Andrew Bynum: Lakers’ Road Trip Could Determine Roster Changes


The Los Angeles Lakers are about to embark on a tough, six-game road trip beginning on Friday night in Denver. Center Andrew Bynum thinks the makeup of the current roster could be affected by how well (or poorly) the Lakers do during the trip. From ESPN: “The stage and lighting equipment is already starting to fill the back hallways of Staples Center, the sign the Grammys are about to take over the building and the Lakers are leaving for their longest road trip of the season: six games over 11 days. By the time they play their next home game on Feb. 14 they will be 42 percent of the way through the season, Kobe Bryant will probably move past Shaquille O’Neal into fifth place on the list of NBA all-time scorers … and there could be some new faces on the roster. ‘If we do well on this, then we’ll be the team we need to be,’ Andrew Bynum said. ‘If we don’t, then they might start looking around.’ Lakers coach Mike Brown confirmed reports that the team has been in touch with Gilbert Arenas, whose sole duties of late have been cashing the checks Orlando keeps sending his way after using the amnesty provision on the remainder of his contract. Arenas believes the Lakers want to see what type of shape he is in before making a commitment, according to a source. A disastrous slide over the next couple of weeks could prompt more dramatic moves, such as the breakup of the Bynum-Pau Gasol front line that had set the Lakers apart from the rest of the league in past seasons. The situation around Dwight Howard in Orlando is rapidly deteriorating. Deron Williams is sending signals that he’d rather be in a warmer climate than the New York metropolitan area. There might be cheaper or younger tradable pieces than Bynum and Gasol around the league, but you won’t find better ones. But they haven’t added up to an elite team in L.A. this season.”