La La to La La Land?

February 24th – it may not hold the same amount of relevance and excitement as August 31st does for Major League Baseball, but with so many teams in the NBA vying for a realistic shot at the title this season, one key move could prove vital in that quest. The Celtics, Heat, Magic and Bulls out of the Eastern Conference all have a legitimate shot to stand with Stern under the confetti. The Spurs as well as Mark Cuban’s pocket book dressed in many shades of blue are also potential challengers out of the West. Who might be best served to make a key move? The defending champions?

ESPN’s Marc Stein reported on February 2nd that Ron Artest was requesting a trade. This was not confirmed by his agent, and it seems Stein cited his source as Artest’s brother Daniel’s Twitter account. Nice scoop. Way to trade the potential story-breaking credit in exchange for your integrity.

Twitter accounts are now apparently sources. I would honestly defy you to find something less relevant than a running mental ‘blurbology’ in it’s most primitive and impulsive form. Maybe you can camp out in your car next to the driveway and see which one of his cars he drives to the gym? If it’s the Benz, he’s styling with content. If it’s the Hummer, he wants to run something over on the way out of town. Sounds fool-proof to me? Take your reliability and shove it, Twitter.

I implore everyone to follow Daniel Artest on Twitter for a couple of hours. The running ticker of absolute nonsense you will be subjected to will urge you to flee to your local news stand and absorb the latest Enquirer just to try and bring yourself back to some semblance of reality.

What if Artest were to be traded? Would the acquisition of a package including either Rip Hamilton, Andre Igoudala or even Carmelo Anthony be something Mitch Kupchak should be interested in? Yes. Would it behoove L.A. in the long run? Yes.

Even with Artest not fitting as well as he should at this point in his stint with L.A., could making a move and throwing an unknown piece in the mix this late in the season hurt L.A.’s chances at a three-peat? Also, yes.

That’s what makes this a very tough call. Do I see it happening? I’m not sold on the idea – but I still offer the possibilty. I don’t think Kupchak would trade any of the big-money players currently on the roster aside from Luke Walton along with Artest for any one player in return. Anthony makes too much money to be swapped for Artest and Walton, as Andrew Bynum or Lamar Odom would have to be included in any deal including Anthony. To that point, I believe even though Odom comes across as aloof at times, his versatility and rebounding tenacity proves invaluable.

That leaves Andrew Bynum and his fourteen million dollar a year salary along with Artest and Walton. There are however a couple of roadblocks with the proposition of packaging all three. First of all, you would be projecting nearly twenty-five million dollars a year to a potential suitor. Second of all, you would need a respectable big man in return to replace the void left by parting ways with Bynum.

With these two factors considered, in the case of Carmelo Anthony, we might be onto something. Twenty-five million in Bynum, Artest and Walton on it’s way out, twenty-eight million with Anthony, as well as a solid veteran replacement at center who also wants out of his current situation, Nene, on it’s way in.

Nene for Bynum straight-up is a win for L.A., as even though both have bad knees, Nene (28) is only 5 years older than Bynum (23), has only played 3 more seasons than Bynum (Bynum was drafted as a 17-year old) and is more of a versatile offensive threat when healthy than is Bynum. Obviously Bynum can be somewhat of a rebounding and shot-blocking force in the middle when 100%, but what Nene gives up slightly in that regard, Bynum does not make up for with his lack of overall elite skill and tenacity when compared to what the Lakers could get along with Nene, a top five player in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony.

I am of the opinion that Bynum has just been incredibly too spoiled by his situation since the day he was drafted, and it shows. He is the first love of co-owner and head of player personel, Jimmy Buss, and when interviewed, he almost has a wry smile that screams, “I know you need me and you know you need me, so I think I hold all the cards and I will give it my all on my schedule ” (as seen early this season with the drawn out, 6-month process of a return from a knee scope, which generally takes no more than 6 weeks).

Are Lakerfans to be held hostage with this frustration season in-season out for the next decade? I would hope not. The franchise is better than that. No twenty-three year old will hold the franchise at ransom. We don’t care if you are seven feet, two hundred eighty-five pounds. Get ready to catch a permanent flight out of town, at any time, away from one of the greatest sports franchises in the world.  Stop taking it for granted kid and start playing like you understand this threat.  Comfort breeds underachievment.

