Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have a problem. A serious problem. They might not be ready to admit it yet—as recently as last week, Kobe insisted that the Lakers are "not a 3-11 team," even though they were, in fact, 3-11 at the time—but they're one of the worst teams in the entire NBA right now. Worse than the Kevin Durant-less Thunder. Worse than the too-young-to-know-any-better Timberwolves. Worse than the Bucks, the team that finished with a worse record than the 76ers last season! Just four years removed from winning their 16th NBA title in franchise history, the Lakers are on the verge of hitting rock bottom and desperately need some help.
We're here to give it to them. We realize that, at this point, the Lakers don't seem like they're ready to make the changes that they're going to have to make in order to achieve long-term success. At least, not if Kobe has anything to say about it. But what the team needs right now is a little bit of tough love, because it's really starting to look like the Lakers are addicted to losing.
With that in mind, we created How To Fix the Lakers In 12 Easy Steps, based loosely on all the other 12-step programs out there that have helped so many people overcome issues in their lives. Admittedly, the Lakers' issues are not as serious as those issues, but we think a variation of the traditional 12-step program could still be beneficial to the team. And the way we see it, following the 12 steps is the only thing the Lakers can really do right now to salvage their season and, more importantly, their future.
So what do you say, guys? Are you ready to get to work—or do you want to keep pretending that you don't have a problem?