LOS ANGELES — Although it looks like defensive specialist DJ Mbenga from Kinshasa, Congo, might be the choice, I was debating with someone today whether it made more sense for the Lakers to sign Chris Webber for the rest of the season or just call up Jelani McCoy temporarily from the D-Fenders to bolster the injury-plagued frontcourt.

You might be able to gather from my post Wednesday that I would go with McCoy — so obviously I’d go with Mbenga as defensive insurance compared to Webber, too.

Webber is just too limited in defense and rebounding to be worth the risk the Lakers would undertake in jeopardizing their chemistry at this point. Think about it: If either Vladimir Radmanovic (and the Lakers got relatively good news with him in that his MRI showed it’s reasonably likely for him to be back by month’s end) at power forward or Chris Mihm at center is ready to play in a few weeks, is Webber really going to be a lot better than they are? Definitely not at all better than Radmanovic, I dare say. And then come April, when Bynum is back and there are no minutes at all to be had in the frontcourt, do you think a guy with Webber’s ego is going to be OK with doing nothing?

On the flip side, McCoy has some Lakers and triangle experience, and his emphasis is defense and rebounding. He would be easy to give whatever small role is necessary until he’s not needed anymore — just as the Denver Nuggets asked of him when they called McCoy up from the D-Fenders earlier this season. And maybe McCoy shows he can play such better defense than Radmanovic or Mihm that he sticks for the rest of the season.

The Lakers haven’t given any significant indication they want Webber anyway. And here’s the funny thing: If you want some veteran championship experience in the locker room, too, you’ve got to go with McCoy, 31. He would join Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher as the only Lakers players with rings, because McCoy got one with the Lakers in 2001-02.

Mbenga, who played 16 games for Golden State this season, is a 7-footer with a shot-blocking specialty. I remember probably the most glorious moment of his career one night in Dallas when he blocked Kobe Bryant’s dunk attempt; it was immortalized the next year in the Mavs’ media guide with a photo of it.

Posted in: 2007-08 • D.J. Mbenga |

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