Before this year’s calendar even hit July 1st, the 2010 NBA offseason had already become arguably the most significant offseason in sports history. Never before has the future location of an athlete been so widely covered and so often discussed. Whether you credit this aspect to the ever-expanding technologies of the Internet (i.e. Twitter, the emergence of blogs, etc.) or LeBron’s three-month (and counting) heist of the sports media (I’ll go with the former), one would be hard-pressed to disagree the impact the Summer of 2010 has had on the entire NBA.
While LeBron took his talents to South Beach to team up with former finals MVP Dwyane Wade and new lap dog Chris Bosh, the Los Angeles Lakers made “the decision” to maneuver slightly under the radar this summer. Coming off of their second championship in as many seasons, this would seem like an impossible feat for the Lake Show, but working in the “Summer of LeBron’s” shadow made it fairly easy.
Even if the Pau Gasol trade was a bigger steal than Winona Ryder’s last trip to the mall, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak has proven himself to be among the NBA’s elite at that position. From 2003 to 2009, Kupchak has turned Brian Cook and Vladamir Radmonovic into Ron Artest (formerly Trevor Ariza) and Shannon Brown, while coming away with late-round draft gems in Luke Walton, Sasha Vujcacic, Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar. Although not all of these players remain on the team’s roster, each one of them provided valuable minutes for the Lakers during their time donning the forum blue and gold.
Even though the Lakers didn’t win the LeBron sweepstakes this past summer, it was nonetheless a successful offseason, as they returned important players, found diamonds in the draft’s rough and rejuvenated the self-proclaimed “Bench Mob” with key free-agent acquisitions. While the Super Friends of South Beach may have formed their own Hollywood in Miami, the Lakers spent their offseason making the necessary free agent and personnel decisions to keep them atop of the NBA for yet another year.
Next: First Round Diamonds in the Second Round Rough
With the exception of 2005, the Lakers haven’t had much to look forward to come draft night in the last 16 years. By no means is that a bad thing, however, as although owning a low-pick has become a tradition for the Lake Show, they seem to prefer winning instead.
This summer’s draft was no different has the Lakers didn’t even have a first round pick to their name, possessing only the 43rd and 58th selections. Despite choosing low in a fairly weak draft, the Lakers managed to come out like bandits, nabbing two players with lottery talent in the latter portion of the draft.
With their first pick, the Lakers selected sophomore swingman Devin Ebanks out of West Virgina. Ebanks’ gifts as an athlete and up-tempo style of play have drawn a number of comparisons to former Laker Trevor Ariza (the two even look similar). At the start of the 2009-10 college basketball season, experts and bloggers across the nation had pegged Ebanks as a surefire lottery pick. Unfortunately for Ebanks, he displayed inconsistent play and dropped in the rankings throught the year. From August of 2009 to April of 2010, Ebanks had gone from a possible top-seven pick to a bubble first round selection.
As an overall player, Ebanks had a much more polished game than Ariza did coming out of college; which is understandable, considering Ebanks played two years of college ball while Ariza was a one and done freshman. However, similar to Ariza, Ebanks will likely spend the first few years of his NBA career riding the pine, as Ron Artest and the newly acquired Matt Barnes sit ahead of him on the team’s depth chart.
Nevertheless, injuries are not a rare commodity in sports, and if Artest or Barnes fall victim to injury, Ebanks will likely be given a chance to play. Expect him to show flashes of his full potential throughout the season as he matures as a player. The Lakers don’t need him to score a ton of points every time he steps foot on the court; for him to get minutes, all he needs to do his establish his presence on the defensive end and hit his open shots (which will be plentiful when playing with Kobe, Gasol and Bynum). If he does that, he will surely be rewarded with more playing time.
Until that day comes, he just needs to be patient and learn from the veterans, because he has the potential to develop into the Lakers starting small-forward of the future.
The Lakers other rookie, Derrick Caracter, has taken a very long and windy route to get where he is today, but he has learned from his mistakes and has ultimately grown from them as a player and as a person.
After a frustrating high school career and a troublesome two seasons at the University of Louisville, Caracter found refuge by transferring to the University of Texas-El Paso. In less than one season of play for the UTEP Miners, Caracter reestablished himself as a player and began to show glimpses of the phenom everyone expected him to be throughout high school.
Ultimately, his history and his weight kept him from reaching first round territory, but Caracter is an extremely talented prospect. Nevertheless, his size allows him to be a force on the glass and score easy buckets inside. If he develops a few posts moves, he could easily become apart of the Lakers top six or seven players in the next five years.
For right now, he is in the same boat as his fellow rookie teammate, but he is starting the season off with slightly more opportunity in his sights, as Andrew Bynum is out at least the entire month of November. Although it thins out the Lakers front line a little bit, it will work out in Caracter’s favor, because minutes at the four and five will open up, giving him the chance to establish himself apart of the Lakers’ rotation as they quest for a three-peat.
