Should the Lakers Keep Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar?

Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar. Two players that bring different things to the table, but have been inconsistent in doing so. Brown goes into the free agency as an unrestricted free agent, making him pretty much available to every team, while Farmar enters as a restricted free agent, meaning the Lakers can match any offer given to him by another team. Let's assume that the Lakers will not be able to keep one of them. Who would the Lakers prefer? Let's check out what they're getting with each player first.

Shannon Brown

If you're a basketball fan, you've seen of of Shannon's highlight dunks. This guy flies above the rim. But, is that enough to make him a valid point guard on this team? He has shown little to us in the area off passing, but has shown he can guard some of the bigger point guards in the league. He is smart with the ball and you can always expect him running the floor. He has a decent mid-range game, and a respectable 3-point shot. His problem offensively shows when he is forced to take the ball to the rim, he lacks the handling skills to get past most decent defenders, and doesn't have a really good eye for dishing in the paint. He also struggles defending some of the quicker point guards in the NBA, which the Lakers have to face a lot of in the West. Brown's spark off the bench is clear, once he gets one of his highlight dunks, the crowd goes insane, and picks the whole team up. This is something that won't show on the stat sheet, but it's important nonetheless.

Jordan Farmar

Farmar appeared to be on the rise 2 years ago, making us feel that, in a few years, he would be able to take the starting spot from an aging Derek Fisher. But, he had a devastating case of the injury bug, and has failed to make a consistent positive influence like he was able to in the first year and a half of his career. This last season was no different. Inconsistent, injured, yet still promising. He has an innate ability to get to the rim, and has a decent ability to finish. He is also very quick, useful in defending the faster point guards. But he does struggle against some of the larger point guards. His passing ability isn't much of an improvement over Brown's, but he has shown some skill in passing from inside the paint. Farmaer has better shooting numbers across the board (excluding free throw shooting) and can handle the ball more effectively than Brown can. One complaint I have about his game though, he seems to refuse to pass the ball to Kobe at times. That simply cannot happen.

So, who?

It seems that despite fairly even play by both of them, the more attractive game belongs to Farmar. Brown is a more suitable bench player, as he provides that spark and adrenaline that teams are always looking for, but Farmar provides more stability and point guard-like play. There is also more of a future with Farmar, you can see him becoming the starting point guard once Derek Fisher leaves, as long as he can develop a better passing game and become a more formidable defender. Brown won't ever be that kind of guy, he will most likely remain a bench staple for the rest of his career, one of the better ones no doubt, but a bench player nonetheless. The Lakers are looking to the future in terms of point guards, and Farmar provides them with a bright future.