There appears to be only a small group of teams that are a legitimate threat to derail the Lakers chances at a 3-peat; those teams being Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Antonio and Dallas. Three of those teams made significant pick ups this past week from the pool of players that were waived by other teams: Troy Murphy signed with Boston, Mike Bibby with Miami and most recently, Corey Brewer signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
Those names, while not sexy, should be of some concern for the Lakers as they could provide exactly what some of those teams need to reach that next level.
Late in-season pick ups have worked very well in the past for teams looking to add that small final piece of a championship puzzle. Most recently, the 2008 Boston Celtics were able to fill their need for size and depth with the late season signing of veteran PJ Brown, who was instrumental in their championship run that season.
We take a look at the three most significant signings of this past week and see how they affect the Lakers title run this season.