Aye, from the other day, alternate reality Lakers circe 2007-08. Did the legwork, you're welcome.
We trade Kobe, so no Pau deal every happens, we keep our draft picks, etc etc. Here goes.
Our roster would include
Bynum/M Gasol/Turiaf/Mihm
LO/Amir/Kwame
Tay/Ariza/Luke/Vlad
Rip/Sasha
Fisher/Farmar/Critt
Now, odds that we could have gotten Affalo thrown into the deal, being an LA product, and would no longer be needed in Detroit?
We keep our #1 in 2008, and we get Detroit's #1, no way to know where either team would finish and what slot those picks are, etc. However, LA no has moved on from Kobe, so they have to become more draft oriented, as opposed to what we did become which was free agents and trades based. Look at some of the names in 08 AFTER the top 15. (presuming we and Detroit are mid to late round type teams)
Anthony Randolph, Hibbert, JaVale, Ryan Anderson, Courtney Lee, JJ Hickson, Ibaka, Batum, George Hill, Pekovic, Chalmers, DeAndre, Asik, Goran Dragic........Damn man, we coulda had Batum and Dragic or some **** like that.
BTW, no Kobe = Bynum's knee never gets folded, unless of course it would have happened at some point in life, no way to know. So Bynum woulda been on pristine legs to that point going forward.
Now, we also don't trade our 2009 First rounder, or our 2010, etc. We also have pieces like LO, Kwame, Rip, and Tay that are still bodies to be sold/traded and the market would have been there for them. Hell, maybe even Fish or Vlad get sold.
And in 2010, there was a certain free agent class that would have surrounded Bynum/M. Gasol/Ariza/Dragic or Batum type young core quite well. Hell, maybe Ibaka never makes it to OKC.
Maybe Chalmers is our PG and not Miami's, I don't know. Obviously never will, just interesting how quick we still might have turned it all around after moving on from Kobe. 2-3 years and we would have been loaded with young talent and set for another decade or so.
We got 3 Finals runs, 2 titles and I'm good with that, but it's interesting to me the way teams are build and how the working parts move around.
None of ya'll yell at me, I'm just dinkin around mindin my own business while you all examine Dwight's underwear selections day by day. I ain't botherin nobody.