The Lakers brass is obviously confident that their current mix of players are capable of winning a championship this season as they were inactive at the trading deadline and so far have not picked anybody up off waivers. This can be a troubling thought going in the stretch run of the NBA season considering so many of the Lakers legit competitors improved with in-season moves.
What Laker fans have to hang their hat on is the success with the decision making of Mitch and company during their reign.
It was the right decision to not trade Kobe prior to the 2007-2008 season despite his adamant trade demands.
Management found a diamond in the rough in Trevor Ariza; who the Lakers got for Brian Cook and Maurice Evens from the Orlando Magic.
The tough call to allow Trevor Ariza to leave via free agency and pick up Ron Artest in his stead proved to be the right call.
The decisions that were made resulted in two straight championships and a current run for a third.
As far as the decisions of the Heat, Celtics and Mavericks, we will have to wait and see if the late season acquisitions were the missing pieces for any of those respective teams to topple the Lakers. I would recommend siding with the history of Lakers’ recent personal decisions and their current decision to stand pat over those of the competitors as it relates to championship viability. History, as it always seems to be, is on the Lakers side.