Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
When you swing for the fences you’re not leaving my room for error. This offseason Mitch Kupchak stepped up to the plate with only one thought on his mind. Though he saw plenty of pitches, GM Mitch didn’t hesitate to jump on that meaty fastball he’d been waiting for.
The one problem with my baseball analogy is that we won’t know where the ball lands that Kupchak crushed until June of 2013.
There is only one of two scenarios that can unfold when you assemble the type of talent Kupchak put together.
Either this thing is a homerun and we’re celebrating another banner or the ball lands a few feet short of the wall for a long out.
The 2012-13 Lakers will either be the perfect blend necessary to rise to the top of the NBA or they’ll be a chemistry experiment gone horribly wrong. Only time will tell.
It’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room. Mixing the dominating personality of Kobe Bryant with the ball monopolizing Steve Nash and the often outspoken Dwight Howard will create a challenge unlike any other Mike Brown has faced. Already known as being a bit of a push over, Brown will have his hands full managing the egos in his locker room and we haven’t even discussed how Metta World Peace works into this equation.
Working in Brown’s favor is the fact that he’s got a veteran bunch with big game experience. The hope is that when their backs are against the wall the Lakers will come together as a group to accomplish their goals.
Make no mistake there will be plenty of adversity along the way. Every team goes through it and for the Lakers they’ll go through it under the biggest microscope this side of South Beach.
As you’ll recall it has never been smooth sailing when it comes to building a title contender in Los Angeles. Even during the recent years of dominance there has been plenty of internal strife amongst players that have been in the Purple and Gold for years. Now you’re talking about dropping some hungry veteran players into a do-or-die scenario. So you can bet your autographed Vlade Divac beard trimmer that egos will collide at some point.
Much of what determines this season will rest on the shoulders of Coach Brown. The majority of what’s left goes to KB24 as this is still very much his team. Beyond that even this Jim Buss hater will find it difficult to continue my Young Buss tirades after the stellar offseason.
We’ve never seen a Lakers team that has added major pieces and then win the title the same year they were assembled. With Shaq it took a few years until the team was talking dynasty. Pau Gasol had the most immediate impact but even then the Lakers came up short against the C’s in Gasol’s first half season as a Laker. This year we’ve got an aging vet in Nash that is hungry for a ring, an injured yet talented Howard who could be a one year rental and Kobe who is out to catch Jordan.
All the elements are there to provide the proper fuel for a title run. Problem is those same elements can become combustible if they’re not handled properly. No telling what will come of the season but one thing you can always count on from the Lake Show is drama. There will be no shortage of that. Hopefully it’s the kind of drama that seems trivial on parade day and not the kind that fractures a team and is talked about for months on end.