| Pre-Draft Summit: L.A. Lakers Authored by Andrew Perna & The RGM Lakers Forum - June 23, 2008 - 12:51 pm
Last month I posted a series of Lottery Summits for each of the league’s fourteen non-playoff teams. I posed a set of questions, almost exactly the same as the ones asked in the first series of Pre-Draft Summits, to each of the NBA’s playoff team forums as we continue our up-to-the-minute, expert 2008 Draft coverage. The following responses were compiled from our Los Angeles forum, the people who know the Lakers better than some of the players themselves.
The Los Angeles Lakers:
2007-08 Record: 57-25
Difference From 2006-07: Fifteen More Wins
Playoff Result: Lost In Six To Boston (Finals)
Restricted Free Agents: D.J. Mbenga, Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic
Unrestricted Free Agents: Trevor Ariza (P), Chris Mihm (P), Ira Newble
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done differently to win the NBA Title?
dcash4: They could have given Andrew Bynum’s knee some steroids.
hermes: If they had taken Vladimir Radmanovic out of the starting lineup and made some adjustments on defense.
milesfides: If we prioritized defense over offense, substituted Trevor Ariza for Radmanovic and used his length and anticipation to roam off Rajon Rondo, which would have allowed Kobe Bryant to guard Paul Pierce throughout the series.
Corvus Crow: Controllable things would include using a smaller lineup to penetrate with speed against an older slower Boston team and better substitutes in general.
snaquille oatmeal: The Lakers needed to make defense their priority and learn how to feed the offense off the defense, and not the other way around.
8'sReverse: Better communication on defense and taking Vlad out of the starting lineup. The Lakers have the ability to play great defense, but are never consistent, NEVER.
DEEP3CL: If we speed up the pace. Running the Celtics would have allowed the Lakers to beat their defense down court.
microfib4thewin: A commitment to team defense. Although the Lakers are a better defensive team than people give credit for, the effort was obviously not enough. Getting Bynum back would have helped, but the team has to understand there's only so much you can gamble on defensively.
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
dcash4: The Kobe/Sasha Vujacic death duo.
hermes: Offense is general, and passing.
milesfides: Passing, perimeter shooting, high post-play and Kobe's ability to read the defense and do whatever is necessary to win.
Corvus Crow: Passing, endurance and length.
snaquille oatmeal: The offense fed the defense (see the first quarter of Games 4 and 5), but it was not enough for the defensively strong Celtics.
8'sReverse: Kobe/Pau Gasol’s screen and rolls, pick-and-rolls, pick and pops; Trevor Ariza/Ronny Turiaf's hustle and defense; Bynum/Kobe screen and rolls.
DEEP3CL: The front line and bench depth.
microfib4thewin: Passing. With the exception of Utah, this is probably the best passing team in the league. Having a guy named Kobe also doesn't hurt.
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
dcash4: Derek fisher had the best season of his career.
hermes: Bynum, Sasha, Lamar Odom (after the Gasol trade), Jordan Farmar (before the trade) and Fisher.
milesfides: Vujacic came out of nowhere to become one of the best shooters in the league, ‘The Machine’, and he demonstrated defensive strengths as well.
Corvus Crow: Sasha, Farmar and Fisher.
snaquille oatmeal: Bynum and Farmar were a surprise and were effective the first half of the season. Gasol and Odom were a surprise and were effective the second half of the season. Kobe and Fisher were no surprise, but they were effective all season.
8'sReverse: Fisher. Where'd he come from?
DEEP3CL: Vujacic.
microfib4thewin: Sasha. Although, I can claim I was one of the few who didn't view him as a 12th man before he got inserted into the rotation.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
dcash4: Luke Walton, he was injured though. He’ll comeback, I hope.
hermes: Luke and Vlad (don't know how much of a surprise it was). Also, the whole team in the Finals, they didn't play very well at all.
milesfides: There were worse Lakers, namely Radmanovic, but Walton's ineffectiveness was more surprising considering how well he played a season ago. Luke, whom Phil called the "yeast" of this team a year ago, was more like a yeast infection this year by comparison, plagued by inconsistent shooting and perpetual nagging injuries.
Corvus Crow: Turiaf.
snaquille oatmeal: Walton. Although he was playing injured most of the season he was surprisingly ineffective.
8'sReverse: Luke. After last season's career year, this was a career flop.
