MSU Red Cedar Message Board

This definitely improves their biggest weakness. Obviously Nash isn't a great defender but at least he can get a few back on the likes of Westbrook and Parker.

Don't have much in the front court, especially with them trying to move Pau Gasoft and Bynum. Nash is a matador on defense.

WOW.

I think this is only the first move. Pau will probably be moved for Josh Smith, a package Houston including Scola and Martin, or many other scenarios. That Ron Artest contract is brutal right now. It'd be nice to sign a guy like Beasley, Lewis, etc but having Artest really kills any chance of a huge upgrade at SF.

Not sure why they're hanging on to Mike Brown. Now that they have their first real PG since Magic, they need somebody who knows how to put together a real offense, not that typical NBA isolation offense. Should fire him and hire Van Gundy after they know Dwight won't come to LA for sure.

What about that PG from scUM that left early a year ago ? I thought he was the answer to their point guard needs

Mike Brown's the class act; Nash is a gym rat.

Looks like any offensive woes will be solved, but this may be a downgrade on perimeter defense.The Lakers have struggled with the high pick and roll and/or guarding against elite point guards for while now, and now it will be an exclamation point with Nash. Of course, if their offense becomes the absolute best in the NBA, why would it matter?

Like Sessions and Fisher were stellar defenders, they weren't. Lakers lost 2 games to OKC because of turnovers in the fourth and at the end of the game. Also Kobe taking bad contested shots. Kobe having the ball in his hands at the end of games in a playoff series vs. OKC was a killer. Nash won't be turning the ball over like that. This move makes them better against OKC, but not the Spurs. The Lakers are not young or athletic enough on the perimeter to stop Spurs 3 point shooters. OKC was young and athletic and they were able to contain those 3 point shooters.

Kobe and Nash late in their careers...too little too late?

I think they both help each other, take major pressure off one another. Nash will rarely have to shoot, just drive-and-dish. Pao, Bynum, World Peace and Kobe will be getting the best looks, consistently, off their careers.

Nash is a pick and roll guy. He has not had a big to do that with since Stoudamire . Lopez is not a pick and roll threat. Between Gasol and Bynum, Gasol would be the better big to put Nash in a pick and roll with. Gasol can score away from the basket or in the paint. At this point I would say that Bynum is more expendable if they are trying to get Dwight than Gasol is. Those Laker role players are about to get the best looks of their lives with Nash distributing the ball.

I said this on Tuesday (before the Nash to LA rumors were even going strong) -- if I'm LA, I absolutely flip Bynum to the Magic for Howard. For LA, worst-case scenario is that Howard walks after one year, but in that one year you have a pretty decent potential title contender, at least on paper (who knows how it turns out in real life). Also, chances are that once Howard is in LA and playing with Kobe and Nash, I think he probably resigns there instead of going to the mess in Brooklyn.

(One further note: Bynum is an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2012-2013, which I didn't realize until I looked it up just now. This makes it perhaps easier for LA to justify flipping him, but probably makes him somewhat less valuable to Orlando, because he could walk at the end of the season, just like Howard, and they're still left with nothing. In other words, I'd suspect Orlando would want a commitment from Bynum to extend his contract if they take him in trade.)