I consider insiders what they’ve heard. Are the Lakers close to making a dramatic move?
Each one had the same answer. They don’t think the Lakers are on the verge of making a major move.
“The Lakers won’t do anything until the status of Dwight Howard is determined,” said one.
Howard is the NBA’s best young center and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in another year. The Lakers are one of three teams the Orlando center says he has approved for a trade.
The Lakers are hoping that as time passes Orlando will realize he could leave and they’d get nothing in return.
The plot thickens when you understand the Lakers got Shaquille O’Neal that way. He left Orlando and signed with the Lakers in 1996.
Right now Orlando wants more than Andrew Bynum for Howard. The Lakers hope that Orlando will soften its stance as the deadline approaches.
I’m also hearing the Lakers have their eye on Deron Williams, the New Jersey point guard. He would be a significant upgrade from 37-year-old Derek Fisher.
If the Lakers could obtain Howard and Williams next season the problems of this season would be forgotten.
With new salary cap rules, teams are paying close attention to financial restrictions. Taking a year off from making roster upgrades may be necessary.
On the current Laker roster Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Bynum are star players. The others fit in as well as can be expected.
But the reserves don’t hold or expand leads. It used to be Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown keeping the pressure on opponents. That element is gone.
The Lakers subtracted the salaries of Lamar Odom and Brown this season. They moved up Darius Morris, who was in the NBA’s minor league, to play important minutes when Stave Blake was injured. They signed journeymen Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts to replace Odom’s important contributions.
They’re allowed to sign someone who makes $9 million or less, the same amount Odom made. In the league’s salary structure it’s called “an exception.” But they’ve chosen to hold onto that money,
No wonder they’re struggling with a 10-8 record at a time when Oklahoma City has only three losses and the Clippers four.
If you read this column regularly you know I wasn’t thrilled when the Lakers hired Mike Brown as coach. I wondered why a coach who hadn’t won a championship with LeBron James would get a chance to coach Kobe.
But I’m saying today the Lakers’ dismal start isn’t Brown’s fault. He’s been thrust into an extremely difficult situation – a new coach with a new crew of assistants putting in a new system without the benefit of a regular length training camp or exhibition games.
Brown works hard. For example, on Saturday following the one-sided losses in Miami and Orlando he held individual meetings with each player.
He stresses defense and the Lakers played outstanding defense Sunday against Indiana in the first quarter. But the Pacers had a more productive bench and were able to wipe out an early deficit.
We’ll see if the Lakers do anything by the trading deadline in March. We’ll see if they can succeed if they don’t.
But they’re not acting like the mighty Lakers, winners of 16 NBA championships. They were jolted when the NBA rejected their deal for Chris Paul. They’re giving the impression they don’t know what to do next.
And, oh, by the way, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, who are off to a slow start as they work in several new players, are far under the salary cap and will try to sign Howard if he becomes a free agent.
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