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Editor’s Note: This week is “What If?” Week at SB Nation, so we’ll be taking a look at various hypothetical scenarios involving the Lakers. Today: alternate possibilities for the 2018-19 team.
“What If?” Week continued on the latest episode of “Lakers, Explained,” a podcast by Silver Screen and Roll, as hosts Christian Rivas and Harrison Faigen talked about various alternate scenarios for the 2018-19 roster.
What if the Lakers had made the playoffs last season? Could they have made some noise, or would it have changed anything about the franchise moving forward? Or what if the Lakers had gotten their trade done for Anthony Davis at the trade deadline last year? Would they have actually ended up in a worse position than they are now? It’s a possibility, and we explained why.
How about if the Lakers hadn’t been able to get a trade done for Davis at all? Would they have traded for a different star, and which players might it have been? Harrison thought of a perhaps-surprising dark horse.
Last, they discussed maybe the most polarizing question of all: What if Magic Johnson had never stepped down from his position as President of Basketball Operations? How different would this team look? Harrison and Christian debated all that and more on our latest podcast.
You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a single one, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.
You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen, and Christian at @RadRivas.