Could Jermaine O'Neal Be Headed To The L.A Lakers?

By David
Kaye

There is no question that if Kobe Bryant and the Lakers want to advance past the first-round of the playoffs they will need a dominating presence down low.

If Mitch Kupchak, general manager of the Lakers, is able to clear out enough salary, it looks apparent that Pacers' all-star Jermaine O'Neal could be headed to the city of angels.

The only road block preventing O'Neal from joining the underachieving Lakers is his massive salary. The 28-year old will make $18.1 million this season and effective July 1st his salary will accelerate to a ridiculous $19.7 million. Beyond next season, the five time all-star has two years and $44.4 million left on his massive contract.

The one chip the Lakers will be forced to surrender is 19-year old center Andrew Bynum who is slowly progressing into a quality NBA big man. Last season, the tenth pick in the '05 draft averaged 7.8 ppg and 5.9 rpb in 21.5 minutes per night. I feel that it would be a mistake for L.A. to trade Bynum who is not only inexpensive compared to O'Neal, but has a promising career ahead of him.

Even though Kobe and the Lakers want to win now, taking on an excessive salary like O'Neal's would not be a wise choice because there is no guarantee that he and Bryant can coexist on the court. Both superstars will constantly want the ball and I think that Kobe has made it clear that the Lakers are his team and they will only go as far as he takes them. Unfortunately, he has only been able to take them to the first-round of the playoffs and not any further.

If the Lakers were to acquire O'Neal, they would be forced to trade several more players
besides Bynum. If anything, L.A. needs to find a true point guard to replace Smush Parker and players who can play defense on a consistent basis.