As a displaced fan of most Los Angeles sports teams, I will take some time out from the latest travelogue to give credit where it is due:
To the veteran management team of the Lakers.
And to the new management team of the Dodgers.
Both franchises have been proactive, and imaginative, and as fans of Los Angeles sports, we ought to appreciate that.
First, the Lakers:
To get Dwight Howard, the former Orlando Magic center, without giving up Pau Gasol is an enormous coup, and taken with the acquisition of Steve Nash, puts the Lakers right back into championship contention. This Howard move was so clever, you might think Jerry West were involved, but this was Mitch Kupchak and various members of the Buss family — the greatest dynastic gift to L.A. sports since the O’Malleys.
The Lakers gave up Andrew Bynum and two draft picks (only one of them a first rounder) for the best center in the game — assuming Howard recovers from that back surgery, and I assume the Lakers did due diligence there.
It also gives them a defensive anchor when Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash are unable or unwilling to chase around younger players who beat them off the dribble.
I can’t emphasize how crucial it was to keep Gasol; I think we all assumed it would take both Bynum and Gasol to get Howard. Being able to keep the more dependable of the two bigs (and the more physically sound) … what a great trade, and how much enthusiasm must there be (again) for this team? Instead of a near-term NBA in which Oklahoma City and Miami would fight for the next half-dozen titles, the Lakers are right back in contention.
And the Dodgers, whom I tend to think of as Magic Johnson’s team … after their miraculous/unexpected start, they hit a rough patch (of course they did; they had almost no talent and their best player, Matt Kemp, was hurt) and fell out of first place.
Since then, the Dodgers have acquired Hanley Ramirez, one of the best players in ball from 2005 through 2009 and still only 28; Shane Victorino, a versatile outfielder with pop and speed who would seem a good fit for Dodger Stadium; Joe Blanton, a competent starting pitcher;Â and Brandon League, a solid reliever.
Clearly, they are trying to snatch a playoffs berth, and why not? They are in contention with seven weeks left, and got there with one of the most ragged opening-day rosters in baseball.
I appreciate that both the Lakers and Dodgers are spending money, too. The L.A. market is a lucrative one, and the Lakers have always spent (their luxury tax in the short term is going to be enormous) but the Dodgers hardly did, in the McCourt years, especially at the end.
(A special shoutout for Jerry Buss. Mitch Kupchak, at a press conference today, said of the owner: “Certainly nobody who owns a family-owned business doesn’t want to make a profit so their business can survive and prosper. But when it comes down to it, Dr. Buss is a very competitive owner, and his family is also very competitive. And when it comes down to making a decision about a couple dollars or a million dollars or 10 million dollars or putting another banner up? He can’t help himself. He chooses to go for the banner.”)
Los Angeles fans pay a lot to indulge in their love for these teams, and they deserve to watch competent franchises. At the moment, they have two more short-term championship contenders than they might have expected, a month ago.
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