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The Real McKie
The Lakers wanderlust search for a point guard this offseason took an interesting turn today as the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the team has expressed interest in Aaron McKie.Mark Heisler of the Times writes that the team's change in focus from Derek Anderson to McKie was at the request of Phil Jackson. If true, that tells you who is really calling the shots for the Lakers for these days.
Frankly, we're not big fans of McKie. He seems like an average player at best, who is entering the twilight of his career. Ex-Sixers coach Jim O'Brien thought so highly of McKie last year, that he was removed from the rotation, and averaged a paltry 2.2 points a game. McKie has never averaged more than 5.0 assists a game, and has virtually no experience playing point guard. He might be able to defend, but can he withstand a full season at 33?
We understand that Phil Jackson likes bigger point guards, and we know that McKie is 6-5. But Jackson won three titles with BJ Armstrong, a true point guard running the offense. He needed Derek Fisher starting at the point for two of his titles. Ron Harper, who won 4 titles starting for Jackson, started out as a 2-guard, but he could always play the point.
Maybe if Lamar Odom is Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant is Michael Jordan, then Aaron McKie could be something like a John Paxson who started at the point on some of those Bulls teams while Pippen sometimes acted as a "point-forward." But that's an awfully risky gamble. For now, LAist believes the Lakers need a real point guard who is better than Smush Parker.
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