In the wake of the Lakers' second round ouster by the Oklahoma City Thunder, questions come: Where do the Lakers go from here? Are they too old? Can they improve their roster? How much will it cost them to do so? Is Kobe done? Who stays and who goes? So many questions, and right now there are no answers.

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak will surely be hard at work this off-season trying to make sure the team comes back in 2012-2013 ready to contend for a championship, or as ready as a team over the salary cap and deep into the luxury tax can be. But some people don't think that's going to be enough. They think Kobe is done winning championships, that his window, and that of the Lakers, has closed. Kobe disagrees.

"I’m not fading into the shadows, if that is what you’re asking," he interrupted when the inevitable subject of the changing of guard was broached. "I’m not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere. This is not one of those things where the Bulls beat the Pistons and the Pistons disappear forever. I’m not going for that (expletive)."

Until I see evidence to the contrary, I'll go along with Kobe Bean and say the Lakers will be back stronger next season.

In other news, exit interviews began on Tuesday with Metta World Peace (who jokingly called coach Mike Brown a "fat ass"), Ramon Sessions (he really wants to stay with the Lakers), Jordan Hill (also really wants to stay with the Lakers), Devin Ebanks (he wants more playing time), and Troy Murphy (he will be weighing his free agency options). Today's interviews will include Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes. Kobe, who opted not to participate in an exit interview, will have a private lunch with Mitch later this week. Stay tuned.

Starring the Lakers and looming questions about what to do now...

• Lakers FYI: Lakers' roster-refurbishment options are limited - latimes.com
• Kobe Bryant and the Lakers face uncertain future after early playoff exit - Yahoo! Sports
• Sources -- Spending by NBA players association's Billy Hunter is investigated - ESPN
• Andrew Bynum unsure of his long-term future with the Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN Los Angeles
• Lakers Have No One Else To Blame But Themselves For Latest Playoff Ouster " NBA.com | Hang Time Blog
• Lakers’ roster needs rebuilding - The Orange County Register
• Forum Blue And Gold " Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow
• Lakers Pass the Torch to the Thunder...For Now | Lakers Nation

↓ More after the jump ↓

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The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on fire. We don't need no water, let the mothaf***a burn.

The Los Angeles Lakers season is over, having been mercifully put down by a group of kids who were stronger, faster and more skilled than the team the Lakers were able to put out on the floor. Those qualities were why nobody expected the Lakers to advance past the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2nd round of the playoffs, but those qualities were not what ultimately led to the Lakers' dismissal in five games. The qualities the Thunder had, and which were absent in the Lakers, were mental toughness and unity. The Lakers had their chances, but in the final moments, both of important games and the series, were too busy bickering at each other to do what needed to be done.

It didn't have to be this way. The Lakers could very well be the ones advancing. Games 2 and 4 were theirs for the taking, only to slip through their grasp for the exact same reasons: Not enough execution in crunch time, not enough people on the same page. We've seen it all series, and we've seen it often during the season, and now it has led us to the abyss. To which I say: Good

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Starring the recently eliminated Los Angeles Lakers, who might have seen their last days as currently constituted.

• This ending feels different, and time is not on the Lakers' side - Bill Plaschke - LAtimes.com
• Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder beat Los Angeles Lakers - Sam Amick - SI.com
• Bryant: ‘We’re Going To Be There Again’ " NBA.com | Hang Time Blog
• 2012 NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers need to make big changes - ESPN Los Angeles
• NBA - Andrew Bynum unsure of his long-term future with the Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN Los Angeles
• Lakers-OKC, Game 5, the morning after - Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
• Eight hurt in shooting following Oklahoma City win over Lakers - NBA - SI.com

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You have to admire Mitch Kupchak for putting his misery on display tonight. He could've stayed in Los Angeles for Game Five. Or he could've attended it but watched from a luxury box. Instead he chose to sit in the stands and allow the TBS cameras to capture his gaze, which grew more desolate and despairing as the evening wore on. Even if you'd no idea of the score or anything happening on the court, you could've watched Mitch for two and a half hours and gleaned a pretty decent idea of where the Lakers' season was heading. His was the expression of a man seeing his best professional efforts fall well short.

The Lakers, as they're now constructed, are not capable of competing for NBA championships. The roster is too old and too slow. In consecutive seasons they've not come close to escaping the second round, and since knocking off Boston in the 2010 Finals they're 9-13 in the playoffs. Young powers like the Thunder will only get better, and the moves Kupchak has made in an effort to keep pace have made sense for the most part but haven't worked out well enough. The upper tier of NBA teams no longer includes the Lakers, and Kobe Bryant will not win his sixth championship ring as a Laker unless significant roster moves are made... and maybe not even then.

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Another Lakers season has ended in second-round disappointment. They didn't get swept, and tonight's Game Five wasn't a disaster on a historic scale comparable to the Game Four hammering in Dallas a year ago, but that's probably not making any of you feel much better right now. After hanging in there for almost three quarters, the Lake Show succumbed to a 20 to 4 Thunder run spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth periods, setting up a garbage-time celebration in OKC that's still going on. Led by Russell Westbrook (28 points) and Kevin Durant (25 points), the Thunder blitzed the Laker defense for 1.14 points per possession. Kobe Bryant (42 points) had an excellent night but got no help from anyone but Metta World Peace. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were thoroughly awful. As a team the Lakers pulled in just three offensive boards, their lowest total since I have no idea. They were equally bad on the defensive glass.

More to come later tonight. Welcome to the offseason.

Proceed.