Jammertime:

Yes, some good questions for next year. I do think that without Shaq in the East we roll last year. Without struggling with Miami, we don't lose two in SA. History might have been different.

From the Lakers perspective, knowing Laker fans (the PR hype wore off) now see that if they had kept Shaq and convince dKobe to stay (Jerry West wasn't here), the Lakers would still be competing for championships. They are stuck without cap space for 2 more years!