The NBA has suspended 23-year old center Andrew Bynum for the first five games of the 2011-12 season due to his uncalled for cheapshot on guard J.J. Barea of the Mavericks in the Lakers’ Game #4 loss.  Bynum played in 54 games (48 starts) for the Lakers last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.0 blocked shots.  He has now played in 332 games (240 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.3 minutes, 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Bynum has only played in more than 65 games 1 time in his NBA career (2006-07), so having him miss 5 games to start next year (assuming that he’s still on the team) isn’t such a big deal.

31-year old SF/PF Lamar Odom has been named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 2010-11 NBA season.  He played in 82 games (35 starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.  Odom hit 53% of his shots from the floor this year as he was very solid for the Lakers this year.  He becomes the first Lakers’ player ever to win this award which starting getting handed out by the NBA in 1983.

21-year old rookie small forward Devin Ebanks will miss at least the next three weeks for the Lakers due to a stress fracture in his lower leg.  Ebanks has played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 5.9 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Lakers won’t miss Ebanks too much as he was only getting on the court in garbage time.

The Lakers will be without backup small forward Matt Barnes for at least a month (and maybe two) with a torn meniscus in his right knee.  Barnes has played in 37 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 20.8 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  His minutes will likely fall to Shannon Brown & rookie Devin Ebanks.  Brown has played in 37 games (0 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 18.8 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Brown is also shooting 41.5% from three point range so far this year and that is outstanding.  Devin Ebanks has played in 12 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Lakers and he averaged 6.4 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Lakers are going to miss Barnes as he was pushing Ron Artest for P.T.

The Los Angeles Lakers have deal 26-year old shooting guard Sasha Vujacic and a first round pick in 2011 to the Nets for 35-year old forward Joe Smith.  The Nets also dealt 23-year old SG/SF Terrence Williams to the Rockets as part of this deal with the Rockets giving the Nets a first round pick in 2012.  The Lakers must have really wanted to rid themselves of Vujacic.  Vujacic played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this year and he was averaging 4.9 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists.  He played in 420 games (12 starts) in his seven years with the Lakers and he averaged 14.3 minutes, 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Despite a reputation of being a good shooter he only shot 39.3% from the floor, 37.2% from the three point line and 87.6% from the free throw line in his time with the Lakers. 

Joe Smith is a veteran forward with some know how.  He played in only 4 games (3 starts) for the Nets this year and he averaged 6.3 minutes, 0.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Smith has now played in 1,018 games (619 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.5 minutes, 11.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  Even at his advanced age, Smith is still a better basketball player than Vujacic.

The Lakers will be without 37-year old center Theo Ratliff for the next 4-6 weeks due to knee surgery. Ratliff has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 8.4 minutes, 0.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. This hurts the Lakers’ depth at center as they are already without Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers have re-signed 24-year old shooting guard Shannon Brown to a 2-year, $4.6 million dollar deal. Brown played in 82 games (7 starts) for the Lakers last season and he averaged 20.7 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He has now played in 100 games (7 starts) in his two years with the Lakers and he has averaged 18.6 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. This was a good move for the Lakers as Brown will really help them off the bench. Brown turned down offers to start for other teams (Cavs and Knicks) to return to L.A.

The Lakers have signed 30-year old small forward Matt Barnes to a 2-year, $3.6 million dollar deal. Barnes played in 81 games (58 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 25.9 minutes, 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has now played in 444 games (162 starts) in his 7 years in the NBA and he has averaged 21.3 minutes, 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Barnes took less money and playing time from the Lakers than he would have got if he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Barnes is hungry for a ring and that’s the type of player who fits right in with the Lakers. I love this signing for the Lakers.

The Lakers have signed 37-year old center Theo Ratliff to a 1-year, $1.3 million dollar deal. Ratliff played in 49 games (29 starts) for the Bobcats & Spurs last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 800 games (533 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.5 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Ratliff is #18 in NBA history with 1,963 blocks and he will be moving up that list in 2010-11 with the Lakers as he still appears to have some gas left in his tank.

The Lakers have re-signed 35-year old point guard Derek Fisher to a 3-year, $10.5 million dollar deal. Fisher played in 82 games (all starts) last season for the Lakers and he averaged 27.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 790 games (467 starts) in his 11 years with the Lakers and he has averaged 25.1 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Fisher is #9 all-time in games played (790), #2 in three pointers made (759) and #8 in steals (829) in Lakers’ history. The Heat courted Fisher but it was smart for the Lakers to bring him back. He will share the point guard spot with Steve Blake this season.