An End of (Yet Another) Era: Lakers Swept by Mavericks

Horrendous. Weak. Effortless. Heartless. All that and more describes how the Lakers, with the exception of Kobe Bryant, played today, on the brink of elimination. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were also ejected for flagrant fouls, Odom's slightly questionable, but Bynum's was very obvious.

So... what happens from here? The Lakers starting five and Odom are all on contract until at least 2013, with player options for Shannon Brown and Matt Barnes. That doesn't mean they should stay, though. Phil Jackson said at the beginning of the season that he would retire from coaching at the end of the season, regardless of the result at the end.

I suggested in an earlier post that Rick Adelman should be the #1 target for the Lakers and I'm not backing down from that statement. Although Brian Shaw has been viewed for the last 2 years as Jackson's likely successor, the Lakers need a complete game-change. The last two championships were won based on pure basketball talent rather than execution, something the Miami Heat is trying to replicate.

Jackson has reportedly not gotten along with players who have either had difficulty learning the Triangle Offense or flat out refuse to learn. It's pretty evident which players Jackson trusted and which ones he did not. As far as what players will even return next year, with Jackson and the Triangle Offense more than likely gone, Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak will probably get rid of everyone except Bryant and Bynum (because Kobe is the franchise sacred cow and Kupchak is in love with Bynum), and possibly keep Odom, depending on his evaluation in the offseason.

What can the Lakers do to become a modern team? For starters, they need much more athleticism and get younger. There's too many 30+ year olds on the team, most shells of their former selves. Kobe is 33 and not as good as he once was, but he is still an elite player and will probably have 3 more good years left in him.

Right now, the Lakers need to follow the model successfully done by the early 90s Bulls, because time is running out on their star player. If too much time passes, Kobe will need to retire and then the Lakers will have to pray for their next star via the draft.