Superstar after superstar have paved the way for the Los Angeles Lakers to remain as one of the best teams in the league since the franchise originated in 1947.

The superstars who have led the Lakers to championships and late runs in the playoffs are in the Hall of Fame: George Mikan, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and as soon as they wait the required time after retirement, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, 33-years old, is slowing down after 16 NBA regular seasons and long playoff runs year in and year out. His 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists against the Houston Rockets in a 108-99 Lakers’ victory on Tuesday is a demonstration he isn’t done yet.

Unfortunately for Bryant and the Lakers, it’s only a matter of time before he is. Each season Bryant plays, his body breaks down a little more and he tore a ligament in his wrist during a preseason game.

The question of who is next has to be ringing in the ears of the Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss and the General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

If the current Lakers team is examined, there seems to be only one legit possibility: center Andrew Bynum.

Power forward Pau Gasol, 31 years old, is a great number two option but he proved he couldn’t be the best player on a team and win games when he was with the Memphis Grizzlies for the first seven seasons of his NBA career. In his time with the Grizzlies, he went to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons but never won a postseason game.

The rest of the Lakers’ roster consists of role players and aging personnel such as Metta World Peace.

Then there is the 24-year old center who has already been in the NBA for six seasons and has won two championships. He is young, he has experience and he has the ability to beast almost every other center in the league. The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard is probably the only exception.

While Bryant scored 37 points against the Rockets, Bynum recorded a huge double-double with 21 points and 22 rebounds. When the big man was fed the ball in the paint, no one could stop him.

He is the only player the Lakers have that show signs of being a franchise player or the superstar to lead the team after Bryant is gone.

Bynum is already a star, but he’ll never reach the next level if he can’t stay healthy. He has only played in more than 65 games a season once in his career.

If he is going to be the face of the franchise, which usually means the face of the NBA, he absolutely has to stay healthy and put up 20 plus points and 20 plus rebounds on a nightly basis. A double-double here and there is impressive, but it doesn’t scream, “I’m a franchise player”.

I don’t think he is the right guy for Los Angeles to rely on to keep the team at an elite level. The Lakers should keep Gasol and Bynum together to package their team as a powerful one-two punch.

But, neither one of them can do it on their own. Honestly, without a young point guard, they might not be able to do it together.

The Lakers might have to make some trade negotiations.

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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4 (UPI) — Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and Andrew Bynum dominated in the paint Tuesday in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 108-99 win over Houston.

Bryant had six assists and eight rebounds, while Bynum scored 21 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. Pau Gasol added 14 points and Steve Blake scored 11 for the Lakers, who improved to 4-3.

The Lakers outscored the Rockers 32-24 in the fourth quarter.

Kyle Lowry scored 22 points and Luis Scola added 20 for the Rockets.

Houston kept it close until the final 4 minutes when Bryant hit three field goals and a free throw to put Los Angeles ahead 100-89 with 1:59 to play.

Through three games, Andrew Bynum is playing like an NBA All-Star.

On Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, he achieved a career milestone with his first 20-point, 20-rebound performance at Staples Center. Kobe Bryant said following the game, “There’s plenty more to come… the biggest challenge for him is staying healthy.”

Everyone in Los Angeles understands exactly what Kobe means.

For fans, this scenario is all too familiar. In years past, Bynum has suffered a catastrophic injury just as he hits his stride. If he plays in all 66 games this year, it will be his first full season since his sophomore campaign, the only one in which he played in all 82 games.

The NBA lockout as well as a four game suspension could both be blessings in disguise. The extra time off and shortened season could mitigate the risk of yet another injury. The Lakers will need him this season more than ever after losing a key component to their frontcourt in Lamar Odom.

The loss of Odom via trade this offseason will cause the Lakers to lean heavily on Bynum to get them into the playoffs, let alone make a deep run. Thus far in the 2011-2012 season, Bynum has played at an extremely high level and shown for three games that he can be the player has to be for the team to improve upon a disappointing finish in 2011.

