Should the Lakers Look at Kirilenko?

When informing you of Andrei Kirilenko's trade demands, Matt Watson also pointed out how unlikely such a trade was. Kirilenko is coming off a non-year and makes a ton of money; while I still think he has value, no other max-ish player are that shrouded in uncertainty.

Or so I thought. HOOPSWORLD suggests Los Angeles as a possible destination. The Jazz won't want spare parts like Kwame Brown and Jordan Farmar, and even Andrew Bynum isn't worth much to them. However, the Los Angeles Lakers have Lamar Odom. Odom and Kobe Bryant have never really jelled, and the all-purpose forward is making $13.5 million next season, then $14.6 mill in 2008-09. And then, his contract is up. So the Jazz would get another enigmatic talent without the long-term commitment.

On the Los Angeles Lakers side of things, Kirilenko would likely be a better fit for their team. He has most of Odom's skills, is a better defender, and would have less trouble co-existing with Kobe. That's not to say that Odom is selfish, but there's a sense he's being under-utilized even when Kobe Bryant tries to share the ball. Kirilenko isn't happy as the third or fourth option in Utah, but he doesn't thrive on ball-handling and playmaking the way Odom does. While this would be a bold move for the Los Angeles Lakers to make, it might be their last chance to get Kobe a co-star he can work with.

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