Spoiled Laker fans? Hmm, I'm sure there are some -- of course, there are currently spoiled San Antonio and Detroit fans -- there have been spoiled Bulls fans, SacTown fans, Jazz fans over the years. Sure, there has been a long storied history of success in LaLa land with the Lakers and of course, there are MANY bandwagon fans (a lot of these are celebrities as well).
But EVERY team goes through a rebuilding stage. Sure, many have done better than others but where would the Spurs be today if it weren't for the luck of a season of bad health with DRob and Elliott which resulted in an incredible turn of luck with a ping pong ball. But rebuilding is something every team goes through -- and it's currently LA's turn.
TRUE fans will be patient -- of course, that doesn't mean they won't whine about it but they will be patient. And there ARE celebs who are among the rank and file of true Lakers fans -- Jack and Diane are two who were there courtside the last time the Lakers went through a rebuilding process. But you need to understand -- to get to sit courtside of a Lakers game is a sign of prestige and "arriving" in Hollywood. Notice Toby McGuire sitting courtside after Spiderman hit it big? That's not a coincidence -- the Lakers have been the hottest ticket in LA for years. Will that change? Well, celebs will still pay big money for the experience and to see Kobe play -- even though Kobe doesn't have much help he is still one of the best players in the game.
However, with all of that said, I must agree with Joe -- you don't sit around and wait 2 or 3 years for specific players -- you have to assemble the best team you can today (and next year, etc.). It's obviously, at least IMO, that they are trying to do that THIS year -- which is tough given their current cap restrictions and lack of personell to make deals. I REALLY struggle with the trades that we have made though -- trading Butler was a HUGE mistake (not to mention we sent with him our ONLY PG). This brings up a LOT of questions in my mind!
Lakers current roster:
PG - Tony Bobbitt G 6-4, Von Wafer G 6-5
SG - Kobe Bryant SG 6-6, Sasha Vujacic G 6-7
SF - Lamar Odom, Devean George, Jumaine Jones, Luke Walton
PF - Kwame Brown, Ronny Turiaf, Brian Cook, Stanislav Medvedenko
C - Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum, Brian Grant
First, this line-up doesn't even make any sense. You don't have a PG so what are they going to do, start Kobe at the point? While PJ loves a big line-up, and Sasha or Jumaine Jones can play SG, Kobe can't guard the quicker PG's in the league (Nash, Parker, Bibby, etc.). Also, the Lakers have WAYYY to many players in the frontcourt -- Kwame, Turiaf, Medvendenko, Mihm, Bynam (not to mention Cook and Grant) are going to have split time at two positions and we just don't need all of these guys. But the biggest problem is that we have too many SF's -- Odom is going to get the majority of the minutes so George or Jones end up sitting the bench most games (which is a waste when you don't have a PG).
The Lakers can't stop making trades at this point and while they CAN find some help at SG (if they start Kobe at PG), they HAVE to address a player who can guard small quick PG's otherwise those teams will continue to kill the Lakers!
PS - I DON'T want Yao Ming as a Laker -- the guy is WAYYY too slow and hasn't shown that he is EVER going to develop the conditioning needed to be an impact player (THE MAN) in the league. He is tall, a decent rebounder and shot blocker, and can shoot but he isn't going to strap teams on his back, IMO. And he is going to be paid Shaq kind of money to never develop his potential -- thanks but no thanks! I don't see Amare going anywhere -- as long as Phoenix keeps their core and is treats Amare right -- I just don't see Amare leaving.
