Los Angeles Lakers: 7 Things LA Must Do to Win Another Title

At the end of the Lakers' humiliating 122-86 loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals to mark the end of the Lakers' season, LA looked like an old team.

The Mavericks, who were right behind the Lakers as the third-oldest team in the NBA, looked faster, fresher, and, more importantly, better.

It had been talked about all season long, as the Lakers staggered to the No. 2 seed in the West, that the Lakers needed an overhaul.

Through mid-March, the Lakers had gone a collective 2-7 against the "elite" of the NBA. The "elite" includes teams such as the Spurs, Celtics, Mavericks, Bulls and Heat.

It's clear that the Lakers are no longer the cream of the crop in the NBA, and if changes aren't made, the Lakers will continue slipping on the NBA totem pole.

These are the seven things the LA Lakers must do in order to hang another banner in the Staples Center.

Point Guard Stability

The Los Angeles Lakers had the worst point guard situation in the NBA last season. Their two point guards, Derek Fisher and Steve Blake, finished 60th and 61st in player efficiency rating.

Blake shot 36 percent from the field and Fisher shot 39 percent from the field during the season. Something's gotta give.

In order to give Kobe Bryant more rest in healing his creaky knees, the Lakers have to rely less upon Kobe Bryant. That not only means shooting, but also when it comes to handling the ball.

In the triangle offense, although Kobe Bryant was the SG, he was the primary ball-handler with Derek Fisher occasionally handling the ball up court.

Now that the triangle is virtually gone under now coach Mike Brown's system, the Lakers have to find a way to rely less upon Kobe Bryant creating shots not only for himself, but for his teammates.

Although Kobe Bryant played the least amount of minutes per game since his second year in the NBA, Kobe still had the highest usage rate of any player in the 2010-11 season.

If the Lakers were to acquire a point guard such as Ramon Sessions, DJ Augustin or a blockbuster player such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Steve Nash, it would go a long way to not only prolonging Kobe's "prime," but LA's championship window as well.

An Athletic Swingman

The Lakers need to get younger. That point is clear.

The Lakers ranked 25th in fast break points per game last season; LA ranked 15th in fast break points given up. Those aren't the kind of rankings you'd want if you're playing on an elite team.

The Lakers need a swingman in the vain of a Dorrell Wright or Kelenna Azubuike who are young and can run the floor. The Lakers need an infusion of fast break players.

If the Lakers are to combine a mixture of their current core, which relies upon on strength and size, with a young core of players that have speed and athleticism, it's hard to envision a team in the NBA that could match up with that.

A lineup of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Andre Iguodala and Kobe Bryant? That team would be the favorites for whenever the next NBA Finals takes place.

Give the Ball More to Andrew Bynum

This is a simple, yet necessary thing the Lakers must do in order to get back to that championship level.

It is time to trust Andrew Bynum on the offensive side of the ball.

Recently, Bynum came out and said that he wants more touches. Kobe Bryant basically put him in his place, stating "that Bynum would have to get in line behind everybody else."

As much as you gotta love Kobe's hyper-competitiveness, it can be his greatest downfall sometimes; the bad-shot selection, the ball-hogging tactics at the end of games, and now this comment.

Bynum is one of the top centers in the NBA. There aren't many quality centers left when Chris Kaman is considered one of the top centers in your league. And though Bynum has problems with his knees at the young age of 23, he is still an efficient offensive player.

He shot 57 percent from the field—which was by far the Lakers' highest field goal percentage of any single player in '10-11—yet, he was only sixth in field goal attempts per game on the team. How do you explain him shooting less than Shannon Brown and Ron Artest? That is simply ridiculous. He only had one more field goal attempt per game than Derek Fisher.

Kobe needs to allow Bynum to grow more offensively, even if that means less shot attempts for everybody else, including Kobe, if the Lakers want to remain the cream of the crop in the NBA.

Get Younger/Faster/Athletic

This goes hand in hand with the slide about acquiring a swingman with these aforementioned abilities.

The Lakers were an old and tired team at the end of last season.

Signing anybody that can make contributions on the fast break, such as unrestricted free agents Jason Richardson, who had success recently with the high octane Suns, or even Yi Jianlian, who at seven feet and 23 years of age is the perfect fit for a fastbreak team, can go a long way towards improving this LA squad.

This ingredient is essential if the Lakers are to compete with teams such as the Heat, Bulls and Mavericks who have players that are deadly on the fastbreak.

Acquire a Backup Big Man

LA's depth at the center and power forward positions were terrible, to say the least.

Overshadowed by Lamar Odom's contributions as a sixth man were the Lakers' other big men—Joe Smith, Theo Ratliff and Derrick Caracter.

Gasol had to play over 37 minutes a game and Odom had to play 32 minutes a game due to Bynum's injuries and because the Lakers had some of the worst depth at the big man spots in the NBA last season.

Between Smith and Ratliff, they combined to play 22 total games last season, while contributing a total of eight points. Caracter was an unheralded rookie who only played five minutes a game last season. (And people wonder why the Lakers were so tired by the time the Mavericks series came around.)

Even acquiring a player in the mold of DeSagana Diop, who is a good shot blocker and can play above average defense in the post, would go a long way towards preserving the Lakers' stamina for the stretch run in May and June.

Make Sure Kobe Doesn't Play in Europe

This may seem a little bit over the top, but Kobe Bryant has so much mileage on his 33-year-old body, that the Lakers can't afford for Kobe to put more on his already bad knees.

Kobe has played more than 40,000 minutes in his 15-year NBA career, which doesn't include his postseason mileage, which is 8,165 minutes (second all time behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

Kobe teased that he was going to play in Turkey overseas, but those rumors seem dead now.

Kobe knows his career is winding down, and contrary to what he might say, he's always concerned with his legacy—especially when he's constantly compared to Michael Jordan.

Kobe Bryant probably will never play pro basketball outside of the NBA, but anything is possible. The Lakers have to hope that Kobe doesn't.

The Lakers Have to Remain Motivated

If you look at the Lakers' 2010-11 season from the beginning until the very end—when they played the Houston Rockets in late October, until May when they lost in humiliating fashion 122-86 in Game 4 to the Dallas Mavericks—only one word can describe the season: disappointing.

I think it's safe to say that everybody thought the Lakers would at least make it to the NBA Finals, where the only team that could or would beat team was the super-trio of the Miami Heat.

The Lakers fell way short of those expectations.

Phil Jackson constantly warned his team of such an attitude, where they basically "coasted" and felt "content" all throughout last season.

This attitude nearly lost them a first round series vs. the Hornets, minus David West, where Chris Paul exposed their defensive flaws on a game to game basis.

This attitude lost them just about every game against championship contender.

This attitude ended their season.

If the Lakers are to ever regain that championship glory with the core of Kobe and Gasol, they need to regain that "fire."

It's not something that is easy to attain. You either have it or you don't.

Only time will tell if the Lakers ever regain the "fire" to be champions again.