With Farmar Out, Lakers Need PG Help

There isn’t much good news for the Los Angeles Lakers, who learned earlier today that backup point guard Jordan Farmar will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. As a result, the third year guard out of UCLA will be out of the lineup for six to eight weeks. That leaves 34 year-old veteran Derek Fisher as the team’s lone point guard, which certainly gives Laker fans a reason to be concerned even at such an early point in the season.

Nothing against Fisher, who is certainly an adequate starter even at this point in his career, but he is incapable of shouldering the entire burden as the team’s starter at point guard. In each of the Lakers’ past three outings, Fisher has logged at least 40 minutes, which is a recipe for an injury. Very few points guards, much less 34 year olds, play that many minutes each game. Therefore, the Lakers need to look at acquiring a point guard or find some way to get Fisher off the floor in order to save his legs for the playoffs.

According to Hoopsworld.com, the Lakers are considering a trade that would bring Tyronn Lue back to Los Angeles from the Milwaukee Bucks. Lue is playing just over ten minutes a game so it probably wouldn’t take much to acquire the him. If they’re unable to swing a deal for Lue, than look for the Lakers to try and reach out to former New Orleans Hornets guard Jannero Pargo, who is currently playing in Moscow.

Of these two possibilities, the latter is far the more appealing scenario, but also more difficult to pull off. Last season, Pargo was an valuable contributor for the Hornets during their playoff run that nearly landed them in the Western Conference finals against the Lakers. He was a steady playmaker and an excellent defender, which would certainly help the Lakers in Farmar’s absence. However, to obtain Pargo in a trade, it would be a complicated process, as the Lakers would face the expense of buying out Pargo’s Russian contract.

In a sense it would be nice if the Lakers could have Pargo or even Lue on the roster, but the reality is that it might take too much to acquire either one of these ex-Lakers. Phil Jackson and company will only be without Farmar for eight weeks so there is no need to give away two or three draft picks and a ton of cash to acquire a two month rental player. Therefore, I think the team should look into more affordable options.

Here are my two scenarios:

1.) Sign Damon Stoudamire

It would be wise for the Lakers to pick up former Portland Trail Blazer Damon Stoudamire, who is still a free agent, for about a million dollars. The Lakers don’t need a top of the line point guard, just a reliable veteran who can spell Fish in order for hitom  get more rest. As long as Stoudamire can get the ball to the team’s scorers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, and knock down a few jumpers here and there, than the Lakers should be fine. Once Farmar returns from injury towards the end of February, than Stoudamire can stay on for the ride as the fifteenth roster spot and maybe even get a championship ring along the way. So, it should work well for both sides.

2.) Convert “The Machine” to Point Guard

If the Lakers are unable to find anybody outside the organization to fill the gap left by Farmar than they should look at their own roster for help. Before he was drafted by the Lakers out of Slovenia, Sasha Vujacic, also known as The Machine, played point guard for Snaidero Udine of Italy, and as a result, he could serve well as a backup for Fisher in the absence of Farmar. In the triangle offense, the point guard is not expected to create shots for his teammates by way of the pick ‘n roll or a drive to the basket. Instead, he is simply responsible for making the first pass and cutting to keep the offense in constant motion. Sasha doesn’t fit the bill as your standard NBA point guard, but he is certainly capable of playing the role of point guard in the context of Phil’s triangle offense.

What makes the move even more logical is his ability to defend the other team’s point guard, who is often their quickest player as well. When the Lakers have played the Phoenix Suns is previous seasons, the coaching staff has allowed Sasha to guard one of the NBA’s top point guards in Steve Nash. While the Lakers did lose many of those contests, Sasha actually did a pretty good job defending Nash so there is no question that he can help the team on the defensive end.

Of all the various scenarios here, I think this is the most likely one and might end up helping the team in the long run as well. So, look for Kupchak to stand pat, as Phil looks to convert Sasha into Fisher’s two month backup.