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Lakers fans need to have patience. While I don't know what's going on inside Laker Headquarters, it seems consistent with what I think is the right move. They haven't jumped into any trades to try to appease Kobe, rather they've let some time pass, let things quiet down, and possibly have even gotten Kobe to get on board in order to present a "things are back to order and there's no urgency anymore" image to the rest of the league.

Why's this important? The Lakers were at a huge disadvantage in negotiating any deal shortly after Kobe's week long tirade. At that point, any team they negotiated with knew they had the leverage of the Lakers being desparate to pacify Kobe. Now that things have settled down and Kobe has apologized (I believe it's no accident that he discussed this at a press conference) to Mitch for the video and Kobe, those teams realize the Lakers aren't going to give away the house to get another star to pair up with Kobe.

And guess what? A month has gone by, and KG's still in Minnesota, JO's still in Indiana, the Bulls haven't pulled off any deals, Gasol's still in Memphis (there have been rumors he might be traded or at least wanted out).

Plus, they've addressed the point by adding a serviceable veteran in Fisher, and added Jarvis, giving them an attractive piece to add to any deal they're negotiating (Jarvis or Farmar, whoever the other party(ies) likes better).

If they do make a trade, between Kwame's soon to be expiring (and bloated) contract, one of the 2 young PGs, and either Bynum's potential or Odom's immediate impact, they have some attractive pieces to play with.

If not, they have 2 young PGs with allot of energy and potential, they get Vlad back and healthy (barring anymore snowboarding incidents), they have Odom healthy, Bynum with another full season under his belt and a PG who already knows the triangle very well.

That's not going to win the West, but until the right deal comes along, they shouldn't make any deals. In my mind, there are only 2 deals that are the "right deal":

1. Odom OR Bynum, Kwame and Jarvis OR Farmar for a KG/JO type player
2. Kwame and Crit or Farmar for a starting caliber post player, someone who can give them somewhere in the 11-15 PPG and 7-11 RPG. (i.e. Camby or Gooden, who both have been rumored to be on the block)

NOTE: Personally, if it was strictly based on talent, I'd give Kwame away for a bag of chips, but an expiring contract at $8M+ is an attractive bargaining chip.

NOTE2: If you do this trade, you're almost guaranteeing giving up Bynum AND Odom in any future trade for a KG or JO type player, unless they would include the player they would receive for Kwame. They need Kwame's salaray to make the numbers work in any deal that wouldn't include both Odom and Bynum. That and the fact Kwame's an attractive piece because of his expiring contract.

Personally, I like the idea of the second option, which would give them a starting lineup as follows:

C - Bynum or Camby
PF - Camby or Gooden
SF - Odom
SG - Kobe
PG - Fisher

And a bench of Walton, Vlad, Jarvis/Farmar, Cook, Evans, Turiaf and maybe Mihm if they can get him for the low-level exception.

I don't know that it wins the West, but it probably gets you out of the first round, and it's a definite upgrade over what they put on the court last year.

While I whole-heartedly agree that patience is vital(and I've been extremely impressed with the patience that they, as an orginization, have shown throughout this whole 'Kobe' ordeal), there is only so far that patience will take you. We are all three years removed from seeing them try and build a contender, and they seem further away than they were three years ago (again, how much better would the Lakers look right now simply by NOT pulling the trigger on the Kwame Brown - Caron Butler deal?). Patience only gets you so far. Kobe isn't the only person frustrated by what has transpired. After three years, they should EASILY be moving in the right direction, and can you honestly say that you think that they are? Health had quite a bit to do with last seasons performance, which I've stated and believe, but LA still has a roster that includes Kwame Brown. Do I need to say any more than that?