Just checked out Carmelo's career stats. I think he's over-rated as a scorer. After years of up-tempo, offensive-oriented ball, and with ample support from some excellent PGs (Miller, Billups), his career TS% would rank him 6th among current Laker rotation players, behind Odom, Bynum, Gasol, Bryant and Shannon Brown. He's not even the main reason for his own team's offensive prowess this year, as Billups and Lawson (one of my absolute favorite players to watch) have generated far more efficient offense for the team.
Considering that the Lakers are currently the number 1 ranked offense in the league (tied with the Nuggets at the moment), and 11th defensively (the worst of any of the contenders), can anyone tell me why they would be better by bringing in an offensive-oriented player who hasn't historically met their existing standards of scoring efficiency, while also removing and reducing the presence of their two most impactful defenders (Artest and Bynum)?