When Bynum plays as well as he is capable of, it takes tremendous pressure off Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, opening up the floor for their respective games. Defensively, he alters opponents’ shots with regularity and contributes to easy baskets on the other end of the floor.

The task of maintaining his health and fitness will be a game-by-game process. Only time will tell whether or not Bynum will go the direction of Grant Hill and overcome significant injuries or Brandon Roy and be another young player who simply can’t stay on the court.

If he plays like he has so far all season, the Lakers will be a much stronger team and will remain among the league’s elite, despite the loss of a great player like Odom.This kind of start from Bynum is exactly what the team needs to get over the disappointment of a tumultuous offseason.

Michael C. Jones is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor in Sports and follows all news and developments of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Follow Michael on Twitter

Sources:

Basketball-Reference.com

Fox Sports West Television Network

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We just found out that the Lakers entered talks to ship center Pau Gasol to the Timberwolves for league leading rebounder Kevin Love. The trade offers was said to have been made right after the Chris Paul trade was rejected by the league office.

Does that mean Kevin Love might eventually be headed to L.A. this season?

I don’t see why we would count that possibility out. Kevin Love becomes a free agent after this season, and like the Magic with Dwight Howard, the Wolves may seek to get something for a player unlikely to return. But again, like the Magic, the Wolves may want to try to convince Love to stay by providing him with all the reasons to stay—commitment from ownership and a shown respect towards a player whose decisions impact the franchise on a monumental level.

I guess the thing is, considering whether or not Love should be on that same pedestal as the premier stars like Howard. You see, though Love led the league in rebounding, though he is a great young player who at age 23 promises to be a highly relevant star for a long time, Love is not the exciting charismatic star that Howard is. He’s a good player; he is not the kind of player that puts butts in seats.

In fact, to many fans, only the basketball purists type will find Kevin Love’s game really that appealing. He rebounds by boxing out, and scores by hitting jumpers and putting back misses, not by flying through the air for athletic dunks.

Love ultimately would be great for the Lakers, but you can pretty much say that about any team. Adding a player like Love whose shooting can space the floor for other players, while simultaneously gobbling up a lot of offensive rebounds does wonders for an offense’s first chance and second chance looks. Love would make the Lakers an even more scary team than Gasol does, especially since they no longer use the triangle offense, which literally seemed taylor made for a player with Gasol’s skill set.

And it may be the Mike Brown influence that is driving the push for Love. Mike Brown himself was a meat and potatoes kind of forward and Love’s game is more like Brown’s than the somewhat flashy walks-on- his-tippy toes Gasol.

I don’t really think Love’s numbers would change all that much, and Gasol may fall off in such a move, as he would find himself pretty discontent to be playing for a team like the Timberwolves as this point in his advanced career. But I’m more concerned about watching Love rip down 15 boards a game with Kobe hitting game winning shots than worry about Gasol’s prospects.

Besides, there is a lot to be said for a Ricky Rubio – Pau Gasol pick ‘n’ roll…

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andrew Bynum provided the Los Angeles Lakers with a powerful performance in his season debut, following a four-game suspension that carried over from the playoffs.

It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes.

Bynum scored 29 points on 13 for 18 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading the Lakers to a 92-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. The 7-foot center played 31 1/2 grueling minutes, helping the Lakers win their third straight following their first 0-2 start since 2002-03.

“They were looking for me a lot. I was a focal point early in the offense, so I knew the quicker I got down the court, the better it was,” said Bynum, who made four of his first five shots and finished the first quarter with 10 points. “I was winded like crazy. I couldn’t breathe in the first six minutes. Defensively, getting back and all those things require me to be in better condition. So it’s going to take a little while.”

Bynum was suspended without pay for the first four games because of a flagrant foul against Dallas’ J.J. Barea in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. The original ban was five games, but was reduced on Dec. 23 as a result of a shortened schedule caused by the lockout.

