The Los Angeles Lakers are in desperate need of a point guard, but Mitch Kupchak doesn’t seem in any hurry to get one, or to improve the team in any 
other area for that matter.
From SI.com:
“Of course we’ll talk to a lot of teams [about trades], like everybody else does, leading up until the trade deadline to see if there is a way to improve the team,” Kupchak said.
“But the likelihood is that this is the team that’s going to finish into the playoffs. That’s just the way it normally works, but we’ll see.”
Kupchak’s borderline pessimism could be a ploy. Kobe Bryant and company have been struggling all season to win games, especially on the road, and a conveyed sense of certainty could possibly ease things in the locker room. Or it could just mean that there is nothing in the works.
The Lakers have been linked to almost every trade rumor under the sun, but most, if not all, arguably don’t make the team better, just different. Los Angeles sorely needs a floor general, but should it come at the price of size?
Kupchak has the trade exception that he acquired in the Lamar Odom trade in his back pocket, and that could be used to bring in upgrade over Derek Fisher, yet rumblings on that front have been kept to the minimum. And while public composure is important, Kupchak is approaching the matter almost much too nonchalantly.
The Lakers are merely wasting Bryant’s remaining years with Steve Blake and Fisher running point. And after watching how a competent point guard completely revived a struggling New York Knicks franchise, this is no time for Kupchak to be coy.
Like it or not, the Lakers hold little leverage in any negotiations. For the first time in nearly a decade, purple and gold is a not a color scheme associated with dominancy, and that will factor in at the bargaining table.
So while the Lakers and their fans must hope that Kupchak is posturing, they must also know it isn’t helping any. Pau Gasol is not magically going to believe that his status with Los Angeles changed overnight. Andrew Bynum is not suddenly going to believe the Lakers are no longer holding out hope for Dwight Howard.
Simply put, Kupchak’s attempt a being subtle isn’t going to fix the Lakers; it isn’t going to prevent full-game meltdowns against lowly teams like the Phoenix Suns.
But dealing for a decent point guard will.
Dan Favale is an avid basketball analyst and firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His work can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
