2000-01 Minneapolis Lakers

• Point Guards: G. Payton, T. Brandon: Payton is the best PG in the game. Just ask him. But its hard to prove him wrong. As a PG, he averages 24pts a game. He has over 700 assists plays over 3400 minutes and has a couple of 6 out of 6's for defense. If you can convince Payton to take a minute to rest, Brandon comes off the bench and fills in. Brandon can start on any team in the GLBA....except this one. If there is a downside, these are the only 2 players that can play PG. Would have been nice to have a guy as an emergency...just in case..  Rating: 9.0/10.0
• Shooting Guards: K. Bryant, N. Anderson: Bryant is a superstar and getting better every year. He has the same defensive numbers as Payton. So you can imagine what type of back court these guys make. People thought they solved Anderson's shooting problem. Well, they were wrong. Yuck these numbers really suck. How could he have played some many minutes shooting the way he does. Lucky for Randy, he has others who might and should see some minutes here.  Rating 8.0/10.0
• Small Forwards: K. Gill, C. Robinson: Robinson may get the nod here to start. He seems to be a better fit as a starter. He is another player who isn't afraid to shoot and has the capability of  leading this team in scoring some nights. Gill is about as average as anyone can get at SF. He will probably hurt the team more than he will help. The good thing is Randy has 5 other players who can step in.   Rating 6.5/10.0
• Power Forwards: A. McDyess, C. Ceballos: This is almost the same situation Randy has in SF. McDyess has turned out to be the real deal and Ceballos can run and gun with the best of them. When McDyess rests, Ceballos has to realize there are other players on the court. He has 1002 shots in 2064 minutes and only has 56 assists.   Rating 7.0/10.0
• Centers: R. Smits, K. Willis: The "Flying Dutchman" will make his final stop in Minneapolis. Smits has lost a step on defense and he doesn't rebound like he used to, but he can shoot. Question will be if he will be used in that capacity on this team. The only thing about Willis that we can say is that he can rebound. Everything else points to a sub at best for any team. Here is where Randy might have a problem in minutes.   Rating 6.0/10.0
• Bench: Other then PG, (where Minneapolis has players who could start on any team), this team looks very beatable in the 2nd team. Their starters can log lots of minutes and put up plenty of shots to win or be in a game to the end. If Randy has to go to the 9-10-11-12 players, he may have trouble keeping up with the big boys. But that can be said about almost every team. Rating 6.5/10.0
• Management: Randy is entering his 2nd year as owner and so far it seems he is taking the wait and see approach. He is active enough to get the job done and he seems to be enjoying himself when speaking to him. He has done a great job in getting top line players. His next move is to find the right chemistry to make it work. This team will be a factor late in the season.  Rating: 6.5/10.0
• Total rating: 49.5/70.0
• Predicted Record and Finish: 49-23, 1st Place