Year of distractions

Lakers' fate intertwined with that of Bryant

By John Hollinger, SI.com

Lakers at a Glance Head coach: Phil Jackson 2002-03: 50-32 2002-03 Stats Key Additions PF Brian Cook (draft) PF Karl Malone (Jazz) PG Gary Payton (Sonics) SF Bryon Russell (Wizards) C Horace Grant (Magic) Key Losses C Samaki Walker (Heat) PF Mark Madsen (T'wolves) PG Brian Shaw (free agent) Projected Lineup Starters Reserves PG  G. Payton D. Fisher SG  K. Bryant K. Rush SF  D. George R. Fox PF  K. Malone B. Cook C  S. O'Neal H. Grant

After losing their three-year grip on the NBA title, the L.A. Lakers' offseason had more extremes than the X-Games.

On the one hand, Mitch Kupchak had one of the great hauls in offseason history, bagging two certain Hall of Famers in power forward Karl Malone and point guard Gary Payton. Better yet, he got them for well below market prices. Both have made more money than even Mike Tyson could spend and were willing to sign for peanuts to play in L.A. because they were more interested in the ring than the money.

But the momentum from those moves was quickly sullied by the Kobe Bryant saga. For those of you just returning from a three-month camping trip in Kyrgyzstan, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault in the offseason and is likely to spend much of the season jetting off to Colorado for his trial.

With or without Bryant, the Lakers' goal for this year is simple: Regain the NBA championship that eluded them last spring for the first time in four years. To that end, they added even more old salts in addition to the Glove and the Mailman. Horace Grant comes out of quasi-retirement to back up Shaquille O'Neal in the middle, while Bryon Russell should have retired three years ago but will back up Devean George until Rick Fox returns from injury. First-round pick Brian Cook and second-rounder Luke Walton could also see major minutes for what shapes up to be a fairly punchless bench.

Offensive firepower. With its starters on the floor, the Lakers' offensive attack looks even more fearsome than Dallas'. It all starts in the middle with Shaquille O'Neal. He lost weight in the offseason and hopes that will take the load off a knee that was bothering him during last year's playoffs. He's also hoping to get the rock more this season after the Lakers went away from him during stretches last season. And he's right to ask for more touches, because nobody can stop him. He shoots in the high 50s, passes deftly out of double-teams and fouls out his overmatched opponents in minutes.

But the difference is that when opponents double-, triple- or quintuple-team Shaq like they've done in the past, the Lakers are in a much better position to make them pay. Last year they depended on Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and Rick Fox to take advantage of the openings, and the trio slipped quite a bit from their performance of just a couple seasons earlier. That won't be happening with Payton and Malone around. Not only are both players accurate shooters, but they're also able to finish shots around the basket on cuts to the hoop and more than capable of creating offense in their own right -- giving Shaq the luxury of being the finisher instead of the creator.

Of course, I haven't mentioned Bryant yet. The Lakers' star finished second in the league in scoring last year and was a nightly threat for a triple-double. He was especially radiant during a record-setting nine-game stretch of 40-point games in February, but his season numbers of 30.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists scream loudly enough. He benefits from single coverage by opponents who are fearful of Shaq, but is more than capable of carrying the mail on his own when Shaq is out of the game. The presence of Payton and Malone should open more space for him to operate as well.

Bench. The Lakers are as vulnerable to injury as any team in the league, because as great as their four Hall of Famers are, they lack a reliable spark off on the bench. This has been a consistent state of affairs in L.A. during the past couple of seasons, so it's not like it's something Phil Jackson has never dealt with.

Bryant's questionable availability adds a new concern. At best, he's going to miss several games during the course of the season to deal with the trial, and in his stead will be players like Russell and Kareem Rush, who looked woefully unready in his rookie season. Replacing 30 points from Bryant with, say, seven from Rush will certainly leave a dent in the Lakers' attack. The situation at the other positions isn't much better, especially if the rookies aren't ready to contribute.

Other than Cook, about the only hope for reliable bench scoring comes from Slava Medvedenko, whose defense is bad enough that he may not be able to crack the rotation. But Medvedenko is a deft mid-range shooter who befuddles bigger opponents with his ability to play on the outside, as he showed in the San Antonio series. He'll be fighting Cook for the opportunity.

Beyond that, there is one final escape hatch for the Lakers: the trade deadline. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Lakers add some depth at the deadline once they've identified their weakest links and know more about Bryant's situation.

What's up with Kobe? Forget about the trial; that question is for the jury to decide. Forget also the season-long distraction of the Bryant circus; if any team can deal with that it's the Lakers. For Lakers fans, there's a whole separate question that hasn't been addressed. The reason Bryant was in Colorado in the first place was to undergo knee surgery, and between all the hubbub over the trial and his recovery from surgery he played virtually no basketball in the offseason.

Reports are that Bryant isn't anywhere close to being in game shape right now and is packing on less muscle than a year ago. He also, clearly, will be distracted for much of the season by his trial. The question for the Lakers is how bad the drop-off will be from his production a year ago, and whether he can get himself into top shape during the course of the season so he can be back in top form by the time the Lakers make their playoff run. Phil Jackson will have to use all of his Zen tricks to sell Kobe on the wisdom of a slow, steady approach to getting into game shape that can have him peaking in April.

Ask the judge. With a healthy, motivated and liberated Bryant the Lakers are a buzzsaw that will cut through the rest of the league with little resistance and cruise to the title. But if he's in an orange jumpsuit this spring, that changes the picture completely. Shaq is powerful enough to get the team into the postseason on his back, but even with Payton and Malone in tow, the Western Conference minefield is too tough to think the Lakers can win a title without Kobe Bryant's talents.

John Hollinger covers basketball for SI.com and is the author of Pro Basketball Prospectus. Click here to send him a question or comment.