“I really didn’t have the highest expectations,” said the seven-year veteran, who totaled 41 points and 23 rebounds in two preseason games against the Clippers. “I just wanted to come out and be aggressive. I wanted to get it down low, and when I got it, I made shots.”

Bryant, bogged down by foul trouble, had 17 points along with nine assists and 10 rebounds. The Lakers overcame 2-for-24 shooting from 3-point range.

Reserve forward Al Harrington had 21 points for the Nuggets, who have lost 25 of their last 29 road games against the Lakers.

“The game of basketball treats you badly sometimes,” Denver coach George Karl said. “No one feels very good right now. They hurt us rebounding the ball and they hurt us with Bynum’s power underneath the basket. They’ve very good at playing an aggressive style of disrupting you, with guys coming at you on pick-and-rolls.”

The Lakers missed their first 12 shots from 3-point range — all in the first half — before Matt Barnes connected with 11:11 left in the third to put Los Angeles ahead 49-47. The Nuggets weren’t much better from behind the arc, missing nine of their first 10 before finishing up 7 for 26.

Trailing 71-69 after three quarters, the Lakers tied it four times before Harrington’s 3-pointer gave Denver an 85-80 lead with 5:29 to play. Bynum guided in a pass above the rim from Bryant and converted the ensuing free throw to narrow the gap to 89-87 with 3:23 left.

Fisher, who fouled out with six points in his 500th consecutive game, missed a 3-point shot trying to beat the 24-second clock — but hustled all the way to the other side of the court to fall on the loose ball and managed to get a timeout with 2:29 remaining and the Lakers still down by two.

“I haven’t seen it on tape yet, and I’m sure it doesn’t look very graceful. But I’m glad it helped us get a win,” the 37-year-old Fisher said with a chuckle. “You see a ball free and you go for it, especially at that time of the game. To make hustle plays and do the little things, that’s the team that we’re becoming — a team that can figure out a way to grind out wins.

“Once I saw the ball bounce long (Ty) Lawson and I were kind of bumping into each other shoulder-to-shoulder and I started to lose my balance,” Fisher explained. “So it was somewhat surprising that I was still able to figure out a way to find the basketball as I was stumbling and regain control before going out of bounds.”

Bryant tied it 89-all with a pair of free throws, and Bynum blocked a layup by Nene with 2 minutes left before converting a layup at the other end for a 91-89 lead with 1:50 to go.

The Nuggets had a few opportunities to pull it out. But Gasol blocked a layup by Lawson, who missed two free throws the next time the Nuggets had possession. Danilo Gallinari had a chance to tie it, but blew an easy fast-break layup with Steve Blake on his heels after Bryant missed a jumper at the other end.

“We get three layups and a couple of free throws in the last three minutes, and we miss all of them,” Karl lamented. “Our offensive confidence is a little short right now.”

Fisher’s consecutive-game streak is the longest among active NBA players. Former Lakers forward A.C. Green, a teammate of Fisher’s during the 1999-00 season, holds the league record with 1,192 in a row.

‘That’s what’s so amazing about what he was able to accomplish — especially as a big guy out there banging with the best of them,” Fisher said. “For him to be able to have done what it took mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically to be prepared to go to work every single day for all those seasons was a big-time example for me.

“It’s not like I’m chasing any type of number, but I just try to bring the same mentality to work, whether it’s 500 or 1,000. I’m nowhere close to his streak, but I still take great pride in coming to work every day. Those experiences with him were great. We talked a lot and I learned a lot from him.”

Bryant, who averaged 27.8 points through the first four games despite playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist, missed his first three shots and played more than 14 scoreless minutes before ending the drought on a floater that put the Lakers ahead 38-36 with 3:40 left in the second quarter.

Notes: The Lakers have played six times on New Year’s Eve since coming to Los Angeles — all at home (5-1). Their rematch with the Nuggets on Sunday night will mark the first time the Lakers have played on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in the same season since 1959-60, when the franchise was based in Minneapolis. … Bryant needs four points to become the sixth player in history to reach 28,000.