Laker Trade and Trade Talk

Haven't posted for a while. But the Laker's trade and the proposed Phoenix - Miami trade has perked my interest.

First, the Laker's getting Pau Gasol for nothing was a huge steal! An all star caliber big without giving up any key players. Give Mitch Kupchak a raise. This definitely will put the Lakers in the top 3 teams in the west and probably keep them there for the next 5 years. Kobe and gang are relatively young. Methinks I will be watching more Laker games again. :)

Now the proposed Phoenix trade is this. Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion for Shaq. This smacks a bit of desparation. Basically Phoenix is saying, Steve Nash only has a couple of good years left in him. We will challenge for title for 2 years and then blow things up? Pretty risky if you ask me. Especially given Shaq's health the last couple of years. He is such a big guy, all that running around has to be very hard on his joints. I just don't think there are many miles left in the diesel .

This brings me back to the Nuggets. I sure hope they don't make a trade just because they feel like they have too. Talk is they want to trade Klieza and Najera for Ron Artest. I'm not opposed to that. Artest would be a big help defensively. But I don't see how that puts them over the top or puts them in the top 3 like the Lakers. It certainly doesn't solve their salary cap issues.

Personally, I think they need to hold on to LK. If he continues to improve, he will be a solid NBA starter next year. They need to find a ball handling 2 guard, a big point guard, or better yet a point guard who can push the pace.

Look to the trades made by the Jazz and the Lakers. Adding Korver to the Jazz has really helped them out. He is a nice fit for that team and will make it hard to double team Boozer and give Williams an easy target after drives. The Lakers get a PF/C who can shoot from the outside. Allowing them to post Kobe and Lamar Odom. Both trades added a missing piece to those teams.

Sometimes it is better to be patient and wait for that missing piece.