The Lakers are a team in transition, attempting to rebuild — somewhat on the fly — to try and reclaim their status as a top tiered organization that competes for championships. After two very down years, there is some optimism they have taken some positive steps in the right direction with the hope the on court product will reflect that via an improved record and more competitive play.
In reconstructing the roster, the Lakers have done some purposeful acquisition of specific player types. Yes, they tried to fill positional holes in trading for Roy Hibbert and by adding Brandon Bass and Lou Williams in free agency.