The Lakers front office will be scurrying to build another championship team with various trades and resign agreements during the offseason. Fortunately, they already have the core pieces for another championship at the positions of shooting guard, forward, power forward, and center. Notice anything missing? The Lakers are in dire need of an effective and consistent point guard to lead them back to the NBA Finals.
Derek Fisher has been a member of the Lakers for the majority of his basketball career, and he has proven to be an important piece to the Lakers championship puzzle with his clutch shooting in the playoffs and strong veteran leadership. He has won five championships with the Lakers alongside his partner in crime, Kobe Bryant. However, if the Lakers want to become champions again in 2011-12, they will need to find a new leader at the point guard position.
The Lakers tried to support Fisher with a veteran point guard in Steve Blake this past season, but I think they went backwards with this acquisition. The Lakers had the right formula during their two-year championship run from 2009 – 2010 with Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. These are two guards that were young and hungry for championship rings, and that’s what the Lakers need again.