1. 2018 offseason
I’ll never forget it. I was on a vacation to Orlando with my girlfriend. I got off Hollywood Ripe Ride Rocket at Universal Studios Florida (she was too chicken to ride) and she broke the news to me: LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It felt surreal and that is because it was surreal. The Lakers were in such a stint of mediocrity and while there were rumblings that LeBron was going to go to LA, it did not feel real until it actually happened.
Magic Johnson probably deserves more credit than Rob Pelinka does on this one. While Magic was up and down as a basketball executive (Pelinka always felt like the guy actually pulling the strings), having him in the room for LeBron to trust was huge.
The Lakers did not really add any more talent outside of LeBron but it does not matter at all. Just getting LeBron makes it the best offseason that Pelinka has been a part of as he was the first domino to fall.
If LeBron does not come to the Lakers then Anthony Davis does not request a trade to the Lakers. If Anthony Davis does not request a trade to the Lakers then who knows what the Lakers end up with.
Maybe there is a reality in which the Lakers get Kawhi Leonard and Paul Geroge but that obviously has not resulted in a title so it would have been worse and that is still just a what-if.
The best offseason is the one where the Los Angeles Lakers signed one of the best players in NBA history. Period.