In the past few days I have been writing a lot of blogs because there has been a lot of stuff I want to write about.  So now I am going to write about the rumors that are surrounding the Lakers.  Many people are talking about all the trades that the Lakers need to make to win the NBA championship next year, but with just getting Bynum back they will have a really good chance.  Some of the rumors are about the Lakers acquiring a big name player like Baron Davis, Ron Artest, and Gilbert Arenas.  If the Lakers got any one of those without having to give up any of their core (Big 4), then they would be almost unstoppable.  I would think that the Lakers would rather have Baron Davis or Ron Artest instead of Gilbert Arenas, because he likes to score 30 points a night and only hand out like 5 assists as a point guard.  Those stats are good stats for a shooting guard (Kobe), but not for a pointguard on a team that has Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol.  With Baron Davis in the lineup they would have the best backcourt in the NBA, and one of the top 3 front courts in the NBA (if not the best).  Phil Jackson has considered having Odom come off the bench next season and starting Ariza.  If the Lakers had Baron Davis on the team then Lamar coming off the bench would be perfect.  They would have a star player coming off the bench along with Derek Fisher to lead the young players like Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, and Ronny Turiaf so that they don't make stupid young-player mistakes.  With Artest on the Lakers, it would give them a tough defensive minded player who can guard 4 positons and shoot the ball.  If they decided to have Lamar coming off the bench (which would be the smarter decision I think.) to lead the young players, it would not screw up the triangle (the small forward in the triangle needs to be able to shoot the ball from three.) and make them have someone who can play both forward positions coming off the bench so that they have a lot of options for what they want to do.  Gilbert Arenas on the Lakers would probably screw up chemistry because he would want to score points and shoot a lot of shots.  It wouldn't be good for the Lakers, except for the fact that he can play well under pressure and in the clutch.  If the Lakers somehow got Artest and Davis in a 3-team deal including Odom then I would say that they should start both of them.  I would rather the Lakers got Baron Davis because it wouldn't make lineup problems and they would have the best starting lineup in the NBA to go along with their bench which is already one of the best in the NBA.  If they decide to not make a blockbuster acquisition then they should get some tough, defensive minded players to come off the bench, or start.

I was reading the NBA rumors part of foxsports.com and read one about the Lakers trying to get Ron Artest over the offseason.  The deal would have to be a sign-and-trade because the Lakers don't have the money to sign Artest as a free agent.  They would need to trade Vladimir Radmanovic for salary reasons and Jordan Farmar/Trevor Ariza for Kings interest reasons for Artest.  I think the Vladi and Ariza deal would be better because he is young like Farmar but is also just like Ron Artest just not as good yet.  He is a defensive player who has good offensive skills.  The Kings could try and make Ariza into another Artest type player while having a good 3-point shooting small/power forward on the team.  The Lakers would become even better than they already are and even deeper than they already are.  Unless they moved Derek Fisher to the bench and Kobe to PG and Artest to SG they will probably have Lamar Odom coming off the bench.  Odom coming off the bench would be crazy and he would be the #1 choice for 6th man since Manu isn't really a 6th man type player sine he gets the most minutes on the team.  The backup lineup would be better than most other team's starting lineups.  Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant would form the best perimeter defending duo in the league along with Ira Newble (if they resign him) or Trevor Ariza (if they don't trade him) coming off the bench.  I think trading Ariza would be better than trading Farmar because he is their only PG off the bench.  They could also sign Desagna Diop who would be the center off the bench for them.  There is rumors that the Magic want Ronny Turiaf so they could trade him to the Magic for a draft pick since he probably would get much playing time with Bynum back.  They could also try and sign Maurice Evans but he would probably be too expensive.  If the chemistry stayed the same and everyone was fine with the amount of shots and playing time they got this would be one of the best teams ever.

Starting Lineup

PG Derek Fisher SG Kobe Bryant SF Ron Artest PF Pau Gasol C Andrew Bynum

Bench Lineup

PG Jordan Farmar SG Sasha Vujacic SF Ira Newble PF Lamar Odom C Desagna Diop

OR

PG Jordan Farmar SG Sasha Vujacic SF Lamar Odom PF Ronny Turiaf C Desagna Diop

OR

PG Jordan Farmar SG Sasha Vujacic SF Maurice Evans PF Lamar Odom C Desanga Diop

Note: The people in the lineups that aren't on the Lakers right now would be people that they signed through free agency or traded for.  If they didn't get Desagna Diop they could put Ronny at center if they still had him or just sign another FA center.