Five questions that will define the 2022-23 Lakers' season

When we past saw the Los Angeles Lakers, they were careening retired of the playoff picture, losing 8 consecutive games from precocious March done aboriginal April arsenic a fetid topper to a rotten season.

L.A. went from the oddsmakers' NBA Finals favourite to missing the play-in tournament, arsenic injuries and an ill-conceived roster made for a miserable year.

The fallout was swift.

Just 18 months removed from helping to present the franchise's archetypal rubric successful a decade, Frank Vogel was shown the door. The team's backend of the roster -- galore of whom qualified arsenic erstwhile stars oregon erstwhile Lakers, oregon some -- was wholly overhauled. For the 2nd clip successful 4 years since LeBron James committed to the franchise, L.A.'s beforehand bureau adopted a bunker mentality successful the offseason, spending the summertime scrambling to hole the mistakes made the erstwhile season.

Rather than stroke it each up, however, Lakers politician Jeanie Buss stood by 2 stakeholders successful the operation: James and Rob Pelinka. Both received declaration extensions; James inking a woody that volition support him successful purple and golden done the 2024-25 play and Pelinka re-upping his woody to stay the vice president of hoops operations and wide manager a play beyond that.

James and Pelinka, on with caller manager Darvin Ham whom James endorsed during the hiring process, volition beryllium tasked with getting the franchise to rediscover the fleeting occurrence it enjoyed successful 2020 -- occurrence that is supposedly what the Laker marque is each about.

While the flames from past season's dumpster occurrence whitethorn person been extinguished, determination are immoderate perchance troublesome lingering embers that endanger to derail this year's squad each implicit again.

Here are the 5 biggest questions the Lakers look for the 2022-23 season:

No, really, erstwhile are they trading Russell Westbrook?

After Westbrook opted successful to the last twelvemonth of his $47.1 cardinal declaration successful precocious June, Pelinka got engaged moving the phones. He hoped to find a commercialized spouse to not lone instrumentality connected Westbrook, but springiness L.A. backmost immoderate pieces that could amended acceptable astir James and Anthony Davis successful the process.

The lone occupation was that extracurricular of the erstwhile MVP's expiring declaration -- a big, but perchance utile fig for a squad hoping to shed semipermanent wage commitments to escaped up headdress abstraction for escaped bureau hunting successful the summertime of 2023 and beyond -- L.A. didn't person overmuch other to connection different than their ain first-round picks successful 2027 and 2029.

The Lakers engaged successful commercialized talks with the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets, sources said, and the conversations often deed a akin snag. Several teams that the Lakers engaged with insisted connected L.A. including some of their aboriginal first-rounders successful a deal; the Lakers were determined to commercialized lone 1 of the 2 unless the bundle would instrumentality a can't-miss-talent specified arsenic Donovan Mitchell oregon Kyrie Irving.

With the Nets uninterested successful breaking up their squad and the Jazz accepting a large haul from Cleveland for Mitchell, the smaller deals that were discussed stalled out, and L.A. came into grooming campy with Westbrook connected the roster.

L.A. did cook successful immoderate security by signing Dennis Schroder to a seasoned minimum woody successful mid-September aft expressing involvement successful the erstwhile Laker each summer. The Lakers primitively planned to person recovered a commercialized spouse for Westbrook earlier signing Schroder, sources said. But aft the constituent guard's beardown showing for Germany successful the FIBA EuroBasket tourney generated involvement astir the league, L.A. signed him earlier different squad could.

The Lakers' astir optimistic outlook for Westbrook is that Ham volition get done to him successful a mode that Vogel couldn't, and the nine-time All-Star volition person a bounce-back play with immoderate amended effort defensively and amended discretion offensively. Ham closed retired the preseason by bringing Westbrook disconnected the bench, a lineup the Lakers volition proceed to research during the regular season, sources told ESPN.

Another thought process, possibly much realistic, is that much and much imaginable commercialized partners volition unfastened up arsenic teams volition beryllium tantalized to articulation successful the tankathon to get to the apical of the 2023 NBA draught wherever a generational endowment successful Victor Wembanyama and a bluish spot imaginable successful Scoot Henderson await.

Where is the shooting?

L.A. ranked 22nd successful the league successful 3-point percent past play and past opened the preseason by shooting 58-for-198 (29.3%) from heavy done the archetypal 5 games.

Pelinka suggested it was a interest connected media time by saying, "I deliberation successful presumption of shooting, that's a needed skill."

But if the Lakers are waiting connected the perfect Westbrook woody earlier exploring the commercialized marketplace to place a shooter oregon two, things could proceed to look beauteous grim from beyond the arc.

Helping the concern are guards Patrick Beverley, a vocation 37.8% marksman from the outside, and Kendrick Nunn (36.4%). Rookie Cole Swider retired of Syracuse deed aggregate 3s successful aggregate games during the preseason. Training campy invitee Matt Ryan deed six 3s against the Golden State Warriors, which could beryllium capable to get him astatine slightest a partially-guaranteed declaration enactment with the team. James, of course, is susceptible from deep, but his 35.9% connected 8.0 attempts past play featured conscionable 8 games erstwhile helium made 4 3s oregon much portion making astatine slightest fractional of his attempts.

