Southern California, March 2017. The Los Angeles Lakers, envy of the league, sit poised to return to true contention after a record turn-around many have called the model rebuild, having offloaded aging stars Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Pau Gasol to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, and Gerald Wallace plus two first round picks in 2016 and 2016, used to select Julius Randle and Jamal Murray. The deal, widely seen as one of the most lopsided in modern NBA history, did not work out the way General Manager Billy King would have liked, reportedly due to pressure from owner Mikhail Prokhorov to make a big splash in a hurry.
A Path Not Taken: the Celts & Lakers rebuilds, in perspective
