Better this year? yes. Better in two years? no.
And Denver will trade him to whoever can offer the best deal. Getting Bynum (and I assume making the Lakers take back some unwanted contracts along with Melo) would be a haul not many other teams can/want to match.
I think if the Lakers are "better" this year with Melo, they would remain better for the next 2-4 years.
Kobe still has a lot left in the tank. Gasol is in his prime, and Melo is just 26.
LeBron, Wade and Bosh will still be right there though.
I think what makes the Lakers better (if they get Melo, and if the deal actually does improve the team, which I am still not sure it would) is their supporting cast.
Odom would be their 4th best player? That is ridiculous. He should be an all star this year.
The only trade I WANT the Lakers to make is one that would send Artest packing. Can't stand the guy!
I think Kobe will slip enough in two years that D-Wade will pass him as the best shooting guard in the NBA which would put the Heat trio over the top.
You know there is actually a team in the East with 4 all-stars this year. I'd be surprised if Boston didn't win it all this year and I think the only thing standing in their way is LeBron James and the Miami Heat. If you were to play a game of pickup basketball using those two rosters, James and Wade would go 1-2 then Pierce, Allen, Rondo, Garnett in some order behind them, and then Bosh. So while Boston has the better team, you can't count out a team that has the two best players on the court.
Oh and if the Lakers trade Artest I want an investigation done by David Stern. That could be the most untradeable contract in the league.
I said before the season that I thought the Heat were at best the third best team in the league. I think the Celtics are the team to beat out East as well.
But I like the way the Lakers match-up with Boston with their current roster, not with Melo.
The Celtics are not going to make it to the finals unless they get the top seed in the east. If they get the two or three seed they are going to run into the Bulls. And they won't make it through the Bulls and Heat in back to back series.
I don't see the Lakers coming out of the west unless they make a major move between now and the trade deadline.
Really? Who in the West is going to beat the PLAYOFF Lakers 4 times in 7 games? I really don't see it.
Boston is the only team I fear in a 7-game series. Just my opinion.
I'm not sure I really agree with it because it's like all the superstars going to a select few teams. Heat, Boston, Lakers.
In regards for the Lakers, I think it would be a good trade. Get rid of Artest and Bynum. Neither of them have performed up to potential this year. Bynum mainly because of injuries, which he always seems injuried and Artest just hasn't been the same this year. Plus I think the lakers might be thinking a little long term with this trade as well. Get melo into the system and learn from Kobe for when he is unable to perform at the level that he is at now.
I said before the season that I thought the Heat were at best the third best team in the league. I think the Celtics are the team to beat out East as well.
But I like the way the Lakers match-up with Boston with their current roster, not with Melo.
I'm not sure. The Lakers would be more talented, but I don't think the personalities would mesh that well. Kobe has done a much better job the past few years of trusting his teammates. He's more willing to dish than ever. But it's never been debated that he was the go-to guy, and nobody else ever expected differently. Melo would likely expect to be that guy. I just think he and Kobe would clash a fair amount of the time.
Artest has not been rumored to be in the deal.
The Lakers tried to trade him to Charlotte last week, but it fell apart when Ron Ron expressed a lack of interest in the trade.
Lots of teams. The Thunder almost had them last year, the Spurs are much improved, if Dallas is healthy they could. The Lakers are just 28-16 since they started 8-0 and play in probably the weakest divsion in the league.
Nobody in the West has beaten the Lakers in the Playoffs since Pau came to LA. This year will be no different.
The Lakers walked through the regular season last year, and were fine. They are doing the same thing this season. As a fan, I hate it. But it is what it is.
Artest has not been rumored to be in the deal.
The Lakers tried to trade him to Charlotte last week, but it fell apart when Ron Ron expressed a lack of interest in the trade.