The Los Angeles Lakers are at a crossroads. There are a handful of directions the team could go in this offseason, and most of them aren't pretty.
From ownership on down to the last man on the Lakers bench, there is a question mark sitting just above each and every one of them.
Change at the top (Jim Buss), old age (Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace, Steve Blake—all over 30), injuries galore, a head coach with dismal playoff results...Shall we go on?
Like Wheel of Fortune, the Lakers will spin the big wheel as hard as they can and hope it lands on the magic formula that spells serious contender in 2013-14.
It certainly won't be easy, and this offseason is one of the most important in franchise history. It could go either way.
WORST-CASE SCNERAIO
It starts with a failure to lock up center Dwight Howard for five years at the max salary level. Losing the game's most dominant big man just entering the prime of his NBA career would be a blow not only to the team's future chances at a title, but a kick in the collective gut to ownership and its fans.
Howard is taking his time to decide his future (via L.A. Times):
"I'm going to take my time and get away from my phone and everything and just clear my head," Howard said after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs last week. "I think I deserve that right and that's what I'm going to do."
After failing to secure Chris Paul in the infamous "deal, no deal" of December 2011, the Lakers set their sights on getting Howard into a Lakers uniform last summer. To say the team pulled off another amazing steal of a deal would be an understatement.
Even with D12's season-long recovery from back surgery, the team saw major glimpses of the old Dwight, most noticeably during the final two months of the campaign.&nbs...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
