Step-by-Step Guide to L.A. Lakers Avoiding a Massive Collapse

It's the waning weeks prior to training camp, the Los Angeles Lakers have a team that (on paper) is one of the four best in the NBA, title hopes are high and Lakers fans everywhere are getting cocky. Isn't that the way the NBA should be?

For the past season we've seen the Lakers bench dwindle into sticks and stones, the starting lineup has gotten older and their future was in trouble as far as Lakers standards go. All it takes to completely change everything that concerned Lakers fans a year ago is an offseason that included trading a bunch of draft picks (a classic Lakers move) for an old yet effective superstar, bringing in the best center in the NBA (the original Lakers move) and nabbing a high-scoring veteran for a third of what he's worth.

Of course, with high hopes comes high stakes, and the team that Mitch Kupchak compiled over the Summer is fragile to say the least. There are egos involved that are both easy to bruise and good at doing some bruising, so it's not like an utter disaster is out of the question.

There are quite a few people out there wishing for this little amalgamation of star players to fall flat on their faces, but that's the way the league has been forever, right? 

In hopes of keeping this team afloat in the early part of the season in order to promote a competitive league at the very top I've put together a guide to avoid a collapse for this team. I'm a basketball fan above everything else, and a dynastic-looking Lakers team is always an interesting story line to have in the NBA.

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