Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Los Angeles Lakers: Transactions, News, Notes

After 8100 mediocre minutes, the Devean George Era appears to be over. Why it took so long for the Lakers to find a replacement for George is beyond me, but congratulations, Mitch Kupchak, for finally acquiring a younger, better option.

I'm not as high on Jordan Farmar as some people are (right now his offensive game is basically Luke Walton's with more turnovers) but he should improve the Lakers' perimeter defense even as a rookie. Phil Jackson got a lot out of Smush Parker last year but evidence still suggets that Parker shouldn't play 2800 minutes or an imprtant role in play-off games.

Maurice Evans is a far more important acqusition than Farmar for the 2006-07 season. To get a quality bench player for a late second-round pick is a credit both to Kupchak and the Pistons apparent desire to become the third-best team in the Central Division. With a bench now consisting of Brian Cook, Evans, Radmanovic, Walton, Farmar, Ronny Turiaf and possibly Andrew Bynum, the Lakers can contend for the fourth seed in the West assuming Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom are ready to start the season.

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