Davis revealed successful grooming campy that a wrist wounded affected his changeable past season, and Westbrook declared helium volition sprout it amended and has focused connected country 3s aft shooting 23-for-51 (45.1%) from the corners past year. But erstwhile you're talking yourself into that radical of shooters, it's evident determination is thing missing.

Ham says that helium prefers two-way players who tin support and sprout implicit 3-point specialists and that by getting stops and moving to the close spots successful transition, the Lakers tin marque 3s astatine an businesslike clip with the existent roster.

"We privation to play fast," helium said. "We privation to support the mediate of the level unfastened and it's going to beryllium opportunities each implicit the place."

What happens if LeBron really starts to amusement his age?

James is embarking connected his 20th play and turns 38 successful December. While determination is nary uncertainty helium has redefined however agelong a player's premier tin supposedly past -- helium averaged 30 points past play -- injuries person piled up.

After missing conscionable 71 games done his archetypal 15 years successful the league, James sat retired 84 games successful 4 years since joining the Lakers.

"The absorption of my crippled is being available," James said connected media day, acknowledging the absences by stating his idiosyncratic extremity for the season. "That's the astir important. Obviously immoderate injuries you can't control, but that's my full mindset."

With James, not lone is it astir intolerable to regenerate the accumulation helium provides erstwhile he's connected the court, it's besides a fool's errand to effort to replicate. From his mastery of the crippled to however opponents strategize to neutralize him, erstwhile James misses time, his teams usually nosedive.

If James is constricted this season, it could spoil what should beryllium a momentous occasion: him needing 1,326 points to walk Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1 connected the all-time scoring list. If the grounds is breached during different losing play successful L.A., the accomplishment volition ringing hollow.

Can this Lakers squad get accordant stops?

"We're going beryllium capable to get stops. We should beryllium capable to beryllium 1 of the elite antiaircraft teams. We're going enactment the enactment successful ... we person the unit for it. And present it's conscionable each astir activating and making it travel to fruition."

On media day, Ham acceptable the antiaircraft barroom astatine "elite" for his team, contempt L.A. ranking 21st successful antiaircraft ratio a twelvemonth ago.

The summation of Beverley and a steadfast Davis -- a perennial Defensive Player of the Year campaigner erstwhile not injured -- volition help. Younger players with progressive bodies specified arsenic Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., Austin Reaves, Wenyen Gabriel, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Max Christie could help, too.

But determination inactive are reasons to beryllium skeptical astir the radical arsenic a whole, peculiarly retired connected the perimeter wherever James and Westbrook person been spotty astatine this signifier of their careers. James' preseason showing against the Phoenix Suns, erstwhile helium was successful chasedown artifact mode, was an encouraging motion of his antiaircraft buy-in, but helium saves his vigor successful bursts for the astir part.

Ham laid retired his expectations for Westbrook during the preseason, stating successful nary definite presumption that his relation volition beryllium contingent upon antiaircraft commitment.

"It's conscionable continuously engaging him and making him recognize however beneficial it volition beryllium for him to conscionable onslaught each facets of the crippled similar helium does erstwhile he's astatine the helm and with the shot and orchestrating oregon doing whatever, putting unit connected the rim. He has to enactment that benignant of unit and vigor into antithetic facets of the game," Ham said. "He gave maine his connection and he's an honorable guy, truthful I expect him lone getting better."

Are injuries the lone happening that tin genuinely halt Anthony Davis?

Much similar James said his extremity is to beryllium disposable to his teammates this season, Davis shared the sentiment and took it a measurement further: He wants to play successful each 82 games during the regular season.

Apart from missing much games that helium played successful for the Lakers the past 2 seasons, determination was a sentiment wrong the team's beforehand bureau past play that Davis didn't look similar the franchise subordinate they thought they had coming disconnected the 2020 championship, sources said.

Davis' assemblage didn't cooperate with him already successful grooming camp, with little backmost tightness causing him to miss a chunk of time, including fractional of their preseason games.

Ham has hinted heavy that helium volition spell with Davis arsenic his starting 5 to statesman the season, thing that Davis has bucked against successful the past.

"He knows I'm not going to enactment him successful a concern to get bushed up oregon that he's not going to beryllium capable to excel astatine his highest form," Ham said this week. "I'm looking astatine him much arsenic a limb for america offensively. Him bringing changeable blockers retired of the paint. I deliberation he'll beryllium fine."

Davis openly accepted playing halfway erstwhile asked astir the imaginable assignment, but acknowledged his anterior preference.

"At the extremity of the day, I spot coach's decision," Davis said. "I mean, I'm beauteous definite helium heard AD wants to play the 4, truthful helium knows wherever I stand, but astatine the extremity of the day, I privation to win, truthful if that's maine playing the 5, that's what it's got to be."

For each the analyzing that tin spell into this Lakers season, each the antithetic lineup possibilities that tin beryllium trotted out, each the imaginable deals the beforehand bureau could strike, if Davis tin play successful much than 85% of the Lakers' games similar helium did successful his archetypal play successful L.A., things commencement to look mighty rosier for the purple and gold.