The Los Angelos Lakers have gotten better on paper. When they let Trevor Ariza go last week via free agency, they lost 6 wins. However, they gained 7 wins when they signed Ron Artest. Here is a look at next year's squad and how many wins they achieved statistically this past season:
PG DEREK FISHER 7
SG KOBE BRYANT 12
SF RON ARTEST 7
PF LAMAR ODOM 8
C PAUL GASOL 11
A. BYNUM 5, J. FARMAR 4, S VUJACIC 4, WALTON 3, POWELL 2, BROWN 1, MBENGA 1, MORRISON 1.
That is a total of 66 wins for next year. Lamar Odom is a key factor. He is a free agent and adds a lot of flexibility to the team. If he were to leave and take his 8 wins with him, LA would still be in good shape. Luke Walton has played a lot of minutes before and fit right in. And, perhaps Adam Morrison will start to contribute. Players usually blossom in their third to fourth year in the league. If Odom stays, and Artest can keep it cool like last year, this team could approach 70 wins. Bynum didn't play the whole year and still earned 5 wins. This is the team to beat next year.
Keywords: artest, bryant, free agent, lakers, los angelos, nba
