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Odom's a better player but Ariza is a must resign for them. They know that it's a recipe for disaster if they go back to closing games with Kobe at small forward and Sasha at SG.
Odom would be a huge loss but Ariza is more important.
It's a satchel. Indiana Jones has one.
Odom's a better player but Ariza is a must resign for them. They know that it's a recipe for disaster if they go back to closing games with Kobe at small forward and Sasha at SG.
Odom would be a huge loss but Ariza is more important.
It would be putting a lot of faith and pressure on Andrew Bynum. I don't think there's a player in free agency that can replace what Odom brings at an MLE price. And I don't think the Lakers can find one in a realistic trade scenario either. To me, Odom is more important because he'd be tougher to replace.
I completely agree he's tougher to replace, I'm just not sure whether or not they would need to replace him as much as they would need to replace Ariza. An improvement from Bynum would be able to replace his finishing ability (I didn't know he was nearly this good a finisher at the rim until I watched the playoffs), but Odom's point-forward ability is what they would really miss. If Ariza ever developed the point-forward ability Odom has then Bryant-Ariza becomes a weaker (but still amazing) version of Jordan-Pippen.
So yeah, basically Bynum and Ariza would need to improve a decent amount to replace Odom (and Bynum would need to stay healthy), and they'd need to pickup a proven veteran big man.
Agree with that for the most part. I do think Odom proved his value in these playoffs. He can be inconsistent and sometimes too passive. But when he brought his A game, the Lakers were a different team. He actually played up to his talent at times this post season.
Odom's skillset is to tougher replace but his true value to the Lakers doesn't utilize Lamar's skillset. What he brings that the Lakers value most is rebounding. And that can be replaced through the MLE much easier (and cheaper) than a 23 year old slasher that has the ability to guard the other team's best player every night.
And the fact that Odom is turning 30 and is notoriously inconsistent makes it a no brainer.
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