DEEP3CL: Walton. He has to except that he's a role player.
microfib4thewin: Walton. Even if last season was a fluke, it was amazing to see him do nothing on the court.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
dcash4: Gasol for Kwame Brown/picks. No more needs to be said.
hermes: I’m fairly confident. I think Mitch moved in the right direction this season, I’d say 7.5 out of 10.
milesfides: Not very, considering the luxury tax. The Lakers have generally been conservative in the offseason and Mitch Kupchak is notorious for blaming injuries for everything.
Corvus Crow: On one hand they kicked plenty of butt and Mitch deserved a nod for Executive of The Year. On the other, are teams scared to deal with us post Pau?
snaquille oatmeal: If the opportunity presents itself, I am very confident that they will do what ever it takes to make it happen. However, I am not confident that they will look for that opportunity on their own because they may see Bynum as the only missing piece.
8'sReverse: After the Gasol and Ariza trades I learned that I just have be patient. I now know if the right scenario comes along, the front office will jump on it.
DEEP3CL: Well, it won't be anything like this year that's for sure. I think Mitch knows where the team’s weaknesses are now and he should make finding a complete small forward his top priority.
microfib4thewin: I’m very confident, since for once Kupchak can spend more time golfing than making phone calls on where he should deal Odom and Bynum.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
dcash4: Someone who doesn't intend to play in the NBA anytime soon.
hermes: Well, we only have a late second rounder, but a backup center and a small forward are needed.
milesfides: A big, all-around defensive guard, a sharp-shooting defensive swingman or a big man enforcer. However, if the Lakers could obtain a quality veteran role player by trading the pick, they probably should, given the general youth and inexperience of the team.
Corvus Crow: A foreign player who can come over after developing abroad for a while.
snaquille oatmeal: We really don't need anything from the draft, we have enough youth already.
8'sReverse: The Lakers do not need to draft anyone, especially with pick that they have.
DEEP3CL: Truthfully, the team is not going to find anybody in this year’s thin draft. The 58th pick is a guy who will be lucky to be selected anyway.
microfib4thewin: We still have a draft pick?
7. Who would you like your team to select?
dcash4: See my answer to number six.
hermes: I don't have any idea who would even be there, so I’ll wait and see who everyone else says.
milesfides: DeMarcus Nelson for his four years of experience (he's 22.5 years old) under Coach K, for his all-around guard skills, including long-range spot-up shooting, rebounding, passing and attacking the basket.
Corvus Crow: It's gonna have to be a project or surprise player that slipped, so I don't know who it be will.
snaquille oatmeal: With the 58th pick of the draft the Los Angeles Lakers select....who cares!
8'sReverse: Derrick Rose! No really, we don't need the draft.
DEEP3CL: Once again there is nothing of any value at 58, that's just the bottom line. The team will probably be better off finding a rookie free agent much like Coby Karl last summer.
microfib4thewin: I think the Lakers should go after a power forward. Both Gasol and Turiaf had to deal with recent injuries, Odom was also injured last year and the year before, so I think getting a four would be a better insurance than any other positions.
The Draft Summit Archive:
The Atlanta Hawks:Draft Summit
The Philadelphia 76ers:Draft Summit
The Toronto Raptors:Draft Summit
The Washington Wizards:Draft Summit
The Cleveland Cavaliers:Draft Summit
The Denver Nuggets:Draft Summit
The Dallas Mavericks:Draft Summit
The Phoenix Suns:Draft Summit
The Houston Rockets:Draft Summit
The Orlando Magic:Draft Summit
The Utah Jazz:Draft Summit
The San Antonio Spurs:Draft Summit
The Detroit Pistons:Draft Summit
The New Orleans Hornets:Draft Summit
The Lottery Summit Archive:
The Miami Heat:Lottery Summit
The Seattle Supersonics:Lottery Summit
The Minnesota Timberwolves:Lottery Summit
The Memphis Grizzles:Lottery Summit
The New York Knicks:Lottery Summit
The Los Angeles Clippers:Lottery Summit
The Milwaukee Bucks:Lottery Summit
The Charlotte Bobcats:Lottery Summit
The Chicago Bulls:Lottery Summit
The New Jersey Nets:Lottery Summit
The Indiana Pacers:Lottery Summit
The Sacramento Kings:Lottery Summit
The Portland Trail Blazers:Lottery Summit
The Golden State Warriors:Lottery Summit
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. If you’re a fan of one of the many teams that we have yet to feature, surf over to our forums and weigh in on what is happening within the organization. If you’d like to contact Andrew, shoot him an e-mail at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
