Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Steps to Return to the NBA Championship

The Lakers had an ugly exit in 2011 at the hands of the eventual NBA champion, Dallas Mavericks. They were helpless on offense, lost on defense and Andrew Bynum's cheap shot on J.J. Barea put the finishing touch on one of the worst playoff performances in team history.

The embarrassing loss sent shock waves through Lakers fans across the country, and has led to two different schools of thought for the future of the team: 1) stay the course; or 2) blow it up.

If the Lakers' management were to adopt the second viewpoint and blow up the current roster and piece together a championship-caliber team through trades and free agency, it would be a three-step process.

Step 1: Acquire Dwight Howard. 

Howard is the premier center in the NBA, and premier centers have a history of signing with the Lakers.  But the Lakers are not the only team with Howard on its wish list; the Nets, Clippers and Rockets are all showing interest.

However, Los Angeles has the most talented roster among that group of teams, and can offer more assets to Orlando. The deal they should shoot for requires parting ways with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. In return, Los Angeles would receive Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu's toxic contract.

Orlando would receive a 23-year-old center with an extremely high ceiling and a perennial All-Star at power forward. In addition, it would part ways with Turkoglu, and could then use its amnesty cut on Gilbert Arenas to free up loads of cap space.

The Lakers would receive the most dominant defensive presence in the league, as well as a young power forward who could stretch the floor in Anderson.  They would have to take on Turkoglu's contract to entice the Magic, and cutting him via the amnesty clause would be useless as they would not go under the cap and would still have to pay him.  

However, the Lakers could keep him around and see if he can regain the chemistry he had with Howard during Orlando's run to the finals in 2009. 

Step 2: Acquire more frontcourt depth to complement Dwight Howard.

The Lakers have the highest payroll in the league, and that would still be the case after the proposed trade with the Magic.  Due to this, the only way to acquire new players who are more expensive than a minimum contract is through trades and the mid-level exception.

In addition, the new collective bargaining agreement only allows teams over the cap a "mini" mid-level exception which would amount to a three-year deal worth approximately $10 million. 

Therefore, a third chess piece to solidify a team that can make a run at a championship must come through another trade.  

The Lakers' only asset still available to offer up in a trade is Lamar Odom. To execute a deal, they would have to seek out a team with a young and talented frontcourt player who also has a general manager with a history of erratic behavior. The perfect candidate is the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves are under the cap, so the Lakers could offer Odom and as many prospects and draft picks as they can dig up to convince David Kahn to part ways with Kevin Love. While this may seem far-fetched, a publicized effort to get Love back to where he spent his college days may convince the rebounding champion to reject a contract extension from Minnesota and force Kahn to trade him.

Once Love is back in Los Angeles, the Lakers could re-sign Shannon Brown and then use their mid-level exception to add depth at the forward position.

While Shane Battier will be a sought after free agent, new coach Mike Brown's commitment to defense, as well as a chance to be the final piece on a loaded roster, may be enough to entice the former Duke star to sign for the MLE. Los Angeles media outlets started beating the drum to bring Battier on board shortly after the Lakers were eliminated.

Step 3: Win the NBA championship.

The first two steps would leave the Lakers with a nine-man rotation consisting of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Shane Battier, Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson, Metta World Peace, Shannon Brown and Hedo Turkoglu.  

Steve Blake and Matt Barnes would see limited playing time as well.

With Howard and Love leading the front line, the Lakers would out-rebound their opponent on a nightly basis. Last season, Love led the league in rebounding and Howard finished second, with the two combining for 29.3 rebounds per game. 

Howard, Battier and World Peace would excel under Brown's emphasis on defensive fundamentals, and could compensate for defensive deficiencies in Love's and Turkoglu's games.

On offense, Bryant could assume the role of scorer/facilitator that LeBron James played under Brown. Brown has said that he will also retain elements of the triangle offense to get Bryant to spots on the floor where he is comfortable shooting.

This hypothetical but loaded Lakers roster would be primed to make a championship run in the 2011-12 season, and also has young talent that would be around for many years to come. 

Several risky and crafty moves would have to be made to pull off the roster overhaul, but the Los Angeles management has an opportunity to usher in a new era of greatness by following these three steps.