As the Lakers' roller coaster season continues, the outlook of the franchise -- both short term and long term -- can seem to change by the day. Shortly before the start of the season, Los Angeles' future seemed bright with Chris Paul having been acquired via trade. That dream was soon shattered by Commissioner David Stern, due to "basketball reasons." At various points, the Lakers were also rumored to be acquiring Dwight Howard from Orlando, but that hasn't panned out and the star center's wish list appears to be expanding.
As the season wears on, the Lakers struggles on offense have become more apparent. The purple and gold are scoring 92.7 points per game which is good for 21st in the league. Following a six-game road trip, in which they were torched by New York's Jeremy Lin and needed a clutch shot from Kobe to beat the lowly Raptors, the Lakers are apparently considering several unlikely options to help the team.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Lakers attended a private workout for free agent guard Gilbert Arenas. Per the report, sources said that the 30-year-old "moved well and made a positive impression." Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com reported that another source said the 30-year-old looked "slimmed down" and "explosive." But it remains uncertain whether the Lakers would pursue signing him.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported on Friday that not only did Kobe Bryant give the Lakers his "stamp of approval" on signing Arenas, but the five-time champion even reached out to Agent Zero to let him know he's up for Arenas joining the team.
Lakers fans, however, may not be too keen on the idea of signing Arenas, who played 70 games with the Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic last season but made little impact. He only averaged eight points and 3.4 assists in 49 games coming off the bench for the Magic. Orlando decided to waive Arenas before this shortened offseason with the NBA amnesty clause. He was suspended for 50 games the season before due to bringing guns into the Washington locker room.
The former Arizona Wildcat wasn't the only free agent guard rumored to garner the interest of the Lakers this weekend. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith wrote on Saturday that the Lakers showed interest in Allen Iverson. They would reportedly require that he play in the NBA Developmental League for a couple weeks before potentially joining the NBA roster. Former Raptors point guard Rafer Alston was also mentioned as a Lakers player of interest in Smith's report.
Earlier last week, ESPN's Chris Broussard wrote that the Lakers "are in desperate need of a point guard" and are interested in Houston's Jonny Flynn and Cleveland's Ramon Sessions.
37-year-old veteran Derek Fisher is currently starting at point guard for the Lakers but has been ineffective at the offense end, shooting poorly from the field. Fisher's points per game have declined each season since averaging 11.7 during the 2007-08 campaign.