As far as the more important side of the deal, Anthony for Artest and Walton would rival the Pau Gasol trade as far as steals go. Anthony, only 26, and his wife, La La Vazquez, who he tied the knot with in the off-season, might be the perfect fit in ‘La La Land’ to keep the Lakers big-market dominance rolling throughout the decade, even after Kobe retires. Anthony is the type of talent that only comes along less than once and a while. When you have the opportunity to obtain a guy who has the entire offensive arsenal and can score from anywhere on the court and in any way possible, it is worth taking that shot for the sake of the future of your franchise.  If a sign and trade can be worked out with Anthony for five or six years in the neighborhood of just over 100 million, you pull the trigger.

Another real option for the threesome of Bynum, Artest and Walton, would be Igoudala and Elton Brand from Philadelphia. Financially feasible, yes. Athletically and health feasibility, maybe not so much. Igoudala for Artest and Walton alone would be an athletic upgrade, as Igoudala’s attitude, versatility and ability to fit where needed at a very high level would mesh well with what the lakers currently put on the court.

Even with this taken highly into consideration, and while Bynum has had numerous nicks and dings over the first five years of his career, Elton Brand has been a walking wheelchair in recent years past. He isn’t getting any younger at age 31, and his acquisition would require Gasol to play center on defense, something that we saw wasn’t a good situation for the Lakers in the 2008 Finals versus the Celtics. This deal wouldn’t necessarily be the best option that is currently out there.

Bynum, Artest and Walton could also score you Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Ben Gordon from Detroit. The salary swapped is exactly twenty-five million going each way. Yes, the Lakers get a bit older – but you know Wallace will bring it defensively and crash the boards with reckless abandon for the next two years remaining on his contract. This is just the garbage-man puzzle-piece the Lakers need to fill in for the next two to three-year twilight of Kobe’s championship-winning career as a number one, go-to guy.  Poor-man’s Rodman to Kobe’s Jordan?

As far as Hamilton and Gordon – each have three years remaining on their deals, and obtaining these two would not only allow Shannon Brown to inevitably go get his mid-level exception or even more from another organization at season’s end, but would also prove vital in helping replace the aging Derek Fisher in two years.

Combo, mid-sized guards like Hamilton and Gordon, who can both score and have a certain amount of handles, are right up Phil Jackson’s alley, as well as the alley of the coaching staff that is waiting in the wings to continue his legacy.

Moreover, in this particular deal, a trade exception exists. If the Lakers were to acquire Ben Wallace, they could use two million of the five and a half that they owe Sasha Vujacic to pay Wallace’s already bargain of a two million dollar salary. The Nets then become responsible for the two million owed to Vujacic.  извините, Prokhorov.

This move overall would lose the Lakers something in the front-court for this season, but over the long-haul would give them a significant amount of sustainability in the back court.

Whatever all of this analysis is worth, the main counterpoint as to why any of these pipe-dreams would be a daunting proposition to pull the trigger on is the learning curve of joining the Lakers mid-season.

However lacking Bynum still is in the post passing out of the double-team, and however lost Artest may seem in the offense, they are leaps and bounds beyond where anyone acquirable would be come playoff time, and that could be a big problem for the Lakers’ title hopes this season, Phil Jackson’s last.

Could they learn the offense? Everyone does in a matter of time. Would any of them learn enough of it to be comfortable and confident in the limited amount of time between now and when the playoffs start? I highly doubt it.

At the end of the day Lakerfans, it looks as if we could very well be stuck with what we’ve got, and I don’t know if I’m even sure what that is. I still can’t believe I’m saying this at the all-star break. That worries me as it should you.  Although, the recent big win in Boston and the subsequent blowout win in New York gives the like-minded a sliver of hope – hope that it is turning in the right direction and there is no need for the snap-jerk reaction of a trade.

Then again, opportunities arise and the Kupchak swindle could surprise us as it did three years ago. Holding onto Bynum keeps you formidible for now in the middle, but may keep you from staying ‘ahead of the game’ if you shy away from obtaining Anthony, who is without a doubt a once-in-a-generation type of player who is in the prime of his career.

If by the slimmest of chances a trade involving the Lakers happens to unfold before the deadline, some Lakerfans will question it, most will rejoice. If not L.A., Mrs. Vazquez, bank on at least the Big Apple. Either way, get the bags packed and keep them packed, La La.