My thoughts on the roster so far

Posted on LG.net on 12/16/05.

I wouldn't form any firm decisions on the play of any player so far. The players are learning the triangle and the Lakers have a lot of really young players that have a ton of potential.

Mihm, Brown - Both very inconsistent. If they both play at C, hopefully one of the two will have a good night. I have been disappointed with Brown's play, but I am still hopeful that he can become a 15/8 or 12/10 kind of player.

Bynum - Very raw, has a lot of promise, but it will be a few years before the Lakers really know what they have

Medvedenko - I think the Lakers should cut him to free up room for Turiaf. Unlike Wafer and Green, he has demonstrated that he has no upside. His only value is that he is apparently a good practice player

Cook - A decent back up PF. I am surprised he is starting, but hopefully Brown and Mihm will soon learn how to co-exist and Cook can move back to the bench

Odom - The Lakers have been counting on him to deliver and he has done so in December. The second most valuable player on the team

Walton - In terms of value per salary dollar, a steal. One of the guys who has made the second unit so effective lately

George - Another leader of the second unit and the best defender on the team. I wish he shot better given the number of open looks that he gets

Bryant - One of the best players in the league and the most consistent Laker

Profit - To me, he's a lot like Jumaine Jones last year - a player that was buried on one team's bench, was a throw-in to make a trade work and then blossomed on the Lakers. A couple times a game, he ends up wide open next to the basket. He has the highest shooting percentage of the second unit

Green, Wafer - Raw players that might turn into something after working hard next off-season. I hope neither gets cut. Green is way ahead of Wafer in terms of picking up the offense and defense and consequently has gotten a lot more minutes, but is a terrible shooter (2 for 11, 5 for 11 from the line)

Parker, Vujacic - Parker is probably the best value per salary dollar free agent signing of the off-season. Vujacic has made huge strides since last season. Both are inconsistent and it is still too early to say how good they will be. However, if you had told Laker fans at the end of last season that our PG rotation this season was going to be Smush Parker and Sasha, I think 99.5% of them would have said that the Lakers would already be out of the playoff hunt

McKie - Is turning out to be a wasted free agent signing. With the surprising play of Parker, Vujacic, Profit and Green, the Lakers don't need McKie. McKie has been awful, averaging only one shot every 9 minutes and shooting only 11.1%. Hopefully, his problems have been because of nagging injuries and he will be more effective whenever he makes it back to the active roster

Turiaf
I have no idea how good he will be. I am hoping that he can be a Najera-like spark off the bench. I wouldn't be surprised if he struggles this season as he tries to catch up with team on the offensive and defensive schemes and continues to recover from his surgery

Overall
So far, lots of good surprises on the roster. I have been really surprised at how well the bench has played lately given that Sky felt before the season that the Lakers had one of the worst if not the worse bench in the NBA.

I think what the Lakers are trying to do this season the same thing they did in the '95-'95 and '95-'96 seasons - establish themselves as a young, exciting, up-and-coming team that can then land a big name free agent that makes them a championship contender. The average age of the roster is 25 1/4 years old. Exclude McKie and the average age drops to 24 3/4 years old. Drop McKie and the three players whose contracts expire at the end of this season - Medvedenko, George and Profit - and the average drops to under 24 years old. I think the Lakers are going to make the playoffs somewhere in the 5th to 7th seed range. To do that with a team so young is fan-tastic.