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3 keys to the Los Angeles Lakers shocking the world next season

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 16: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena on February 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 16: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena on February 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off of the most disappointing season in franchise history and the current roster does not indicate that things will get much better for the team during the 2022-23 season.

Los Angeles can band-aid the problems by pitching the hiring of Darvin Ham and the new free-agent acquisitions but the reality of the situation is that this current version of the Lakers is not good enough to win the title, let alone escape the play-in.

That being said, the window of being a true title contender has not completely closed, so long that the Lakers make the right decisions and certain things break the team’s way.

Here are the 3 keys to the Los Angeles Lakers shocking the world next season:

1. Get rid of Russell Westbrook

This is the most obvious key for the Lakers if they are going to get anywhere. Most of the issues that the team dealt with last season stemmed from having Russell Westbrook on the roster. Westbrook simply does not mesh well with the star players that the Lakers have and he is not changing his game anytime soon.

Those that look just at the box score will say that Westbrook is still being productive but those that watched Lakers basketball 82 times last year know the true story. The Lakers are not going to contend for a championship with Russ.

At this point, LA would probably be better off just telling him to stay home and paying him not to play. However, that is a massive waste of salary-cap space and the team is much better off trading him.

A Kyrie Irving trade is obviously the best route, but quite frankly, LA would still have a much better chance of winning the title if they instead traded for Julius Randle or Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.

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