If Caracter lets his offensive game come to him, while focusing on defense and rebounding, his presence on the team will be more than just another prospect. He has the size and talent to be a great contributor in the NBA for many years.
He may never become the superstar everyone thought he was going to be when he was a six-foot-eight 13 year old who could dunk, but he has the potential to become a great role player in this league. If he continues to keep his weight down and keep his mind focused on improving each time he steps onto the hardwood, that shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Next: The Zen Master Returns
The return of Phil Jackson was arguably the most important thing on the Lakers’ “To Do List” over the summer. Not just because he has more championship rings than fingers or because he has the highest winning percentage of any coach in NBA history–but because he is the man behind it all. His knowledge of the triangle offense and ability to contain head cases is unparalleled by any coach in NBA history. Without him, the Lakers are still a great team, but they aren’t the favorites to three-peat either.
Keeping the Zen Master on board for another season allows his expected replacement, Brian Shaw, to receive yet another year of coaching experience, which will ultimately set the Lakers up to continue their success, even after Phil calls it quits.
Although it may be the reason Phil loses a couple years off of his life span, the Lakers need him to keep Ron Artest in check. Despite his errant shot selection at times, last season was easily Ron-Ron’s most together and collected season. While that aspect can be attributed to a number of things (i.e. he was seeing a psychiatrist throughout the year), playing for Phil definitely helped him tremendously.
Hopefully this isn’t Phil’s last year on the sidelines, but if it is, it’s for certain that with him calling the shots, there is a very good chance he will end his career with 13 rings to show for it.
Next: Home Is Where The Heart Is
Heading into the offseason, the Lakers had a number of players who had the opportunity to play elsewhere this coming season.
Backup point guard Jordan Farmar left the city where he had spent his entire life, for New Jersey, in search of more minutes on a weaker Nets squad; the best dressed cheerleader of all-time in Adam Morrison was unsurprisingly let go before receiving an invitation to the Washington Wizards training camp; backup big man Josh Powell returned home to Georgia to play for the Atlanta Hawks; and reserve center DJ Mbenga’s whereabouts are currently unknown. While the Lakers lost some of their bench rotation to free agency, their main focus lay in retaining other key players, such as Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown.
Bringing back starting point guard Derek Fisher was a no-brainer for Lakers management. He may be 36 years old, but no matter what people say, he gets the job done. What Fisher lacks in speed and quickness, he makes up with basketball IQ, leadership and toughness.
People knock Fisher for being a liability on defense when covering point guards such as Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. There’s no doubt those point guards are much faster and much more athletic than Fisher, but if you think about it, how many other starting point guards can stay in front of them? Not many. Additionally, even if Fisher does get burned, he has the biggest front line in the NBA down low to help him out. Even if a player gets by him, they still have to get past the Lakers duo of seven footers in Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.
Others jab Fisher for not being a “true” point guard. If you have been watching the Lakers for more than one season, hopefully you understand that the Triangle Offense doesn’t require a “true” point guard. The Triangle Offense is a two-guard front that only needs two guards. Not a point guard and a shooting guard, just guards. If you can handle the ball (among other things), you can be a guard in Phil Jackson’s (via Tex Winter) championship system. Fisher does exactly what he needs to do in this specific offense.
Pound for pound, Fisher is the strongest player on this Lakers squad. ESPN lists him at six foot one, 210 pounds (Kobe is only listed at 205 pounds). He is always willing to take a charge or lay a hit on another player to help the team. You don’t see too many players attempting to draw a legitimate charge (no, Joakim Noah and Anderson Varejao’s flops do not count in this argument) like D-Fish does night in and night out.
The presence Fisher brings to the Lakers rarely shows up in the box score, which is what hurts image so much. People who half-ass themselves in watching the game, then look at the box score and see he shot three for seven and let his man score 24 points on eight of 11 shooting think he had an awful game and should be sent to the bench. But what they didn’t see is the big three pointer he hit to cap off a Lakers’ comeback or the agonizing charge he took to get the Lakers an extra crucial possession. That’s the type of presence D-Fish brings to this squad, and even though three years and 10.5 million may have been slightly more than what the Lakers wanted to spend on a 36-year old guard, he will prove to be worth every penny of it–especially if the Lakers can three-peat (or dare I say, four-peat?)
Bringing back Shannon Brown was essentially the icing on the cake for the Lakers’ offseason. They had found their draft gems, brought back the Zen Master, kept Fish from falling for the mirage of a 2010 Heat championship and picked up a few free agent studs.
Being Kobe Bryant’s backup is almost as bad as being Peyton Manning’s backup (albeit, I’m sure not to many people have heard of Curtis Painter, while Shannon Brown is at least known by more than just Laker fans). However, Shannon has embraced the role and despite being offered more minutes by the Lakers green and white nemesis in Boston, he took the road less traveled by most 24-(soon to be 25) year olds, and picked winning over money.
