This morning, I tossed out a poll about the possibility of bringing Allen Iverson to LA. With a substantial number of votes already tallied this morning- keep 'em coming- those willing to take the plunge (assuming he promises- for real this time- that he'll agree to come off the bench) is hovering around 50%. Honestly, this seems high to me, but I'm just one man, with one vote... firmly in the "No" camp.

Ironically, ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan put out a list this morning of the best unemployed free agents available (Insider required). At the top is former Sixers/Pistons/Wizards/Mavericks guard/forward Jerry Stackhouse, who seems damn near giddy at the prospect of donning the purple and gold:

"I would LOVE to be out there," Stackhouse said... Judging from the tone of his voice, if we were to pick a favorite to land Stackhouse's services, it'd be the Lakers -- in no small part due to his long history with Kobe Bryant. "We've always competed, and we go way back. When he was a rookie, before he even started his rookie season, John Lucas had he and I out on the track running. He knows how I compete and work, so we've always had that mutual respect. Kobe's got a gamesmanship about him, he knows how guys look at him in awe. I've seen several times when he came over to the bench where I was and would not say anything to anybody on the whole bench, but then he'd look at me and say, 'What up Stack?' So there's a respect there both ways, I believe."

Maybe you're still on the fence regarding this whole 24-in-the-post thing, despite his prodigious early season stats and the Prius-esque efficiency in which he's accumulating them. Some people are hard sells, skeptics by nature. If that's the case, three possessions in the first quarter during Thursday night's 121-102 pasting of the Suns illustrate why Kobe Bryant can be so difficult for the opposition to handle when he sets up down low. (If I was one of those people who knew how to turn something on his TV into a YouTube highlight, I would. I'm not.)

1. At the 3:36 mark, Jared Dudley checked in for Phoenix and picked up Bryant on the defensive end. Kobe immediately set up along the right baseline and received an entry pass. With a quick move, Kobe spun baseline and hit what is becoming a fairly patented fadeaway jumper from 11 feet.
2. 3:24- On the next trip, Kobe took Dudley to the same spot, got the feed, and again spun baseline. Cognizant of the previous play, as Bryant turned his back, Amar'e Stoudamire brought a late double team but left too much space. Turning away from the help, Kobe found Lamar Odom, at that point abandoned by Stoudamire, with a sharp pass as he filled the lane. Layup.
3. 2:29- Two trips later, Kobe again brought Dudley to the right baseline, his back to the basket. This time, he drifted to his right, back towards the lane and putting pressure on Stoudamire to make a decision about whether to help or leave Dudley to handle Kobe as he crossed into the paint. With some- much, actually- hesitation, Stoudamire again brought a weak double, and again Odom filled the lane behind him. An easy bounce pass from Bryant led to a dunk for Odom.

Three trips, six points, all on high percentage looks. This is not an accident.

Last November, Kobe Bryant averaged 20.2 shots a night. Through Sunday's 104-88 win over the Hornets at Staples, he's up to 25.4, a pace that would exceed all but one season in his career. Some of this can be traced to a pair of overtime games and the absence of Pau Gasol, but obviously he's been more aggressive looking for his own shot. That's made his workload a topic of conversation in the media and among fans. No question, he's playing well, but given that the Lakers are expecting a long year, some have wondered if he's working a little too hard to buoy LA's offense, something that could come back to haunt the Lakers down the road.

I don't buy it. Not simply because the guy is in absurdly good shape, but rather because despite scoring 33.6 points a night, it's likely coming easier relative to the 26.8 he averaged last season. It's no secret that he's moved his game closer to the basket, but less discussed is how playing down there has not only been incredibly effective, but less taxing on Kobe's now 31 year old body:

"It's easier for me, because I've always naturally been a post player. Even when I was a kid, I've always migrated to the post. So it's not something that's unnatural to me. It's not like I'm trying something completely new. For a lot of players, it's not (less demanding physically). It's probably a little bit more taxing, because they're not used to playing down there. I'm used to playing down there since (I was) five or six years old, playing against my older cousins in the post."

Lost in all the reasonable hubbub over the Laker bench's erratic play is the rather steady offense courtesy of reserve Josh Powell.  59% from the floor is impressive in and of itself, considering JP's game tends to consist more of pick and pop J's than dunks.  But eyebrows are truly rising upward at a 60% success from behind the arc. Granted, he's only launched five treys, the sample size a mite small to label Powell the next Reggie Miller.  That he's grown comfortable enough from that distance to average nearly one per game is hopefully a nice sign of things to come this season. 

