Pacers O'Neal could help Lakers
Randy Hill
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The blunt-farce drama known as Kobe Bryant: Escape From L.A. finally has taken an expected plot turn.
While Kobe has pledged temporary allegiance to Team USA, the Los Angeles Lakers (Team SOS) are revisiting the Andrew Bynum Dilemma stage of their off-season program. Bynum, the 7-footer who'll still be a teenager until Oct. 27, has been a major cog in Plans A & B that were inspired by Bryant's decision to bombard broadcasters — telemarketer style — for unsolicited chats about his future.
For the record, the now-deceased Plan A was dedicated to acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Plan Z would be the doomsday notion of trading Kobe.
But Plan B is what landed on the table this week.
It was provoked by Indiana Pacers big guy Jermaine O'Neal, who's registered as the Lakers' lead target in that face-saving Plan B. O'Neal, a six-time All-Star power forward, dragged Plan B back into relevance by publicly admitting he'd like to be a Laker. This unrepentant admitting occurred during a charity event coauthored by Baron Davis and Paul Pierce in Los Angeles. Please note that while they wouldn't have minded becoming Lakers, Davis and Pierce may be just fine where they are.
Anyway, O'Neal may be on the cusp of qualifying as a far better Lakers general manager than current deal-maker Mitch Kupchak (it should be noted that he wouldn't be the first O'Neal to audition for the Lakers' GM role). By making a formal declaration of his interest in getting out of Indiana, O'Neal may have made it a bigger challenge for Pacers king Larry Bird to extract more trade assets from the Lakers than they've been willing to cough up.
Jermaine O'Neal is a six-time All-Star forward. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE / Getty Images)
According to published reports, Bird's asking price has been Lamar Odom and Bynum. The Lakers seem more interesting in letting go of just one of those assets while adding someone else to the stew.
Unfortunately, the Lakers are not unlike the vegetarian in an elementary-school cafeteria — they have very little to trade.
Any somewhat coveted, moveable parts are limited to Odom and Bynum, with the expiring contract of center Kwame "Downturn" Brown having at least marginal value. It's a shame that — in addition to his ability to create cap space — Kwame has the hands of an Atlanta Falcons wide receiver and the work ethic of a rock star.
Removing the peripheral trade fluff, an Odom-for-O'Neal trade seems like a slight upgrade for the Lakers. While their numbers are similar (Lamar's assists make up for his lesser scoring), both players have injury histories and enough self-actualization to play a fine second fiddle to Bryant.
As a facilitator type, Odom often requires half of the shot clock before making his play. This can be a bit dicey when you consider that these maneuvers often are accomplished while Kobe waits on the perimeter, looking too much like an unreasonably optimistic panhandler.
While Odom has demonstrated guts and a willingness to sacrifice elements of his game for the sake of L.A.'s star system, he still spends an inordinate amount of time debating with referees and wouldn't go to his right after spending several hours listening to Newt Gingrich.
O'Neal, who — like Bryant — has spent considerable time under the representation umbrella of agent Arn Tellem, may be ready to join Kobe and engage in frequent battles with Western Conference bigs such as Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer and Pau Gasol.
But dealing Odom and Bynum would leave Kobe and Jermaine with fewer playmates than Tom Hanks had in Castaway. Getting rid of Bynum now also might create a public-relations crisis when fans remind us that moving him months ago would have yielded a lineup featuring Kobe, Odom and Jason "The Anti-Smush" Kidd.
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That certainly trumps a leftover triumvirate of Bryant, O'Neal and Chuck the janitor.
So, the key to all the speculation is the precocious Bynum.
In 22 minutes per game, the preps-to-pros center averaged about 8 points and 6 rebounds per game in his second season. While waiting to take over from Brown, Bynum has been tutored by Lakers immortal Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. We're pretty certain the kid's attempting to develop a hook shot, but don't know if he's also committed to being a bit surly around reporters.
We do know that identifying a legitimate center may still more difficult than finding a Tim Donaghy sympathizer. That's how Andrew Bogut can become the first overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Based on limited audition time, figuring out just how good Bynum will be is no cinch. He seems to be a decent athlete with an above-average level of skill for a young post player. But his apparent lack of a competitive edge may require someone to tape his eyelids open while the Pauly Shore film festival rages on a screen in front of Andrew's face.
Even with added aggression, most basketball-playing big kids take longer to develop than the philanthropic game plan of Paris Hilton.
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Until time has marched far enough on, Lakers fans must pin their Bynum-related hopes on the talent-sniffing skills of Kupchak. Based on recent evidence, Mitch's front-office expertise smells very much like that of another Tar Heel ... Michael Jordan. And we're all aware that MJ drafted Kwame No. 1 overall, traded Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse and acquired Jason Richardson by giving away rookie Heel Brandan Wright.
This suggests that giving Bynum the heave-ho may not be a lousy idea after all.
While the speculation escalates, O'Neal will continue to wave an opt-out chip that kicks in next year. The Pacers don't exactly have the talent base to survive getting nothing for him, but Bird would be wise to wait a while.
The longer he delays the execution of an O'Neal deal, the closer we all get to another Kobe meltdown.
That should be more than enough to make Kupchak blink and burn most of the minutes on Bryant's cell-phone plan.