With Steve Blake now in the fold and Sasha Vujacic poised for a season of revival (it’s his contract year!), his minutes might take a dip from last season, but he will still be a key component of this the bench mob. His acrobatic dunks, alley oops and blocks are an instant energizer for not just the fans but for the team. If you have ever been to a Laker game, you have surely felt that buzz that circulates the arena when he checks into a game; as it causes nearly everyone to sit on the edge of their seat, waiting for him to come out of nowhere and throw down an insane slam that people will be talking about for days.
At six foot four, Brown also has the ability to cover taller, stronger guards such as Deron Williams and Chauncey Billups. He may not be known for his defense, but when called upon he has the ability to slow down these types of point guards in a way Fisher and Blake might not be able to.
When it was announced Brown had signed for only two years and $4.6 million (which is less than he probably could have gotten from another team) it clearly displayed how committed this guy is. So many players would have taken job security and a bigger paycheck over a title, especially at his age. However, his desire to stay with the team that helped him jumpstart his career is truly a sign of great things, not only for Shannon, but also for the Lakers team as a whole.
Next: The New Guys
Since the summer of 1996 (which brought Kobe, Shaq, Fisher and Rick Fox to Los Angeles), the Lakers have not enjoyed an offseason quite as successful as this year. Despite being insanely over the luxury tax heading into the summer, Lakers owner Jerry Buss displayed the Steinbrenner mentality that winning championships is more important than money. While that didn’t mean Mitch Kupchak was able to sign guys to six year, $80 million contracts, it did allow them to bring in three players who will help make the “Bench Mob” the best collection of reserves in the league (which will ultimately lead to the Lakers three-peat, right?)
The Lakers made their first splash in free agency when they signed Steve Blake to a four year, 16 million dollar contract. He replaces Los Angeles native, Jordan Farmar, who despite possessing a solid amount of talent, just wasn’t the right fit for the role of “Lakers’ Starting Point Guard”. Farmar wanted to be a starter so badly, but it just wasn’t his time in Los Angeles, and he owes it to himself to see how high of a ceiling he has. If he can become that player in New Jersey, I’m sure the Lakers organization and its fans will be extremely happy for him.
With Blake, the Lakers now have a backup point guard who fits the Triangle Offense perfectly and will consistently hit his open shots (something that will come often when playing on a team with 2-3 players who will consistently be double-teamed). After watching him rain three pointer after three pointer on the Lakers in Portland’s Rose Garden over the past couple of years, I’m hoping to see him return the favor, not only the next time the Lakers take on the Blazers, but to every freaking team in the league!
He may not be the most youthful or the most athletic player, but he plays a tough game and hits opens shots as if it were a prerequisite to be on an NBA team. Even though Fisher may be the full-time starter, don’t be surprised to see Blake notch more minutes than Fisher in a fair amount of the team’s regular season games. His presence will not only help the Lakers as a whole, but it will also keep Derek Fisher ready come postseason and possibly extend his career as a starter for an extra year or two.
Kupchak’s next move brought in the enigmatic forward Matt Barnes. Barnes, known by most Laker fans for his infamous ball fake on Kobe Bryant during the Lakers trip to Orlando last season, is a great perimeter defender, capable of guarding shooting guards, small forwards and even a few power forwards. He’s not the greatest shooter, but he will hit his open shots, which is a quality that the Lakers can never get enough of.
Bringing in Barnes also helps Kobe out tremendously. (Wait, Kobe plays guard, not forward–how does this affect him?) Last season, Luke Walton was suppose to be Artest’s backup, unfortunately, he suffered an injury plagued year and missed 53 regular season games, leaving Adam Morrison as the Lakers only other “true” small-forward. Nothing against Morrison, but he was just not the right player to spell Artest for 10-20 minutes a night. Therefore, Kobe had to play extra minutes and play the role of back up small forward while Artest got his rest. That is not something the Lakers wanted another season of, as Kobe is 32-years old and should not be playing for more than 34-35 minutes a night (unless he has to) if he wants to have anything left in the tank for the playoffs. With Barnes in the mix, Kobe no longer has to assume that role and can take a load off of his knees, fingers, ankle, etc., allowing him to be 100% (or somewhere in that vicinity) when April rolls around.
Although the Lakers final free-agent pick up, Theo Ratliff, did not carry with him as high of a profile as Steve Blake or Matt Barnes, he will nonetheless be a beneficial player to the team’s quest for their 17th title.
Entering his 16th year in the league, Ratliff is the epitome of the word “veteran”. He may not be the defensive force that he was during his prime, but he will very much help out inside. Instead of having DJ Mbenga taking 13 foot jumpers every time he touches the ball, the Lakers will have a big man who knows his place in the offense–a big man who will take his shots when the come, but is primarily focused on grabbing rebounds and playing defense–exactly what the Lakers need from their reserve big men.
He probably won’t get a ton of run time throughout the season, but with Bynum out to start the year, he will definitely get valuable minutes early on and his experience will no doubt be a boost to this team. In addition to helping out inside, he will be a great veteran presence in the locker room, and could be a great mentor to the young Andrew Bynum and Derrick Caracter.