NBA Trade Rumors: Why Lakers Are Better Off Without Jose Calderon

Los Angeles improved their roster by leaps and bounds this past summer, adding not only the likes of Howard and Nash, but also the offense-heavy presences of Antawn Jamison and Jodie Meeks. While that would be enough for most teams to avoid another stint in the omnipresent entity known as the trade rumor-mill, the Lakers are a different story.

Howard, Nash and company have not even played their first regular season game together, and already there are rumblings of Los Angeles targeting point guard Jose Calderon from the Toronto Raptors. Though we have to admit that such whimsical notions exist, they have quickly been squashed before gaining any substantial traction.

From Marc Stein of ESPN.com:

For those asking about Calderon-to-Lakers Twitter talk today, Calderon’s agent Mark Bartelstein says: “There’s absolutely nothing to it.”

The fact that there is no truth to this rumor should come as a relief to those pining for a championship in Tinseltown. While Calderon is a starting-caliber floor general, he is almost the last player the Lakers should be setting their sights on.

Because after completely revamping the roster, the Lakers have plenty of other new faces and potential chemistry issues to worry about.

Can Howard and Pau Gasol co-exist in the same low post format? Will Kobe Bryant not only be a amenable to, but effective at playing off the ball more? Is Nash even talented enough to tie all these pieces together in time to make a legitimate championship push?

Those are the questions the Lakers need to be focusing on, not what big name they could potentially chase next. And by all accounts, that’s exactly what they’re doing. And though there are bound to be plenty of people who would love to see another heralded athlete don purple and gold, Los Angeles has two capable backup points in Steve Blake and Chris Duhon.

Yes, I said it.

Neither Blake or Duhon commands the amount of attention Calderon or Nash does, but that’s exactly why Los Angeles’ second-unit needs them. With so many moving parts in the first unit, the Lakers will be forced to run a more complex version of the Princeton offense. Nash will be tasked with balancing the offense between the Princeton method and doing what his instinct feel is best. Because within a starting five that has so many egos to satisfy, the Princeton offense, which relies heavily on big men to score and pass the ball, will only be effective to a certain extent.

The second-unit is a different story. Blake and Duhon are far from stars, which means the Princeton offense, in its entirety can become a staple. The Lakers do not have to worry about implementing some kind of hybrid set. With Calderon, though, they would be forced to. He’s too talented a playmaker to simply defer to the Princeton method on every possession. And while that seems like a good problem to have, chemistry becomes even more of an issue.

Not only do players have to then adjust to the Princeton offense, but they also must become accustomed to Calderon’s innate tendencies and when he prefers to utilize each form of attack.

Talk about a headache.

Los Angeles already has plenty to worry out, plenty to determine with its current roster. Adding yet another new face into the fold only complicates matters, especially for the second-unit.

So, moving beyond the reality that the Lakers have little, if anything, of value to offer in exchange for Calderon’s services, there’s simply no need for them to explore such an avenue.

At some point, Los Angeles is going to have to dance with the players it came with; you can only survive looking over the fence for so long. There comes a time when every team has to work with what they have.

And for the Lakers, the time to pull their itchy finger off the trigger is now.