Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Nobody is going to feel bad for the Lakers. Not after blind exceptionalism seemingly landed them LeBron James. Not after Anthony Davis willed himself to Los Angeles after a dragged-out public saga. Not after they got their pick of veterans like Andre Drummond in the buyout market.