The Lakers will kick off the season Monday with a GM under fire (though perhaps more than he deserves?), a star player (more powerful than Arte Moreno!) who seems to reside in various states of gruntle, dis or otherwise, a No. 2 who most believe is best suited to be a Swiss Army No. 3 ... and not much else, at least according to Tony Mejia of CBS Sportsline.com. 

It's reasonable to take the sort of positional rankings Mejia does with a grain of salt.  You can always argue about where a guy might fit onto a list, and no question that a team is often more than the sum of its parts (see first half, '06-07).  Certain players fill certain roles that can help a team thrive, their relative talents vs. the rest of the league notwithstanding.  But there's no arguing that, despite an improvement at point guard, the Lakers are still a top-heavy and talent-thin bunch relative to other NBA teams with dreams of big things. 

Click below for the rankings, and where the Lakers fit in.

(UPDATE:  Not to distract from a fun trade debate, but there are a couple of good Laker links today. There's news on Andrew Bynum's summer and a Kobe/PJ/front office update as they head into camp.  Also, to remind everyone, our nowlive.com show, "Purple, Gold and Blue," will be broadcast at noon today.  To get in on it all, you'll have to register with Now Live, a process that takes about 20 seconds, give or take. Then click on our show.  Call in or join the chatboard.  The podcast will be available this afternoon (here it is!), but we'd love it if y'all were part of the action!)

I don't remember if there's a specific Lakers Blog bandwagon involving Shawn Marion, as y'all have started about 30 of them since this site's inception.  But if such a vehicle does exist, card-carrying members will love an article by Sporting News' Sean Deveney about the Lakers' and Suns' front offices discussing a trade that would send Lamar Odom and salary filler (were I Brian Cook, I'd start googling "desert real estate") to Phoenix for Marion.  Deveney raises some interesting points about LO as a primo fit with the Suns.  How his passing and ball-handling abilities could help provide Steve Nash some rest.  How his ability to snag a rebound and run a fast break is tailor-made for Mike D'Antoni's system.  Both salient points I wish I'd considered more before speculating in today's chat that the Suns wouldn't be quite as interested in this swap as the Lakers (since I was comparing them on pure talent and Marion, in my opinion, is the better overall player).    

UPDATE (6:45 pm):  Here's the transcript.  Wild fun had by all.

Hey, all:

It's Tuesday, and in what's hopefully going to become an "every other week thing," BK and I are hosting a live chat from 1 to 2 p.m. Pacific time.  Drop by and ask us some questions (no math!), and we'll do our best to provide a little insight.  Go to http://chat.latimes.com and enter a user name when prompted to enter the Sports Chat room.  No e-mail or password is needed.  We'll see everyone there (except those who don't enjoy the format, which makes the hour a fantastic time to get a haircut).

-- AK

With a week and change before training camp opens, the time is nigh to take a gander at what the offseason brought for the 2007-08 Laker season.  According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the answer would be "not a whole helluva lot."  More specifically, a 13th place finish compared to the rest of the West.  The Purple and Gold did manage to edge out a Clipper squad that softened the blow of Elton Brand's ruptured Achilles tendon by importing Brevin Knight and "the Kobe Stopper," along with the completely blown up Timberwolves.  So like Carl Spackler's relationship with "total consciousness," they got that going for them (which is nice).   And save the two revamped -- and still a few years from being any good -- Northwest squads, nobody in the conference made any particularly huge moves, which could serve as a source of comfort. 

Of course, many weren't as in need of radical fortification as the Lakers in the first place.

Dear Coby:

So here's the deal.  Mitch Kupchak has expressed a desire to cap the roster at 14, in case a veteran they'd like to add becomes available down the stretch.  There are 14 players with guaranteed contracts.  Yours is only partially guaranteed.  And while such deals have worked out for Lakers past (Smush Parker) and present (Ronny Turiaf), the roster makeup isn't nearly in your favor as it was for them.  Sure, you had a nice Summer Pro League in Vegas, complete with a 20-point game, a blazing 47% clip from behind the arc and some nice all-around skills. Then again, you battled the likes of former Lakers scrub Jelani McCoy, '06 Lakers SPL foul machine Eddy Fobbs and Lakers Blog icon Von Wafer, who was likely too busy mapping out his next five shots to guard anyone.  It would be understandable if the powers that be weren't necessarily convinced that showing merits clearing space for you via trade or waive.  Thus, you're gonna have to wow them in a big, bad way.

Here's the link to today's edition of "Purple, Gold and Blue" on NowLive.com.  Laker talk starts about halfway through.  (Now that the Blue seem determined to wind down by the end of the month, roundball could quickly start taking up a larger chunk of the show.)

-- BK

(PROGRAMMING NOTE: We'll be live on our NowLive.com show, "Purple, Gold and Blue," at noon Wednesday. Call in or join the chatboard.  The podcast will be available this afternoon.)

In what's among the more random places to find props for the Mamba, this week's Entertainment Weekly (featuring a dazed Britney Spears on the cover) contains an article about the rock band Foo Fighters.  In describing the genius of the band's singer/guitarist/songwriter Dave Grohl (who is indeed ridiculously talented), drummer Taylor Hawkins likens the experience of playing with him to "playing on a team with Kobe Bryant: You're in awe, but it brings up your game, too."  I must admit, I wasn't expecting the comparison, but I thought y'all would appreciate it. 

He's not injured Clippers superstar Elton Brand, nor ubiquitous Food Network host Alton Brown.  Instead, the Lakers have signed former Virginia Cavalier Elton Brown to a contract.  Like all training camp signings, absolutely nothing should be read into it, though Brown (Elton, not Alton) did have himself a nice little season last year with Colorado in the NBDL (18.4/9.2/2.1).  The only thing you can guarantee about LAL's "E.B." is that he'll get a free trip to Hawaii and probably a bunch of free T-shirts and practice shorts.  Not a bad deal, actually.

-- BK

a) He hasn't made the team, meaning any tank top in existence is just an unsanctioned knockoff, likely stitched together by a nefarious Hollywood Blvd. shop owner (or BK).

b) According to a liaison between the NBA and Chinese Basketball Assn., he hasn't even signed a contract, despite the Truehoop.com report to the contrary.  And no ink is expected to hit any paper before training camp opens, if at all.

Thus, your hard-earned dough is better spent on more sensible gear.  Like a Larry Turner jersey.  Or the "Parker" jerseys guaranteed to become increasingly pricey, nostalgia-fueled collector's items.

-- AK

Follow the link to today's podcast of "Purple, Gold and Blue."  The Lakers stuff starts about halfway in. 

-- BK

UPDATE (12:13 a.m.): Here's a Q&A from Lakers.com with Javaris Crittendon.  Thanks to TaosHum for the heads-up.