Four things to look out for during NBA off-season

What’s next for the Lakers?

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers supposedly had a super team to rival all super teams. The supposedly best big man in the league, one of the top three players in Kobe, one of the best point guards to ever play in Steve Nash, one of the most versatile bigs in Gasol, and one of the best defenders in World Peace.

This team was built to win and win now. Even the staunchest critics couldn’t have predicted the colossal meltdown which this team went through. Blame it on injuries, a coach who chose to bench Gasol in favor of Earl Clarke rather than try to accommodate his system to fit the unique talent of Gasol until the latter finally got a chance to put up near triple doubles in the later stages of the season, or blame it on the initial selfishness of Kobe which led him to attempt more shots than Nash, Howard and Gasol combined, or blame it on all of the above. End result was a team which belied all expectations, in a bad way.

Will Kobe be able to return as his usual self? Will Steve Nash stave off old age for another season and remain healthy? Will World Peace come back? Will the Clippers signing of Doc Rivers finally tip the balance of power to the other LS team? Perhaps no other team’s fortunes are as unpredictable as the Lakers’s are.