originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers fell far short of their championship aspirations than many likely expected in this spring's West playoffs.
L.A. flipped a package centered around a first round pick, 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis, and wing Max Christie, to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic and big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in a franchise-altering midseason blockbuster.
But without Davis — and after scuttling a subsequent attempted trade for 23-year-old Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, when Williams failed his team physical — the Lakers were without critical rim protection heading into the playoffs.