If not for the fact that the NBA's MVP award primarly takes into account a team's wins and losses, Kobe Bryant might be the frontrunner to win the award every year. Despite little help, Bryant has managed to lead the LA Lakers to a 42-40 record and a playoff birth last season. Lamar Odom is surely no slouch, but outside of him, the Lakers have no one reliable enough to give Bryant a break.
Ironically, it was Kobe Bryant who wanted to be "the man" and played rumoredly played a key role in running Shaquille O'Neal out of town. Now, Bryant wants help and isn't shy about his opinion on what the Lakers' management has or hasn't done to obtain that help. Whether Bryant wants to be traded is uncertain. What is certain is that he's under contract and therefore not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. With that in mind, expect LA to continue to shop Andrew Bynum. They're kicking themselves for not taking New Jersey up on its offer of Bynum for Jason Kidd during last season. Moreover, the Lakers have been rumored to be going after Jermaine O'Neal, but so far with no luck.
Statistics Projections/Depth Chart
- Center: Andrew Bynum 9.5 ppg, 7.2 rbpg (back up: Chris Mihm)
- Power Forward: Lamar Odom 15.5 ppg, 9.3 rbpg, 5.2 apg (back up: Kwame Brown)
- Small Forward: Luke Walton 12.2 ppg, 5.6 rbpg (back up: Vladimir Radmanovic)
- Point Guard: Derek Fisher 9.6 ppg, 4.0 apg (back up: Javaris Crittenton)
- Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant 33.4 ppg, 4.6 rbpg, 5.5 apg (back up: Sasha Vujacic)
Key Losses
The Lakers lost Smush Parker to free agency and even though Parker was decent last season with LA, they're much better off with Derek Fisher.
Key Additions
Aside from adding Derek Fisher, the Lakers will showcase many new young faces, including rookies Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, Coby Karl (who will be the second "Kobe" on the team, only with a different spelling) and point guard Sun Yue, who reminds many of a taller version of Shaun Livingston.
Team Rumors
There are still many rumors floating about that have the Lakers going after Indiana Pacers' star Jermaine O'Neal. The Lakers have apparently tried to lure O'Neal to LA with packages that include Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.
Prediction
The Lakers should be a little better next season. The West is slightly worse, with many quality players like Kevin Garnett, Rashard Lewis, Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson, heading east. Also, the Lakers should have more depth at point guard. Derek Fisher is much more reliable than any point guard they had last season, Jordan Farmar should be better with a year under his belt and Crittenton has loads of potential. Expect the Lakers to win a couple more games than last season, giving them a record of 44-38. They'll finish as the seventh seed in the playoffs and face off against the Phoenix Suns (again). However, the Suns will win the series in six.
Fantasy Spin
Kobe Bryant should be a top five pick in whatever league you're in and depending on the scoring system, he could even be number one. He's slimmed down and is looking great at the Vegas FIBA tournament.
After Bryant, there isn't a whole lot to pick from. Lamar Odom's a safe pick between forty and sixty, but Andrew Bynum hasn't shown enough consistency to be anything but a late round gamble. Other than that, look for Derrek Fisher to provide some additional threes here and there and for Luke Walton to have short spurts of brilliance.
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