Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Give Mitch Kupchak credit. He had to do something to try and make it seem like he and his part-time boss Jim Buss were doing something to win a title. Too bad giving up four valuable draft picks for a past-his-prime Steve Nash won’t get this team over the hump.

Yeah, I’m the guy at the end of the bar shrugging his shoulders at the breaking news.

Nash is a beyond obvious upgrade at point guard. Watching Ramon Sessions vanish in the playoffs was more disappointing than seeing Smush Parker starting in the playoffs. The former two-time MVP proved he’s still got plenty left in the tank. And for whatever it’s worth he’s a nice door prize in the Chris Paul sweepstakes even if that came about 10 months too late.

Still, Nash does nothing to help improve this team defensively. He’s a guard that has thrived in a system that allows him to monopolize the ball. How’s that going to work with Kobe Bryant requiring the rock more often that Pookie?

How is Nash going to improve the team’s depth? Better yet how is this team ever going to turn the page and move forward if it keeps mortgaging the future for veteran players that won’t be worth their contract after one year of service?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that Kupchak didn’t take the Trust Fund Buss approach to sitting on your hands and hoping the results will be different even though the approach is the same. It’s nice to know this team is still willing to go for the gold even though they’ve got a roster built to compete for the bronze.

There is still no depth beyond the starting five. There is still no cap relief once we circle back to the tired debate of the Lakers being too old. Yeah, in case you’re stuck in 2006 Nash has aged and the game of 38-year-old point guards tends fall off faster than like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner with a blindfold on.

The Lakers are addressing their problems by adding more problems. They’re now worse defensively. They’re older. And for good measure they’ve taken on more money to keep them out of the free agent market for another two years. Unless this move is meant to setup another it’s nothing more than another new rug underneath a leaking roof.

I admire the spirit of the move but the reality is this is yet another Band-Aid applies to a bleeding artery. Kupchak isn’t saving the Lakers. He’s only dragging out their death. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Kupchak previously avoided a Kobe meltdown by selling the team’s future for Pau Gasol, a player entering his prime and poised to produce at an All-Star level. That got us two more titles but left the team where it is now – at the crossroads. This time around Kupchak knew he had to do something that would generate headlines. Nash ignites title talk but that doesn’t necessarily equate title status. He’s a player on the decline with no proven championship mettle.

Sometimes that guy waving in the water is actually drowning. The Lakers waved a championship flag today. Too bad that flag is made of white cloth.

Sessions is a clear upgrade over Fisher. We saw that with some of his performances during the regular season when Sessions did the unthinkable by posting a couple of 20 and 10 games. We’ve also seen Sessions completely crushed under the pressure of the playoffs.

Now nobody ever expected the arrival of Ramon Sessions to suddenly turn the tide for the Lakers. He gave the offense a new dimension but as a defender is average at best and, let’s be honest, acquiring a new point guard did nothing to help the Lakers and their depth issues.

Sessions alone wasn’t the quick fix this team needed.

Now I fully understand that this is Ramon’s first taste of the NBA postseason. It’s impossible to simulate the pressure and intensity of every possession that comes with playoff basketball. So Sessions is getting a baptism by fire after being thrown into the mix with a team that has title aspirations like the Lakers. It’s easy to understand why he’s shrunk with each passing game.

What is difficult to understand is why Mike Brown isn’t making more of an effort to get Sessions more involved. It’s no secret that some of the team’s vets have requested Sessions slow it down a bit. That’s understandable because given L.A.’s two playoff opponents (Nuggets, Thunder) both thrive in the open court. The last thing you want is to get into a track meet when you’ve got a team full of competitive walkers.

Still, you can’t take away Sessions best asset (his speed) and expect him to suddenly thrive in the half-court.

Than again, maybe that’s been the problem all along. The Lakers so desperately in need of a quicker/younger point guard ignored what would be most important come playoff time. Against Denver Sessions was dropping a respectful 11 a night with 4 dimes and 3 boards. Now that the Lakers are in full on slow down mode against OKC Sessions has dropped to a pathetic 2 points, 2 boards a 1 dime averages in two games.

That’s not even Derek Fisher production. It’s certainly nothing that you’d expect of a starting point for a title contender. Smush Parker is embarrassed by Sessions’ numbers in the second round.

So is it that Sessions is just not the right fit or is he being blinded by the intensity of the playoff spotlight?

Whatever the case the answer is coming soon. Once the season ends the Lakers will have some serious decisions to make one of which is deciding on the future of Sessions. He’s slated to be a free agent and if the Lakers chose to re-sign Ramon then that means someone else has got to. As we’ve learned the Buss family isn’t so eager to pony up for the new luxury tax laws.

But all that is looking much too far down the road. Right here and right now the Lakers need a lot more out of Sessions. Whatever it takes Coach Brown should make a point to get his point guard more involved. He’s not an elite level point guard but Sessions is much better than what he’s shown thus far in this series.