LeBron James is gone, the Lakers spent big to move on, and three players now have to prove the plan right.
LeBron James wears a Philadelphia 76ers jersey now, and the Los Angeles Lakers have to figure out life without him.
He told the team at the end of June that he was not coming back, and by late July his two-year deal with the 76ers was official.
The Lakers won 53 games last season and still got swept out of the second round by Oklahoma City, so the front office went to work.
It re-signed Austin Reaves, traded a pile of draft picks for Walker Kessler, and signed Quentin Grimes for the wing.
Those three now have to make the plan look smart.
Austin Reaves Must Play Like a Star
Reaves was the first big piece of the Lakers' busy summer, landing a new four-year, $185 million contract.
He earned it by averaging 23.3 points and 5.5 assists per game on 49 percent shooting as the second-leading scorer behind Luka Doncic.
The catch is that he played only 51 games, and the Lakers cannot afford that again.
LeBron took 20.9 points and 7.2 assists per game with him to Philadelphia, and nobody else on the roster is built to replace that production.
Reaves is 28 and in his prime, so the time to be a star every single night is right now.
Walker Kessler Has to Anchor the Defense
The Lakers ranked 19th in defensive rating last season and paid a steep price to fix that.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Los Angeles sent Utah unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 plus two first-round swaps in the deal that brought in Kessler on a four-year, $130 million deal.
One team executive has explained why the roster needed a defensive anchor, and Kessler fits the job with career averages of 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
He played five games last season before shoulder surgery ended his year in Utah, but he told ESPN's Ben Golliver in July that the shoulder is cleared and feels strong.
"If I know they have that belief in me, I'm going to run through a brick wall for them. That's how I've been wired my whole life," Kessler said.
The Lakers need that wall standing at the rim every night.
Quentin Grimes Needs to Own the Wing
Grimes is the quietest of the three additions, and maybe the most important one.
He signed a four-year, $60 million deal in July after averaging 13.4 points per game for Philadelphia last season, and he walks into a wing rotation that no longer includes Rui Hachimura.
Somebody has to take the toughest perimeter matchup every night so Reaves can save himself for offense, and that job should belong to Grimes.
If he knocks down the open threes Doncic creates and handles the tough defensive work, the starting five has a chance to be very good.
None of it works without Doncic, who averaged 33.5 points per game last season and finished fourth in MVP voting, and early reports on his health this summer have been good.
The Western Conference is not getting any easier, and losing LeBron leaves real production to replace.
If Reaves, Kessler and Grimes step up, the Lakers stay a serious playoff team, but if they fall short, it becomes a long season in Los Angeles.