What I doubt these number mean, however, is steady minutes for Powell once Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are back. Their presences, along with Lamar Odom's, make PT tough sledding for Powell, who's simply not their caliber a player. And like many role players, the returns can be diminishing over increased minutes, anyway. Powell's not a particularly good passer and tends to suffer working off the dribble, meaning he doesn't create for himself or others.  He's also the least effective defender among the team's true bigs and lacks the foot speed needed to check small forwards. 

In other words, there are limits, which is generally for players generally considered limited, as most people would describe Powell. 

We kicked it around in Thursday's PodKast, it's being discussed in reasonably wide circles around the NBA: The bench is an issue for the Lakers. This is not a state secret, but is counter to the Great Purple and Gold Depth Narrative constructed a couple seasons back, and as we all know those can be slow to change.

When everyone is healthy (something we won't see Friday night against the Grizzlies at Staples, as both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are expected to miss the game) the Lakers have incredible frontcourt depth, top end depth, and versatility, which I consider a form of depth. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom. That's a serious quintet, with potentially overwhelming length and mobility on both ends of the floor, great passing skills, post play for days (fancy new stuff, too, in the case of 24) and matchup options that would make most coaches jealous.

Define deep as having a reliable and lengthy bench and it's tougher for the Lakers to compete, at least as it stands this morning. No question, once Lamar Odom, as impactful a sixth man as any in the league, resumes that role it'll solve a lot of problems. We saw last year how much his presence helps elevate the rest of the reserves, and behind him among the forward/centers, the red-hot Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga are more than adequate given their spots in the rotation. Luke Walton has a utility to the Lakers that makes him a handy rotation/role guy. When people talk about depth and bench issues with the Lakers, they're referring to the backcourt, where Phil Jackson is currently sorting through Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar in an effort to find a stable backup to Bryant and a way to better manage Derek Fisher's minutes.

Sorting is a good word for it, too.

Let me preface this post by stating that the Ron Artest-Trevor Ariza "swap" isn't a K Brother obsession, even if a string of posts over the last several days makes it reasonable to assume otherwise.  It just so happens the particular offseason storyline has popped up organically during some recent threads. Add another to that list.

After Monday's practice, I asked Artest about today's game against Houston, his first time facing the Rockets since leaving their roster. The Lakers being Ron's fifth team, he's certainly no stranger to competing against a franchise that once employed him. Players like to downplay these particular matchups ("It's just another game" being the most popular cliche.), but there's an undeniable charge from going mano y' mano with your old squad. Particularly when the situation involves getting traded or the team opts to let you go as a free agent, the latter applying to Artest.   On the surface, the makings of a garden-variety "gunning to drop 35 on your asses" matchup, but the specifics make things a little different.

Not only is he barely removed from his stint as a Rocket (five games into the new season), but time in Houston helped rebuild Artest's rep as a professional.  Even in a contract year that might prompt his best behavior and an established relationship with Rick Adelman, the "Ron Artest business" was considered a risky one.  The move paid off, as Artest played some of the best ball of his career and was regarded as a team leader, a tag not exactly littering his resume.  In the meantime, an unpredictability more quirky than volatile emerged for Artest.  He seemed genuinely happy in Houston, which hadn't always been the case in the past.  The feeling was mutual as fans mobbed him during the final moments of Houston's first round series against the Blazers. This moment put the "i" in "irony," which wasn't lost on Artest.

Houston Rockets

Last Season: 53-29 (.646, 2nd in Southwest Division, 5th in the Western Conference)

Key Additions: Signed Trevor Ariza, traded for David Andersen, drafted Chase Budinger, Jermaine Taylor
Key Subtractions: Ron Artest, Von Wafer, Brett Barry, plus Yao Ming is injured

I like this team.

I respect the work ethic, and how hard they'll compete. If my future children grow up to play basketball and I end up the coach, I'll fire up game film of the '09-'10 Rockets and use them as a model of determination and teamwork. (As an aside, I also wonder how much we'll win, given that our entire playbook is likely to consist of hoping one of those six year olds can dunk.) I think they'll win an ESPY for Best Scrappy Team. They will never mail it in. They won't even own postage. 

