If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to compete for a title this year, they’re going to need a new point guard. Derek Fisher is getting up there, and there’s no doubt that all the NBA negotiations took a few years off his life. So once the big free agent frenzy begins, who will they be looking at to take the reins?
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Lakers are interested in signing veteran PG Baron Davis.
“The Lakers are curious to see if [Davis] gets cut by Cleveland. He has two years and $28.7 million left on his contract, though he can be signed for substantially less than that.”
While I think Davis’ arrogant-attitude would fit great in a Laker uniform, his aging, past-his-prime body would not. I think teams have been overpaying for Davis for years. While he’s very talented, he has never come across to me as a guy who puts in the effort to make himself and his teammates better.
There’s a big list of point guards who could probably be signed for a lot less money, which would be especially valuable to the Lakers who are going to have salary cap issues. They could get much better value from a younger, talented point guard that would listen to a new coach and could easily be molded to lead a team. The Lakers have so much talent at all the other positions that they just need a guy to distribute the ball. There’s no sense in overpaying for a big name like Baron Davis.
I know the city of Los Angeles draws the celebrities, the guys that draw some attention, but after last season’s embarrassing end to the season, maybe it’s time for the Lakers to put a little more focus on the team.
