:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66802974/166467620.jpg.0.jpg)
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, we imagine a few different scenarios for the 2012-13 team.
Almost everything went wrong for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2012-13 season: they had to change head coaches after a disappointing start, there was drama in the locker room between the team’s stars and with the new head coach, injuries plagued the team, and Dwight Howard left in free agency. But what if none of that happened, or only some of it did?
Hosts Jacob Rude and Christian Rivas looked at two scenarios on today’s new episode of “Can U Dig It?”, a podcast by Silver Screen and Roll.
- What if Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash never got injured? Would the Lakers have been able to put aside their differences and compete with the teams in the upper half of the Western Conference, or the best team in the Eastern Conference? Would that have changed Dwight Howard’s decision in free agency?
- What if things happened the way they did, but Howard re-signed? Would they have eventually traded their veterans for young assets, or would they try and build around Howard by making a win-now trade involving Gasol, Nash and/or Metta World Peace? If it’s the former, what could they have gotten for Howard in a hypothetical deal?
It was a long trip down a path that led to a ton of interesting places, and raised even more questions.
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 also follow ours hosts on Twitter at @RadRivas and @JacobRude.