I just wonder how much they'll win.

New Orleans Hornets

Last Season: 49-33 (.598, 4th in the Southwest Division- and when 49 wins is fourth, that's a good division- 7th in the Western Conference

Key Additions: Traded for Emeka Okafor, Darius Songaila, signed Ike Diogu, drafted Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton
Key Losses: Rasual Butler, Tyson Chandler, Antonio Daniels, Ryan Bowen

I have a well known (among the residents of my home, meaning my wife) prejudice against certain types of mainstream designer furniture. Different items from your Crate and Barrels, your Pottery Barns and so on. It's not that the stuff doesn't look nice. It does. Gangbusters, really. My issues instead are with build quality. Too much of the stuff uses veneers. Scratch it, bang it, or otherwise lose the kid gloves, and suddenly all you see is lesser quality wood below. Or (gasp!) some sort of particle board. In that sense, the New Orleans Hornets are very similar. The appointments make for a potentially stylish unit. Chris Paul is flat out sick. (Andy recently joked how at this point my man crush on CP3 may require changing my Facebook status from "married" to "it's complicated.") David West is a very solid player. Okafor represents an upgrade over Chandler. 

After that, though, things get dangerously close to particle board.

Before Sunday's win over the Clippers, Ron Artest spoke at length with the media about his work with a  sports psychologist, something he began last year while with the Rockets. Gaining control of his competitive nature is something with which Artest has long struggled, particularly early in his career. Managing losses, keeping his ego in check. That sort of thing. At his introductory press conference, Artest spoke frankly of his past, acknowledging major mistakes and lamenting a track record as a bad teammate.

Now Artest believes he's on a much healthier path, in part because of a solid support system that includes a psychological outlet, something that will continue in LA.

Andy and I talked with Artest for a few more minutes after the scrum around him broke up. As a kid, Artest said this sort of guidance (in the form of a school counselor) was very effective for him, and when he got away from it his behavior suffered. Young people, though, can be made by authority figures to seek help. Adults, not so much, and the culture of professional sports can make reaching out and accepting it even harder. Whether called counseling, therapy, or sports psychology, to seek it out by definition recognizes personal vulnerabilities and weaknesses often tough for many athletes to admit. "Not for me," Artest said.

It's tough to debate that Artest is wired differently than your average Joe, but he's also extremely self-aware. As much as any athlete I've encountered, he owns his character flaws and transgressions. In the long run, given the winning he's likely to experience in LA and the airtight team structure around him, there are just as many encouraging signs about Artest and how he'll fit in as concerns. More, even.

If it doesn't work, I believe his behavior or perceived instability will be low on the list of reasons why.

BK

(Photo: AP)

Oklahoma City Thunder

Last Season: 23-59 (.280, 5th in the Northwest Division, 13th in the Western Conference)

Key Additions: Drafted James Harden, BJ Mullins, traded for Kevin Ollie, Etan Thomas
Key Subtractions: Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins.

I'm willing to wager that a healthy portion of NBA teams- lottery and playoff squads alike- would trade their lot in life for what the Thunder have cooking in their big cast iron, high plains basketball kettle. A killer core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, none older than 23, with more potential added in first rounder Harden. Scads of draft picks at their disposal. Cap space stretching to the tips of Oklahoma's vast horizon. A home city forgiving of their growing pains and just happy to have the team- any team, really- in town, meaning there's no rush to try and mess with the rebuilding blueprint and risk screwing things up in the process.

So intense has the love grown among fans and scribes alike for GM Sam Presti that it feels almost dirty, like he should be shrinkwrapped and put in the naughty section of the magazine rack. But it's all well deserved, which is why the man is smiling. You'd smile too if the future of your franchise was this bright.

As for this season, with the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race at least theoretically in question, the Thunder are a popular dark horse pick to slip in should any of last year's entrants leave the top eight. It's not as far-fetched a notion as it might seem at first glance. Yeah, OKC won only 23 games a year ago, but they started 1-16, then 3-29. After that, Durant and Co. were a still-bad-but-far-more-respectable 20-30. Five more wins there and the Thunder are a .500 team. Would that be enough to sneak in?

Sure, it takes a little imagination, but not the sort of hard drugs required to picture, say, the Kings playing deeper into April.