For the Los Angeles Lakers, hindsight is both a wonderful and terrible thing. This time last year, the expectation in Lakers Nation was sky-high. Former president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka had just pulled off a franchise-altering free agent signing in landing superstar small forward LeBron James.
This move, along with having Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart on the roster, had Lakers fans across the globe rejoicing. The Lakers had the heir to Kobe Bryant in LeBron James, whilst also maintaining the young core.