THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS stunned the basketball world by dealing for franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic five days before the NBA trade deadline, and then stunned everyone all over again two days after it when they rescinded their swap for 7-foot center Mark Williams.
For 48 hours, at least, the Lakers existed in the rare competitive territory of improving in the present, for LeBron James, while also fortifying the future of the franchise. It's the state of operation that can make an organization's championship standard a reality.
Just as soon as the transformation set in, the Lakers shifted gears to a different present reality.