There's nothing quite so satisfying as a sports fan as going into the off-season as champions. Colors are brighter, desserts are sweeter, and the coffee tastes better. Let's take a look at the guys who gave us this wonderful gift:
Kobe Bryant - He can wear a crown. He can carry a scepter. Hell, he can wear a sun dress. No one's going to argue anymore. He's royalty. And his performance this championship run just shoved Jerry West out of the starting back court on the all-time Laker team. It's him and Magic. End of story. He's a Laker for life. He'll sign a 3 year extension this summer and we can look forward to the next 5 years as a dominating team.
Pau Gasol - Best Trade Ever - Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol! It's like trading George W. Bush for Abraham Lincoln. Phil called Pau the most skilled big man he's coached. Sorry Shaq. You should have learned to shoot free throws and guard the pick and roll.
Derek Fisher - I don't know what to say. I'm still too in awe. D.Fish, we are not worthy!
Trevor Ariza - His stay here was too short. We should be celebrating Trevor's clutch shooting and 2 series changing steals. Instead, we're getting hyped about Ron-Ron taking his place. David Lee, his agent, blew this deal. Trevor would have been much better off accepting the Lakers MLE offer and winning a few more championships. On a Rocket team without Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, the pressure is going to be on him to be a star. Let's hope he's up to the task and doesn't fade into a distant memory. For the Lakers, Artest is an upgrade. Yes, he's older and nuttier than Trevor, but for the next 3 years, he boosts their chances of winning more championships. Kobe and Phil will keep him in line (he's not quite as whacko as Dennis Rodman) and during the season, he'll take some of the load off Kobe. On defense, he can guard the other team's best player. On offense, occassionally, he can put the team on his back and let Kobe take the night off.
Lamar Odom - Memo to Laker management: PLEASE re-sign Lamar. Ron Artest is an upgrade over Trevor Ariza, but a serious downgrade over Trevor and Lamar. It's tempting to think you don't need Lamar now that you have Ron-Ron. But don't be seduced by saving $20 million (a guess at Odom's annual salary plus the ensuing luxury tax). Lamar is the difference between being a champion and being a contender. He's your hedge against the risk of relying on Andrew Bynum. With Lamar, you don't absolutely need Andrew Bynum to be a dominating player. Without him, you do. Do you want to pin your championship hopes on a 22 year old coming off two injury plagued seasons who hasn't played more than 50 games at an impact level in his life? Didn't think so. Re-sign Lamar. It's smart money.
Andrew Bynum - The main story line next year is going to be Who Will The Lakers Meet In The Finals: LeBron & Shaq? Or The Boston Arch-Rivals? It's going to have two fascinating sub-plots, however. The first is The Ron Artest Carnival Ride. That's going to be fun. Artest will say and do some outlandish things. I can't WAIT to see him interact with Vic the Brick. The other story is going to be Will The Real Andrew Bynum Please Show Up? Coming off two tantalizing, injury shortened, but ultimately disappointing seasons, he HAS to come up big next year. The fans, his teammates, the coaching staff, maybe even Laker management, will start to lose confidence in him if he doesn't approach his potential next year. That's a lot of pressure on a still very, very young man.
Luke Walton - He won't make the Hall of Fame like his Dad, but he may very well retire with more NBA championships. He needs one more to tie, two to take the lead.
Jordan Farmar - Laker point guard of the future? Or not a Laker? I wouldn't be completely surprised if the Lakers moved him this summer. He's got talent, but he's higher maintenance than he should be. If the Lakers re-sign Shannon Brown, maybe Jordan moves on.
Sasha Vujacic - Sasha, on the other hand, isn't going anywhere. Given his contract and his "Oh For The Finals" shooting slump, who's going to take him? I'm hoping he gets his act together next year. When he comes in and hits 2 or 3 threes in a game, he makes the Laker bench very effective.
Shannon Brown - He may never play another game as a Laker, but he's already secured a place in Laker history with his momentum changing dunk in Game 5 of the Denver series.
Josh Powell - How valuable is it to have an 11th man who can sit on the bench for games at a time and still make a solid contribution on the rare occassion when the coach calls his number? Glad to have him back next year...
DJ Mbenga - Go out and buy a "Banging with Mbenga" t-shirt. It'll be a collectible someday.
Adam Morrison - He'll be on the roster next year, but may not get off the bench. In fact, he may be most valuable as a trade asset near the trading deadline. He'll be making a bit more than $5 million in the last guaranteed year of his rookie contract.
Sun Yue - If the Lakers re-sign Shannon Brown, look for them to cut ties with Sun Yue this summer. His deal isn't guaranteed next year and they only want to carry 13 players on the roster to save money. Releasing Sun saves them close to $1.5 million in salary and luxury tax.
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